I went to the Conventional Allergist yesterday for follow-up. I have stewed about this appointment for months now and was glad the day finally came so I could talk to him about my experience and how much better I feel (giving credit to AAT, not the shots). I could have called him long ago but I do SO much better with face-to-face conversation than I do with conversations over the phone.
As I have mentioned before, the Conventional Allergist was not overly enthusiastic about AAT. He had said that there is no scientific proof that it works. I ended up going the way of AAT in hopes of at least getting some of my foods back, and have been feeling so much better--better than I have felt in years!
I had dropped a 2-page letter off at his office last week in hopes that it would do the job of describing my experience and asking for his opinion as to what to do in regards to my allergy shots.
He read my letter and we had a lengthy discussion about sublingual drops(not yet approved by the FDA but he is considering offering them to some of his patients). I was thinking Why are we having this lengthy discussion about something I didn't even address in the letter and has nothing to do with my concerns? I finally realized he brought this up to let me know he is not *against* therapies that aren't 'scientifically proven' or that are considered alternative medicine. He just doesn't want people "throwing their money" at them and hoping for a miracle cure. Took me awhile to realize that was what he was getting at.
He then recommended that I stop the shots and continue the AAT treatments and as long as I felt fine and was happy with AAT, there was no reason to come for further testing with him unless I was simply curious as to where I stood with the allergies, or was having some difficulty with allergies still and wanted to start up the shots again.
So, as far as I am concerned, I don't plan on going in for the shots anymore. I plan on letting my focus(mental and $) be on AAT as far as allergy treatment. Once I have been treated for everything that bothers me, perhaps I will go back in for selective allergy testing--the 13 or so foods I reacted to before, plus the pollen/mold/weed mixes...out of curiosity.
I am thankful for a Conventional Allergist that is not closed-minded(but cautious), and that I can pursue this alternative treatment with a clear mind.
I hope maybe I have planted a seed in the world of Western Medicine, and maybe he will mention AAT to someone else suffering with multiple allergies as I have.....maybe. Or maybe if asked about AAT again, he will at least say he knows of someone who has been helped by it and not just say "it's not scientifically proven, don't throw too much money at it".
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