When I left you all I had just seen a new allergist... Well I started immunotherapy in August!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with immunotherapy, here is a quick rundown. Immunotherapy involves an allergen (or multiple) being delivered into the body either by injections or drops under the tongue. This happens on a regular basis as the dose and strength of the serum increases until you reach a maintenance dose. The idea is to train your immune system to not react when you encounter the allergens in day to day life.
My immunotherapy started in August and is for Dust and Grass (Pollen). Unfortunately for me, I was told it had to be delivered via weekly injections due to the nature of my allergies. On the bright side, I am no longer afraid of needles!
The negative with immunotherapy is that everything gets worse before you see an improvement. Because you are sending what you are allergic to into your body, you become a lot more sensitive to your allergies out in the world. So for me, I couldn't attend university classes. My campus is gorgeous but it is full of gardens and surrounded by local parks. I found merely stepping foot on campus caused me to experience difficulty breathing, extreme itching and facial swelling. You can imagine how fun I was on a windy spring day!
I always wanted this blog to be a place to share our experiences in similar situations and help others going through difficult periods in their eczema/allergy journey. With that in mind, I want to share with you all a list of side effects I've experienced during immunotherapy that I wasn't expecting.
1) Loss of Appetite - Usually I get hungry enough to have my three meals a day plus a snack or two if I have a busy/long day, it has been quite weird not having an appetite. I don't really get hungry anymore and I am only really eating because I know I have to. That said, I do get hungry occasionally, however I'm definitely not eating as much as before.
2) Muscle Fatigue - In the first few days after I have an immunotherapy shot, it is extremely easy for my muscles to get tired. As a dancer, this side effect really sucks! I can be halfway through my regular training and just crash. Luckily this side effect only really happens for the first few days, but when you are getting the injections every week it definitely takes its toll.
3) Disrupted Sleep Patterns/Fatigue - I have definitely noticed my body needs more sleep and gets tired a lot quicker, especially if I have a busy day. For example, a three hour shift at work used to be a breeze, but now I feel like I need a nap afterwards! Again this is a side effect that hits me for a few days after the injection or if it is a particularly high pollen count day.
4) Nausea - This one usually hits me the day after I have the immunotherapy injection.
5) Lack of Focus - As the dosage and serum strength increased, I found it extremely difficult to concentrate for long periods of time e.g. university lectures/assignments. As a law student, this is incredibly frustrating! Luckily as I continue with the immunotherapy, I'm noticing this side effect subsiding a little.
6) Extreme Headaches - When they inject the immunotherapy serum, they do so in my arm. As such I usually experience a fair bit of swelling at the top of my arm. As the swelling starts to go down, I experience severe headaches. My Dr has said this is the result of the serum moving around my body after my immune system stops seeing it as a threat.
7) Extreme Itchiness/ Increase in Eczema Flare Ups - I expected this would happen but I definitely was not prepared for how bad it would be! As my eczema has improved as I've become an adult I had forgotten how bad it can actually get. I felt like I was back as a 7 year old, wanting to rip my skin off. High doses of antihistamines on a constant basis are still getting me through this side effect.
These side effects aren't a comprehensive list and they are not what everyone will experience. However this is what I have found to be the most severe and intrusive side effects of my immunotherapy. I have told my Dr about all of these and have been reassured that they are normal when undergoing immunotherapy.
Whilst it is extremely hard for me to see the light at the end of this three year journey to less allergies, I am trying my best to see the upside. As some of these side effects start to subside it means the immunotherapy is working! Although it will be a while before I start to see some positive improvements as it can take up to a year before I start to see a decrease in my allergic responses to these allergens on a daily basis.
I wanted to share this with you as it has been a tough few months and maybe it will help someone else out there to not feel so alone.
Over these past few months I have had amazing support from my family, especially my mum. She has hugged me when all I wanted to do was cry and scream because I felt like this was a neverending spiral of negative experiences. Support networks are the key to getting through tough times with allergies, especially immunotherapy.
I hope you all have a lovely day and see you very soon for another blog post! :)
