Question:
I have had FMS for over 3 years now. Recently, my allergies have reached
the point where there are no longer manageable with oral meds. I am
scheduled for allergy testing on May 10. My question is this, how have
fellow FMS'ers done with allergy testing and later, shots? My husband is
quite concerned about me going through the process of testing and shots.
We recently moved to a new town and I haven't contacted a new Rheumy
yet. My old one didn't know of one in my new town. BTW< does anyone know
a good rheumy in Athens, GA. I really don't want to have to drive to
Atlanta if I can help it.
Answer:
I recently had the testing done and it was a breeze. Not painful at all. I
was allergic to less stuff than I thought, but had a bad reaction to grass.
Being in PA, that's a problem. I moved here from Massena, NY up near the
canadian border where my allergies basically disappeared. anyway, the first night I was very tired, that's all. Don't do everything at
once.
Be careful of that breathing test. That was hard for me because of my neck and
back problems - straining the muscles. If that isn't a problem for you, than
don't worry.
My allergist did the test over a two week period, not all at once.
I have an FM pal in Macon which looks further on
the map but you would avoid that mess of hihgways
(looking on map). I will ask if she knows anybody
near her or near you. On the other hand she has to
go to a oain clinic in Hotlanta. I was tests for a varity of things since I have all-year allergies,
which suddenly got worse several months before the FM became full-blown six
years ago. (Grasses and molds beging the absolute worst. They also tested
for cockroaches believe it or not. And yes, turned out I was allergic to
them too...among other things.)
I was started out on shots but was taken off 6 months later. Turned
out my immune system was becoming to sensative to even the small doses of
the shots. It was explained that it would have taken a bit too long for my
system to adjust to a certain dosage before I can slowly proceed to the next
level to be of any help.
I'm currently on Flonae and Claritan-D daily...but still have sinus
problems due to the allergies. The allergy tests I got were mostly skin tests & injections. The things
I was allergic to (cats, dogs, dust mites, ragweed, every kind of
tree...) made me itch like crazy & hurt a bit, but it was bearable. I
never had any problems with allergy shots when I started getting them,
and they did seem to help considerably. Unfortunately, stopped getting
the shots when I lost my health insurance...
