I’m going to be getting allergy shots!!! YAY!!!!

So, yeah… if you knew me, you’d realize how crazy that sounds. Well, how crazy the level of excitement is… then again, if you knew me, then you’d also realize why I’m so excited.

For YEARS I have had atrocious allergies. I take three allergy medications a day (currently Nasacort, Singulair, and Xyzal), that all work in different ways… and that isn’t enough! Regularly I need to add Sudafed and Benadryl to the mix. Sometimes, actually usually, even the extra medications aren’t quite enough for people to stop asking me if I’m sick. Luckily, they’ve been slightly better recently, but it’s also not my main allergy season (and Xyzal is stronger than the Claritin I had been taking). Obviously, having allergy symptoms that constantly make people ask if I have a cold has been less than fun.

Now, after hearing that, why am I crazy for asking for allergy shots?

Well, you see, I HATE needles. Yes, despise needles. I used to be terrified of them. I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily correct anymore, but loath is definitely appropriate. When I need to get blood drawn, or other shots, I don’t freak out before the appointment. However, if I see the needle or I accidentally look as they’re injecting me, I have a slight anxiety attack. Any kind of needle entering my skin makes me extremely unhappy, but I don’t skip appointments or tests because of them. So yeah, I hate needles.

Do you know how often you have to get shots, and for how long, with allergy shots (aka immunotherapy)? Some people think it’s one or two a month for a year. Some think it’s weekly for a few months. Sorry folks, but both groups are wrong.

I will be doing shots weekly for two to three years. Now do you see why people think I’m crazy?!

Hopefully they will help. If I can get my allergies under control, we’re hoping that many of my other symptoms will also resolve, or at least improve. I have noticed that my fibro will flare up when my allergies do, and now my POTS gets a little out of control too. My EoE is also an allergic condition, and since we haven’t found any food triggers, my gastro is hoping the shots will help lessen my symptoms.

Unfortunately, as far as I know, the shots are expensive… which means I really need to start making some money. But hopefully we’ll be able to decrease some of my other medical expenses as my allergies improve!

I start the immunotherapy in two weeks. YAY!!!!