Re: Question: How do allergists determine what to test for in the skin tests?

[Guest guest]

When I had my scratch test done they tested me for approximately 40 things. 12

seems a little low. Either way though, if you're allergic to anything, whether

it be dogs, cats, dust mites (nasty little critters), or any other allergen,

Xolair should work. The dose is based on your weight and IgE levels. That

being said, my dose was 150 per month and I'm taking 150 and 75 alternating

every two weeks. My dose had to be adjusted upward so it's possible yours may

have to as well.

Steve <steve@...> wrote: Recently I had the skin testing done by

my allergist to detemine my

allergic tendencies. They turned out to be ragweed, altraneria, and

cat dander, nothing else.

I take Xolair but I am still experiencing many of the same asthma

symptoms I had before beginning the Xolair; I have been taking shots

for about 1 1/2 years. Either the Xolair is not working, I need to

request increasing the dosage or stop taking the drug and do more

testing.

Because the symptoms are still present, I am concerned about the fact

the allergist may not have tested for the right allergies. The nurese

only made approximately a dozen or so pricks in my back. Maybe the

allergist missed something that I am severly allergic to and therefore

I do not know about it. Is this possible? If it is, how would I know

what to recommend to the doctor?

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Ditto what said. The Xolair is not sensitive to different

allergens - it is supposed to prevent the IgE cell from binding to the

mast cell regardless of what allergen is introduced. Very allergic

people generally have a lot more IgE to bind to mast cells than the

normal population.

That said, every time I have had a scratch test it was for at least 50

separate allergens, so it is possible that your allergy shots are not

specific enough. Allergy shots are designed to desensitize an

individual to the specific allergens that they are allergic to.

Addy

Group co-owner

Recently I had the skin testing

done by my allergist to detemine my

> allergic tendencies. They turned out to be ragweed, altraneria, and

> cat dander, nothing else.

>

> I take Xolair but I am still experiencing many of the same asthma

> symptoms I had before beginning the Xolair; I have been taking shots

> for about 1 1/2 years. Either the Xolair is not working, I need to

> request increasing the dosage or stop taking the drug and do more

> testing.

>

> Because the symptoms are still present, I am concerned about the fact

> the allergist may not have tested for the right allergies. The nurese

> only made approximately a dozen or so pricks in my back. Maybe the

> allergist missed something that I am severly allergic to and therefore

> I do not know about it. Is this possible? If it is, how would I know

> what to recommend to the doctor?

>

>

>

>

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

Wow, I don't even know what to say to this one.

I feel like you're re-living my nightmare.

The same thing happened to me about 8 years ago. I felt that I was barely

tested. I kept reacting to the allergy shots that I DID test positive on,

and eventually became fed up with my allergist. They only tested me on

about 7 foods, stating that I should only check off the boxes of things that

I would normally eat. So, I left off soy, thinking I don't eat tofu or soy

milk. BIG MISTAKE! Soy is in EVERYTHING and I'm soooo allergic!

Saw an excellent pulmo doctor not long after, and after being sick and tired

of being sick and tired, I decided to be completely re-tested after the

pulmo said my IgE and Eosinophils were off the charts.

This last time I was tested, I can't even begin to tell you how many things

I was tested for. I don't know how many things I tested NEGATIVE for, but I

do know that I tested POSITIVE to over TWENTY foods (I might not eat them

all the time, but many are smaller ingredients that weren't even on the

other doc's list!), molds, pollens, and a handful of animals in addition to

dust mites, latex and all stinging insects. I believe that my scratch tests

included over 100 scratches, and then there was of course the intradermal

testing as well.

I'd say it's time to be re-tested the right way! Your allergy shots cannot

be specific enough if they only scratched you a dozen times or so. The only

other thing I can think of is that perhaps you live somewhere that there isn

t a lot of pollens or molds in the air? But, given that molds and pollens

travel so far on the slightest breeze, that just seems really improbable!

Good luck!

~

-------Original Message-------

From: Steve

Date: 01/08/07 13:02:55

Subject: [ ] Question: How do allergists determine what to test

for in the skin tests?

Recently I had the skin testing done by my allergist to detemine my

allergic tendencies. They turned out to be ragweed, altraneria, and

cat dander, nothing else.

