Should I take allergy shots for 4 years?

Question

I went to an allergy specialist yesterday and got skin tested. Results indicate that I'm severely allergic to Pollen, Dust, and some types of grass/plants and mildly allergic to a lot of other things. I never thought it was THAT serious. I have had breakouts where my nose runs all day long, constant sneezing and irritation/swelling in my eyes. It seems to happen 1-3 times per week. Anyway, the specialist told me I was one of the more severe cases he deals with.

I would just go ahead with the shots, but they are really expensive. $1300 one time fee (my insurance deductible is $1500). Then about $25 per visit. He said I need 3 shots each visit and 2 times a week for about 3 months, then move down to once a week. That's gonna cost me an extra $200/month! Not to mention the $1500 deductible I have to take care of. And he said it will have to be done for about 4 years!

This is a fairly large financial committment for me and I just need to know if they are really going to help me.

any personal experiences?

Answer 1

I would first seek a second opinion and then if still needed, you may have to bite the bullet and take the tx. good luck

Answer 2

Happy to help...as a board-certified Allergist, I can tell you that allergen immunotherapy (I.T.) vaccine (so-called "allergy shots") have now been available for about 100 years...and of course now we have perfected allergen extracts to use. If patients are properly selected, and especially if testing is done correctly (sounds like yours may have been), then high-dose I.T. clearly DOES work. If you either have or wish to prevent bronchial asthma then there's a bonus as I.T. has been shown in a variety of studies to be able to do both! A 3-5 year course is most typical so the 4 year estimate is mid-range and accurate. The cost is variable in terms of patients' out of pocket due to the large variation in health insurance plans...but with a $1500 deductible, you'd obviously reach that quickly for this year...and that will make all OTHER health costs for you for the year totally covered! The costs per series of injections is very typical in that $20-30 per range (double that for twice weekly "build-up" is also reasonable for the 3 or 4 months until you build to maintenance, when once weekly is the standard. During the latter years, it gets much easier and therefore less expensive as you can normally space out to an extra week per year (so every other week next year, every 3rd week the following year, etc.).
HOPE THAT HELPS!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!

Answer 3

Speaking from personal experience, I would immediately go see a Health Kinesiologist. They are much, much more reasonably priced, and using acupressure, they train your energy system (and therefore your body) to not have its allergic reaction in just 2-3 appointments. No needles, no substances wearing down your immune system, much smaller fees, much easier on you overall. I decided to try it before I did the shots and I never went back to the allergist (except for a 6-month checkup later where my lung volume was huge compared to earlier and I even had a cold at the time). I would not have believed it if it hadn't worked on both myself and my 2-year-old son. I haven't had any of my hay fever symptoms in the seven years since I saw a Health Kinesiologist once a month for a year, for just $75 per appointment. And I had immediate relief after the first appointment. Try this website to find a practitioner near you: http://www.subtlenergy.com/training/locate_practitoner.htm

Health Kinesiology also has a one-day class you can take where you can use 8 acupressure points yourself to train your body away from the allergic reaction. Check the classes section of www.subtlenergy.com. Good luck!

Answer 4

If you have the money, allergy shots DO help. I have had allergy shots myself and it has made a big difference. I would wonder if you can be done in only 4 years, however. I was on shots for 9 years. Can he guarantee that you will be done in only 4 years? If you are not done, will he finish the shots for free?

Answer 5

maybe?

well i have grass/plant allergies, and i used to take in medication. it would help but it costed a huge amount of money.

so now I take accupuncture every 4 - 6 months ( 50 for every visit ). now my allergies doesn't happen very often.

Answer 6

oh yeah it will help. i was nearly put on shots and its a whole lot easier than figuiring out drug combos. and cheaper in the long run because you get weaned off and can have immunity for the rest of your life. my brother was on shots and he rarely has problems with his astma these days

Answer 7

if you can afford it i would