Question:
Can someone please help me with some information to help me make an educated
decision about this?
I have been getting allergy shots now for over two years. I had a LOT of
allergies and so I'm getting 3 shots each time. I've been on a maintenance
shot for over a year, maybe more, and I no longer get any reaction whatsoever.
When I first started, I was getting reactions ALL the time. Most of the time
not very much. A small welt. A scratchy throat. One time I required an
asthma treatment in my allergist's office (I have asthma). Occasionally I
would also use my inhaler when I started to weaze.
Lately, I notice NO effects whatsoever from my shots, except the shot areas
get a little warm and hard, but you'll get that with any shot. No welts,
no scratchy throat, not inhaler use (except for my ongoing asthma problem),
nothing.
Answer:
Allergy shots for asthmatics tend to be controversial.
There is a risk of an anaphylactic reaction (happened to me once,
I needed 2 shots of epinephrine to bring my peak flows up, they
had dropped to 20% of personal best 90 minutes after the shots)
Another factor is the nonallergic asthma component is not helped
by the shots. Perhaps the shots have worked and you are now desensitized.
You could try quiting. If your symptoms increase, you can always start
the shots up again; you would have to start at a low dose and work
back up again.
The success of the shots should be gauged by whether they allow you
to reduce the amount of medication you take. One way to find out is
to stop shots. Many people prefer to take more meds to avoid shots.
See:
http://www.allergy.or.kr/nonmoom/GREEN22/VIEW0001.HTM CURRENT STATUS OF
PRACTICAL IMMUNOTHERAPY IN USA JHU
Excerpt:
"Current indications for immunotherapy include seasonal allergic rhinitis
refractory to medical therapy, perennial allergic rhinitis and perennial
allergic asthma. The use of allergen Immunotherapy for allergic asthma
remains controversial; only allergy specialists are convinced that the
benefits exceed the risk. At Johns Hopkins we have attempted to address
this divisive issue by undertaking a long-term controlled trial of
broad-spectrum immunotherapy in allergic children with perennial asthma.
The results of this study suggest that 30 months of broad-spectrum
immunotherapy is probably not useful for management of moderate to
severe asthma in children who are receiving optimal care. "
http://www.aaaai.org/profinfo/publicat/paramete/treatmen/immunoth.html
Immunotherapy in the asthmatic patient (AAAAI)
http://allergy.mcg.edu/patients/factSheet.html Fact Sheet: Efficacy and
Safety of Immunotherapy (ACAAI)
http://www.mayohealth.org/mayo/9606/htm/9606up_2.htm Allergy Shots Help
Asthmatics
Wow, you are getting away cheap. The allergy shots I tried here in Baltimore, MD USA.... $350 per vial, lots of allergies so 2 different vials needed. Automatic renewal of vials every
6 mo required. If you had reactions to any of the build-up phase, and had to repeat, the first
vials would'nt have enough to get to maintainance dose. Each shot is $20, 2 required per week
by me. If you have a reaction you need to see the doc, he does spirometry each visit, so any
visit ends up costing $140.
My insurance was dumb enough to cover this stuff!
I stopped shots after 8 mo after figuring out most of my problems were caused by GERD. I
figured this out on my own from reading these websites and talked to another doctor. After
GERD medicine 1000% better.
After this experience I will, unfortunately, never trust an allergist again. If and when asthma
flares again I have a good pulmanologist now...
I have read that allergists are the only doctors who think allergy shots are worth trying to
treat asthma. I wonder why...
