While I think it's important to ensure that people considering desensitization are fully aware of the risks (and this is ESPECIALLY TRUE with SLIT and other procedures not administered under the supervision of a physician) this post shades heavily into fearmongering and putting people off of the only real technique that we've seen sustained success from. It, in many cases, OVERSTATES the risk of professionally administered desens, and in some implies risks that there's little or no scientific support for. There are a number of us who have benefitted from desens and have shared our experiences on this board. Are our experiences (and the 50% reduction in my symptoms) "fiction" daveman?
How is this approach at all productive? What we should be doing is something that you and Demo are usually quite keen to do (but have refrained from doing in this case -- instead substituting your expert medical opinions): encourage people to have frank discussions with their doctors regarding their treatment and the (real, rather than fabricated and sensationalistic) risks associated with it.
I really do beg to differ on a number of points:
You say desensitization is "the only real technique that we've seen sustained success from". This is NOT true. First of all, for some reason, "the failures of desensitization are highly guarded", we don't see the REAL figures. If it works we hear about it, if it doesn't we don't. An exception to this are the numbers seen through our own members' programs, which unfortunately are still in early testing. Second there is sustained success from other methods with equal or better performance.
You say that we OVERSTATE the risk of professionally administered desens. NO. We STATE CLEARLY that the risk of UNsupervised administration is VERY dangerous. As far as professionally administered desensitization, we are saying that it is being applied without taking into consideration the standard practices normally applied in these cases. Many allergists won't do semen desensitization because they feel that the papers don't guarantee the the testing of critical pre-conditions, that one is or is not allergic to their semen. Many, I would even go so far as to say the majority of professionals can not accept that a reaction to the skin-prick IS evidence that we are allergic to semen. This is extremely important! And if you think that it is fear-mongering, then I'm sorry, you don't understand the importance of this point! IF you are NOT allergic to an allergen, you are only creating a greater problem by introducing it into the system on the other side of the blood barrier. You don't have to be a professional nor expert to know that.
You ask, "There are a number of us who have benefited from desens and have shared our experiences on this board. Are our experiences (and the 50% reduction in my symptoms) "fiction" daveman?"
We have provided this forum to share our experiences. I think that ONE of the GREAT benefits of such is that we get all the numbers. Perhaps we can't control our testing as well as the professionals, perhaps our results may be misleading for that reason, but we SEE everything. We see the successes and the failures. One without the other is of NO value, or at least of little value.
We can compare numbers, on various fronts, we have successes, which are balanced with faiilures. Desens, niacin, TRT among the most promising, none can show complete or even adequate results for all.
I know that those who are serious about testing desens, either through a doctor or on their own, will do so, with or without us. An advantage of this forum is that we can have one thread of several that talks about the down side, the rest can carry on offering their progress to the members without the negative mixed in on top of their input. I am honestly not unlike you, I spend a lot of my time to this cause, in the hope that we can find a solution. If the solution is desens, then so be it and let it shine through.
The good thing is that we are beyond the $24,000 mark thanks to the sponsor and all of you. If desens is real, if all that's required is to isolate "THE" allergen and devise a proper test, then research will show that. Then we can all go happily for our treatments. But we won't know WHAT our problem is until we do the research. We just won't!
