Weighing Options: Shots Every Other Week or Half the Year Sneezing?

I never thought I'd come to this point. I am terrified of needles above all else in this world. I have panic attacks just knowing I am going to get a shot or have bloodwork done. And now here I am, seriously considering asking my doctor about immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy, aka "allergy shots," has been proven to lessen reactions to certain allergins, including insect stings, various pollens, and pet dander. Sounds great, right? So why doesn't everyone get immunotherapy instead of having to take allergy medications all the time? Well, there's the little fact that immunotherapy is a long-term solution. It can take anywhere between two to five years, and you could be getting another shot every two to four weeks, always in your upper arm. If you're anything like me, that would literally be a pain.

So here's my dilemma. I suffer from hay fever and allergy-induced asthma. I can truthfully say that I am allergic to nearly all of nature. Every kind of grass, tree, flower, etc. that gives off pollen, every mammal I've come in contact with but guinea pigs, many kinds of birds, especially chickens, mold and fungi spores, and insect stings.

Six out of twelve months, I can barely get enough oxygen to think straight. Three months in the spring, and three months in the fall, my allergies beat me into submission. Each year, they get worse. I'm only in the beginning of it this spring, and already my fingers are shaking so much that it's difficult to even type this blog. My head feels like it's going to split in two, I can't see straight, I can hardly hear anything correctly, I'm constantly dizzy, my nose never ceases to run, and I have horrible sneezing fits that leave my lungs burning and sometimes turn into coughing fits. Ironically, I've somehow managed to avoid sinus infection thus far.

You might tell me to take some allergy medicine. That would be smart. Too bad I'm already on as much of the stuff as I can safely take. Because of my asthma being especially bad this time of year, I absolutely cannot switch to a different medication. If I stopped taking Singulair at this time of year, I'd end up in the hospital from a major asthma attack. But I also need an antihistamine for my sinuses. Luckily, I can safely take half a dose of Bendryl (the Allergy and Sinus Headache formula) every four hours, as long as I keep two hours between the taking of each different medication.

I never took a combination of meds before last fall, and it saved me a lot of suffering. But this spring, all it's managing to do is put me to sleep. My allergies are worse than they've ever been, and it's got me terrified. I'm beginnign to feel like my only option left is to go for the shots.

It sounds good so far. Not only should immunotherapy work to relieve my allergy symptoms, it should help my asthma a bit as well. Sure, it won't work right away, but over time, instead of my allergies getting worse, they'll get better.

But what to do about my sheer terror in the face of getting a shot? Do I want to have to face that every month for five years? And how would it work out with my going to college for the next four years? I'm going out-of-state, and will have to see a different doctor while in school than at home. Then there's the possibility of a bad reaction to the shots. I could very well end up in the hospital, with my luck.

I want to ask my doctor about it, but my doctor's a quack who doesn't know what to do with me. She'll probably try to talk me out of it, and then try to get me to switch medicines again. The last four medications she put me on had no effect, and it was my pediatrician who knew that I didn't need an antihistamine for my general allergies.

My mom went through three years of immunotherapy before her arms couldn't take it anymore. She's still got her allergies, but she tells me that they used to be a lot worse. Most of the time, she doesn't even need to take medicine to control her symptoms. I want to be in that place. Even if I still break out in a rash from the cat or sitting in the grass, being able to breathe easier would be an imense blessing. I'm not about to pack up and move to the city, away from my little farm, to escape my allergies. I love it too much out here to leave, even if it means suffering for half the year.

So I'm left wondering, what should I do? Should I go for the shots, and see what happens, or just wait and see what happens? It's a really tough decision for me to make, but a really important one.

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