Allergy Shots

I am now on my 12th week of allergy shots (immunotherapy) to reduce hives and other allergic reactions. It hasn't been too bad. I got a shot in each arm once a week and then I wait in the office for 20 minutes to make sure I don't have an allergic reaction. The nurse checks the shot area for any swelling and then sends me on my way until the next week. The shots are very quick.

The process at my allergy clinic is to go through 5 vials of vaccinations to get to the maintenance phase. Each vial contains enough serum to give shots for 5 weeks. Once you finish a vial, you move up to the next vial. Each vial that you move up to contains a more concentrated serum. The serum is made specifically for each patient according to what you are allergic to. Little by little, the serum helps your immune system to build defenses against these allergens.

Once you make it to the fifth vial (the most concentrated vial), you begin the maintenance phase. Depending on the clinic and how you are doing, they could have you come anywhere from once a week to once every couple months.

I am already on my 3rd vial and I have not had an allergic reaction to it yet. If I were to have an allergic reaction, they would keep giving me shots from that concentration of serum each week until I did not have a reaction, then they would proceed to the next concentration level of serum.

As for how much it costs, it really isn't that much if it works. I pay around $4-5 dollars per weekly shot session after insurance. It is a long process and they told me that I wouldn't start seeing results until I have been coming for 6 months. You definately have to be able to keep up with it to make it work. I would definitely recommend it!