+ for all allergy tests- Doc wants shots, should I? - Allergies Message Board

bioteacher · 08-25-2002, 04:36 PM

I visited an allergist for the first time last week even though I have been on medicine(Claritin & Allegra) for about 10 yrs since I was a teenager. I always knew I had allergies somewhat, but when I came up pos. for all the tests (102 of them) I was suprised. The doctor acted like I was a freak for not doing something about them before. I have just always lived with them and the only reason I went in was to get eye drops because my eye had begun watering a lot and it was affecting my life.

He wants me to do the shots. The schedule is 2x a week for 5 months and then once a week for 5 YEARS!!! I told him that I would think about it, but that I probably wouldn't. I recently found out that my biological father also had sever allergies. I knew he had sever asthma (which he passed on to my brother), but I never knew about the allergies. He did the shots once a week and they never helped him. Granted when he did the shots that was a long time ago in medical history and I don't know how much the shots have improved. Or if they won't work since they didn't work for him. I hate to get them and be a waste.

Medically- I still sneeze a lot even when I am on Allegra and only breath through my mouth (which i have always done) which doesn't bother me, but does bother my husband. I don't snoore but breath really loudly even when Im awake. I guess I have just lived with the symptons for so long I thought they were just a part of who I am. There where more things to nasty to say, but that the doctor thought where due to my allergies. I am really torn on what to do. I try to be as drug independent as possible.

Thank you for reading my post and any advice you can give.

Jay Tor · 08-25-2002, 07:44 PM

Wow - this must be a record for allergies!

I've had allergies since my teens. Several years ago finally decided to have allergy shots - they worked.

However, ask your doctor which shots you need most. If there are some substances that you can avoid, then you may not need shots for them. I chose to receive shots only for those substances to which I was most allergic and was unable to avoid. After about 18 months I noticed that my allergic reactions to other substances [for which I did not receive any allergy shots] were also much less severe.

The biggest risk to receiving allergy shots for everything is over-stimulating your immune system. Something else to discuss is whether you should have an epi-pen on hand during your course of allergy therapy just in case of an over-reaction.

purple2067 · 08-26-2002, 05:53 PM

I give allergy shots a two-thumbs up for me. They have helped me immensely. When I was a kid, I had very severe allergies also (it was more like "what am I NOT allergic to") I had to take allergy shots for a very very long time, and they were very expensive and not covered by insurance, but they worked. I still have bad allergies, but they are not nearly as severe as they used to be, and as far as I know I no longer have any food allergies - just environmental ones. Having an epi-pen with so many allergies is a good idea, but you should be getting the shots IN OFFICE and you should be monitored for at least 15 minutes - 1/2 hour before you leave to make sure you won't have an allergic reaction. (a common reaction is itching and swelling at the injection site, but that is just remedied with an ice pack and maybe some cortisone cream)