Allergy Shots - Red River,NM

I have a friend that did the shots for 2 years and then had a horrible reaction- epi required reaction. She quit for 2 years but she is back on them, they really do help her.

my poor younger son has terrible allergies, and we decided to undergo the exhaustive shot regimen. for years we went, starting with a few times a week, finally down to once a month before stopping.
it helped some, at least at first.
but he still has terrible seasonal allergies, and has to take zyrtec (which is effective but causes serious headfog, very problematic for a college student) as well as a slew of less-effective but less-side-effecty homeopathic stuff.
at least he lives in the city now so isn't so swamped in allergens.
would he be in even worse shape if he hadn't had years of shots? maybe. but it sure was a PITA. and then there's the fact that he developed a fruit allergy that he hadn't had before. the doctor said they are unrelated and that the fruit allergy would 'almost certainly' have shown up anyway, but we noticed that a week after we reported it there was a sign up in the office asking patients to report if they noticed any food allergies developing after they started the shots...........
his allergies were so heinous, we felt we had to do something. we live in the country so grass and trees and pollen as well as animals are part of our lives. the shots did make it so he had a nice childhood, although spring remained challenging. but i can't say definitively that it was worth it. their efficacy was questionable, and becoming allergic to fruit really sucks.
khairete
S.

I hear it does the trick in the long term. If you are having issues with the nature of your reaction, speak with the allergist, perhaps a more gradual increase in dose might help.

Best,
F. B.

Allergies are definitely worsening for a lot of people. There are a lot of theories on this, including things like climate change (longer warm seasons mean more pollen accumulates in the fall, then there's more to be released in the spring, which comes earlier) or reduced immunity (an allergy is an autoimmune response) due to things like our dwindling nutrition due to growing techniques and over processing of foods so they don't have as much value in them).

I had terrible allergies and so did one of the kids. We did a whole lot of shots and meds, with no major results. A friend of mine had what you have - tested positive for al but 4 of the things on the scratch test. She did shots, prescriptions and over-the-counter meds, was told to pull up carpets and get rid of the cat, and she still walked around with a box of tissues under her arm. She got great relief by boosting her immune system in a scientific way. I did what she did, and I've been able to get off the medications.

I've actually gotten into this whole field of epigenetics and immunity because I am concerned about the rise in autoimmune diseases and responses - that can be mild like what you have (and it sure didn't seem mild when I had it!) or severe like lupus and MS and fibromyalgia. There is great research and some wonderful clinical data on food-based immune system support with no side effects.

However, although I am medication-free and have been for some years now, I have to say there are a couple of weeks that are hard for all of us. The past week in New England, for example, has been awful. Even I have had to increase my regimen to stay ahead of the sneezing and itchy eyes. But I can do that safely because it's metabolized as food and there are no risks.

In my experience, the shots can be problematic for a lot of people, and they take a tremendously long time. With increased pollen and so on, it's unclear whether they can stay ahead of it. And what if you aren't getting enough of the allergen? And what if you aren't getting anything for what's really setting you off? What about next season? I think it makes more sense to strengthen the body overall rather than try to teach it to respond to each allergen one by one. You've got a long road ahead of you. What we do in science is start from the premise that it's not "normal" to have such a reaction to something that is harmless, and fix that response so the body heals itself.

My son has many environmental allergies, and when tested with the injections on his back (22), he reacted to almost everyone and had to take Benadryl for 2 days to help with the reactions it caused, he is allergic even to blue grass and elm trees, not to mention clover, dust, ragweed, etc. minor allergies to peanuts and corn. His sinuses were so plugged he couldn't breathe through his nose and the Dr. put him on 3 allergy shots a week for 2 years plus prescription oral allergy meds.
He reacted to the shots with welts and pain at the site and never felt any better the whole 2 years. He suffered with daily sinus headaches.

In 2005, we found a nutritional company with products that build immunity and reduce inflammation. Through nutrition, in 2 weeks of being on the products he could breathe through his nose and was reducing his allergy pills. In 3 months he was off all his medication and feeling better than in his whole life and no more allergy shots.

Through scientific and clinical research, the company is now pioneers in the field of epigenetics and food patents. The medical community is very slow to catch on that nutrition beyond the "food groups" and standards for recommendations of minimal dietary intake established in the 50's, doesn't work any more.

Our medical expenses and trips to the Dr. are miniscule to what they were 8 years ago because of this supplementation program.

Yesterday I participated in a conference call where the discussion about a Dr. treating children and adults with autism, ADD, ADHD, seizures, with nutrition and probiotics because 90% of them have leaky gut syndrome which keeps the nutrients from being absorbed. Much research is being done in this field with phenomenal results related to food allergies and changes are occurring because the food supplement based on epigenetics has the ability to turn off bad genes and turn on the good.

