Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Into approximately 6th week of allergy shot therapy. Yesterday, around 1:30 p.m. rec'd injection and I immediately started itching at injection site on left arm. It made a weal about the size of a dime. Told it was ok. It itched all evening, and still itches this morning. The swelling went from size of a dime to size of a baseball. At 6 p.m. I took black marker and made spot marks around it to see if it increased or decreased. It increased. I took Benadryl also, which seemed to help the itching. No other problems but wondering now if I dare have the next round of shots. I looked up reactions and it's not uncommon to have this happen but usually subsides in 4 to 8 hours. I am well past 8 hours.
Advice?
Hi Massue,
It's funny you should have this happen to you now. There was a news article talking about allergy shots, just yesterday. It's called, Allergy Shots Are Not For Everyone. It is too bad that you received double the normal injection. It just goes to show that regardless of who our medical professionals are, we still have to manage our own care. Keep records and ask questions, ask questions, ask questions!
Dr. Paula Busse is one of the resident experts here. She has a sharepost located here about treating allergies with allergy shots. It's a good read.
I hope this information helps. Stay in touch and let us know how you are doing!
Vicki M
Hi Massue,
When you see your allergist, don't forget to ask if it is possible the allergic reaction you are having is related to either the needles, the delivery, perhaps it's the formulary. Maybe they have different medicines to treat the same allergies? I know I can take certain types of sudafed, but not all of them because of the different ingredients.
Could be this last couple times, there was a speck of something around the injection site that interfered with your getting the proper shot and now your body is just overly sensitive to it?
Just a couple thoughts. Stay in touch and let us know how you are doing!!
Vicki M
I spent a miserable night. Altho I wasn't aware of having trouble breathing, I woke up in the middle of the night (2 a.m.) and had to take Benadryl and sit up for awhile. When it seemed to quiet down, I went back to bed. This morning I really feel the effects of the coughing. I feel like an idiot. The inhaler doesn't seem to help much during this spell but Benadryl has always helped, so that's what I did. The injection site is still red and swollen about size of half dollar. With such small injected amount this time, I sure need to call my allergist on Monday. I wear no perfumes or body lotions of any kind. It's always the left arm and not the right arm. They inject in both each trip there.
She did say several of their patients can have trouble at this juncture.
Hi Massue,
How are you doing? Did the claritin make a difference in getting your shots?
Vicki M
Not a bit different. I'm fine at the Dr's office but within 2 hours it starts out with a mosquito-bite look to it and swells from there. It itches from the time they give me the injection. Still itches the next day and hydrocortisone cream does nothing to help. I was cut down to .010 and the last one I had was .020 and still reacting. So what happens if a person keeps reacting like this? I can bear with the itching, it's manageable but my concern is more severe reaction. Eventually do I have an episode of anaphylaxis and will they be able to deal with it? Or the delayed reaction means the anaphylaxis will come on when I am driving down the road or home with my 5 yr old?
Have you heard of patients unable to continue with allergy shots? I don't have trouble breathing but then I didn't have trouble with breathing when I had the anaphylaxis episode, until I just QUIT breathing altogether! My blood pressure dropped to barely enough to still be alive. And all I felt was "funny".
It's the tree pollen, grasses, weeds so I really need this so I feel better when all the pollens are flying. I have not been in this week yet for my shot. I was out of town. Going tomorrow and if I react again, guess I'll contact my allergist and see what's next.
Hi Massue,
Sorry you are having such a time with these shots, but it might be that you can't take them. Perhaps there is something in the formulary that your body just can not tolerate.
Dr Paula Busse wrote an article about allergy shots and she states that the side effects you are experiencing are known side effects for the shots, including difficulty breathing. But that doctors will prescribe inhalers to help with those effects. You can read the whole article here.
Did you ever try any of the corticosteroids like flonase or beconase?
You can read about them here. The article says, " Corticosteroid nasal sprays, such as beclomethasone (Beconase, Vancenase), budesonide (Nasonex) and fluticasone (Flonase), are probably the most effective treatment for hay fever and perennial allergic rhinitis. People with seasonal allergies should start the nasal corticosteroid spray a week or two before an expected rise in pollen counts."
You have to take them once or twice a day and it's not an immediate fix, you have to continue the treatments every day even when you feel like you don't need them. They work really well for me in the height of allergy season, which is just around the corner for you with grasses and tree season.
The old adage "cutting your nose off to spite your face" never seemed poignant to me until I had allergies!
