Have you ever just wanted to claw your eyes out?  There have been weeks on end where I couldn’t breathe without sudafed.  Tired all day because I tossed and turned all night.

As the years went by, my allergies continued to get worst.  They generally persist all year.  In 2015, I was sick all fall taking antibiotics and steroids.  It wasn’t until fall of 2016 that I realized it was just my allergies getting that much worst during hay fever.  With kids, it is easy to blame feeling bad on some virus they brought home.  Bronchitis for me is just inevitable after most viruses due to asthma.   I would also get laryngitis and not be able to speak at all.

After threatening to move and realizing that only Newfoundland is ragweed free, I went to a specialist.  The allergy testing process was not bad.  I found I was allergic to every plant I was tested for and pets.  The doctor pretty much sang the words “allergy shot” with every area she inspected (eyes, ears, nose, throat, etc.).  It wouldn’t have mattered what the treatment option was.  Whatever was offered, I was going to take it.

Skeptical at first, I went to my local physician for bi-weekly shots.  As fall turned to winter, I was definitely feeling better.  I was happy when the visits reduced to weekly.  Excited when they went to bi-monthly.  When they change to monthly, I will seriously be over joyed.  It was not enjoyable to go to the doctor office so often. No matter the exhaustive effort, it has been worth it.

I’m making this post to convince any of you who have been putting off shots, but need them, to stop procrastinating!  It was not very evident at first.  I still had to take a lot of medicine to function.  As the shots got further apart, I would start to notice when I needed one.  I would have to start taking more medicine to get through the day.  That was completely unexpected!

When hay fever hit in 2017, I requested to go back to weekly shots until the season was over.  It is unbelievable how with the shots, I needed almost zero medicine for allergies and asthma, but without them I need the whole kit caboodle (inhaler, nasal spray, allergy pill, eye drops, and sometimes steroids).  At winter, I went back to bi-monthly shots and that has gone well.

I’ll update or re-post as more time goes on.  It’s been a year and four months since I started allergy shots and it was one of the best decisions I ever made!

A lovely picture of some of my allergy killers:

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