Allergy shots

[Lorix2]

I'd like to ask people who receive regular allergy shots if they work for you.

I am allergic to cat dander and dust mites. I cannot control regular dust in my home and I try to stay away from cats in general, but most our friends have them and carry the hair on their clothes which makes me miserable when they come to my house and sit on my furniture, etc. My HEPA filter is on constantly and my DH vacuums/dusts for me.

I have tried Allegra, Zyrtec and most presently Claritin for 2 years now. I cannot take any of them with the "D" because it makes my heart race. The next step is shots.

I haven't had a week or even a couple of days go by where my symptoms haven't flared up even on my medication. I am miserable to say the least.

For those receiving immunotherapy:

Has it helped you considerably?
Is the shot real painful?
Has anyone had a bad reaction?
How long have you been receiving them?

Anyone care to share their situation with me? I feel so alone Nobody I know suffers like I do and they don't understand how it affects you - it's exhausting.

I see my allergist next month.

TIA,
Lori

 

[milo]

I know how you feel. My allergies flared up big time a year ago, and I didn't have a clue how to handle the situation.

Yes, I take allergy shots. I started in March of this year, and it took about 3-4 months before I could tell a difference. But after feeling bad for so long, it was wonderful to start feeling better.

The shots do not hurt, just a tiny little sting sometimes. The needle goes just under the skin, not deep like a regular shot or flu shot. You have to stay in the Dr.'s office for 30 minutes in case of a reaction, but I've never had a problem. My doctor did say he had maybe 5 or 6 patients a year that had a reaction and had to be treated. And at first when taking them, I would have allergy symptoms that evening, but that stopped after 3-4 months also.

I am allergic to dust mites also, and a couple months ago encased (spelling?) my bedding and that helped alot! It was expensive, I think about $150.00 total, but I feel well worth it for the improvement I made. I also have a room air filter that helps.
I am also allergic to several airborne pollens, so depending on the time of year my allergies get worse. I also have food allergies, and am allergic to the ink in newspapers.

I also felt so alone in the beginning, nobody I knew had ever been thru what was happening to me. My Dr told me in the beginning that it would probably take about 6 months to get thru the worst, and he was right. By the way, I take Clarinex daily, and also zantac because it has a histamine 2 blocker.

Please hang in there, and feel free to email me if you have any questions or need help, or just someone to listen.

Lora

 

[The Mystery Machine]

OOOH SHOOT!!! I forgot to get mine. UGH....
I have been getting them once a week for 2+ yrs and you would think I would remember, but NOOO.

So here is my situation. I was sick for 2 years with "sinuses". I finally had to switch ENTs because of insurance. I went to a gal doc that got me REAL allergy testing with the hypodermic needles. I have had that allergy test where they use the puncture thingie in the back and that item is a POS for determining allergies, at least for me it was.
Now the shots did not "cure" me but I have more good days now. I am on an old system so I get a shot in each arm once a week. They require us to stay for 15mins for reaction. And yes my arms are always sore from the shot for a day or two. Small price to pay for me.
I tried to scale back to once every 2 weeks and could not handle it. Basically I am sick...I feel sick, look sick.

As far as the shots hurting, well it depends on the shot giver.

Good Luck!!!

 

[KimR]

I used to get allergy shots and they helped tremendously, but they hurt like heck - not the actual shot going in...I couldn't even feel that, but afterwards, it felt like I had been stung by a bee! I complained about it and they put a little novacaine in the serum which eliminated the pain completely. I've been shot-free and symptom-free for years now. Good Luck!

Kim

 

[CrazyBoutDisney]

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!!!

I have had year-round allergies all my life to grasses, weeds, trees, dust, mold & mildew, animal fur and feathers. I am now on my 2nd round of shots and this time, they are really working.

Started getting shots back in 1993 for pollens and dust. They helped, but I was not good about getting them every single week. Also, found that Drixoral over the counter worked best for me. After 6 years, I moved out of the area and figured I probably didn't need them anymore. Just kept taking my Drixoral. Went to WDW for a week in May of 2001, drove to Cape Canaveral & back in a convertible with the top down and came home with what I thought was just an allergy flare up. It developed into the worst sinus infection I have ever had and to top it off, I started reacting to the antibiotics they were giving me!

A month later and still sick, I found a new ENT who recommended I get retested. After 6 years of shots, the only change in my test results was that I no longer reacted to ragweed!!! New allergist, new shots, this time including dog and cat, and like milo, within 3-4 months, I could tell the difference.

The shots don't usually hurt, but like Mystery Machine said, it depends on the shot giver. I get a reaction sometimes, the shot site may just be itchy or it may develop a red bump or patch. A few times it has been a large raised red area that was hot and itched like crazy. Benedryl was recommended for those times, but I have never had to use the epinephrine hypo that I carry with me on shot days. Even though I am required to stay in the office for 20 mins. after my shots (1 in each arm) to watch for reactions, I was advised that sometimes people can react later. So my allergist won't even give the shots if you don't have your hypo with you, just in case!!

