Posts by coastalowl80

By the way, my thanks to the moderator 😁

Thanks, redcrane6. I'm heading to the coast for a bit, so I'll check back later to see what's happening. At first glance, I really like this medication, even though you know how skeptical I can be.
I haven't reached legal age yet, but since it's coming up soon, I don't think there should be any issues...
Best,

granitebadger25 said:coastalowl80, believe me, I know exactly what asthma is and how it should be managed.

Immunotherapy actually had some merit back before corticosteroid inhalers were available—and even then, only for single-allergen cases. Nowadays? It’s just unnecessary torture for the patient.

Inhaled corticosteroids are the backbone of asthma management (or rather, keeping it under control), and it breaks my heart to hear that at a place like a local Mayo Clinic, they’re still scaring kids and parents with them. Sure, like any medication, they can have side effects, but those risks pale in comparison to the dangers of untreated asthma. Plus, they're far less risky than immunotherapy, which can occasionally trigger anaphylactic shock.

I'm old enough to remember what asthma was like before steroid sprays became standard. These days, hospitalizations are rare. Back then, it felt like almost every asthmatic ended up in the ER at least once a year due to severe attacks, despite immunotherapy being an option even then.

You mentioned you've been struggling with immunotherapy for two years without seeing any results... isn't that enough evidence for you?
I don't know your age, but if you haven't hit puberty yet, there's a chance your symptoms might settle down temporarily during that transition (though they often resurface in your 20s). If you're past puberty and still struggling, this is likely permanent and won't be fixed by immunotherapy. In that case, my advice is simple: change your treatment plan and find a new doctor. 😉

Look, I believe you when you say you know what asthma is. I wasn't explaining medications just to educate you; I was simply providing context. But please, trust me when I say that claims like "immunotherapy will cure asthma" are not just nonsensical—they're ridiculous. Allergens are triggers for allergic asthma, and immunotherapy is used when a specific allergy is severe enough to cause spasms. And yes, you have to be extremely careful with it.
As for the meds, I agree they impact quality of life and help manage symptoms, even if the side effects are minor. But I can't speak objectively when I personally feel better without them. At the hospital, they aren't scaring kids with these inhalers; quite the opposite. They hand them out like candy, which is exactly what bothers me. For years, they wouldn't even admit they contained steroids, claiming there were no side effects.
I'm 17, and my asthma actually got worse during puberty. I'm stopping the immunotherapy; it just doesn't make sense anymore.
My goal isn't to argue or bash doctors and medicine. I'm just sharing my own experience and my own perspective. It may not be the absolute truth, but based on what I'm going through, it's what I believe.
Best,

granitebadger25 said:It always surprises me how people still opt for immunotherapy when we have such effective asthma medications available today... there really isn't a need for it anymore.
You should check out one of the pulmonary clinics in Washington, D.C., and talk to specialists about the best therapy for you. Nowadays, most asthma cases are easily managed with inhalers. Immunotherapy only seems worth it if you're seeing a private specialist—which benefits their bottom line more than yours, since they charge for every visit and every allergen kit. At least someone ends up happy with the results. 🙄

Look, granitebadger25, I don't have anything to do with private clinics. I go to the silver coin hospital, and honestly, I don't think I could find a better facility in this region.
Asthma meds aren't a one-time thing; you use them for life. Since most of them rely on corticosteroids and other expensive ingredients, I wouldn't question their effectiveness.
As for the allergens, I don't buy them through the hospital. They have to be custom-made specifically based on your own diagnosis. You can get them through the hospital, but it's much more expensive that way.

nimbleskipper17 said:They had me on this for years when I was just a kid; various combinations, twice a week, sometimes three times, they’d tweak the doses, and at one point I was even getting two different shots at once (one in each arm), so... I don't know, I was little, I just know it lasted from as far back as I can remember until I was nine. Meanwhile, my asthma just kept getting worse—the attacks were stronger and more frequent. It felt completely useless. When I turned nine, we moved to the coast (specifically because of my condition), and since then, I haven't needed any treatment or had any issues at all.

I assume things have changed over the last 20 years, but that’s just my experience. Apparently, it helps some people, though I've yet to meet anyone like that. 😉 In any case, please consult with a doctor before making any changes to your treatment, obviously.

And BTW isn't it called hyposensitization (not hyper-)? Or are we talking about two different things altogether? 🙂

I'm such an idiot, I don't know how I could have written something so stupid; it's definitely hypo. 😵 😵 😵
I stopped taking advice from doctors a long time ago. Maybe it isn't the smartest move, but when you spend your whole life being fed nonsense—things you know don't just fail to help, but actually make you feel three times worse—well, maybe you don't have much of a choice. Anyway, as long as I can handle things on my own and see that my methods actually work, I'm not going to settle for some tenth different therapy just because someone with a degree says so.

Yeah, I guess I'll stop too. It just doesn't seem worth the effort anymore.
I honestly just thought there might be more of us here...
Best,

I live with allergic asthma. When I was little, I had skin patch testing—you know, where they apply drops of potential allergens to your forearms to see how your blood reacts—and just two years ago, they did a blood test to measure my sensitivity levels. It turns out my dust mite allergy was sitting at some crazy number around 1000 (don't even ask), which was terrifyingly high. Since then, I’ve been undergoing immunotherapy, which has been going on for two years now. The problem is, I don't feel any better. Not even a little bit. I actually have to order my injections from Germany via Austria (and trust me, the price is insane), and they are custom-made specifically for each patient. Even then, they barely release them because they’re supposedly incredibly potent. I keep pushing my doctors to let me re-test so we can see if there's any actual progress, but they just keep promising it and then delaying it. I know people who have been doing this immunotherapy for eight years straight. For some, it works; for others, it does nothing, or they end up developing a new allergy that's even worse than the first one. Now, I'm about three weeks late on my last injection. I'm supposed to start shortening the intervals again before gradually moving back to once a month, but honestly, what's the point? If you ask me, I'd rather just give up on the whole thing.
Has anyone else dealt with this? Do you have any insights or recommendations on how to handle it?