Some of you may remember that I had a run in with my own bees back in July.
http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=19501 I had a severe anaphylactic reaction to a dozen or so stings that put me in hospital. I did not have any breathing difficulties, so the ambulance was reluctant to come, but the cardio-vascular symptoms nearly killed me. My blood pressure dropped to 80/40 and I had ST depression on the ECG when I finally made it to hospital. I promised to get back to you after I had seen the allergy consultant and this excellent thread provides an ideal opportunity.
Six weeks after the anaphylaxis I went to see the consultant in Leicester. They arranged skin prick (scratch) tests for bee and wasp venom. I did not really react so they did an IgE test for bee venom antibodies. The normal range is 0-0.3 (don't know what units) and mine was 19, so 60 times the upper limit of normal. They offered me desensitisation.
I started the VIT (venom immunotherapy) at the beginning of November. It involves 12 weekly injections of gradually increasing dose and then four-weekly injections of a maintenance dose equivalent to about 2 bee stings for three years. I have just had week 9 of the up-dosing phase. (Christmas holidays slowed it down a bit.) I have suffered only minor symptoms. The injection site on my upper arm really feels like a bee has stung me now - red, swollen and itchy. Twice I have experienced tingling lips and tongue and they have made me wait for an extra hour just to make sure I do not get a full-blown anaphylaxis again. The main thing is
extreme tiredness in the afternoon/evening after I have the VIT in the morning. It is unbelievable how such a tiny injection can knock the stuffing out of you. But then, it is somehow my whole immune system that is being reset.
The best thing about the whole process is meeting new beekeepers in the clinic! One week there were six of us all undergoing VIT and all still really enthusiastic about bees. The worst thing is paying £3 a time to park at Leicester General!
Below are the details of the up-dosing protocol they use in Leicester.
One final bit of good news. I have pretty much had to leave my bees to fend for themselves since August. Two colonies on double brood. I hoped they had enough stores. On Sunday I went to give oxalyic acid treatment, fully expecting them to have died from neglect, only to find both colonies doing fine! It is amazing how happy that made me feel. By the time spring comes I should be ready to be a beekeeper again (albeit a cautious beekeeper with an epipen in his pocket)
Cheers,
Paul
