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>>>>My question is, has anyone else experienced an adverse reaction to IV
Benadryl? Oral Benadryl has always been OK for me.<<<<
Amanda-
My experience is nothing as severe as your reaction to benedryl, but since
diagnosis two years ago, anytime I have had to take benedryl capsule for
allergic reaction, I've gotten an anxiety attack type of reaction. Difficulty
breathing- feeling like someone is sitting on my chest, light headedness, dry
and swollen feeling tongue, difficulty speaking and disorientation. Just a
side note- I sometimes get the same feeling when taking an occasional
donnatol for stomach cramps and the runs. I've been told this is due to the
phenobarb or sedative substance that relaxes the stomach muscles to relieve
the tightening and cramping but I always felt that this weird reaction was a
combo of the drug in addition to the allergy or stomach attack that was
taking place which I admit is enough to trigger an anxiety attack. So which
is it? Drug? Allergen? Panic Attack? I also used to get the same exact
symptoms when I was consuming gluten during my pre diagnosis days. There were
days when it got so bad that I was running back and forth to my internist to
have him assure me that my throat wasn't closing or that my tongue wasn't
actually as big as it felt and that I wasn't physically suffocating. It did
help a little that he assured me, that I would never stop breathing, he said
that even if I got so hysterical that I passed out, my body would continue to
breathe as it is a body function.  I'm not sure if he was just trying to
pacify me or not. I remember calling an anxiety hotline that week and when
they started to ask me if I had the following symptoms:
difficulty breathing
feeling loss of control
fear that something horrible was going to happen
difficulty speaking
disorientation
palpatations
...I got so upset that I went into a major attack and had to get off the
phone because I was so hysterical.
 
Weird huh? Anyone else out there have a similar experience?
 
Hyperventillating in NYC-Leslie