Ouch that hurt, felt like i’d been bitten on my thigh, I initially thought it was a spider as there has been a lot in the press latley but it was a docile wasp. It’s hard to believe it’s nearly a year to the day that this event sent me into what I now know to be a flare up

Iv’e never been stung by a wasp so didn’t really know what to expect, I was really surprised by how much it hurt. Within about an hour it was the size of a 50p, I assumed this was normal. On waking in the morning my leg was on fire and very red, the sting seemed to be spreading, about 5cm. I also felt a little unwell. I went to work as usual but by the end of the day I was quite concerned, so I thought I should get it checked out at casualty. I think the nurse thought I was wasting her time, she pointed out it was nothing to worry about but if it starts tracking up my leg I should go back. I went home and put pen marks on my leg to see how much bigger it got. That night was agony! My thigh was doubling in size and the heat coming off it was intense, so I spent the night icing it. Although I couldn’t get my trousers on in the morning due to the size of my leg I just assumed I needed to work through it (I didn’t want to be scorned by the nurse again) and I had seen tracking before so I knew it wasn’t that.

Apart from the swelling I felt really tired and my sinuses started to really play up. Sometimes I realise I am my own worst enemy, so I suffered for a few more days until the swelling on my legs reached 10cm in diameter.

The Doctor was horrified and said she has never seen anything like it! She gave me steroid cream and tablets and told me I should have gone back to casualty. It took a few weeks but the sting eventually calmed down

However I felt shocking my sinuses turned into severe sinusitis, so was put on a course of antibiotics. I also was very tired.

This is also when I started to have pain in my right arm

Little did I know at the time that the sting would be the catalyst for my Sjorgren’s “flare up” which accelarates  the condition.

I have since spoken to the specialist about this and she wasn’t surprised at my reaction. Unfortunately what happens in Sjörgren’s when you have an infection is your immune system kicks in but unfortunately attacks you rather than helps you.

Since then wasps seem to love me, to the point it has been commented on. I have never been nervous of wasps but I have to say my heart rate now rises when I see one. And with good reason, later in the year I was stung  again on the lip (I was lucky not to swallow it). Apart from the huge entertainment for my children and there friends as my lip proceeded to look as if i’d over done the botox, I was concerned however took an antihistamine and steroids immediately which quickly sorted it out, sinus problem started again

The link below explains the autoimmune system

understanding_autoimmune