For years I have had allergies. I’ve had allergy testing done, taken allergy shots for years on two different occasions, drugged myself with Claritin and Allegra, and some nights just took the Benadryl and went to bed early. One fall when I lived in Lubbock, my allergies were so bad I would break out in huge welts all over my body and had to take steroids to stop the swelling. NOT FUN
After all the allergy shots, I really didn’t have any improvement, and I wasn’t willing to commit more time and energy into starting all over with that. So I’ve been sticking to Claritin and hoping for the best for about 4 years.
So one night at the end of January, I was up all night long blowing my nose. As soon as I would go back to bed and get comfortable, my nose would start itching and wake me up all over again. I couldn’t breathe, my eyes wouldn’t stop watering, and I was just miserable. The next morning I realized I had to find a new course of treatment, because Claritin was no longer going to work for me.
So I did some research and contacted some people, and eventually made an appointment with an acupuncturist who specializes in acupuncture for allergies - otherwise known as the NAET treatment. Using a combination of kinesiology and acupuncture, I have been showing up for treatments once per week for about 8 weeks. First he treated me for food allergies. I laughed when he told me he was planning to do this, since I had never had food allergies show up on any of my previous testing. Ten minutes later, I discovered I was allergic to 5 of the 10 “basics” that they test for. Eggs/chicken, calcium, Vitamin B (yes, a vitamin), grains, and salt. I was pretty surprised, since none of this has shown up on any other test. After 6 weeks of treatment, I am cleared of all of these things. I do not have to worry that eating these things will cause health problems - and that makes me very happy. In the last 2 weeks, he has done treatments for trees and grasses, and I have seen a significant improvement.
According to the research I’ve done, each person’s treatment is pretty specialized regarding what they are treated for, how many treatments they need, etc. They have seen an 80-90% success rate - meaning people who were treated were cleared of their allergies for the remainder of their lives. This is HUGE. Compared to what I paid for years of allergy shots and testing that didn’t even work, the cost of acupuncture is minimal. And if it lasts for the rest of my life, I will be very pleased.
My only complaint is that insurance does not seem to cover these treatments, and it doesn’t appear that it will be widely accepted for several years to come. However, when I think back, my insurance didn’t cover my allergy testing or shots either - so I guess its not that big of a complaint!
For more information on the NAET system, its founder, and how it all works, visit http://www.naet.com/subscribers/index.html - You can also locate a practioner in your area if you are interested in discussing a treatment plan.