allergy shots Has anyone had allergy shots? How did they work for you? How long was your treatment? Do you have allergies now or are they less severe? 36 skin pricks and 24 injections later, I'm severely allergic to everything in the outside world. The doctor recommended allergy shots and I'm trying to decide whether it's worth it. Cost is my main determining factor and possible effectiveness. I have papers to read about the shots, but I want to hear people's personal experiences with them. |
I started allergy shots about 5-6 years ago after chronic sinus infections and multiple sinus surgeries. They really help IMO! I learned to give the injections myself so the only cost was the allergy serum which my insurance covers. It is not short term treatment, though. It is for life. |
I worked for an allergist for years. The shots do not "cure" you...they help alleviate the symptoms and often times patients still find it necessary to use other medications. Some people it really helps and others it does not. |
I considered allergy shots for a while but then I was told that you could only have them for so many years or so many times before they were ineffective. :confused: Either way I decided that I would just take some pills when it was too bad and the rest of the time I'd just suck it up. To be fair though mine aren't that bad most years, it's only the past two years that they were really bad and both times I couldn't take anything because I was either pregnant or breastfeeding. |
I've had allergies to pretty much EVERYTHING for the past couple of years. The grass is really what gets me, if i walk in the grass with no shoes I get big red splotches all over my feet. The doc told me about allergy shots but said the pills help, you just have to remember to take them everyday! I have air purifiers, things over my bed so the dust stays out, and use a hepa filter vacuum to get rid of allergins. This seems to help, its just all about changing your lifestyle. Plus I'm a germaphobe so it doesn't bother me to much to clean all the time. Zyrtec seemed to be the only thing that would work for me until I was given Periactin. Works great considering the awful pollen season that florida is having!!!!! Let us know if you decide to have the shots and how they work out for you!! |
Well, I've been taking Zyrtec, Singular, Flonase, and medicated eye drops PLUS an albuterol inhaler everyday and it is NOT helping. I've been okay yesterday and today cause it's been raining but Tuesday night I went out for ice cream with some friends from church and I was rubbing my eyes so much. I eventually just put my head down and said "Someone please end my misery!!!" The next morning I couldn't even touch my eyes because they were so raw from me rubbing them. The other day I was in tears cause they were driving me so insane... all I had done was stepped outside for about 5 minutes and that was it. I called my insurance and asked how much they covered of the shots and they cover the shots 100%, which is great BUT I need to pay a copay of $25 every time I go, which adds up quickly. In one month I'd be spending anywhere from $100-$200 depending on how often I have to have them done, not to mention the time spent driving to the doctor's office PLUS the gas to get there. I'm going to see if they'll let me take the medicine home and get my mom to do it... she draws blood for a living and injects her self several times a day with insulin and other diabetes meds, so she knows how to do it. That would be the cheapest option and I trust my mom doing it more than a stranger. I have my next appointment in a month, so I've still got some time to decide. |
I got allergy shots from the time I was 14 until I was 23. They helped me a lot! Because of my dr's hours and where his office was though, after having my first child I just couldn't get her picked up from day care on time and also get my shots so I stopped going. Either the shots helped me get over the severest of the allergies or I outgrew them because now I only have to take Aleve-D occasionally when I get a sinus headache. Even the cedar trees and cats that I was seriously, seriously allergic to don't bother me - that is, or course, unless I roll around in cedar dust or get cat hair near my eyes. I can actually pet a cat now and as long as I wash my hands afterwards, I'm okay. Before I couldn't even be in a house that had a cat in it. Good luck with whatever you decide! |
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lol I had to laugh when you said roll around in cedar dust... I had a mental image in my head hahaha That's really good that you don't have many symptoms any more - the doctor told me that they probably won't get rid of all of my allergies, but it will at least make them less severe and easier to handle later in life. My cousin had allergy shots as a child and now doesn't have any allergies at all. |
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But no, I can honestly say that they really didn't hurt..... won't lie and say they *never* did because until you get up to the "maintenance vial", the serum is pretty thin and if you have a good nurse giving the shot, it's pretty painless. Once you get to the maintenance level, the serum is quite a bit thicker but by then, you really do get used to it and again, if you have a good nurse, she knows how to lessen the pain. |
my mom gets them also,they help her alot,she must have them all the time though,not just few years,,hers are about a severe as it gets and they help her,you could always try it and see if its worth the cost |
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