Anyone out there ever been bothered by this condition? I woke up yesterday with a big fat top lip. After seeing urgent care and receiving a shot in the but and some oral medication almost all of the swelling went down but lip still feels numb. Just curious does it all go away, and will it happen again?
I’ve had it frequently over the past 10-15 years. it’s basically an allergy — an immune system reaction. It can certainly come back again if you’re exposed to the same thing that triggered it this time. It can be triggered by something that previously never caused a problem.
In my case, there have been several “triggers”. Over time, for some unknown reason, I have developed angioedema reactions to: ibuprofen , cipro, polyethylene glycol (an ingredient in many prescription drugs), sulfa drugs, and others. For me, the cause is always some ingredient in a prescription drug or possibly an over-the-counter medicine — never by food.
Once you have had an angioedema reaction to a substance, you will probably remain severely allergic to that substance for life. The immune system has a long memory. As far as I can tell, no one really knows why one would suddenly have an immune reaction to something you’ve never had a problem with before.
Angioedema can be life threatening in some cases. For me, fortunately it has always (so far) been limited to the face and lips in most instances. I have at times carried an epi-pen j in case of a severe reaction.
Sorry you’re having to deal with this. I hope you can discern the cause and eliminate the problem.