Greetings All! I hastily posted yesterday that I had a very bad experience with two bees and just when I was feeling bad for bringing down the list and was going to post an apology, the emails started coming in. BTers are incredibly caring people and more than one asked me to post what happened. So here it is. I hope it helps prevent others from going through what I went through.

First, I have the best doctor in the world. He takes the time to know his patients, has followed my academic career, my scuba diving habit, and is fully aware that I work out-of-doors whenever possible and that I handle injured and sick wildlife all of the time. Whereas that does not equate to a medical background, my doc talks to me on a personal level and gives it to me straight because I have this background. Thankfully, his office is less than a 5 minute drive from my house.

Second, I fully understand that whenever a human incurs a sting, bite, scratch, it is not the animal's (insect's) fault. I try to do my best to respect them, but obviously failed at that task yesterday.

Yesterday I came home between classes and noticed that my 3 new hostas were looking rather wilted in our drought. I changed clothes, pulled out the hose, and proceeded to drag the hose out to the front yard to give these new little plants some water.

I am usually cautious in our front yard. We have a bee hive in our cement stairs (the cement cracked and viola we have a good habitat). We also have bee balm growing which is blooming and stone crop which does not bloom until the end of August, but is an awe inspiring bee buffet! I ran the hose past the bee balm and past the nest. Not sure if I upset both areas or just the bee balm. I had on loose boxer style shorts, with the 6" inseam. Way too baggy and too short for working in the yard, but I did not think and was in a hurry. Bee #1 went up the shorts and stung me. This irritated me because I have never had a systemic reaction, only severe localized reactions. Then, Bee #2 went up the shorts and stung me next to the first sting on my bum.

So I made another mistake. I dropped the hose and ran (yes, imagine a walrus running) into the house to drop my shorts and make sure no other bees got up there. As I ran past the bee balm, there appeared to be a ton of bees! You never run when you are bitten or stung by any thing venomous. You walk slowly, calmly and deliberately to help. I ran as fast as my pudgy little legs would carry me. I wasn't thinking venom circulation, I was thinking "are there any more up my shorts?"

After clearing the shorts, I went for the benadryl cream which we keep on hand. Slathered that on, pulled the shorts back on, went to the phone and called my significant other to see whey he had not gotten rid of the bees nest yet. I guess I needed to vent, because in hindsight I think it was the bees visiting the bee balm and not the nest that caused this problem. While dialing him, I had to go into the basement and lay down on the cold floor - I got that hot that fast. Told him what happened, said I need to get off the phone and hung up. Maybe 5 minutes had lapsed. Then the dizziness started. Called him again to see how close he was to the house. 3 hours away, call the doctor. Now, he loves me so don't think he was trying to get rid of me by sending me to the doc instead of the ambulance. I react to stinging critters regularly. Usually it is excessive swelling or bruising or both, but always localized. Nothing had ever caused this type of reaction.

I hung up with Wes and called the doc (number memorized so I didn't waste time looking it up). His wife answered and said come now. His office is less than 5 minutes from my house. I drove over the speed limit the entire way and hit no traffic. By the time I got into his office I had a full blown reaction, was turning blue in the lips and fingernails, was swollen and red head to toe, could hardly breath, and desperately needed to lose my lunch. I was immediately put into a room and the shots began. I had the first two and he started his daughter (also a nurse) timing me. I had 10 minutes and then was going to be rushed to the hospital. He blew the first vein in my hand with the first push, but I didn't care. I was so swollen I was surprised he found a vein. My breathing was getting worse, so shot 3 happened, this time epinephrine. Not a good experience, but within seconds I could breath better and I could visibly see the panic leaving my sweet doctor's face. That made me feel good, right up until lunch left on its own accord. He left his daughter in the room with me and kept coming back in every few minutes. They were monitoring my breathing and my color. Well after about 10 minutes, still all red and swollen, my breathing became difficult again. Two more shots...he was able to find a vein on my arm near the elbow and then gave up and shot me intramuscularly. He actually apologized for having to give me the shot that way. I told him not to worry. I give these type of shots all of the time - I know they burn. We are up to shot 5. He watched me for over an hour and said he wanted me to go to the hospital because he had never seen such a severe reaction in his entire life because people usually end up in the hospital because they can't make it to the doc's office when it is that fast and severe. They gave me some water and watched me for another hour. He knows I'm a grad student and my insurance is not the best so he wanted to be sure that I needed to go to the hospital - like I said, he gets to know his patients.

