sideofsalt Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 I would like to know if you have had experience - good, bad or so-so with allergy shots and/or drops. I am a candidate for them and aim to start them soon. Allergy season is hitting me hard and early this year, and my otherwise reliable Zyrtec isn't cutting it for me. I'm also going back on Singulair which helps a lot more but not 100%. Any precautions from a POTS perspective as I begin these? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katybug Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 I receive allergy shots. I don't have any problems from a pots perspective with them. I have classical allergies but I also have mast cell issues. It took me almost 3 years to reach my maintenance dose because I had significant localized reactions and my immunologist promised me we would always err on the side of caution given how complicated my case is. If the injection causes a welt larger than 2 quarters side by side, (which still happens sometimes), we back down how many cc I receive and work back up to the maintenance dose. We did the same thing while working up to the maintenance dose which is why it took so long to get to maintenance. Just as an fyi....one reason we are super cautious now is because as a teen, I received allergy shots. I was given to strong/too much of the serum too fast and it caused me to break out in hives all over my body (places you really don't want hives like under the eyelids and the nether regions). It took weeks of high dose antihistamines and steroids to get that to go away. I was having worsening localized reactions but that doc didn't care until it was too late. I do take an H1 and H2 antihistamine currently. I am also on a low dose of prednisone. Because I am so sensitive and am a syncope risk in general, my doc has me sit for 15 minutes within site of medical assistants that administer the shots in case I have any problems. Oh, and the local reactions tend not to come up on my arm until 3-5 hours after I receive the shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideofsalt Posted February 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 Hi and thanks Katybug! This gives me some points to discuss with my doctor. My immune system seems ever more sensitive, I want to be cautious but need to proceed with desensitization. What happens when you have a delayed reaction like you mentioned? Do you just take something like Benadryl? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katybug Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 The localized reactions are welts that usually raise up 1-2 cm and can be anywhere from 3-8 inches long and about 3-4 inches wide. They do itch but I have a high tolerance for itching because I get hives and rashes daily, so I don't tend to do anything but wait it out. The doc has told me I can apply a topical like a cortisone cream or benadryl cream. I wouldn't take an oral benadryl for it because I do sometimes need oral benadryl for other things like hives or nausea so I try not to overuse it. Plus, the local reactions look terrible but aren't really that annoying. I guess I've trained myself to ignore the itch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideofsalt Posted March 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 I had my allergist appointment this week and was surprised that the allergist did not prescribe allergy shots for me right away even though I'm a candidate based on my previous doctors' assessments. Trees are going crazy in my area right now but in the scratch test, I did not show that I'm allergic to them. He based this on my current symptoms which has been unusual fatigue in the afternoons, and every time I go outside I experience a small amount of throat itching/coughing, some joint pains, and lots of adrenaline surges and chest tightness/pressure/sharp pains. Sometimes I'll get acid reflux and my esophagus will feel like it's smaller and peristalsis seems hindered when I try to swallow dry, chunky foods like nuts. Zyrtec does not make these symptoms go away, but Singulair and Benadryl mostly do. He did not discount that they work, but he said I'm not showing the allergy reaction that shots would help! Those symptoms would be sneezing/runny nose/itchy eyes. We did a breathing test before and after using an inhaler and I did show minor improvement (and some of my chest tightness released afterward), so I was given an inhaler to test whether or not I have asthma over the next few weeks. His conclusion is that POTS is causing my symptoms, and I believe that it's allergies being my POTS trigger! I am grateful to not have to drive to get allergy shots every week, but I am a little stumped... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katybug Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 I'm confused...did you react on the skin patch testing to anything or was that testing negative? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideofsalt Posted March 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 Yes, I did react to dust mites and grasses big time. But not foods or trees. The doctor concluded I'm not allergic to the trees in my area. Yet, I do have my symptoms when the pollen counts increase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katybug Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 The skin patch test, tests for allergy reactions that are caused by IgE mediated allergies. The shots are designed to help build up a tolerance to the allergen in question so that you body does not produce IgE cells against that allergen. If you are not having a reaction on the skin test to trees, then you may not have an IgE or "classic allergy" to trees. You may be experiencing a mast cell reaction to trees which is downstream from IgE in the immune system. If that is the case, the shots would not improve the situation but antihistamines would help control the mast cells. Is it possible this is what the doctor was getting at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideofsalt Posted March 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 Hi Katybug, he did not mention mast cells, but he did ask me to verify that I was taking antihistamines and to simply continue. Can you point me to any resources that discuss this aspect of mast cells by chance? Also, as an aside, he told me that hives were autoimmune in nature and not a classic allergy symptom. However, when my allergies changed 2 years ago, I broke out with hives and itching when it seemed grasses were at their peak. To me there is a link of some sort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katybug Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mast_cellThis gives a good overview of how mast cells work when all is going well. What basically happens with mcas is that things that normally wouldn't have an effect on mast cell activity causes the mast cells to degranulate and release all of their chemicals in the absence of IgE cells. I'll see if I can find more resources for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideofsalt Posted March 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 Thank you! I'm reading through it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katybug Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23179866https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=42603http://geneticgenie.org/blog/2013/01/31/mast-cell-activation-disorder-mcad-chronic-illness-and-its-role-in-methylation/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideofsalt Posted March 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideofsalt Posted March 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 This has been very informative Katybug, thanks! The geneticgenie article is especially interesting because it discusses some of the biochemical pathways that affect methylation which may be at the root of some people's mast cell issues. I've read through some methylation articles before, but have not bridged the gap between mast cell and methylation. A number of interesting supplements are mentioned. How does one go about getting diagnosed for a mast cell issue anyways? Who does one see? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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