HELP- have I 'developed' an allergy to a medication?

[chl_hobbs]

Hi please can you help me, I cant tell if Im suffering extreme anxiety here or if I am truly having a reaction to the propranolol Ive just taken. I have taken propranalol before at higher doses but that was a year ago and havent had it since then. last night I took just 10mgs (Dr advised) and felt ok, but have just taken another 10mgs and feel weird. I feel my tongue is a bit numb and a bit sore. I feel weak and a bit dizzy and feel like I cant breathe. I have my 3 year old daughter here and I dont know what to do. I have a history of phoning urgent care / 999 and them sending ambulances etc, so never know if Im over reacting or if this is true or not.

Would I suddenly become allergic to propranalol? Wouldnt this have happened last night if i had? im itching on the back of my neck too, but again I have no idea if Im imagining this or not. My tongue is a bit red in patches and feels like Ive almost burnt it.

Im such a mess. Im letting everyone down being like this and now I cant even trust my own feelings

Charlotte

[Daisy Sue]

hi... i presume you're in the UK, and obviously it's during working hours right now so... i think in your position i'd either ring my gp surgery and explain the situation to the receptionist so that someone can advise you straight away, or ring a pharmacist & do the same, or ring NHS Direct..

you could be feeling weird purely as a normal effect of the drug doing its job, or it could be your anxiety, but again it could be a slight reaction, so it would be good to find out which.

good luck!

[chl_hobbs]

I know its hard but I have rang NHS direct and urgent care before and they have sent me an ambulance every time... I end up being admitted into hospital and then my whole life is turned upside down (I have been in hospital around 15 times in the past 18 months after a routine day op went wrong after he accidentally tore my spleen without realising. I have severe HA now).

My tongue feels very dry and there's 2 small red patches on it. My throat is sore too. I feel dizzy. Ive tried drinking lots of water, having a bath, distraction etc. I spoke to my mum over the phone (she lives 6 hours away) and she said as Ive had it before at much higher doses and been fine then i should be ok... but obviously u can 'develop' a reaction to a medication and now Im worrying.

This happened to me when I first started mirtazapine. My dr at the time said it was dry mouth and that it would wear off after a while - it did but I gave it up because I couldnt tolerate it. Im wondering if this is the same or worse or me just worrying....

Sorry x

[Daisy Sue]

no apologies needed! :)

ok, so you posted this about 2 hours ago.. which is that long since you took the meds... if, and it's a long-shot if, you were having an allergic reaction to it, then it's certainly not a serious one, as you wouldn't be as stable in your symptoms now, as you are...

you might even have a throat virus coming on as a coincidence.

why don't you refrain from taking any more, and make a routine appointment to see your doc... not in a crisis like you are wanting to avoid - and have a chat about your reactions & see what they say.

[ricardo]

I take propranalol 40mgs a day split as 10-20-10. The only real allergic reaction I can think of is if you suffer from asthma as one can't take propranol if asthmatic.

[chl_hobbs]

Went to Tesco to try and take my mind off it, and thought while I was there to maybe speak to a pharmacist. He was very good. I did explain that Ive had HA since the op went wrong and that today I was worried about the propranolol making my tongue sore and me itch etc... He looked at my tongue and said that it was a bit blistery, but that I shouldnt worry because if I was going to have a anaphylatic shock, it would have happened way before now. He said that it may be dry mouth and the itching might actually be from the OTHER ingredients in the propranolol tablet. He said it wasnt worrisome, and it was up to me whether to keep taking it, but I should speak to my GP if I want to stop/change.

I felt reassured in a way, but am still itchy, and the palps are back now with a vengeance.

Now I dont know what to do, be scared for my life because of the palpitations, or scared of the propranolol???? Im due a 24 hour holter monitor next thursday and friday but the results will take ages apparently. So now I have no idea what to do. Annoyed to say the least :(

x

[Anxious_gal]

The hard thing is, when you take medication you never know if it's the medication or if you would have had the symptoms anyway.
I once panicked because I had burning lips after taking a pill.... I've since had that burning lip sensation a few times and it's been totally harmless.
It's very easy to assume it's due to the medication.

but from what you said it does not sound like an allergy reaction, one thing that helps me is that if you were to have a very bad reaction it happens right away.

Usually you will get a rash with hives, not just itching,
the numb tongue might be anxiety or if you are clenching your jaw you can put pressure on the nerve there that numbs the tongue.

I know it's so hard when you get symptoms to try and not assume it's due to your medication.
You've taken them before so it's very unlikely you will now react to them.

wow well done for going to tesco x
When the blisters appear? It might be worth using warm salt water?

Ugh I feel sooo bad for you as I am the same way with new medications, I feel like it's going to kill me and every symptoms is a symptom of a bad reaction and its so hard for me to keep taking the tablets :/

I miss the old days where I could take a tablet and then forget about it : )

[chl_hobbs]

Great.....and now ive just read on patient.co.uk on the doctor pages, that palps with chest pain and dizziness are of 'grave sinister significance'.. Im suffering a lot today. Am scared x

[Anxious_gal]

unless you are on the floor with chest pain you really shouldn't worry : )
All websites will say if you have chest pain it might be a heart attack.

Anxiety, tense muscles, indigestion and lots of harmless things cause chest pain too and I've had some bad ones myself and none of which were anything serious.

[sarahsarah]

I developed an allergy to penicillin, aged 35. Not the same drug or the same reaction as you (I had crazy itching and I could write on my skin using the lightest of touches) but when I asked my GP if it could just come out of nowhere at my age, he was quite sure that it could and frequently does happen.

If this is an allergic reaction, it doesnt sound too bad. Of course, it might not be anything to do with the medicine and just be anxiety. Our minds can do amazing things to our bodies.

xxx