Plus, I'm a weird patient. I like to watch what they are doing and I ask questions. Physiology has always intrigued me. At one point I even lamented about not having my camera with me to document this. Needlesstosay, my good humor was making him feel better. Plus I was feeling better.

About 2 1/2 hours into all of this we came up with a plan. Given the extent to which I reacted, he feared that when the meds started to wear off in 4 hours I would need to go to the emergency room. This is why he wanted me in the hospital, they could open a vein and shunt it so that I could have access for IV shots and not continue to blow out veins. Our plan was to get me an epi pen and dex (a steriod, that I actually use on a regular basis when triaging animals). I left his office around 3 hours after arriving. You know it is serious when your doctor hugs you and thanks you for pulling through. I am still thinking about that one.

So...my thoughts for anyone reading this long drawn out post.
1) If you have a reaction at all to anything that stings, no matter how minimal, don't assume you will see a general increase in severity and not have to worry about full systemic reactions. Always monitor yourself after every sting. If you start to get dizzy or hot, go directly to your doc or call an ambulance. I did progressively get worse, starting with a bullet ant in Costa Rica, to what happened yesterday. But, I went from localized reactions that got gradually worse to full blown my system was shutting down and I wanted to die reaction. You can jump to the extreme end.

2) Both my doc and the pharmacist have now told me that the next time I won't make it to the doctor's or the hospital if I don't have my epi pen. That will make you question your own mortality. A little insect now has the power to take me out. Respect the critters in our environment.

3) Never wear loose clothing when gardening or hiking. The insect goes up, gets stuck and has no other choice but to sting. I scared it and it reacted. Not his fault (in this case their fault).

4) If you react to one stinging creature, be weary of all of them. Repeated exposure to toxins add up in the long run and I have had more than my fair share of these toxins over the last decade or so.

5) If any one wants to see pictures of my legs after I got home, I took some. They are not as dramatic as my face was, but I couldn't photograph my own face and in reality I just wanted to nap a little bit. You can email me. Feel free to email me if you have questions on any of this.

6) Find a good doctor that will take the time to know you and your lifestyle. That is what saved me (he says it is was because I forced myself to drive to his office). When I called, they knew me and knew my reactions had been escalating. No hesitation - come now! Get yourself a doctor you are comfortable with.

I'm off now. I have to check in with my dean. The doc's office called her in the middle of all of this to inform her to cancel the night class I teach. I have to fill her in so she doesn't think I am in the hospital.

Please don't hesitate to email me if you have questions.

WOW!Jeanine I am glad to hear that you are ok!!!! What a terrible and scary experience that must have been for you. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with all of us and making us aware that reactions can happen that fast .

My goodness, Jeanine! I'm glad you left for the dr. as soon as you did! Whew, a close call!

Jeanine, glad you got to the doc okay and he was able to save your life. Very scary, for sure. Sounds like your good attitude helped you too. Thanks for all the advice, so glad you're okay!

Hugs,
Lisa

Wow, Jeanine, glad that it went ok in the end!
What an ordeal, thanks for sharing as well!
I hope I got never stung again, because with my last reaction to a wasp it was only local, but intense, more than the time before!

Wow! You are one blessed little gal! That's the scariest personal encounter I've read. Take care!

Wow what a story, scarey fer sure. Glad it worked out and a lesson to anyone that's even a little allergic.

Jeanine I just noticed that you will be leaving Bonaire the same day we arrive. To bad I would love to have met up with you for a drink/dive. Maybe next time.

Oh my goodness, you are lucky to have such a caring doctor. Glad that you are doing well. I am sending you a hug.

