Lesson Learned

Here comes the unexpected. Two nights ago it itched around my panty line. Not much, just a bit. I scratched and went to bed. If felt like a sunburn does when its healing, only I haven't been in the sun. In the morning I got up and noticed a big raised bump on the inside of my forearm and my bum was itching. I went to scratch it and I felt huge welts on both cheeks. Then it was on my hip? The bump on my arm didn't itch but hurt to touch.
I have to say I have been very blessed in my life not have any sickness or allergies or anything out of the norm. I knew I was having an allergic reaction but didn't know to what. I'm not allergic to anything (that I know of) and don't have any tale tell signs of a bite. So the afternoon comes and my thumb swells up, my other hip starts itching and so does the big raised bump on my arm. I put hydro-cortisone on all the spots and took benadryl. No luck. I started getting hives behind my ear, up and down my arms...the benadryl knocked me out and later in the afternoon my esophagus started swelling. That I didn't like. It hurt to swallow water. I took another Benadryl pill and it felt like I was swallowing 10. I called my Dr. and the RN told me to go Solantic for a shot and pack of steroids. The swelling subsided and I didn't go.
Today I was out with Mike and the weirdest thing happened. Within minutes one side of my fingers swelled up. I couldn't bend my finger! Other hives showed up on my arms and I'm thinking "Isn't it time for this thing to be going away?" Defeated, I went to the Dr. I'm thinking, if one side my finger can swell unexpectedly what else can happen in minutes? My windpipe?
I know now that I should have gone yesterday. I got a big shot of prednisone and my pack of pills. The question is, why the allergy? The shot got my heart racing but the hives and swelling are finally down 12 hours later. Mike thought it would be noticeably better within the hour. No way...my hands got worse after the shot. How bad would it have been if I didn't get the shot? I'll get a blood work up when the steroids are out of my system. There is no history of allergy, no new soaps or detergent and my older sister has Lupus.
It's almost 3 am, I've been up an hour wide awake because of the prednisone and I'm lucky. I should have gone to the ER when my esophagus started swelling. I had no idea this wasn't a run of the mill allergic reaction. Lesson learned.