My First Ride to the Hospital in an Ambulance.

[n2ize]

I had my first ride to the hospital in an ambulance today. At about 3 this afternoon I went outside with the weed trimmer to tend to some much needed weed trimming in front of the house. I started up the ol' weed trimmer and revved it up and started wacking the heck out of a lot of overgrown weeds and brush that were overtaking the walkway and the side of the house. At one point the trimmer conked out and I gave it a few yanks on the pull rope to restart. I noticed I felt sort of unusually winded. I continued wacking the weeds and before I knew it I was very much out of breath and couldn't seem to catch my breath. This is very abnormal for me and I knew at once something was very wrong. I was having great difficulty breathing and then I got hit with anxiety which made me try and hyperventilate on top of everything else. I would up on the floor struggling to breath, We called 911 and within a few minutes a fire truck pulled up and started giving me oxygen. Then the EMS got there and checked my blood pressure, it was slightly elevated. An EKG indicated that I wasn't having a heat attack. It appeared to be pulmonary obstruction, most likely due to a bad allergic reaction from something I was cutting. They checked my out a the hospital and determined my heart is okay and it was some kind of obstruction of my airways. At this point I was feeling back to normal and my breathing was no longer labored. They ran some tests, administered some medications and sent me home and told me to take it easy for a couple days. For me it was one scary afternoon.:oops:

[KC9ECI]

Glad you made it OK. Rode in the back a few times, never as a patient though. Would like to keep it that way.

[WZ7U]

I don't want to be your wallet next week

[PA5COR]

Use Round up on weeds, seems in your situation a better solution ;)
Get well soon...

[n2ize]

I don't want to be your wallet next weekI know. I am hoping and praying that my health insurance will cover the ambulance ride and the emergency services.One of the firemen who responded remembered coming to my house back when my Dad was down on the floor and couldn't get up. He administered my oxygen and checked my BP. My BP was slightly elevated 130/90 and my pulse was a bit elevated but that was likely due to the severe anxiety attack I was experiencing along with the breathing difficulty. Normally my BP hovers around 120/70. Today I feel fine, however I am supposed to take it easy and give my lungs a rest for a couple of days. I am also thinking it might be a good idea to keep an oxygen resuscitator and an blood/oxygen sensor around the house in case of any future emergencies.

[n2ize]

Glad you made it OK. Rode in the back a few times, never as a patient though. Would like to keep it that way.I should say this was the very first time I ever rode in the back of an ambulance as an actual victim/patient. I have rode along with friends and family members who needed emergency treatment. But this was my first time as an actual patient.. I have to commend both the Yonkers fire department and the EMS workers. They were very professional, polite, and reassuring.

[n2ize]

Use Round up on weeds, seems in your situation a better solution ;)
Get well soon...I didn't use Roundup because in addition to the weeds I also had to trim the ivy which was overtaking the front foot path and I was afraid the Roundup (R) might also kill off the ivy. I had pretty much finished the job at the point I realized I was in trouble and that I was having a really hard time breathing,. My biggest fear at that moment was that I might have been having a heart attack. Fortunately my heart was running okay and it was restriction of the airways which is also pretty serious. Now I have to follow up with my regular doctor. Since I have experienced similar but much milder symptoms from breathing in house dust it is possible that I might be developing COPD.

[PA5COR]

seems we all get older and start getting cracks around the seams....
Hope it's not COPD, just maybe allergic to house dust? might be the same outside doing the garden, dust, some strange odors, maybe even some chemicals from plants you were cutting.

Have to do the garden this week, Tuesday might be good, sunny weather warm, after that we expect rain again.

Take care, stay healthy...

[n2ize]

seems we all get older and start getting cracks around the seams....
Hope it's not COPD, just maybe allergic to house dust? might be the same outside doing the garden, dust, some strange odors, maybe even some chemicals from plants you were cutting.

Have to do the garden this week, Tuesday might be good, sunny weather warm, after that we expect rain again.

Take care, stay healthy...Before I attempt to do any more house cleaning or cutting outside I am going to buy myself a good industrial quality dust mask. IMHO whatever it may cost is well worth it.

[KG4CGC]

So now will you take an aspirin and a Benedryl™ before doing yard work in the future?

[KC9ECI]

Pulse oximeter for $8. https://geek.wish.com/c/584be96d1f827c4cb9bd21b8 I've got one, compared it to the more expensive version in the bone box and it's close enough for the jump kit in my truck.

[WØTKX]

^^^ This. I keep one handy after my two PE scares.

Dang doctors wanted me off blood thinners.

I listened, at my peril.

[suddenseer]

I am happy that you apparently made it through that adventure shaken, but not stirred.

[n2ize]

So now will you take an aspirin and a Benedryl™ before doing yard work in the future? I might. That may have prevented the allergic attack which led to the. shortness of breath. Otherwise I'll ask the doctor to give me a prescription for some Heroin. I heard that stuff works wonders for colds, flu's, fevers, headaches, toothaches, belly aches, and the blues in the night.

