Guest guest Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 I did allergy shots all through school...then I had an allergic reaction to one in my freshman year of high school so we stopped them. I tried restarting them a few years later, but started having similar symptoms that occured right before the allergic reaction I had so we stopped again. I still have daily nasal congestion. According to recent skin testing, Im not allergic to anything that I was allergic to as a kid but the last time I was skin tested, I was on 80mg of pred bc I couldnt make it through the week without antihistamines so who knows...obviously I reacted to SOMETHING, but it didnt show on the skin testing-except cats, of which I had 2 at the time that Ive had for 8 yrs, in 3 different states with far less issues in NY or FL. Blood tests dont show any signs of allergies either. Some would say that proves the shots worked, in my mind the jury is still out... Ann allergy shots my daughter has severe environmental allergies, rhinitis, and allergic asthma..her dr. wants her to start allergy shots again..she did them 6 yrs ago but quit because she was always sick(resp infections)and the dose never increased. the dr wants to start her at the lowest dose because of her allergic reactions so it will take a very long time to see if it works....for those who have tried allergy shots did it help with allergies, rhinitis and asthma...she is just misserable with skin allergies and constant nasal congestion and sneezing..she needs something..thanks. jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 Have you heard of LDA shots? I am about to start those with my daughter because the " regular " allergy shots don't cover as much. They can't cover the environmental allergies, but the LDA shots can. They are very different from regular shots, so they require a lot of research. They flat out say that they work for about 80% of people. (I can't remember if I heard that from someone else or from a direct source, so that's not completely reliable information, but no, they don't work for everyone.) My husband had terrible allergies and asthma and he started allergy shots. About a year or so later, his allergies and therefore asthma got better. As in - it all completely stopped! He was completely off of all medication and never had any troubles with allergies or asthma. I am sure that " regular " shots don't work for everyone either, but they sure did work for my husband beautfully! I will say that he went off of the shots too soon because we moved out of the country. It took several years, but he does have springtime allergies and asthma again. Marla my daughter has severe environmental allergies, rhinitis, and allergic asthma..her dr. wants her to start allergy shots again..she did them 6 yrs ago but quit because she was always sick(resp infections)and the dose never increased. the dr wants to start her at the lowest dose because of her allergic reactions so it will take a very long time to see if it works....for those who have tried allergy shots did it help with allergies, rhinitis and asthma...she is just misserable with skin allergies and constant nasal congestion and sneezing..she needs something..thanks. jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 I have been getting allergy shots every 5 weeks for over 6 years. Not sure if they have helped or not. It took 5 years to get to maximum dosage. All I can say is tell your daughter to go and see an allergist. Subject: allergy shotsTo: asthma Date: Monday, May 16, 2011, 10:17 PM my daughter has severe environmental allergies, rhinitis, and allergic asthma..her dr. wants her to start allergy shots again..she did them 6 yrs ago but quit because she was always sick(resp infections)and the dose never increased. the dr wants to start her at the lowest dose because of her allergic reactions so it will take a very long time to see if it works....for those who have tried allergy shots did it help with allergies, rhinitis and asthma...she is just misserable with skin allergies and constant nasal congestion and sneezing..she needs something..thanks. jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 17, 2011 Report Share Posted May 17, 2011 thanks for responding. I am thinking they wont help also..just dont know what to do anymore..my dd has another sinus infection and her immun is saying allergies are causing the problems..she does take advair discus, singulair, ventolyn, and different antihistamines at differ. times(as she becomes immun to one she changes to another) currently using nose spray which isnt doing anything..zyrtec didnt help her..pred. does but now that she has compression fractures I only want this as the last resort...aahhh jean > > Sorry to say ... five years of allergy shots did absolutely no good in > my particular case. I had the best results when a pulmonologist > prescribed my current meds ... serevent diskus, pulmicort, singulaire, > and zyrtec and proventil as needed. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 19, 2011 Report Share Posted May 19, 2011 Thanks everyone who replied to the allergy shot question. my dd has been reading over them and still not sure what to do but thinks she may make an appt. to speak to the allergist. the asthma meds help when she has asthma flares but it seems her asthma is at its worse during sinus infections and according to her immun and allergist it is her severe allergies that are causeing the sinuses to overeact and therefore get infected. wheather she does the shots or not she needs to get the sinuses under control...she is constantly nasal congested and this is just a breeding ground for bacteria. she cant use the netipot most times as one nostril is completely clogged and it says not to use when this is the case. I just read that there is an antibiotic nasal spray has anyone use this or even heard of it? unfortunatly she had to go on pred. again as the sinus infection went to her chest..with the compression fractures we are trying so hard not to take pred. but breathing comes first...this just stinks. jean > > Sorry to say ... five years of allergy shots did absolutely no good in > my particular case. I had the best results when a pulmonologist > prescribed my current meds ... serevent diskus, pulmicort, singulaire, > and zyrtec and proventil as needed. