allergy testing? Coping w/ no antihistamines?

[OakLeaf]

Riding from the shots - I think as long as you don't over-do it you're fine. There's riding, and there's riding. No one tells you that you have to stay in bed for an hour after the shot, and in many places you can ride and keep your HR below zone 2 or so. Of course that would depend somewhat on local conditions - some places the traffic is such that you're standing and either sprinting or coasting the whole time; other places you're just going to have to climb a steep hill that will max out your HR; and if it's like that, then it probably isn't the best idea.

Whether it's worth it - I think you can't know until you try it, really give it a serious shot and see how much better you do or you don't feel. That's how it was for me with the food allergies. I'm allergic to lots of foods, but I don't have any life-threatening allergies and I don't have anything major like celiac disease. I was strict with my diet for maybe 3-4 months, and by doing that, I learned what I needed to know... which is that I felt probably 30% better, and it was very significant, but that it also added probably 400% more hassle into my daily life. So for the long term, I basically manage my food allergies, and I'm much more strict about my diet when inhalant allergens are high.

And as far as running the AC and putting clothes in the dryer - that's entirely an individual judgment call too. For myself, partly I loathe the dead air that comes with AC, but mostly I put the world's collective health above my individual sneezage, so I still hang my things on the line and leave the windows open. But it depends not only on how you make the moral judgments, but also on whether it's more than sneezage for you when you're doing the other treatments. So again, I'd say give it a try and see how you feel both physically and emotionally.

[Crankin]

I have had skin tests and allergy shots at 3 different times; at age 7, at 16, and again in my early thirties. Every time I started getting the shots I would feel like cr@p afterwards. Not a full blown asthma attack, but enough of an allergy/asthma attack that it would take a few hours to feel better.
I gave up. Since moving back to MA in 1990 I have been 100% better. I was much sicker in both Florida and AZ. I know I am allergic to dust and mold. I developed a peanut and shellfish allergy in my late thirties. I went through one period where I couldn't even walk through a department store because of the smell of perfume at the cosmetics counter.
I use a clothes dryer because I can't stand the feel of clothes are dried outside. They are so stiff and scratchy, I develop hives from putting them on. I do hang dry my cycling stuff and delicates inside and I can stand that. My current house is 95% hard wood. That definitely helps. Only one room has carpeting. And if it's above 80 out with even a whiff of humidity, my AC is on.