[n2ize]

Pulse oximeter for $8. https://geek.wish.com/c/584be96d1f827c4cb9bd21b8 I've got one, compared it to the more expensive version in the bone box and it's close enough for the jump kit in my truck.Not a bad price. I might just order one. Pretty handy thing to have around,

[WØTKX]

Roundup is nasty stuff. Pesticide work (with appropriate precautions for the times) when I was a kid was considered my number two risk factor for the cancer I fought off.

Used a lot of that darn stuff in the test plots. Atrazine too, as well as chemicals only known by their test numbers. AC92553 became a commercial success as "Prowl".

Get a real mask too, with cartridge filters. Bonus, you can go to S&M parties, just add a latex bib. :lol:

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/a5/c1/b8/a5c1b8c06094825c14b5175817ba807a.jpg

[K7SGJ]

Did that come with a whip and chains?

[n2ize]

So now will you take an aspirin and a Benedryl™ before doing yard work in the future?The final diagnosis from my doctor was anaphlaxis, basically an extremely severe and sudden life threatening allergic reaction. In my case it manifested itself as a severe asthmatic attack. The reaction was so severe that my normal rescue inhaler was useless. Yep, you are correct, Benadryl (or a non-drowsiness antihistamine during the day) is one line of defense against a similar allergic reaction. In addition the doctor prescribed for me an ephedrine autoinjector that I must keep around with me should I ever get another attack. If I cannot breathe I have to remove the safety cap and jab it into the muscles on the side of my leg and it automatically injects me with 0.3mg of ephedrine and then I go to the ER. Hopefully I will never have to use the autoinjector but it's better to have it than not.

[w2amr]

Just let the weeds grow, you will be fine.
Glad you're ok.

[K0RGR]

You never know what's going to happen. I've only travelled by ambulance twice, both in the same day. It was 10 years ago, when I fell and obliterated my right knee. The first ride was to the emergency room in the town we were in, where they put me in an immobilizer brace and sent me home. The second ride was to the local hospital when I couldn't manage to get up the front steps into my house. It turned out I'd torn all the tendons off my kneecap, so the leg wasn't going to get better on it's own.

Sept.1, I made another trip to the emergency room in Colorado, with my BP sitting at 240/100 and chest pains. It eventually turned out I had screwed up one of my BP meds - I guess the others weren't doing much! Two days in the hospital followed by many, many followup visits since. I'm lucky it didn't happen until my wife joined me, or I'd have been stuck someplace, most likely way out in the sticks where I'd been the previous week.

So yes, you never know. I've learned now to take all my pill bottles with me when I travel. If I have my own pill bottles, the hospital can just use mine instead of charging me a fortune for them. But if they aren't in the bottles, they can't use them.

[n2ize]

Just let the weeds grow, you will be fine.
Glad you're ok.Thanks George. Unfortunately I am going to have to do more weed trimming but rest assured I'll be taking an antihistamine and using my rescue inhaler before I start the trimming. I'll also be wearing a good dust mask and carrying my ephedrine injector. But first I have to fix my weed trimmer. For some reason the darned thing won't start up. My gasoline might be too old or my carburetor or fuel lines might need changing and cleaning.

[n2ize]

You never know what's going to happen. I've only travelled by ambulance twice, both in the same day. It was 10 years ago, when I fell and obliterated my right knee. The first ride was to the emergency room in the town we were in, where they put me in an immobilizer brace and sent me home. The second ride was to the local hospital when I couldn't manage to get up the front steps into my house. It turned out I'd torn all the tendons off my kneecap, so the leg wasn't going to get better on it's own.

Sept.1, I made another trip to the emergency room in Colorado, with my BP sitting at 240/100 and chest pains. It eventually turned out I had screwed up one of my BP meds - I guess the others weren't doing much! Two days in the hospital followed by many, many followup visits since. I'm lucky it didn't happen until my wife joined me, or I'd have been stuck someplace, most likely way out in the sticks where I'd been the previous week.

So yes, you never know. I've learned now to take all my pill bottles with me when I travel. If I have my own pill bottles, the hospital can just use mine instead of charging me a fortune for them. But if they aren't in the bottles, they can't use them.The one time I stayed overnight in a hospital for and infected wound on my leg. This was about 2 or 3 years ago. Even though I brought all my medications avec moi the hospital INSISTED that I use their medications from their pharmacy/dispensary.

[K7SGJ]

The one time I stayed overnight in a hospital for and infected wound on my leg. This was about 2 or 3 years ago. Even though I brought all my medications avec moi the hospital INSISTED that I use their medications from their pharmacy/dispensary.


That's SOP.

[n6hcm]

yeah, that's SOP. last time i was in a hospital i had a med in a dose they didn't have handy. "well, i could take mine, which is in the correct dose" "no, take these instead ... they add up correctly."