My old friend Will called this afternoon. We were chatting away and he noticed that I sounded a little congested. He very solicitously asked if I had a cold and I simply said, "Nah... just allergies." I thought nothing more of it until Melissa chuckled next to me. It reminded me that I have yet to tell most of you about my allergy testing last week.
Each year my allergies seem to get worse. They have gone beyond seasonal to year-round. My manager recommended her allergist to me, so I made an appointment.
Let me tell you about how you are tested for allergies around here. New patients are warned up-front that the first appointment can last 3-4 hours. Yes... hours.
First, a nurse spends quite some time gathering historical and useful information about you. This is specifically geared towards filling in the gaps from the questionnaire that you previously completed. It's all very relevent, and makes a lot of sense.
Next comes a chat with the doctor. He reads through the notes and performs a basic physical check. He pays particular attention to the lungs and sinuses, since he also specializes in asthma and sinus problems. Then he goes away for a while.
Next is the actual testing itself. The nurse starts with a tray of 82 "pokey things". I can't think of a better description. It's not quite a needle, but it's certainly sharp enough to evoke a small wince when it twists into your back. There are 82, because they test for an allergic reaction to 80 substances, and have a positive and negative 'control'. The more allergic that you are to a substance, the larger the red, itchy irritation that will appear on your back.
My back lit up like a Christmas tree. I think that every single nurse in the place came by to get a good look at what was evidently a wonderful teaching experience. As far as I was concerned, all that I wanted to do was rub my back against the wall. It had gone beyond mere itching to burning. The allergens have to be left in place for 10 minutes before the results can be read.
10 minutes doesn't sound like a very long time, but let me tell you that in can be! Eventually, the doctor came back in and started reading the results off to his assistant nurse. The reactive spots are graded on a scale of 1 (non-reactive) through 4 (highly reactive). I had a number of 5's. On this first pass, I registered as being allergic to 51 of the 80 substances.
The doctor must have been a bit undecided about some 16 of the remaining 29, though, since we moved into phase two of this fun time for all.
Phase two moves from "pokey things" in the back, to injections in the upper arm. There were 18 of these - 16 allergens, and 2 controls. Same drill - get injected with something that itches and burns and wait 10 minutes for the doctor. The injections are minor - the needle only barely penetrates the skin - but it still doesn't feel real good.
Of these 16 allergens, which had been borderline before, I tested positive to 15 for a total of 66 out of 80.
There is some good news: I am not allergic to any foods (I was very relieved to hear that), and there are several tree species that don't bother me. I am allergic to molds, weeds and other small plants, a bunch of trees, dust mites, animals, and fungi. I am hugely allergic to all grass types (those were the 5's).
So, now what? There is hope yet! Starting in a couple of weeks, I will be undergoing a course of immunotherapy for my allergies. They basically inject the patient with small quantities of allergens to build up the body's resistance to them. This has been proven to be effective.
The course of therapy begins with two injections per week for the first 9 weeks. We then move to once a week for a longer period, and finally once per month. I suppose that they must end eventually, but I've heard of folks that are into their fourth year.
Anyway, that was my exciting allergist appointment for last week!
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