allergy season! ARGH! Help??

More and more I'm finding homeopathics a great alternative for both me AND the dogs.  Any of the non-sleepy antihistamines just don't work on me -- Benedryl is the only one I can really take and as long as my body is "using" it (big allergy time) it doesn't make me too sleepy. BUT it is hard on the kidneys.
 
I have found homepathics help a whole lot more than you'd believe.  The drawback is you have to take them quite frequently -- but there is no sleepiness.
 
Boiron makes a tablet (like almost all homeopathics you plop them under your tongue and let them dissolve -- not at all unpleasant tasting).  The tablet one is "Sabadil" and they have a sinus one as well.
 
They do make a pellet one "Histaminum" that works incredibly well too -- it's in the typical little blue cylinders
 
But you take them several times the first half hour and then every 2-3 hours.  Now that's a lot but you don't get sleepy AT ALL.
 
For the bumps on your eye -- or ANY allergy that comes out on the skin -- you want Apis Mellifica in homeopathic strength.
 
Hylands makes a pellet (that comes in a little bottle -- easier to dispense than the Boiron but harder to find) called "Hives" -- that is a blend that has both apis and histaminum in it.
 
Hives works REALLY well on dogs because dog allergies come out in the skin. 
 
I don't like allergy shots on dogs -- but I know there are those who strongly disagree with me.  And I wouldn't use them on myself for the same reason -- I don't want anything to further depress my own immune system.
 
I live in Florida -- same tyhpe of thing as Texas (killer allergy seasons).  Homeopathics tend to work incredibly well if you educate yourself on what they are, and use them properly.  You can't 'touch' the tablets -- that's the big deal.  So the ones like Boiron that come in 'dispensers' are specifically designed to put one end between your teeth and twist or push so the pellets just drop into your mouth.  That makes them a challenge to dispense for the dogs but it certainly can be done.  Using them every couple of hours is a pain. 
 
I would suggest you go either to Hylands.com or Boiron.com or even to the ABCHomeopathy.com website and educate yourself on what homepathics are and how they work.  It's a whole different branch of alternative medicine -- but the science behind it is sound.

I can sure relate to the needle thing.  I still shudder whenever I see one, but I've gotten better.  My ex-husband had the allergy shots and it was truly miraculous.  He was sooooo miserable and was allergic to everything too.  The Dr's said "well, you're allergic to xxx and when that quits blooming or whatever, next is xxx and you're allergic to that too.  He had very few months of the year that he wasn't a mess.  After several months of the shots, he had no further problems.  They kept on maintenance for 2-3 years and then had him stop to see if the symptoms returned and they never did.  The Dr. told him that about 30% of people don't respond to the shots, 30% respond but need them for life and 30% respond and are basically cured after a few years of the shots.  Apparently, he was one of the lucky ones.  If I was real miserable, I think I'd try what Callie suggests first though, but if it didn't give some relief, I'd try the shots.

I'm in the same boat, not allergic to as many things 15 out of 44, but the dust mites are killing me.  Ihave spent $10,000.00 changing my flooring to laminate, buying leather furniture and I am still sick.  I am on Allegra and Singulair and my chest is always tight even with these medications.  So on Wednesday I have another allergy appointment to discuss shots.  I feel that it would be worth it to have some energy and not feel tired all the time from not breathing well.  I'll let you know how it goes.  Good luck on your end.

ORIGINAL: thedoc617
I have already had the skin-test and out of 30 allergens I was allergic to 28

 
Wow, you sound like my husband. Brett was only *not* allergic to four things...dogs, cats, cattle, and something else.
 
I took allergy shots from age 3-10 then had to be retested at 12. By the time I was 17, I think I became immune to everything. LOL Last year, Brett started on his shots, and he's feeling a thousand times better than before. They sent him home with an epi-pin incase he has a reaction. I thought that was interesting because I took shots for years, and no one even warned me about that, let alone gave me an epi-pin. Guess things have progressed over time. That, or someone had it out for me.[sm=lol.gif] Anyway, honestly, I don't think I would have outgrown all of those allergies without shots. I literally could not look at a cat without my eyes welling up with tears. I'm so glad that's over with now.
 
As far as your fear of needles, I swear, if Brett can handle it, you can. He's the biggest weenie out there, and he complains that I hurt him, but he doesn't gripe too much. So yeah, if he can take it, I know you'll be okay. [sm=wink2.gif]

I have a lot of allergies, cats and dogs are just 2 of them. I had the allergy shots once a week for about 18 months. They really aren't too bad, we used to vacation a lot and when we went away, I would take the shots with me and give them to myself. That was a little bother because the serum had to be kept in a cooler or refrigerator., After each of my shots I had to sit and wait for about 45 minutes before I could leave just in case I had a reaction.
 
After about 16 months, I started getting really sick from the shots, I would throw up after each one and be sick all day. The allergist had me stop them at about 18 months. I was really sad because I was hoping to get a cat and that put a stop to it.
 
I do find my cat and dog allergies are not as severe as they once were. Still too much to risk having a cat in my home though.
 
Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

I've had asthma and allergies all my life. I got shots for YEARS and they did nothing for me. Basically, if you try to desensitize yourself to too many things at once, all you do is make yourself have a reaction to them every time. That's what the docs finally figured out.

My mother gave up on the shots for me when I was a teenager. I got somewhat better, and I sure didn't get worse!

If you have one really bad allergy, like I have cat allergy, then desensitize with shots on that ONE allergy. THAT will work. But having a formula for 28 different things, it's useless. Too much for the system.

I am really surprised that docs still want to do that weekly shot thing. It's really old, old stuff.
Needles don't scare me at all. Feh. Allergy shots are painless. Epinephrine shots, THOSE burn!

Now if they want to give you that cortisone shot that lasts months, I had that years ago a couple of times. I can't say I'd really recommend it, but if you are really bad off, it might be some relief. But cortisone/prednisone is a bad thing to take constantly, unless it's in your Advair or other inhaler (it doesn't cross into the rest of your body, it stays in your lungs.)

There are lots of herbal things for asthma, but for allergies, I just give up and take Claritin. Antihistamines are like dog food: some work for some great but not for others, and some make some fall asleep (but mostly not the new ones), and so on. Everyone is different.

I could go on and on about asthma....but this thread is about allergies. I'd like to know if any of Callie's homeopathics work for folks. I've found that for asthma and allergies they don't work well for me. And that's just me. Let me know if it works for you!

I just went to the Allergist yesterday and will start on allergy shots in three weeks.   My allergist did a great job of explaining things and sent a sheet home with the risks.  So far there have only been 35 deaths out of 54 million shots given, and if you don't have severe asthma the risks go down.  I was told it takes 8-9 months before i'll notice a difference and that it is long term help, not short term help.  Hope this helps, if you have any questions that I can help with let me know.

Well, (as far as I know) I don't have asthma, so that kinda puts my mind at ease a bit- thanks Lisa.
I will try those herbal sites, Callie- it's good they're for both people and pets- so I can give Daisy one if she's knee deep in grass and itchy after she comes in.
I've got until the summer to decide if I want to do it- we still have to figure out if our insurance covers it or not....
 
Thanks for the help everybody! I'll let you know what I decide to do. If anything else, I just want to get the shots for cats and house dust. That is one of the biggest things. I go to sleep with the fan on (a huge no-no as said by my allergist- but it's really warm in the room) and I wake up with a massive sinus headache- and my house at school is from like the 1920's so it's really old and really dusty- hadn't been lived in for a couple years before we rented it.

For a sinus headache you might want to try White Flower Oil -- just a drop above your sinuses before you go to sleep and it really helps reduce inflammation.