Visit to ER and the aftermath.

[Avalux]

On Thursday, I had an episode of supraventricular tachycardia that would not correct itself so when I became dizzy, I called EMS. My EKG was abnormal (showed ischemia) which was enough for them to take me to the ER. En route, my heart rate returned to normal.

The docs were worried about the EKG thinking I might have a blockage in an artery even though my cholesterol is normal and I have no risk factors. I agreed to undergo an angiogram with iodine contrast dye to determine if that was the case.

Good news - all my arteries are clear and my blood work was normal. Still don't know the cause of the SVT so I have to wear a heart monitor for a week. They may never know what caused it though.

Back to the angiogram. I've never had iodine contrast injected into my body before. When the radiology tech asked if I was allergic to it I said no. Guess what? I woke up this morning with a horrible red, itchy, and painful rash all over my legs and torso, a delayed allergic reaction to the iodine.

Anyone else ever had this happen? I had no idea there was such a thing and no one in the ER warned me about it. At least now I know I can't have that stuff again.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. 2 things

I've had the tachycardia attacks, enough times that I am now on beta blocker.
They could not find the cause of it either.

Late this August, I had EKG and echo cardiogram, plus CT chest, with iodine.
No side effects and no abnormalities.
Had NO idea what they meant about "possible reaction" , they just toss off lines like "have you ever had a reaction to iodine?"
and "let us know if you do".
the tech DID say to drink a lot of water when I got home so the iodine clears faster. So I did.

Thanks for clue as to what could happen.
How long did the rash last and how did you treat it?

[Avalux]

6. I still have the rash.

It started last night and isn't any worse, I've been taking oral Benadryl and applying hydrocortisone gel. I just want it to go away!

How often were you getting SVTs and does the beta blocker help you? I may join you in not ever knowing why it happened.

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. They were coming couple times a week, then increased

I had an attack of them while talking to the doctor, so she did EKG, which showed nothing.

She suggested the portable heart monitor, for a week, but I was feeling so damn sick when it hit that I went for Plan b-bets blocker.
Ya gotta start low dose and increase it every 2 weeks, so I still had attacks.
Once we hit the right dose ( one tab every 12 hours) I was fine.

Doc honestly does not know if my blood pressure was zooming which would then increase heart, or vice versa. They happened in combo.

Downside....very hard to get off beta blockers, of course.
Upside...they are cheap as a generic.

I recommend investing in a good portable blood pressure machine, mine is battery powered so it reaches the correct level automatically.
Thus I can check my BP and heart rate if I feel funny.

[csziggy]

3. Glad to hear you're doing better!

On one level I hope they can figure out what was wrong so they can fix it. On the other hand, maybe it would be better if it stayed a mystery - as long as it never happened again!

That's interesting about the iodine. I had a situation where I'd put some very old tincture of iodine on a band-aid over a cut and all the layers of skin can off when I removed the band-aid. I suspect it was a chemical burn rather than an allergic reaction but when I told my doctor he added iodine to the list of medications I am allergic to.

Now after reading about your experience I suspect he wanted it on the list in case I ever need an angiogram.

Get better!

[Avalux]

7. Thank you and I hope it doesn't happen again either.

I would definitely tell them you're allergic if you're in a situation where you need iodine contrast dye. They have an alternative but it's more expensive.

[csziggy]

9. Yeah - I didn't realize the contrast dye was an iodine compound

I have avoided iodine based stuff since my skin came off - even mild betadine cleanser we used on the horses tends to make my hand shed skin though I don't get the chemical burn effect.

One of the cleansers they gave me to wash with the night before my knee replacements made me itch so much I took another shower to wash it all off.

Hopefully I won't need a contrast dye angiogram ever but it's nice to know what to be aware of!

[lindysalsagal]

4. You need to get to a dermatologist today. This could be dangerous.

You need stearoids and a couple 3 antihistamines. You need topical stearoids in a petrolium jelly base.

I had a whole body sytemic reaction to poison ivy and it left me hospitalized. It took a good month to get back to about 80% normal.

This can be dangerous, so, get help. I'm not kidding. Keep someone nearby who you check into in case your throat closes off and you can't breathe.

I'm not overreacting: Deal with this and your body will calm down. But you have to get through it.

PM me if it gets worse.

Good luck.

[Avalux]

8. I'm sorry that happened to you.

I've been taking benadryl and using topical hydrocortisone and keeping a close eye on the rash - if it gets any worse I'll go back to the ER. Iodine dye clears the body fairly quickly and in most people the rash goes away in a couple of days. Also drinking a lot of water.

[lindysalsagal]

10. I really know this: The er doesn't know how to handle this.

You need a good dermatologist. If you call anyone and tell them you've got allergic hives, they'll get you in that morning. This is not something the regular docs understand.

My dermatologist told me to stop what the other docs gave me and completely changed my medications. What they gave me was making it worse. I'm not sure the hydrocortisone is good for you.

You need a good dermatologist.

[WinkyDink]

17. Another vote for the dermatologist. Don't fiddle around. Call Monday, like about 8:00 a.m. Stress

"urgency," because all docs, even specialists, have a couple 15-minute open times for patients such as you.

[MissB]

11. Sucky way to find out you have an iodine allergy!

Hope you are better all around and soon!

I found out I was allergic to iodine after my first c-section. That recovery was horrible. The second time they all knew about it. I note it every time I fill something out! Never want to have iodine touch me again.

[NNadir]

13. I had an angiogram many years ago under similar circumstances.

No allergies, and I was rather surprised to be having heart symptoms, since in those days I was in excellent shape since my wife and I were running more than an hour a day.

In my case, happily, it appears that my heart was fine; however I had some scar tissue from a bicycle accident I had around my chest cavity. For some reason this changed my EKG, and until this day, I need to inform all of my doctors that I have an inverted p wave, which apparently looks like a heart attack.

Have you have had a serious injury to your chest cavity? (Mine was serious, several broken ribs, a collapsed lung and, in fact, I was in a coma for several days and was checked for brain activity so see whether I would be a good organ donor.) If so, this may explain the abnormal EKG, if not the tachycardia.

I have had tachycardia as well; my physicians have told me not to drink too much coffee.

[mnhtnbb]

14. I am allergic to it, too.

Had a reaction right there in radiology when I started uncontrollably sneezing and could feel my throat swelling after it was injected for an IVP.
The radiology tech had the radiologist in the room pronto and they gave me--of all things--a shot of benadryl.

[DFW]

15. I never got an allergic reaction

But I'm pretty sure that with me they used Barium, and not iodine.

[Aristus]

16. Iodine allergies are not at all uncommon.

Feel better soon.