Do Allergy shots work?

[amirm]

OK, after a decade of popping allergy pills to keep my symptoms in check, I am wondering if getting Allergy shots would put an end to it. What is the consensus these days on it? My secretary at Microsoft said she had it years ago and it worked but other say you can go through all that pain and still have the problem.

I am planning to go and see my Allergist again but thought I get you all's view before I go in.

Thanks,

 

[Gregadd]

That's a hotter topic than anolog v digital.

 

[naturephoto1]

To the best of my knowledge at least some of them do work. I know that when I was in High School (about 1971) I found out that I was highly allergic to bee stings. My allergist found that I was the most allergic patient that he had ever had with an allergic reaction at 1 in 1 million parts. He worked my injections up till I reached a maintenance dose of 1 in 100 parts as I recall, the equivalent of 2 bee stings. At the time the thought was that I would need injections once a month for the remainder of my life. As it turns out, I took the injections once a month for 10 years. I then stopped taking the injections but used to carry Epi-pens just in case I was stung. I have been stung now several times in the last 30 years with the usual pain. I have not broken out in hives or gotten to the point of not being able to breath. But, there is always that little bit of concern in the back of my mind. I have a real healthy respect for stinging insects at this point.

Rich

 

[cjfrbw]

I had them for 9 or 10 years at Kaiser. My wife worked in the Allergy clinic, I think it was her way of keeping tabs on me to come in and get the shots.
I don't really know if they helped that much, maybe a little, but when I stopped getting them, everybody else was having terrible symptoms and mine were moderate. In other words, discontinuing the shots seemed to make me better than when I was having them.
My arm never stopped getting sore and swollen from the shots. They hit a nerve once and it remained numb for 6 months from the back of my elbow to my wrist.
I think that the estimate is only 60 percent have subjective improvement. I also think that having them aggravated another condition I have called psoriasis, which has been better since I stopped the allergy shots, so having them may aggravate a tendency toward other auto immune type conditions.
Also, you have to consider that private allergists get some economic benefit from having regular patients. I am not saying that the allergists are not well meaning, but inevitably when an economic benefit accrues, there is a tendency to promote the therapy and not evaluate the effectiveness enough.
At Kaiser, it was an HMO, so they don't really care if you keep getting them, they would rather not, but my wife ordered me to keep getting them. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have them again.
Also, once you start getting the shots, you become fearful that discontinuing them will make you markedly worse. In my case, I got better after discontinuing the shots.
You just have to try yourself and see if you are in the population that perceives benefit. I guess you could call them a "shot" in the dark.

 

[amirm]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I thought the treatment lasted 6 to 18 months. Taking shots for 10 years is not something I would want to do.

I will make the appointment anyway to hear what the doctor has to say and report back.

 

[Steve Williams]

Amir

Have you ever heard the story about the guy who asked the orthodontist if he needed braces...... You get the message

 

[amirm]

I do Steve .

 

[LesAuber]

In my experience they are quite effective for whatever allergen they target. IE if they treat you for blue grass pollen it's not likely to help as much with fescues or at all with ragweed. Trouble is if you move the effect may not travel with you as the common pollens in the new area may not be the same. This assumes that it's hay fever type allergies you're talking about. I've had to do repeats due to this. If you spend a lot of time in a couple areas it would be worth mentioning. They may be able to check for both. I doubt seriously they could check for the world though and I'm not sure I'd want to do the tests.

Typically they'll do a skin test to check for what you're allergic to and base the shots on that. This is generally common allergens. If there's anything special like bee stings etc you should also mention that. So the routine isn't really subjective. They don't give you shots for dust mites for example if you don't react to them. I did the first time and not the second. Same for animal dander. They won't treat you for cat if all you're allegic to is dog.

Typical treatment span is 4 years now IIRC. Once there you can continue on the maintenance dose or stop. My allergist didn't seem to have any real bias one way or the other on this part. Even after being off the shots for several years I'm still seeing a pronounced improvement.

I can't say it would be worth it if it's mild for a couple weeks a year. Pills and nose sprays (prescription not the OTC stuff like Afrin) are likely a much easier solution. For me the benefit was unquestionable as there seemed to be something I was allergic to happening much of the year. It also got wound up with frequent sinus infections and migraines. I don't really understand the connections but know they try to eliminate each factor best possible in this case. YMMV.

 

[amirm]

Thanks Les. I did have the skin test about 10 years ago and I had a reaction to half a dozen things at different levels. I have since taken anti-allergy (currently Allegra, before that Zyrtec) medication all year around! If I stop, I get too much fluid in my ear, causing balance problems. BTW, my son started to have the same problem with the room spinning on him every few weeks. We took them to many doctors and they could not diagnose it. I finally asked if it could be allergies. They did a test, put him on anti-allergy medication and he has not had one symptom yet!

 

[LesAuber]

Interesting never heard of that particular issue but it makes sense. All of that plumbing is interconnected.

If the Allegra is controlling everything well I'm not sure I go through the shot routine. Otherwise I'd give it a go. It can be a bit of a hassle. Shots once a week, then every two weeks, then 3 weeks then monthly until you get to the 4 year mark. Of course they don't do this on your schedule. And if you miss to many times you have to start back at a lower dose and build back up lengthening the whole process.

Even now I'm still on Claratin and Nasacort year round as the shots don't help with the non-allergic sinus troubles. Removing or at least reducing the allergic side of it helped a lot.

 

[DonH50]

I had them as a kid; I think it was about a two-year program, then yearly booster for a bit. Not sure how long it lasted overall, but it was nowhere near ten years, more like 2 - 4. It worked very well for me. I had pretty severe allergies plus asthma, and it cut it down to almost nil. Still take OTC remedies now but it's more for light control. In my youth, a couple of attacks were life-threatening.

My younger son is on the program now, and I think it's something like a 4-year plan. For both of us it worked/works the way Les describes; initially weekly, then every other week, once a month, etc. After a couple of years he goes about once a month now. He hasn't used his inhaler in over a year now. He does take OTC as well (and did before we started shots), but again it's more to control the light stuff; the heavy attacks he was having are gone.

For modest allergies I probably wouldn't take the shot series. However, if you're constantly on medication, I'd probably do it to save time and money over the long run. For severe allergies and asthma it can be a life-saver. For us. anyway.

YMMV - Don

 

[Mark]

When I was young, I had to get two allergy shots per week. It sucked big time as I was just a little kid and having to get shots all of the time wasn't enjoyable at all. But, they did help a lot. I haven't had a shot in years and I still have allergies, but they are less severe than before. So, yes they worked for me.

 

[amirm]

Thanks Mark. I am certainly too much of a chicken to sit through so many shots.