My GP prescribed me some Omeprazole and I took the first pill before bed tonight. About an hour later I woke with the most horrendous stomach pain in my upper stomach. Then my palms and the soles of my feet began to itch and burn, followed by the inside of my ears and the back of my head. I went to the bathroom and felt really lightheaded, breathless and panicky. The itching spread to the rest of my body, I came out in hives and red burning rash and was literally clawing at myself trying to scratch.
I feel so foolish now but I've never had an allergic reaction in my life before so I rang 111 and they insisted I needed an ambulance. They also recommended in the meantime I take a hay fever/allergy tablet (just over the counter ones I buy for my daughter). Half an hour later the itching and hives began to subside and I no longer felt breathless and panicky. I rang the ambulance service and luckily was able to cancel the call out and the chap on the phone was very kind and said to call straight back again if the symptoms returned.
I'm now lying in bed feeling very confused, asking myself was the panicky, breathless, confusion actually part of the attack? Or was it just a psychological reaction to the discomfort of the other symptoms? Was it anxiety or mild anaphylaxis (google tells me such a thing exists).
Obviously I won't take the Omeprazole again either way!