SparklyUnicorn Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Did it get worse before it got better? I'm just NOT having a good time. Ugh.... I don't know what is normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 They didn’t work for DS. He got worse and worse. It was lengthy and a huge time commitment and expense, for little to no gain. We got another opinion and that allergist said just to stop. She does shots in her office, too, so she’s not anti-shots. She just felt it wasn’t effective for him. They work well for my mom, and fairly quickly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 They didn’t work for DS. He got worse and worse. It was lengthy and a huge time commitment and expense, for little to no gain. We got another opinion and that allergist said just to stop. She does shots in her office, too, so she’s not anti-shots. She just felt it wasn’t effective for him. They work well for my mom, and fairly quickly. Oh damn. That is not what I want to hear. I don't have to pay for them so at least there is that. I am still apparently not within the realm of "I should expect to see some result". So I want to keep trying a bit longer. I'm just SO DAMN MISERABLE. They actually cut down yesterday because it was so bad. But oh hargs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 What kind of reaction are you getting from the shots? I know I should probably think about getting them, too, but I have been putting it off (for years!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 What kind of reaction are you getting from the shots? I know I should probably think about getting them, too, but I have been putting it off (for years!) My eyeballs are itchy hot balls of goo. I want to tear the skin off my arms because they itch so much. I get huge welts at the injection site. I can live with the itchy arms and welts. The eye balls are a problem. I'm already taking 100,000 things though so there is nothing left I can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 (edited) Oh damn. That is not what I want to hear. I don't have to pay for them so at least there is that. I am still apparently not within the realm of "I should expect to see some result". So I want to keep trying a bit longer. I'm just SO DAMN MISERABLE. They actually cut down yesterday because it was so bad. But oh hargs... Hang in there. They really help my mom. My DS is just an over the top kind of case. We gave it a year with him, before giving up. Edited February 13, 2018 by Spryte 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 Hang in there. They really help my mom. My DS is just an over the top kind of case. We gave it a year with him, before giving up. ok it has not been anywhere near a year! Whew! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loowit Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 I have not been on allergy shots, but my youngest has. He was on them for about a year and a half but due to issues other than the shots we had to stop. It helped tremendously with some of his allergies, but others we didn't see much change, but that could be because he was not able to finish the complete series to maintenance. He is starting back on them again this week and we were told it is a 5 year commitment and hopefully this time we won't have the problems with insurance and doctor changes we did last time. The allergies symptoms overall got better, but in the short term (the day of the shot and a day afterward) was more susceptible to a stronger reaction. It is a long term commitment and it can take a while to see any improvement and I am not sure if it works for everyone. He had a hard time at first with local reactions on his arm and they had to alter the typical schedule for him and take him up to the bigger doses much slower. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omma Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Ok, so I needed allergy shots for dust, molds, trees, grasses, and who knows what else. When they tried to start me on all of them at once, it didn't work. Instead, they only started me on molds and then ever so gradually added in the rest and I've done fine with shots for many, many years. When my ds started at age 7 at a different office, they started to question whether he was a good candidate because of all his reactions. I told them my story and asked why couldn't they dilute the starting dose. They said it would be like giving him water. I said, 'Okay, then, give him water'. Nearly 11 years later and he is doing great (just stopped getting shots this past summer)! Meanwhile, I still get them, but only once every 6 weeks which is quite manageable. So, you do have options... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azucena Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Could your allergist ramp up the dosage less aggressively? We got a dog and I got shots for about six months with few side effects, and they definitely reduced my reactions to her. I stopped before the recommended time and now need to go back, as I am getting very teary-eyed ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 I've been doing them about 5 months. I am at maintenance dose for mites and dust. The shot that is giving me the problem is tree/grass. I am not yet at max dose. I was told they don't do mold injections because they don't work very well for too many people. For some reason they have also not done insect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 (edited) My kids have been doing them for almost 5 years which is how long the doc recommends. Kid #1 had terrible allergies. It took a year for him to really see relief. The doctor had told us to expect that it probably wouldn't be till the 2nd allergy season came around that he'd notice anything. He has had great results. He'll stop this fall when it will have been 5 years. He did have some small reactions, like puffy injection sites, and one larger reaction that led us to use the epi-pen and visit the ER as precautions. But that was during a build-up period and the doctor backed off the strength little from there. It's been great ever since. Kid #2 had lesser allergies and more avoidable ones (horses). She has also seen relief though not as dramatic as her brother, but she also has had more itchiness at the injection sites and had one scary reaction where she developed bumps around her eyes and on her eyelids. Epi-pen used there too. But it was the same situation as her brother's reaction, happened during build-up, and the doc backed off on the strength. She's stopping at the end of the current vial, so at 4.5 years, but she's done with the inconvenience. (And she is over 18 so it's up to her.) I know some folks have stopped completely after a reaction such as my kids had, but we trust our doctor and the entire practice so we went on. I think if there'd been more reactions like that we'd have stopped. My kids agree it has been worth it. But it took a while to see results, that's for sure. Edited February 13, 2018 by marbel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 My eyeballs are itchy hot balls of goo. I want to tear the skin off my arms because they itch so much. I get huge welts at the injection site. I can live with the itchy arms and welts. The eye balls are a problem. I'm already taking 100,000 things though so there is nothing left I can do. Oh, wow. That sounds awful!!! :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 My eyeballs are itchy hot balls of goo. I want to tear the skin off my arms because they itch so much. I get huge welts at the injection site. I can live with the itchy arms and welts. The eye balls are a problem. I'm already taking 100,000 things though so there is nothing left I can do. Ah, I forgot this before. When my kids had their bad reactions, the doc told them to pretreat with antihistamines about an hour before their injections. That has helped a lot. They take zyrtek and ranitidine. Maybe ask the doc if something like that would help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scholastica Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 I had shots two different periods of time. From about age 10-15 and again after college. My allergies, especially to animal dander, are just as bad as they ever were. The thing that has helped my allergies the most has been taking a probiotic daily. I didn’t take it for that reason and had no idea it could help in that area. I started taking it in January one year and that spring, my worst season of the year usually, I only had to take an allergy med a few times. I typically had to take them from the beginning of March until the end of May. I would also still have a few days of horrendous attacks that would require extra allergy meds. That season was just as bad as ever for my kids, but not for me. I found out that probiotics can help with that and it finally made sense as to why I wasn’t miserable that spring. It’s been 3 or 4 years now and I still have far fewer allergy days than I used to. YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 Ah, I forgot this before. When my kids had their bad reactions, the doc told them to pretreat with antihistamines about an hour before their injections. That has helped a lot. They take zyrtek and ranitidine. Maybe ask the doc if something like that would help? I'm already taking tons of stuff though. They told me the same thing, but I'm already taking all of that. Sometimes I get the impression none of the allergy meds work so I go off them and then realize YES they are working. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 (hugs) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamanthaCarter Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 I tried twice. The first was like you, just too much reaction that I didn’t trust this ENTs office knew what they were doing. The dermatologist said quit. After about six years I tried again, this time with an immunologist. This time no reactions, but after more than a year, no benefit either. [emoji45] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daria Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 My kids’ allergist said that any kind of localized response (e.g. redness or swelling at the site) was a sign that the dose was increasing too fast, and risking an anaphylactic reaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 My kids’ allergist said that any kind of localized response (e.g. redness or swelling at the site) was a sign that the dose was increasing too fast, and risking an anaphylactic reaction. Yeah that is why they cut back. I don't always tell them because frankly I try very hard not to dwell on it. I have reacted nearly every time though. They said a localized reaction is normal so long as the welt/redness isn't over a specific size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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