We live in an apartment and we have air cleaners with Hepa filters going in the living room and both bedrooms. We get the furnace filter changed once a month and my DH usually does the vacuuming/dusting when I am not at home. I keep a close eye out for mildew in the bathroom and kitchen sink areas and Soft Scrub is always at hand. Even fragrances will set me off, so all our toiletries are unscented and I walk on the opposite side of the mall when I have to pass the Yankee Candle or Bath & Body Works store. I still keep tissues in just about every room of the house and on my desk at work, but I am not replacing the boxes near as often as in the past. My ENT has me on Semprex-D, now, so I don't have the dry mouth problem any more either

Don't be afraid of the shots and if your dr. recommends them, go for it. You will be forever grateful when they start working! They will build up your own immunities so that eventually, you won't react to the allergens and won't need meds OR shots!

 

[MerryPoppins]

I took shots for years. My DS took them for a number of years as well. Yes, we found them to be very helpful. Our allergies improved so much over the course of the shot-taking years.

I am the biggest scaredy cat about shots, so if I can take them every week, you can. And my family still talks about the day when DS was 3 and the clinic wouldn't let him get his shot. He cried because he WANTED it so he could earn his weekly sticker. Honest, they aren't that bad. I found the stinging after the shot much worse than the actual shot itself.

I never had a bad reaction. My clinic made us wait 20 or 30 minutes before leaving. DH was later trained to give me my shots, but the allergy clinic wouldn't trust him to give them to DS. I guess DS recieved shots for about seven years, and I took them longer than that.

I still have allergies, but nothing like I had before. I avoid most fragrances (I know the "safe" ones for me). I still have to avoid smoke, so I go camping with the Scouts seldom if ever. When tested, I was allergic to everything they tested me for and I mean that literally. Now, we have a cat and dogs. I don't clean as well or as often as I should and my allergies survive. I know the foods that set me off the most, so I eat less of those things or avoid them. I would have to say that in my case the shots were a good investment of money.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

OH and the shot will sting less if the giver lets the alcohol swipe dry before giving you the shot.

 

[Rajah]

I get them. I also can't take anything with the D, though for me they just tend to make me feel worse. Allegra in general makes me dizzy and feel like I have the flu, so I do claritin all the time. I have so many allergies to things that I have to get one shot in each arm, and they *always* flare up red. I had a *LOT* of reactions during the allergy testing, none really bad for me, but enough that it concerned the Dr that I had so many and he very strongly recommended the shots and now I have an epipen for emergency use.

As for your questions:

Has it helped you considerably?
-- Not yet, but you really have to be taking them for a little while before you notice a difference. This is my second time taking allergy shots, first time I was in high school, and I can say by the time I stopped taking them in high school, they made a very noticable difference, especially around cats. I went from breaking out badly and eyes swelling up to just sniffles with an occasional minor red rash with the first round of shots.

Is the shot real painful?
-- Honestly, the poke of the shot is worse than the rest of it. It does *itch* on me frequently, though. And really, the testing is worse than the shots.

Has anyone had a bad reaction?
-- I've had reactions that were just bad enough to be told to take a benadryl, rub some prescription-strength cream on it, and put ice on it. That's been where my arm has gotten really red for about the size of a half-dollar, and burning. I did get really hot and feverish and my heart racing after the very last set of allergy tests pre-shots, but again all they did (after having me come back in) was tell me to take two benadryl that time, put the cream on it, and ice on it, and watch for further reactions.

How long have you been receiving them?
-- This round, since about July I think. The first time I did them several years ago, I went for about a year and a half before moving to college where I stopped them.

 

[Lorix2]

Wow - it's comforting to hear all your stories. I'm so tired of feeling this way, miserable almost every day. I feel very dehydrated when I get the "attacks" too, so I try to keep up with drinking alot of water.

CrazyBoutDisney - I too have to skip the hall in the mall with the Yankee candle shop that has a Gloria Jeans coffee right next to it. Talk about sinus headache and nausea immediately. Then followed by the sneezing, watery itchy eyes, runny nose, etc..

Milo and others still taking meds as well as shots...I was under the impression (my own) that shots would somehow eliminate the need for the pill forms?!

I appreciate everyone's input. Thank you for the support and advice everyone.



Happy New Year - be well everyone!

 

[dianeschlicht]

I have gotten allergy shots the better part of my adult life, and I am 55! They work great for me. I have MANY allergies, and many of them are non-seasonal, so I find I do best if I stay on the shots year round. I get them everyother week. I took a 7 year hiatus from the shots 12 years ago, and had all kinds of problems after about 5 years. I love the results it gives.

 

[Lorix2]

thank you Diane - so for you shots are probably lifetime? That's what I am afraid of. I don't want to feel great, come off of them and then wham, months later, hit me like a ton of bricks and even worse the 2nd time around before treatment.

 

[CrazyBoutDisney]

Lorix, my Dr. told me that the shots build up my immunities to the allergens. After a year and a half, I am taking less maintenance medication and she says that eventually, I will not need any. Eventually, I should not need shots, either. According to her, after2-3 years, I will get re-tested and see what kind of progress is being made. Should be no need for a "lifetime" of shots. It is possible, however, to get yourself "cured" of one allergy only to develop allergies to something else!