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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]To those of you whose lives have been saved by the ER docs: how long did it take you to recover physically and mentally from the shock? Have you started immunotherapy at the allergist’s office? What changes do you make in your gardening journey?
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My kid did immunotherapy.   It is a huge commitment.

We were told by the allergist that venom therapy is only truly effective if you start it before you are an adult.

It was a 5 year cycle of 3 venoms (yellow jacket, white face hornets and yellow face hornets/vespids)

The first month or so, they did a trace injection of each several times per week (I think 3x).  That was the worse, because the reaction made my kid feel terrible: hives, arm swelling up, general malais.  My kid felt awful after the shots until around 3 years in, but really bad in the beginning. We had to sit in the office for an hour after each shot, for the 5 year cycle.  It might have been longer the first month.

Then it was weekly for a while, maybe a year if I recall correctly.  After that every other week, then monthly for the last few years.

Each time after the first month, they increased the dosage slightly, until my kid got to the point that they were receiving a full sting for each type of venom once per month.  They called this the maintenance shots.

If you missed an appointment for any reason, you had to go back to the lower level and start back from there.  It was very, very strict and regimented, and spaced in an exact sequence.

By the end of the 5 years, my kid, now an older teenager,  had zero reaction to the venom shots.  Not swelling, not redness, not even a mark where the venom went into the arm.

It was a really difficult process and a huge commitment.  I would 100% recommend it for anyone allergic to yellow jackets since they are so aggressive, but I definitely wouldn't want to do it again.

Supposedly, my kid could get attacked by a swarm of those vile beasts and be absolutely fine.  We wouldn't want to test it though.[/quote]

That's intense! Did you do this because of a previous anaphylactic reaction?[/quote]

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