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 19, 2011 Report Share Posted May 19, 2011 My pulmo told me to do the sinus rinses anyway, when I told him I stopped doing them when I was totally stuffed up. I use the NeilMed squeeze bottle (it requires less technique than the neti pot...I cant get that down..) and even when I have been completely congested it has worked. The pattern for me with my asthma flares that are not weather related, is that I get really congested, then get a sore throat and within a day or two my peaks drop and wham...asthma flare. I can say for sure that there are at least 3 occasions since January where the sinus rinses have stopped the process. My action plan is to do the sinus rinses a minimum of 2x daily when I start noticing symptoms and do salt water gargles as well. If my peaks drop at all...I dont care if its from 530 to 510..I start to add in some albuterol. Oh...another option she might want to try is Nasalcrom nasal spray. Its OTC, and the active ingredient is cromolyn sodium (aka Intal in a different form). It has helped me at times too. In my area, its cheapest at Target (about 20.00 but if it helps its worth it). That being said, she might want to check with her doc for his/her opinion on that and the Nasalcrom...but thats what my pulmo. told me to do. As for the antibiotic nasal spray...I cant say Ive heard of them even. Might be nice for some people if they really work! Ann Re: allergy shots Thanks everyone who replied to the allergy shot question. my dd has been reading over them and still not sure what to do but thinks she may make an appt. to speak to the allergist. the asthma meds help when she has asthma flares but it seems her asthma is at its worse during sinus infections and according to her immun and allergist it is her severe allergies that are causeing the sinuses to overeact and therefore get infected. wheather she does the shots or not she needs to get the sinuses under control...she is constantly nasal congested and this is just a breeding ground for bacteria. she cant use the netipot most times as one nostril is completely clogged and it says not to use when this is the case. I just read that there is an antibiotic nasal spray has anyone use this or even heard of it? unfortunatly she had to go on pred. again as the sinus infection went to her chest..with the compression fractures we are trying so hard not to take pred. but breathing comes first...this just stinks. jean > > Sorry to say ... five years of allergy shots did absolutely no good in > my particular case. I had the best results when a pulmonologist > prescribed my current meds ... serevent diskus, pulmicort, singulaire, > and zyrtec and proventil as needed. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 I've had allergy shots at various times through out my life. First when I was 8 until I turned 15, then age 19 to 25 after we moved to Ohio and I developed a bunch of new allergies. Then in 1998 for three years. In 2008 for about 4 months with a different allergist who then retired, and now again since last Fall. I'm much improved for dogs and cats (now that we have no pets,) dust mites (I have a latex mattress,) and some trees, but still test high on ragweed, rye grass, and most of the drought-resistant plants in our area. Recently I decided to check and see what I'm being treated for this time, and the allergist just skipped about a dozen of my worst allergens. I'm guessing it's because he didn't test me for them last August. I'd go to someone else if there was anyone else to go to... Check out pollen counts at Zyrtec.com by entering your zip code and get the worst current pollens in your area. JoAnn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 20, 2011 Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 you can also go to pollen.com for pollen counts too... I have a desktop weather app from weather.com and I get high/med/low ranges on that too.. Ann Re: allergy shots I've had allergy shots at various times through out my life. First when I was 8 until I turned 15, then age 19 to 25 after we moved to Ohio and I developed a bunch of new allergies. Then in 1998 for three years. In 2008 for about 4 months with a different allergist who then retired, and now again since last Fall. I'm much improved for dogs and cats (now that we have no pets,) dust mites (I have a latex mattress,) and some trees, but still test high on ragweed, rye grass, and most of the drought-resistant plants in our area. Recently I decided to check and see what I'm being treated for this time, and the allergist just skipped about a dozen of my worst allergens. I'm guessing it's because he didn't test me for them last August. I'd go to someone else if there was anyone else to go to... Check out pollen counts at Zyrtec.com by entering your zip code and get the worst current pollens in your area. JoAnn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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