? for those who've received allergy shots (stings)

[Richard]

? for those who\'ve received allergy shots (stings)

This isn't intended as a medical question, but if you feel it crosses the line, feel free to delete it.

We've all been stung before. The initial wham, followed by a while of pain, depending on what critter hit us.

I was at my Dr's (allergist) yesterday getting the second session allergy shot for sting allergies (evidently, my most sensative issue is hornets & yellow jackets but it was a wasp that got me to the emergency room)

She was giving me the shots in the back side of my upper arms. I could hardly feel ANY of the needles going in. Was amazingly painless.

Until the last (and higher load) yellow jacket shot.

The shot itself was quite painful which I found fascenating. EVERY OTHER needle stuck into the same arms in the same place was essentially painless. This one however, felt like I was being hit with a hammer. Today, almost 24 hours later, I STILL have a quite tender spot where this shot was given.

What this got me thinking as I was on my way home was, when an insect stings you, there is probably a certain amount of pain associated with the mechanical fact of the stinger pricking your skin. There is also a certain amount of pain associated with the venom injected by the stinger.

What I deduced yesterday was the mechanical pain, caused by the impact of the stinger is evidently not a BIG issue, it's the venom that hurts like @$%&#%@#%

So, for anyone here who's had allergy shots for stings, (I'm on week 2 of a 5 year experience, so I've got a long way to go and a lot to learn/experience)

Anyways, for someone who's gone through this further than I have yet to go, is that experience similar to what YOU might have had? That the shots can (or are??) become about as painful as a sting itself?

given my first day of shots last week, they were all painless and non eventful. Yesterday, I know they upped the volume a bit as they stair step me up the ladder of exposure, but the difference in yesterdays shot compared to last weeks shot was literally night & day.

I'm just trying to ascertain if others that have gone through this proceedure agree that I'm (evidently) in for a weekly painful event that is actually, just as painful as a sting itself is.

/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[tc35dforme]

Re: ? for those who\'ve received allergy shots (stings)

I'll be watching this post.....my 8 year old son start's his shot cycle next week ( 2/23/06 ). /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Richard]

Re: ? for those who\'ve received allergy shots (stings)

Well, if my experience is "normal", then you can make your own mind up if it's better to warn him that one of the shots MIGHT hurt just near as bad as a full fledged sting!

I was, and am still, totally flabbergasted as to how much pain was in that specific shot and the others were literally painless. To make that point, the nurse was walking away from me after fiddling with my arm... I figured she forgot something (like the needle?) and was going to get it.

Well, she then popped the needle into their can and I was confused... she turned around and told me she'd just GIVEN me the shot! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I swear on my two dogs, I did not feel the penetration of that needle a single bit!

Now YESTERDAYS last shot... was a horse of a different color all together!! That sucker STILL hurts (22 hours later)

/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[goaliedad]

Re: ? for those who\'ve received allergy shots (stings)

I suffered from "hay fever" allegies all my life. My wife also. she was going to an allergist. One year I had a very bad time, she convinced me to go to her doc- it was great. While I did not have sting related allergies hopefully I can share some experience.

as they increase the dose you may see some more reaction- localized swelling and such. I don't remember it lasting more than a day.

some times I believe that the needle just hurts more than others also. as I recall they use a very fine needle so it isn't that big of a deal.

what amazes me is that the shot routine is a cure- not just a treatment of the symptoms.

our son also went thru the whole process- it has certainly been worthwhile for all of us. while I do still have some problems, they are much fewer, and much, much less severe.

overall the scratch test was the worst part of the whole thing.

hope this helps.

no I am not a doctor, i don't play one on tv. And no, I did not stay at Holiday Inn Express last night.

 

[Bird]

Re: ? for those who\'ve received allergy shots (stings)

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( some times I believe that the needle just hurts more than others )</font>

I wonder if sometimes the needle just happens to find a small nerve somewhere in there. I give my wife a B12 shot once a month. Usually no pain or problem, but once she hollered when I stuck her and said it still hurt most of the rest of the day.