Good luck, let us know how you are doing!
Vicki M
Another shot today at 9:30, .030 and yet another reaction but this one worse than when I had the 1.0 injection and the first reaction. This time I had my husband take me back to the Dr. (25 miles away) as I was afraid to drive myself (4 p.m.). They were shocked at the amount of swelling and the heat in it. (Seeing is believing?) Called my allergist and I stood there and listened to the nurse tell them I had not made them aware the last time I had a reaction! This is not so! I have made them aware each and every time!
The allergist put me on predisone 20 mg tonite, in the morning, and again tomorrow nite and I know I have to come down gradual so when I call in the morning, I'll have to get a scrip for more as my supply here is minimal. They want the vials of solution sent back to their office on Monday so they can check it and I don't know what from there. Dilute it down more the nurses at the Dr.'s office thought. The swelling has continued and it now encompasses my hand. In spite of hydrocortisone cream and ice pack. I'm beginning to believe these shots may not be for me. I'm worried about being alone here with our five year old and having problems in the night. I know how quickly I went into anaphylactic shock in September and really wasn't feeling bad so can't go by how I "feel". I had high hopes this would work for me but if it doesn't, I will try the other. Nasonex is what he has me using along with Singulair and Zyrtec and the Claritin on the days I have the shots.
I will be reading your reply and looking up all suggested sites for info. Thanks so much for your help!
I have been getting my allergy shots since June of 07. I have had a reaction every time. At the moment I am at the highest dosage I will ever get. Its a 1:1 mixture and at 5, how ever you messure needles. My worst reaction was at a dosage of 3. I delt with it at home with benedryl and my inhaler, but when I went to my next shot I was told that I should have used an epi pen and called 911. I was itchy from head to toe, my arm was hot with a welp about 6 in diameter. My face was hot and flushed. I had to make an appointment with my allergist after this. Oh they also cut my dosage in half but then brought it back up much quicker. My allergist then wrote me a perscription for the epi pen, my thought was why had they not done this at the beginning.
Well my shots yesterday, one in each arm (animals in one, weeds trees in the other) I received my shots at 10:35am... its now 9:58 am the next day and my left one is so itchy. Both are still feverish and the welt on the left arm is again about 6" in diameter. The right is only about 3". I have to say i have seen worse, a coworker of mine use to always swell up on her arm as big as a softball around and stick out sometimes half an inch.
So what is suppose to be normal? Have you found out yet. I hate to quit this far into the game. I can deal with it, but am afraid of dismissing the symtoms as not being bad but that i should have used my epi pen.
Anyone have any suggestions. I am suppose to make another appt with my allergist in the next week or so.. to see what our next course of action is... what normally happens at this stage is going ever two weeks.
From what I understand, a little redness and itching might be ok. Yours does sound excessive! They have me taking Claritin 2 hours before I go in, on top of the Zyrtec and Singulair I am already taking on daily basis. My allergist promptly had me stop the shots, had meds sent back to them, diluted them, and now have resumed with no problem, but feel like I am back peddling and am more on what the second set of vials had for strength. My reaction seems to be to the tree, weeds, and grass pollens, which they call shot 1. Right arm never bothers me. But they backed off on both.
I am at high risk to once again go into anaphylaxis shock so am very careful. I didn't want reactions to the shots to trigger it. Always carry two epi pens with me ALL the time. Read of too many instances where someone thought they didn't need to and they ended up dying when they reacted to something. If I had your reactions, I'd be for finding someone who could maybe direct your allergies a little better! I take it you do alot of research on-line?
I have the same problem at the injection site. Every time they try to up my dose, I get redness, itching & sore and a little stuffy the next day. Every week they do a different arm. Maybe that might help. It happens every time. Sometimes dime size sometime half dollar. I have been getting the shots for 9 months now. And I am know longer on any allergy meds. I have told my Dr's about the reactions, and they just tell me they have to adjust me up slower. I have always been very sensitive to medications in general, so my reaction doesn't suprise me. My Dr. makes everyone sit in the waiting room for 30 minutes after the shot, because if you were to have a bad reaction it's most likely to happen in the 1st 30 min. The shots have helped me with dogs & dust. I still have 2 dogs and can clean my house without a mask. It has been well worth it for me. Hope that helped.
Shelli
has your allergist took your vials back and diluted them, I work at a dr's office and if reactions keep happening the allergists ask for the vials back and they dilute them. If yours hasent, ask them. This is a commom thing to do not sure why your allergist hasent.