Ever get allergy shots? Or currently get them?

[Aimeedyan]

I am finally getting them!! Isn't that silly to be so excited over them? My allergies are completely out of control and because I moved so many times after high school, each new doc just wanted to try new allergy meds. I finally found a doc that took my word that we have tried EVERYTHING and I need something more. He wasn't even afraid of doing it alongside my Crohns treatment (which my last allergist was).

Anyhoo. The stuff is finally in and I get my first round Wednesday morning. They told me to expect a 30 min appt this time since it's the first one. They plan to do weekly for awhile but since I'm also on another injection that's every 2 weeks, he is going to contact my GI and talk to him about doing them both in the same week or day.

What should I expect? Where do they inject it? Will they let me inject it myself? Should I expect a site reaction? How soon until you saw an improvement in your allergies? Anything else I should know?

Thanks!

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Me! Twice a week from age 4 through my college years. I got the shots in my arm (alternated each visit) and then had to wait a set amount of time for the nurse to check to make sure I didnt have a reaction.

It helped my seasonal allergies quite a bit and desensitized me to some of my food allergies.

Good luck with them.

 

[robinb]

I had injection therapy when I was in my early 30's. I had 3 shots per week in the arm (2 in one, 1 in the other) for about 3 years. It would have been shorter, but I skipped a few weeks a couple of times and had to go back to a smaller dosage and work back up. I didn't have any big reactions ... a little swelling at the injection site but a bit of ice took care of that. I did have to hang around for 30 minutes each and every week just in case I had a more violent reaction which would need an epi pen. The therapy worked great for me. I now breeze through "bad" allergy seasons with nothing but Allegra for a week or two while other people complain bitterly about their allergies. I have also lessened my use of my inhaler down to only a few times a year.

Injection therapy worked wonders for me, but it doesn't work for everyone. Here's some pixie dust that it works for you too !

 

[Dakota_Lynn]

Allergy shots work great! I've been doing it for years. I started off doing it twice a week and now I do it every two weeks. It's not bad at all and many times I don't even feel it. My allergist has this fun program going to where you get a punch card and after ten shots you get a free ten dollar gift card for various places in town; blockbuster, regal cinemas, walmart....things like that. My daughter (who also gets shots) and I save up our movie cards and make a game of seeing how many times we can see Harry Potter for free! Last time we got to see HP 15 times on our free cards! It's a lot of fun and makes the shots not as bad!

The worst part about the shots is that we have to wait 30 minutes after we get our injections. They like to make sure nobody has a bad reaction!

But anyway, they work great. Before my shots I couldn't be in the same room with a cat. Now I have two! I used to have chronic lung infections, now I only get one or two a year and overall, I'm much healthier when it comes to allergies! They definitely do work! Good luck!

 

[frndofpooh]

My son has just finished his course of allergy shots. He did them for 3 and a half years and they helped tremendously. We did every week for 6 months, then every two weeks for 6 months, then monthly. It actually was harder to do the monthly ones because I would forget!

His allergy symptoms are virtually gone. He used to be on 5 different meds for nasal symptoms and asthma, but not now. We, too, would wait for 20 minutes after each shot. They did let me give a couple of injections once he was on the monthly shots (I am a nurse) but only when we would have otherwise missed the injection for a vacation or something. I don't think they are too fond of the idea.

Good luck - it worked wonders for my son!

 

[Crankyshank]

I'm getting my shot this afternoon as a matter of fact.

I had them for years and needed to start over again because of new allergies. At first you go every week until you get to your maintenance dose. Then you go every other week, then eventually to every month. I bring a book and my epi pen with me. The allergy nurse gives me my dose and I wait 20min to see if I get a reaction. I get one about 50% of the time. Nothing serious - just looks like a mosquito bite. I should take benadryl before I go to reduce the reaction, but it makes me sleepy.

 

[Stimpy]

I've been getting them since High School and they definately help. I notice when I've missed an appointment the difference. I get 3 shots, 1 in one arm, 2 in the other, every 3 weeks in allergy season, every 4 weeks in winter. I actually go to an allergist office for my injections where the nurses do the shots. I'm usually in and out of the office in about 10 minutes.

My DD who doesn't get shots loves going there with me. She knows all the nurses, gets lots of stickers & a lollipop....I get the shots she gets the rewards LOL

 

[1rockinmamato2]

I had allergy shots from the time I was in kindergarten until I was a pre-teen. I got them weekly, one in each arm.

I usually did have a reaction at the injection site. But it was nothing a little hydrocortisone cream couldn't handle.

I've pretty much outgrown my allergies, except for seasonal ragweed (that stuff is mean to me), in the fall.

By the way, I just found out that you can have cross over allergies. For example, I'm allergic to ragweed so that makes me allergic to melons like cataloupe and watermelon because their plant is in the ragweed family. I've never had an episode after eating them, but I've always had a scratchy throat afterwards. All this time I never knew why, but I do now! Whooda thunk it? LOL!

 

[WeirdEyes]

I just started the allergy shots two weeks ago. I take two shots twice a week. After today's shot, I can start giving them to myself. I'm so glad about that! My ENT said I'd have to take them for 3 years, but my symptoms should lessen in six months. I can't wait! Good luck!

 

[Aimeedyan]

Yeah! I'm so glad to hear so many have had good luck with them. My asthma is now out of control and I really hope we can get the trigger (allergies) calmed down so I can breathe better.

Thanks for sharing your stories =)

 

[AmazingGrace]

How bad do they hurt?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Did it for 4 yrs.

It wasn't a cure but now I feel like I am in the human race again.

Somedays I couldn't get out of bed, I was THAT bad with allergies.

My arms were sore from the shots, but I didn't care.

Good Luck!