My Allergy Journey

This journey started several years ago, but now that it's well underway, I'm finally recording it.

I decided to have some allergy testing done years ago since we had met our deductible and I hate how often I get sinus infections. (Doctors has always said that an allergy attack often can turn into a sinus infection.) We did the testing, but then Dr. Mireku mentioned pregnancy can affect how allergic you are to your triggers, what your triggers are, etc. Since we had other pregnancies planned, we put off doing anything about my allergies until we knew we were done with babies. So now that we're done with having babies, we re-did the testing to find out what my levels are and to what, so we have a new baseline.

My new baseline showed that I'm allergic to Hackberry tree, Johnson weed/grass, Lamb's quarters weed/mold, dust mites, dog, cat, cockroach (EEW!), and Pem Notatum. My sheet shows me the different levels of each of these, but the serum for me will treat all of these, regardless of the levels.

Once the testing was done, Dr. Mireku suggested an alternative course of treatment for me, which is awesome! So, Traditional Testing is two injections each week for 6 months, followed by two injections each month for 6 months. I qualified for RUSH, which is one full day (8 hours) of shots, followed by two months of 2 injections each week, and then the 2 injections each month over the next 6 months. So basically, I got 4 months of shots done in one day, so that I shaved time off the course of treatment.

This is good for several reasons: 2015's Out of Pocket Max has been met, so I'm trying to get as much done in the next few months as possible. Because, hello... FREE. Secondly, as a busy mom of three boys, this saved me four months of twice-weekly injections. That's a lot of coordination, so removing time from the hours I would spend in the office is amazing.

I had to take several different medications each morning and evening for the three days ahead of time and then show up prepared to stay the whole day, including food, drink and entertainment. Seth took the day off so he could fill in for me, taking the bigs to school, running errands with Carson, and then to OT in the afternoon. I borrowed some "don't-talk-to-me-headphones" from a friend, brought a stack of magazines, BSF homework, and a book with me. I stopped at Starbucks on the way and brought my water glass with me. I brought some things for lunch, which I had to eat in an isolated area, and aside from getting shots all day long, it was really relaxing!

My stash of entertainment for the day.

Rocking the don't-talk-to-me look.

This was where I was all day long. They had HGTV on the tv all day long, so during the moments where I had the place to myself (most people just come for a 30 minute shot stay-as I will following this week). When people came, I put the headphones on to help keep me focused on what I was working on and discourage chatting. The biggest complaint was not seeing the sun/daylight all day long.

In the beginning, I got shots every 30 minutes which meant that magazines were my best bet, because it's hard to do BSF when you're getting interrupted all the time like that. Then it was one shot, wait an hour and lastly, one shot, wait 2 hours. Once my time was elapsed and I'd been checked out by the doctor, I was free to go. I have one more big appointment on Thursday, where I have a shot followed by a two-hour stay, but then I transition to the twice-weekly, 30 minute slots. I think the pace is determined by how well I react, and my goal is to try to go through as much as possible while it's free to us.

Here's the back of my arms when I got home.

While I'm not guaranteed to be totally free of allergies, it will mean I have to worry less about the things I am allergic to. If I go to a friend's house that I didn't know has a cat, I'm paranoid the whole time, worrying about how I'll react. I try really hard to remember my allergy pill anytime I'm heading to a house I know will have allergens, and hate how awful I feel when I forget. Plus, not being so allergic to so many things should reduce the number of sinus infections I get each year which will be a huge benefit.

So, the future looks like a 2-hour appt on Thursday followed by injections twice a week for most of the rest of 2015. We'll check back on my progress in December to see how things are going for me to move to maintenance which is just two shots a month. I'm excited to have this much done already and I look forward to feeling better and better going forward! Thanks for all your prayers!!!!