My mom did allergy shots for years and still ended up with spring allergies that were just as bad as they were before the years of shots. I decided to treat the symptoms instead of going for shots. The thing is that your body changes over the years to you can develop new allergies as well as stop being allergic to things. At 26 I developed pretty bad asthma requiring almost daily treatment. At 52 my asthma went away and I haven't used medication since (although I did keep inhalers around for a couple years just to be on the safe side).

Only you can decide if the shots are worth the reactions. Speak with your doctor to see if he can adjust the medication or give you tips on how to deal with the side effects if you decide to continue.

I've done allergy shots for MANY years. (I will spare you the number as not to disappoint you, but it is a LONG TERM commitment.) Do not listen to anyone who says you'll be done after a year or two because that is not reality.

I will tell you that they have been VERY successful on me as well as my daughter. Actually the return on investment is much quicker the younger you are.

I would recommend that you talk to your allergist about your reactions. They may want to cut down on your dose and ramp you up slower. Or your reactions may not be a direct result from the shots.

My vote is that you talk to your allergist and don't give up so quickly. The payoff is wonderful.

You need to speak to your doctor, and the person who injects you, about your issues. They can accommodate you. My husband just started the shots several months ago, and had a few issues that they helped him work through. He was miserable before he started them, and we have a son who went through a 5 year allergy shot program, and is a new person since finishing. It really is wonderful that they can help you this way. Try to get help from the doctor so you don't have to quit. I doubt you have to be in such misery while taking shots. My husband is feeling a lot better now too.

My mother went through this.
She was getting very allergic to maple tree pollen and a few other things.
She went through a series of shots that lasted for several years.
Couple times a week, then weekly for a long time, then once every 2 weeks for a long time, then once per month, etc.
After 3 years I think it was, she finally finished the series up.
And she got very positive results.
Spring is no longer the nightmare it use to be for her.
Really I think it saved her life.
She was getting so drippy she'd get secondary problems/infections - sinus infections, pneumonia, bronchitis, pleurisy.
She's been SO much better off after she's had her allergy shots.

I tried it. They told me that within a year I should reach a maintenance dose. Then I could taper off from once a week to every other week, and eventually to once a month.

After 20 months of weekly shots, I still had a major reaction each time (arm swelling ,etc) and I still hadn't reached my maintenance dose. I gave up.

If I decide to try this again, I will go to a rapid desensitization clinic. This is the newest technique for allergy shots where you spend 1 entire day being miserable - but you do your entire scaling up in 1 day because you get increasing doses of your shot every hour all day. That would be awful, but it gets the worst of it over quickly. For 2 months, you come twice a week, then after that, you are on your maintenance dose and only have to go once per month. It is supposed to be just as effective as the slower method. And instead of taking 2+ years to get to a maintenance dose, which is what I was on track for, I'd be there in 2 months.

My son gets them. He is 15. He is in the final "maintenance" portion of treatment. The first 2 years there was very little improvement, which is what we were told to expect. He is allergic to a wide variety of outdoor allergens (tree, weed, grass pollens and molds--so something pretty much the entire year long is triggering his allergies). I do not recall, or was not aware of, him having any tiredness or chest tightness or any of those types of symptoms from his shots. It did/does itch at the injection site(s) and sometimes he will get a larger lump than others. But most of the time, the lump is gone within an hour or two. And the same with the itchiness.

In the beginning, he went twice per week for his injections. After a few months, it was once per week, then after a while, every 10 days or so, then 2 weeks, and so on. At this point (3 1/2 years in) he goes on average every 3 weeks. He is close to once a month or discontinuing them.

He now has very good control (as long as he stays on his maintenance schedule). One or two tissues a day during the more iffy/worse days, and non for weeks when pollens aren't crazy. Before treatment, he was a box-a-day tissue user and slept poorly as well. Constant drainage and stuffiness, and the nose/lip crinkle from wiping.

As an adult beginning treatment, expect that it will take longer than a child. We were told that treatment for children usually runs 3-4 years and is more effective than treatment for adults, which runs closer to 5 years.

Again, he did not see much difference until he hit about year 2. But when there was relief, it was pretty noticeable. He went from no control even using daily OTC allergy relief year round (switching between Allegra and Zyrtec every few months to maintain efficacy) to weaning off of the OTC meds completely and still having better control than before shots began.
Now, you'd likely not even know he had allergies.

Have you mentioned the chest tightness to your allergist? I would. And the tiredness. All of it. Perhaps they are starting at too high a dosage and need to back down a bit for awhile.

Been there done that, I went for 6 months to get to my "maintenance" dose and then had a major reaction, they then told me I would have to start all over. I was getting 2 shots, two times a week. I decided not to start over. I take daily pills and nasal sprays as needed. Also I have asthma so I take a steriod inhaler. My dr did tell me to buy a boat and live on the ocean or go live in a igloo because I am so allergic to everything. It is your choice but I seem to get better every year on my own. Good luck.