Living the allergy shot life

Each allergy plan is unique to that person, so be sure to talk to your doctor about what’s best for you. I’m sharing my allergy shot tale for others who may be looking for more personal experiences. This is not medical advice.

You could say I’m wildly allergic to the state of Colorado. One weird perk of having lived someplace before is that you know what life there can be like. I had a lot of allergy and general sickness issues as a kid living out here, and I expected that to return when we moved to Colorado last year. I requested an allergy referral through my main doctor (standard Tricare Prime procedure) because my mom told me about a new medicine that targeted my main allergy (Timothy grass). Long story short, my doctor decided to start me on allergy shots because of my wide and perplexing allergies (like to cats and cockroaches).

Allergy shots work by introducing levels of the thing(s) you are sensitive to in increasing amounts to build up your immune response. You start with small doses and work up to a maximum level (called “maintenance”). You also get shots according to a schedule your doctor / clinic sets up, but the end goal is to get to maintenance, where you receive the dosage just once a month.

If you’re lucky (like me), you have lots of allergies and actually need multiple shots. I get three shots at a time. My current plan will require around 36 shots per allergy blend to hit the highest dosage. I have been trying to go twice a week to reach that maintenance level sooner as fall is my main allergy season, but life in general hasn’t always made that easy.

Have you done allergy shots? Did they work for you?