02/20/2026
Something *strange* & awful happened on 02/12/2026 at 4:55pm EST when receiving just 25mg of IV Benadryl as pre-treatment for one of the IV infusions that I receive at home (for Myasthenia Gravis / MG). The Benadryl went straight to my heart, & instantly I felt a horrific pain as if my heart & lungs exploded out like a supernova & then imploded like a black hole, snatching all my air, compressing me like an iron lung! My hands were shaking. My feet tingled. My pelvis felt like it was on fire. Couldn’t breathe. My BP jumped to 160/110 H.R. 117! About 5 minutes in I felt like my throat & face muscles were in MG exacerbation. At about 10 minutes in I started wheezing & 30 seconds later my lungs made loud cracking noises. 😱 Another 30 seconds & my lungs filled with liquid—I started coughing up blood! Terrifying! I told my nurse to call 911 & went to the ER at nearest hospital via ambulance. Not my fave, but they took care of me. Admitted to hospital for 2 days.
Lots of tests done amidst explaining the Benadryl event repeatedly as everyone was stumped on what happened & why? This particular hospital always manages to underestimate how exceptional & rare I am as a patient (never mind me as a person). The docs were skeptical bc didn’t believe Benadryl could cause this. They were wrong! My hematologist once labeled me his “Pegasus Patient” bc you’ll never meet another person like me, with my collection of medical rarities! “Always Intriguing, Aimee!”
I had 4 EKGs, Echocardiogram, Xray, blood labs, Vascular Ultrasound, CT scan w/ contrast, 24/7 heart monitor, & evals by Cardiology, Pulmonary, Neurology, RT, even Allergy/Immunology. The CT revealed ground glass opacities, pulmonary edema & hemorrhage (which my pulmonologist believes was all blood in my lungs). My Troponin (heart related) went up significantly but came back down, ruling out heart attack, blood clot or air embolisms. No C_vid, pneumonia or contagious illnesses. I saw my pulmonologist yesterday & he thinks the Benadryl caused a spike in blood pressure, that caused the pulmonary edema and hemorrhage. My chest looks better on Xray, but still hurts. TBC. 💉❤️🩹🫁🩻🩸
