SLIT update
Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) for the past 2 ½ months has been well worth it as I am beginning to see an improvement in my allergy symptoms. SLIT is a form of allergy immunotherapy that involves putting drops of allergen extracts under the tongue.
I began using “allergy drops” in early April after undergoing scratch testing. Normally, one reaches the maintenance dose with the allergy drops in about two weeks. For me, it’s taken nearly 2½ months. My SLIT therapy has not been easy as the area where I live is experiencing a pretty intense allergy season because of heavy winter snow and spring rainfall which produced lush plant and tree growth. I wanted to ask the allergy doctor if I had set a record for taking the longest to reach the maintenance dose.
Why did it take me so long? I have severe allergies; the pollen counts have been high; and I have been taking in more pollen with the drops. In hindsight, it would have been better to start SLIT during the winter rather than when the allergy season was underway.
When I received my vials of allergy drops, I was gung ho to follow the recommended dosing schedule and reach the maintenance dose in 14 days. My body didn’t cooperate as I began experiencing adverse reactions. I had to slow down and listen to my body which was telling me “go at your own pace.” You can be the tortoise in the “|Tortoise and Hare” and reach your goal slowly but surely.
That’s what I did. On SLIT, you begin with one drop on Day 1 and two drops on Day 2, and so on. Somewhere along the way, I had a bad reaction. When this occurs, you have to drop all the way back to the beginning. Rather than have this occur again, I decided to stay on two drops for two days, three drops for three days, and so on. Sometimes, if the pollen counts were very high I just stayed on whatever dose I was at a little longer. This strategy has worked for me. I have a slight reduction in my symptoms but should see more benefit the longer I am on the maintenance dose.
If you are considering SLIT, here is how it works. In a nutshell, SLIT treats allergies by administering small doses of the substances the patient is allergic to in gradually increasing dosages until the patient builds immunity to them. Allergy shots or injections were the main method of immunotherapy in the past. Now, an allergy sufferer has the option of choosing sublingual immunotherapy where drops are placed under the tongue.
I opted for SLIT because it is more convenient with no travel or waiting in a doctor’s office. Sublingual drops can be administered at home in contrast to allergy shots that require a weekly trip to the doctor’s office, sometimes for years, where the patient is monitored for possible adverse reactions for 30 minutes following the injection.
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I began using “allergy drops” in early April after undergoing scratch testing. Normally, one reaches the maintenance dose with the allergy drops in about two weeks. For me, it’s taken nearly 2½ months. My SLIT therapy has not been easy as the area where I live is experiencing a pretty intense allergy season because of heavy winter snow and spring rainfall which produced lush plant and tree growth. I wanted to ask the allergy doctor if I had set a record for taking the longest to reach the maintenance dose.
Why did it take me so long? I have severe allergies; the pollen counts have been high; and I have been taking in more pollen with the drops. In hindsight, it would have been better to start SLIT during the winter rather than when the allergy season was underway.
When I received my vials of allergy drops, I was gung ho to follow the recommended dosing schedule and reach the maintenance dose in 14 days. My body didn’t cooperate as I began experiencing adverse reactions. I had to slow down and listen to my body which was telling me “go at your own pace.” You can be the tortoise in the “|Tortoise and Hare” and reach your goal slowly but surely.
That’s what I did. On SLIT, you begin with one drop on Day 1 and two drops on Day 2, and so on. Somewhere along the way, I had a bad reaction. When this occurs, you have to drop all the way back to the beginning. Rather than have this occur again, I decided to stay on two drops for two days, three drops for three days, and so on. Sometimes, if the pollen counts were very high I just stayed on whatever dose I was at a little longer. This strategy has worked for me. I have a slight reduction in my symptoms but should see more benefit the longer I am on the maintenance dose.
If you are considering SLIT, here is how it works. In a nutshell, SLIT treats allergies by administering small doses of the substances the patient is allergic to in gradually increasing dosages until the patient builds immunity to them. Allergy shots or injections were the main method of immunotherapy in the past. Now, an allergy sufferer has the option of choosing sublingual immunotherapy where drops are placed under the tongue.
I opted for SLIT because it is more convenient with no travel or waiting in a doctor’s office. Sublingual drops can be administered at home in contrast to allergy shots that require a weekly trip to the doctor’s office, sometimes for years, where the patient is monitored for possible adverse reactions for 30 minutes following the injection.
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