xolair, antibiotics, insurance

[Guest guest]

Hello Everyone -

Hope everyone in the Xolair group is doing well.

In my last posting, I mentioned how I was able to avoid

antibiotics in the last year (from Feb 2005 to Feb 2006).

That was definitely due to the combination of Xolair (which I

have been on since winter of 2004) and allergy/immunotherapy

shots. Then the bubble burst and I got a bad sinus/upper

respiratory infection at the end of Feb 2006! Oh well,

nothing in life is perfect. I am on a 2nd course of antibiotics

and hopefully will be better. But going without antibiotics

for 1 whole year IS a minor miracle for me. The allergist said

my lungs sounded clear after the first course of antibiotics

but I still have a bit of fatigue, coughing up small amounts of

yellow mucus a few times a day, sinus drainage and a bit of the

chest tightness. So much for the outdoor exercise, softball

and skateboarding - those activities will have to wait for now. So

for the present time I am sticking to my stretching and

yoga exercises.

Also, I wanted to mention about insurance. My family and I relocated

to upstate New York (the " capital region " ) from the Cleveland Ohio

area late Dec 2005.

My new allergist was just amazed at how my new insurance

accepted me and allowed me to go on Xolair very quickly.

(My insurance is now CDPHP - not sure what that stands for. It is

based in the Albany New York area.)

The allergist thinks that I am very lucky to have the insurance

approve me so quickly. I used to have CIGNA when I was in Ohio and

they also accepted me fairly quickly and allowed me to go on Xolair

after some routine paperwork from the allergist. After reading some

of the posts in this group about insurance woes, I think I also got

lucky with insurance. Now, if some of that luck can be applied

to other aspects of my life!

I wish everyone luck with their insurance and getting the Xolair

approved.

GM