Well, that was anticlimactic. There wasn't any blood test, just the question, "Do you want to stop?" The allergist was satisfied by my 'time served' and successful field test in 2017. And just like that, I'm done. Okay to stop venom.
Here's the damage:
Time Served: 6 years (6 months of twice weekly or weekly shots, 4 1/2 years of monthly shots, 1 year of monthly-ish shots)
Shots Taken: 220
Office Visits: 160
Miles Driven: 1,500
Out-of-Pocket: $6,500 (not including gas)
These are just approximate figures because my Excel file got vaporized. The exact numbers don't really matter, though. My point is, VIT is a commitment. You must be committed to adhere to a regular schedule, committed to spend a bunch of money, and committed to stay in it for the long haul. With the commitment comes a payoff. It works! Well, it does for 85% us.
What were the final Things I Learned About VIT?
• VIT works for 85% of people with allergy to bee sting.
• Those in the 85% are sittin' pretty for 2 years.
• After 2 years, the likelihood of a systemic reaction is 10% per sting.
So if 3 years from now I get stung twice, there's an 80% chance I'll be fine, 20% chance I'll have a severe reaction. I must always carry epinephrine autoinjectors. I'm glad the retail price of Epi-pens has come back down but $124 (or $110 for Adrenaclick) is still quite a hefty price tag.
As for keeping bees again, it's still the plan but not here in Colorado unless a bunch of bees just happen to move into my empty hives. 😉🤞🙏 Meanwhile, I need to connect with Marty. I've been working on editing and updating his booklet "The Appropriate Beehive"… for 2 years! It won't be drastically different, so go ahead and download the current PDF for free today.
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| An anaphylaxis kit should include Epinephrine, Benadryl (an H1 antagonist) and Tagamet or Pepcid (H2 antagonists). |
Time Served: 6 years (6 months of twice weekly or weekly shots, 4 1/2 years of monthly shots, 1 year of monthly-ish shots)
Shots Taken: 220
Office Visits: 160
Miles Driven: 1,500
Out-of-Pocket: $6,500 (not including gas)
These are just approximate figures because my Excel file got vaporized. The exact numbers don't really matter, though. My point is, VIT is a commitment. You must be committed to adhere to a regular schedule, committed to spend a bunch of money, and committed to stay in it for the long haul. With the commitment comes a payoff. It works! Well, it does for 85% us.
What were the final Things I Learned About VIT?
• VIT works for 85% of people with allergy to bee sting.
• Those in the 85% are sittin' pretty for 2 years.
• After 2 years, the likelihood of a systemic reaction is 10% per sting.
So if 3 years from now I get stung twice, there's an 80% chance I'll be fine, 20% chance I'll have a severe reaction. I must always carry epinephrine autoinjectors. I'm glad the retail price of Epi-pens has come back down but $124 (or $110 for Adrenaclick) is still quite a hefty price tag.
As for keeping bees again, it's still the plan but not here in Colorado unless a bunch of bees just happen to move into my empty hives. 😉🤞🙏 Meanwhile, I need to connect with Marty. I've been working on editing and updating his booklet "The Appropriate Beehive"… for 2 years! It won't be drastically different, so go ahead and download the current PDF for free today.
1 comments:
Congratulations! It's been quite a journey and I've learned so much from you about this. I applaud your commitment and endurance.
Thanks also for the link to cheaper Epi-pens - I need to resupply to have on hand, just in case. I had some bees checking out the empty hives on my back porch a couple of weeks ago, but no one ever moved in. I think they might have been confused by which hive was the right one since they were stacked one on top of another. Some went in one, and some the other.
I look forward to the new edition of Marty's booklet!
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