Immunotherapy (asthma and food allergy)

Hi

I hope your all doing well. I have been wondering if anyone here has been referred for immunotherapy/xolair?

I have asthma, eczema and a food allergy and I wondered if there was a criteria to qualify to be referred?

[Jenzzie18]

I am on xolair and have been since February of this year. I was under a respiratory consultant at my local hospital who did a whole load of tests specifically my ige levels which have to be at a certain level for you to qualify and be suitable for the xolair injections. However my local hospital couldn't do them so I was referred to St. George's as they are able to. It maybe that you would need to be referred to a different hospital but it's worth an ask. X

[green881]

By immunotherapy I assume you mean the allergy shots where they inject a small amount of your worst allergens over a few years. I had when I was about 15-17 for dust mites and grass and it worked great. I still have the allergies but the severity was reduced very significantly. I used to get big hayfever attacks from dust and sudden asthma, they hayfever went away and I can take much more dust exposure and for longer before I got milder wheezing.

I don't know anything about Xolair. The shots you need blood tests if I recall.

[Jenzzie18]

The xolair as I'm sure you probably know treats multiple allergies and in theory if it works for you it's a for life thing. I have to have 3 injections every 2 weeks. X

[Hidden in reply to Jenzzie18]

That's interesting I was referred to the Brompton but felt like a research test subject so I didn't get as far as I could.

I will discuss with my gp if I could be referred for just xolair/immunotherapy. May be that im not severe enough to be considered for it.

[Thomas45]

I had desensitisation injections about 3 years after I'd been diagnosed with asthma. (at the age of 32, (I'm now 72). They were against house dust mites, cats, and, oddly, human hair. They are no longer triggers for my asthma. I have cats and if they scratch me all that happens is I may bleed, but I no longer have the hives and asthma I used to get as a result of a cat's scratch. I still have asthma from time to time, mainly caused by colds which I seem to have no resistance to. While other people have a cold for 48 hours mine almost always develop into chest infections.

[Suzsugarbaker]

What does your IGE NEED TO BE?