Rush Immunotherapy

For those of you that are faithful Facebook followers, you already know that spring 2011 has been an allergy season of epic proportions for me. I'm not the kind of person who is sick often...maybe, I miss about 2 days a year total. This March, I missed THREE days due to allergy issues. That's not normal. So when I went in for allergy testing, my allergist suggested I'd be a great candidate for shots. I'm allergic to most grasses, trees, dust, mold etc...just enough that therapy might provide some relief. I had the option of regular build up...which would take 6 months and start out with 3 sessions a week for 10 weeks. Or I could do rush immunotherapy, which involved a full day of intense treatment, and then I'd be at the monthly maintenance in about 1-2 months. Knowing my schedule (and the desire to feel relief faster), I opted for the rush treatment. To prepare, I had to take a series of meds the day before, the day of and the day after...this was to avoid any possible reaction to the introduction of so many allergens at once...it's like an intense vaccination process. I had to be sure to hydrate well the night before and morning of the treatment. And I had to wait until the IV was inserted to have my beloved morning caffeine. I have to say, the folks at Allergy & Asthma Associates were top notch. It really felt like a bit of a spa day the way they waited on me! I arrived with 3 bags in tow: blankets (as the room gets cold, and I had to wear shorts and t-shirt to make treatment easier), pillow, lunch and snacks, movies, laptop, magazines and study materials for my CFRE exam (which I'm taking in June, as long as my application is accepted). I had my own private room for the day, complete with recliner. We started by taking all my vitals, including several breathing tests. My favorite was the computer game where I had to blow down the 3 pigs' houses. Then insertion of a tiny IV, which lived in my left arm all day. I'm glad it wasn't my visions of hospital IVs that I'd have to carry down the hall on restroom trips! We then began the series of 11 shots. For each, I got a shot in each arm...with 20 minutes in between each series. Before every shot, my vitals were measured again. It was great to see my blood pressure readings so low for once!

• The first 4 shots were from silver vials, which were mostly saline. The nurse explained that as the vial colors changed, the concentration of allergens would become greater. My nose got slightly itchy after these but this disappeared quickly.


• The next 6 were from green vials. With every new set of vials, I got to verify that they were prescribed to me, which was nice. I felt pretty good after these but a little sleepy...but then, it was close to lunchtime. I felt less sleepy after eating.


• The next 6 from the blue vials made my ears pop a bit. Nothing major or uncomfortable, but doc and nurse wanted to know about any changes as they happened. They were great in constantly checking on me.


• The last 6 were from gold vials. The nurse warned me that these are the ones she'd watch my reactions the closest since they were the strongest. She said I shouldn't be freaked out that she'd be looking closely at my eyes, since that would be the first sign of a bad reaction. After the last set, I became a bit sleepy again. More snacks helped a little.

After finishing the shots, I then had to stay for 2 hours with vitals checked every 30 minutes. During the first hour, I got sleepier and warmer. I could feel my ears get toasty and they said they got a little red even, along with my face getting flush...but that this was completely normal. By the time Adam picked me up, I was still a little flush (enough that he could notice) but feeling good enough to grab a sandwich around the corner before heading home for the night.

About an hour after I got home, I was kind of miserable...I could tell I needed rest, and another Zyrtec as my sinuses felt irritated. The 2 hour nap really hit the spot...but then screwed up my sleep cycle a bit. Really, all my cycles were a bit off. I ate lightly during the day, so got hungry again around 11, then didn't go to bed until 2:30.

I don 't feel too badly today...just tired and a little lightheaded, but that may be more from my interrupted sleep. I am retaining water like crazy...up 5 pounds! But again, may be more likely to my late night meal and little sleep. I'm going to hydrate well today and rest up as much as I can and see how it goes.

Probably the worst part is BOY are my arms sore! Not sure when I will get a workout in, but accepted it may not be until early next week. Not even sure really how much I will leave the house the next few days (took today as a sick day too) but it's a small price to pay for the road to relief.

My next steps are returning in a week to get my next dose. I have 9 to go until I only have to go once a month for maintenance. My goal is to get there before Memorial Day.

The rush therapy is not for everyone, but it was not as bad an experience as I imagined it to be (of course, I pictured the worst).