My day in hospital

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

Here is the timetable:

Day 1

0700 – woke up, turned over to go back to sleep. Felt a slight bulge on the left side of my face. Tried to sleep.

0730 – felt, touched side of cheek. Thought this is growing. Looked in bathroom mirror and noticed cheek was slightly bulging out. So got up and made a coffee. Left hand side of mouth rather taught so drank from the other side. Showered and shaved. Read the newspaper and surfed the internet for ‘rapid face swelling.’ No real luck.

All the while no pain. Had a chocolate biscuit. Getting hard to open mouth but chewing and swallowing OK.

0820 – really growing still so went to the doctor’s. ‘Open surgery’ this morning so no appointments so wait your turn.

0910 – saw the doctor. Loads of questions including what did you have to eat last night – fish pie, two satsumas and coffee – nothing special. Called another doctor in – no definite diagnosis – blocked tear gland, allergy reaction (to food or Ramipril , blood pressure drug) or bacterial infection so he prescribed anti histamine and antibiotic. Still no pain.

0930 – picked up the meds, went home and took them. Notes say that anti-histamine improvements start after 30 minutes. They didn’t. Surfed the net on this. Best fit in angioedema resulting from allergy and I note that Ramipril can be a culprit even after taking it for years.

1030 – this looks really bad right now. Left hand side of face really massive bulging and lips are starting to swell. Only managed a few sips of coffee. Can’t smoke anymore.

1100 – Back to the docs because I am getting a little worried. Now my lower lip is swollen to the centre and it is starting to move across the upper lip. He’s getting worried too so a shot of hydro cortisone. Says he wants me to go ‘somewhere I’ll be safe’ and calls an ambulance car.

1120 – At hospital, loads of questions, loads of form filling, BP, pulse, breathing and blood sats checked – all are fine. BP is a little high but is that surprising?

1145 – Doctor examines me and asks questions all over again. By this time, lips really swollen and inner slips sore. So blood samples taken and three injections. Otherwise I feel fine, tongue OK and no sign of throat enlargement. Sent off to bed for a minimum overnight stay.

1215 – In bed and all the questions all over again. Told ‘Nil by mouth’. Right cheek starting to swell from the bottom upwards.

Afternoon – dozed a bit, check visits from nurses and doctor. Constant questioning about tongue and throat which I later learned were about possible anaphylactic shock. But they are fine and no pain, just soreness in mouth. Around 3.00 pm, went for a look in the bathroom mirror. This is quite awful. Face swollen like a football but it’s the mouth that is the worst. Strange this, lips are huge especially the upper left and lower right and gaping and drooling. Plus the fact that the lower lips seems displaced 1 cm to the right of the upper one. It really looks like a creation of Frankenstein.

1800 – dinner was brought round but since I could not have any, I dozed on interrupted by blood pressure and the other checks. At one stage the BP was 81/54. When do you get worried, I asked?’ ‘When the top one goes below 60,’ she cheerfully replied. ‘Not far to go,’ I thought. More injections but these were into the drip tube so I was spared needles.

Evening and night : I dozed on and off and in my conscious moments, I could feel my lips growing even thicker and the skin beginning to split and peel. Otherwise fine.

Around midnight, I could control the desire to pee no longer so I had to shuffle to the toilet towing the drip stand and carrying the tube. When I washed my hands, I looked in the mirror, it was awful. After that I slept what I thought fitfully but given the changes in the ward around me, it must have been a deeper sleep than I thought.

Somewhere in the night, I woke up to find my tongue had thickened and dried. ‘Is this the next phase?’ I thought. Furthermore, I find that I am unable to open my lower eyelids fully as the swelling has moved upwards on both sides to push the eyelids up. So I went back to sleep.

Day 2

Awoke again around 6 and the tongue was normal again. What is more the lips felt as though the swelling had subsided a little, especially inside and I could open my mouth a little more. From thereon, things got better fast. Went for a pee, looked in the mirror and hey, the lips were much smaller and the cheeks a little slimmer.

Doc came around at 7, took one look and pronounced me to be much better. He also said I could eat. More injections but this time into the drip duct so no needles. Yesterday’s blood tests showed nothing which is a pity really since if they had identified the cause, then they would know how to stop repetition.

0730 – Breakfast so I had porridge and orange juice. Then I got taken off the drip. Another check in the mirror and it looks even better although still chubby. Next I get, a jug of iced water. That was really nice.

Mid morning – doc shows up with 6 other young ones. Loads of questions from them. Best guess I had a sudden reaction to Ramipril and told to stop using it. Then I was told I could go later. One of the young ones came back and took a further blood sample for other tests.

Later a nurse turned up and said I could go once they sorted the drugs I was to take home.

1215 – Got the drugs, dressed and left. As I entered the corridor, lunch arrived. Pity for I was starving. The entrance foyer of the hospital is like a mini shopping centre so I had a sandwich and coffee before the walk home – 15 minutes.

A strange experience and one I could have done without. Still, I feel ok and the swellings should be gone in 24/48 hours.

Doctors were very pleasant and very responsive and the nurses were just great. The NHS is free and has many critics but, in this case, I really don’t think I could have had better care.