Wow, Jeanine! I am just getting caught up on all the threads and jeez, I sure am glad you are o.k. now and I never have heard of such a reaction like yours! Thanks for sharing and hope it does help others who read your story. Hang in there, hope today is a better day for you!

Holy Cow! Glad you're okay, Jeanine!

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Sally

I am very glad you are okay, Jeanine!

But someone has to find the "hosta" thread and post it.. lol..

This might be it

http://www.oldbonairetalk.com/newsgroup/messages/23830/224879.html#POST257312

Jeanine
Man, what an experience...I'll never complain about my mossy friend bites again (not for a few weeks at least)....Kelly, thanks for bringing up the hosta thing again, just when therapy was starting to show progress...I must now sign off and go check my hostas....make sure there are no bees in them

New conga chant

I can see you hos-TAS, I can see you HOS-tas

I still blame Mare and Babs

Beluga beluga beluga!

Jeannie said "Hostas"...sorry Jeannie, glad you are OK now, what a horrible scare that was. Will you need to carry epin with you?

yes an epi pen and don't bump into any fire coral !!!

Jeanine glad you are better. Keep your epi-pen with you at all times and keep benadryl caps with you too. If you need faster acting benadryl use a liquid, it will be absorbed faster. After having worked for many years in emergency rooms and having seen your type of reaction you were very lucky to be that close to your doctor. Be sure you wear a dive skin when diving and you could probably use a hood and gloves. Get your Dr. to give you a note saying you need to wear gloves when diving and why. Get Well soon and enjoy your trip to Bonaire.
Andy

Oh what a scare you must have had. You're so lucky you have such a good doctor that close to you & that he was in his office at the right time.
So glad you're ok now.
And thanks for sharing your experience with us.
Lots of Hugs
Judy

Jeannie said "Hostas"

Jeannie, I'm so glad that you are OK, what a horrible nightmare! Question, will fire coral cause an allergic reaction?

cynde - fire coral causes allergic reaction for me , not antifalactic (sp) but lasts for 8 to 10 weeks and itches like crazy.

I have not lobstered for over 20 years because of it

Wow...interesting Tim. When we went to the BVI's, I was amazed by how much fire coral there was...kept my skin/shorty on all the time...

Jeanine

Glad to hear that you are ok.

Cecil I trust you meant Dive/Drink.

Hi Jeanine,
so sorry what happened to you, but I'm so glad your actions were all so right!
Beware of the fire coral!
Indeed, you can't blame the bees, specially when they call you HONEY!

(Message edited by Jeanineclark on July 21, 2005)

Just made it through this thread....for those of you who have had even mild allergic reactions, you should carry a supply of benadryl and an epi pen whenever you travel (and of course, have one in your home). Allergic reactions can (but don't always) get worse with each exposure. I am a big fan of a full dive skin or wetsuit for both sun and ohter environmental stimuli protetection, especially important if you have a history of allerigies....no need to interrupt a good time with a trip to the E.R.! Glad you got through this okay Jeanine!

Hello everyone! I hit some technical difficulties this morning and couldn't log on but the Grand Lurker fixed me up just right.

Yes to everything...I now own my very own epi pen. I also have a supply of Dex (steroid). I will be diving in a full suit and will also have a doc's note for gloves. I'm going to don my hood as well. And...I already have Benadryl in my dive log book. I will be more covered than that diver who showed up on today's cams. LOL!

Thanks for all of the good wishes. I really hope no one on this list ever has to go through this.

Oh yeah...the bee balm has been pulled from the front yard, the bee hive has been encased with a foam inside of the cement stairs, and my heart is breaking on this one, my gorgeous stone crop is being taken out of the yard this weekend. Even though the stone crop is not in bloom yet, I don't want to let it bloom and become a bee buffet.

Hostas....I can do the conga!

Jeanine, just catching up on the last several threads! What an ordeal that was, but sure am glad to know that it worked out okay. I'm also glad that you've pulled the bee balm and foamed the hive. I know that its hard to lose plants that you've raised and love, but its a whole lot better than losing life.
God bless you and keep you safe.