Thanks for all of the responses, everyone! Here's an update: I talked with my
allergist over the phone about a week ago and explained to her what had
happened. She believes I definitely experienced anaphylaxis, but said I need to
change my appointment for skin testing to a date at least six weeks after the
date I got stung. Apparently there is a higher likelihood of getting a false
negative if you get tested too soon. My husband is in between jobs right now,
so I will probably have to wait until September to do the skin testing, when my
insurance kicks back in. If I test positive, I'm pretty sure I will go ahead
with the immunotherapy. Anyway, I do not leave the house without my epi
anymore, and if I get stung again I will immediately take benadryl and then give
myself an epi at the first possible sign of anaphylaxis.
On another note, my 10 month old baby girl was stung by a BABY wasp two days
after I was stung. She immediately developed a rash on both arms and on one
side of her face, but had no other adverse symptoms. I took her to her
pediatrician last week and she was given the RAST blood test, but it came back
negative. Her pediatrician gave us a junior epi-pen for her anyway, just in
case. I know some people are against the prescription of epi-pens for "just in
case" scenarios, but if my allergist hadn't given me an epi-pen last fall as a
"just in case" precaution after my bad local reaction, I might not have survived
this latest sting. I would rather not take any chances with my baby girl.
Thanks again everyone!!! Kim