I take Xolair but I am still experiencing many of the same asthma

symptoms I had before beginning the Xolair; I have been taking shots

for about 1 1/2 years. Either the Xolair is not working, I need to

request increasing the dosage or stop taking the drug and do more

testing.

Because the symptoms are still present, I am concerned about the fact

the allergist may not have tested for the right allergies. The nurese

only made approximately a dozen or so pricks in my back. Maybe the

allergist missed something that I am severly allergic to and therefore

I do not know about it. Is this possible? If it is, how would I know

what to recommend to the doctor?

[Guest guest]

Addy,

I am not currently taking allergy injections. I only take the Xolair

plus other asthma inhalers and pills. I have had allergy shots in the

past , however. In 1997 I began taking a planned 5 year schedule of

injections one every two weeks. The injections lasted about 4 years

because of a conflict that developed between myself and the doctor. As a

result, we parted ways and I soon found another allergist like very

much.

For some reason, my current allergist has chosen not to restart the

series of allergy injections. It might be because she feels allergy

shots are not needed while I am taking Xolair. I will plan to discuss

this with her at my next appointment.

Have a Good Day

Steve Zimmerman

________________________________

From: [mailto: ]

On Behalf Of pyle456

Sent: Monday, January 08, 2007 4:41 PM

Subject: [ ] Re: Question: How do allergists determine what

to test for in the skin tests?

Ditto what said. The Xolair is not sensitive to different

allergens - it is supposed to prevent the IgE cell from binding to the

mast cell regardless of what allergen is introduced. Very allergic

people generally have a lot more IgE to bind to mast cells than the

normal population.

That said, every time I have had a scratch test it was for at least 50

separate allergens, so it is possible that your allergy shots are not

specific enough. Allergy shots are designed to desensitize an

individual to the specific allergens that they are allergic to.

Addy

Group co-owner

Recently I had the skin testing

done by my allergist to detemine my

> allergic tendencies. They turned out to be ragweed, altraneria, and

> cat dander, nothing else.

>

> I take Xolair but I am still experiencing many of the same asthma

> symptoms I had before beginning the Xolair; I have been taking shots

> for about 1 1/2 years. Either the Xolair is not working, I need to

> request increasing the dosage or stop taking the drug and do more

> testing.

>

> Because the symptoms are still present, I am concerned about the fact

> the allergist may not have tested for the right allergies. The nurese

> only made approximately a dozen or so pricks in my back. Maybe the

> allergist missed something that I am severly allergic to and therefore

> I do not know about it. Is this possible? If it is, how would I know

> what to recommend to the doctor?

>

>

>

>

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

It may very well be that she thinks starting allergy shots once

you've started Xolair is unnecessary. I stopped taking allergy shots

about 3 months after I started Xolair. They have traditionally

helped me to the extent of keeping me out of the hospital, but I

still had a terrible quality of life. Xolair has dramatically

improved my quality of life, so I saw no reason to continue allergy

shots. that was about 3 years ago. I have since noticed I am

becoming more sensitive to molds, so I am toying with the idea of

going back on shots just for molds and dust mites. My body just

feels so yucky for 48 hours after teh shots and since in my area they

no longer let you give them to yourself, it is a literal pain for me

to bother with them. (But nothing like what Doug goes through with

the distances he has to go.)

Take care,

Addy

Recently I had the skin testing

> done by my allergist to detemine my

> > allergic tendencies. They turned out to be ragweed, altraneria,

and

> > cat dander, nothing else.

> >

> > I take Xolair but I am still experiencing many of the same asthma

> > symptoms I had before beginning the Xolair; I have been taking

shots

> > for about 1 1/2 years. Either the Xolair is not working, I need

to

> > request increasing the dosage or stop taking the drug and do more

> > testing.

> >

> > Because the symptoms are still present, I am concerned about the

fact

> > the allergist may not have tested for the right allergies. The

nurese

> > only made approximately a dozen or so pricks in my back. Maybe

the

> > allergist missed something that I am severly allergic to and

therefore

>

> > I do not know about it. Is this possible? If it is, how would I

know

> > what to recommend to the doctor?

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > __________________________________________________

> >