Allergy shots not working?

My daughter Kitty is allergic to everything. 

Literally. Trees, flowers, bushes, grass, cats, dogs, horses. She's basically allergic to anything living.

She sneezes and sneezes and sneezes. And sniffs her nose. ALL NIGHT LONG. The first time we had her tested for allergies, she didn't qualify to start immunotherapy (allergy shots) 

Testing for allergies is not a fun process, I always feel guilty for having my kids' back scratch-tested repeatedly with different allergen serums and then waiting to see how big their welts get. It's not a fun test. The best part is when the Shot Nurse rubs Benadryl cream all over their back to help with the intense itching.

The other problem is that the kids can't take any allergy medicine the week before they are tested. Which means a miserable week for the kids. Kitty is being re-tested (again) to see if her serum needs to be adjusted (again).  She has weekly allergy shots, but they no longer seem to be making a difference. She has almost completed the 5 years it takes to complete the weekly allergy shots. But something has changed because the serum doesn't seem to help anymore. Asthma Doc prescribed an oral steroid that Kitty has to take the week of her test. This is to help control any reaction she may have. Son #1 had allergies so severe that he couldn't last a week without Zyrtec. His hands actually broke out in hives a few days before the scheduled test.

So, Kitty has to stop taking Zyrtec and start taking oral Prednisone. Next week I will allow her to be tortured once again (I'm such a nice mom.....) but when your allergies are so bad that taking Zyrtec and Singulair EVERY day of your life (yes, year round) doesn't help, it's time to go to the next step.  You need to desensitize your body to whatever it's allergic to. Allergy shots were helping for a few years, but now she's been spending more time playing with the neighbor's kitties.  Maybe that's what's causing the problems.

We'll find out next week what is going on with her allergies. You get instant results. You can literally watch the hives form on your kid's back as soon as they are scratched with the serum. Then you have to try to get them not to move for 20 minutes, so they don't disrupt the test. Try not moving with a back full of rows of itchy hives! I usually have Kitty bring her Gameboy and let her play that while she waits. I also talk to her and try to keep her distracted.

Then I take her out for a treat-whatever she wants. Dinner. Ice cream. A trip to the mall. Yes, call it a guilty conscious. I am letting Shot Nurse torture my child. It's my way of making it up to her. That's My Life as an Asthma Mom.