I suffered with pretty bad allergies until I found the shots. I felt akin to having a bad cold for a month in the spring and a month in the fall, as well as having year round allergies. I remember well how exhausting it was, and most especially how my quality of life was hurt because of it. I'm such a strong proponent of allergy shots because it is a long term solution, and it can greatly improve quality of life.
See an allergist (not an ENT based program) and get tested. Testing consists of metal pokers dipped into the allergen that's scratched on the surface of the skin, not hard enough to make you bleed. You wait 15 minutes and see if any of those scratches turn into what looks like mosquito bites. Those that don't can be tested with a more sensitive intradermal injection (exactly like a TB test) and you wait another 15 minutes and see if that turns into a mosquito bite and then you are done. You do have to be off of antihistamines for a number of days to be able to do the test, but, if you can't tolerate being off the antihistamines, then you can always do a blood test, which is more convenient but slightly less accurate.
For the shots, (they are subcutaneous so not as deep as a flu shot for example), you have to come once a week for about 6 months as they build up the strength of the shots you get so your body can tolerate more and more with less problems. You get the shot and then have to wait in the office for 30 minutes so they can monitor you, each time. After 6 months you taper down to once a month and you get shots a total of 3-5 years. Most people feel improvement at the 6 month mark. The shots are well documented to be effective in reducing the allergic response, preventing the onset of asthma, and reducing amount of medications people need to be on. Insurance will cover 80-100% depending on your plan. Its a big time commitment but again, with the quality of life improvement that one can obtain, it is very much worth it.
See an allergist (not an ENT based program) and get tested. Testing consists of metal pokers dipped into the allergen that's scratched on the surface of the skin, not hard enough to make you bleed. You wait 15 minutes and see if any of those scratches turn into what looks like mosquito bites. Those that don't can be tested with a more sensitive intradermal injection (exactly like a TB test) and you wait another 15 minutes and see if that turns into a mosquito bite and then you are done. You do have to be off of antihistamines for a number of days to be able to do the test, but, if you can't tolerate being off the antihistamines, then you can always do a blood test, which is more convenient but slightly less accurate.
For the shots, (they are subcutaneous so not as deep as a flu shot for example), you have to come once a week for about 6 months as they build up the strength of the shots you get so your body can tolerate more and more with less problems. You get the shot and then have to wait in the office for 30 minutes so they can monitor you, each time. After 6 months you taper down to once a month and you get shots a total of 3-5 years. Most people feel improvement at the 6 month mark. The shots are well documented to be effective in reducing the allergic response, preventing the onset of asthma, and reducing amount of medications people need to be on. Insurance will cover 80-100% depending on your plan. Its a big time commitment but again, with the quality of life improvement that one can obtain, it is very much worth it.