Anybody take Allergy Shots?

[Bjazzman]

i suffer from normal pollen, ragweed, etc yearround here in Minnesota. I've been told that you need to be on the shots for up to 5 years for them to be effective. I do ok with eyedrops, nose spray and zyrtec but i can't help thinking i could be alot better with the shots

so those that take or have taken them, how long did you take them and were they effective?

[jmattbassplaya]

My friend did them for about 6 years (almost every single day) and it worked for him.

I use to have bad allergies, never took shots, and now I don`t have bad allergies... I won`t say the shots don`t work, but in my case they were unnecessary since my allergies have naturally gone away - this seems to be the case for a lot of people.

Just food for thought.

[Mike N]

I did allergy shots for 18 years and still have allergy issues.

[Phalex]

I took them for years when I was a kid. (Probably from age 10 to age 15) They seemed to help. One year I just sort of grew out of them. My eyes still swell shut sometimes, but I can usually breathe OK.

[MonetBass]

I grew up with allergies and asthma. Took the shots for nine years (from 7 to 16), once a week, and my allergies are considerably better and my asthma is nearly non-existent.

[Lady Kayri]

Had them once a week for about 8 years when I was a teenager. In college, I started to get worse reactions from the shots than the problems I had with allergies, so stopped taking the shots. Still have allergies, but they're minimal enough now that just taking OTC allergy pills during allergy season keeps it more or less under control.

[PSPookie]

I took the shots once a week for 2-3 years (ages ~10-12). The program I was on gradualy increased the concentration of allergens in the shot as you aquired tollerance. I eventualy stopped because the doses were so strong they burned like fire when injected.

Before I had the shots I had terrible allergies. I spent most of my summers indoors because of it. Now I have mild to moderate allergies and can manage even the worst times of year with OTC meds.

[Grizzly700]

I had them for about 5 years. About 2 years into them and 2 years after I had no sinus issues at all. At the moment, I'm sitting at home out of school with a really bad sinus infection.

[Relic]

I had them when I was a kid. Not sure if it was 5 years or not. It seemed like 50!
I'm fine now though. No noticeable side effects.
GrAaaAAAaaAAck!!!

Oh, except for spontaneously yelling odd sounds and stuff.

[Smurf-o-Deth]

I too took them for years as a child, as I was allergic to practically everything that was tested for. I looked like a lobster, I was so red from all the reactions. The shots helped me out considerably.