And I'm no doctor either, but I did go to a basic first aid class once. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Tom_H]

Re: ? for those who\'ve received allergy shots (stings)

The needles are small dia., 25, 27, or 30 guage, usually 27. They are short (usually 1/2 in.) as the injections are given SC (subcutaneously: under the skin) as opposed to IM (intramuscularly: inside the muscle) or IV (intravenously). Hitting a nerve can cause pain, but more likely the antigen itself. As you are probably aware, they inject you with the very stuff you're allergic to, in order to desensitize your immune response to the allergen. The shot to prevent reaction to bees is actually an injection of bee venom. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Marlowe]

Re: ? for those who\'ve received allergy shots (stings)

I've been there and done that working my way up the dosage. I got three shots each visit. There was no rhyme or reason as to which ones hurt more than the others. For the most part, they were relatively painless, with the occasional one that smarted and left a sore spot. The nurse told me it just happens that way.

 

[Richard]

Re: ? for those who\'ve received allergy shots (stings)

Well, I thought I might add more light to my own commentary.

(Tomorrow (Thursday) I get my next round of shots and will ask them about this to try to clarify)

I told the wife that the pain I felt on that last shot was VERY similar to having a bad bruise on you and someone taking the point of their finger and just PUSHING hard and HOLDING it on the bruised spot. Rather than be a momentary 'ouch', it would be a rather sharp pain for as long as they held the spot and the pain would be 'highlighted' for a while after they let go of their pressure.

Ok, so that's how I described the sharp pain in my arm. Today (6 days after the shot) what did I find, but a one inch bruise exactly where she gave me the shot /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif.

I don't know if that means she punctured a vessel or perhaps injected me in a vessel (doubt that part)

BUT, it could well explain why I've had that pain for 6 days now. It might have just been an abberation of the process of getting the shot, rather than a reaction to the venom as I'd previously thought.

I'll be asking them tomorrow to explain (after they see the bruise in the course of giving me the next round).

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Treed_in_TX]

Re: ? for those who\'ve received allergy shots (stings)

I get 3 shots every week. I'm 15 months into the program and I have about 23 months left to go. I don't have sting allergies that I'm aware of but I've had strong localized reactions to stings (thigh swelled up). I have allergies to all kinds of outdoor stuff. Grasses, many trees, dogs, cats, feathers and on and on. So I buy 15 acres and set about doing outdoor stuff. Smart. I've had hay fever all my life. When I moved to Central Texas from California in 1991 things changed. Instead of runny nose and sneezing I got eczema. Broad patches of rash sometimes dry sometimes infected and oozing. Always intensely itchy. My regular doctor tried to treat it for a year without success. He said a dermatologist wouldn 't be able to do anything different for me so he wouldn't give me a referral. When it got to the point when I couldn't sleep he finally relented. I saw the dermatologist for about 10 minutes. He reffered me to an allergist. Went through the scratch tests. When they do the scratches a 10mm bump is a strong reaction. Mine were 40mm. I started the injections in November 2004. Now my eczema is nearly gone, at least it's no longer a bother. When I get the shots I get lumps in my arms about the size of walnuts. One's a little worse than the others. My arms are somewhat sore for 3 or 4 days. I don't even notice it anymore unless I bump one of those spots. I have had a few times when the shooter gets me in the muscle instead of the fat. That stings a lot worse than the regular shots.

 

[hudr]

Re: ? for those who\'ve received allergy shots (stings)

I have no sting allergies, but if its green and grows in E TX I am allergic (except poison ivy or oak, go figure). I took allegy shots off and on throught HS and College. Shot day was extremely uncomfy to say the least. Runny nose, itchy watery eyes, and a painful bump at injection area. It felt just like you said, a bruise w/ somebody's finger on it. I no longer take the shots mainly because it was hard to get by the Dr's office every week. But I now have a couple of red "bumps" in the areas where I used to get the shots. I can only guess they are some type of scar tissue.
Boils down to this, my shots were not so painful, but very uncomfy, like a really bad allergic reaction. And apparently have left some scar tissue. BTW, my allergies recently progressed into full blown asthma /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif. Would that have happened if I had stayed on the shots? Who knows.
Advice: Try to stick w/ it. It was worth one miserable day to me in trade for 6 good ones not worrying about the next coughing, wheezing, nose running attack.