Fatigue from allergy shots

I started allergy shots at the beginning of January. I'm getting them once a week. I have many allergies -- dust mites, cats, penicillins, molds, and various grasses and trees.

I've noticed that I'm feeling more fatigued since I started the shots. Some weeks it's been pretty severe. My doctor said that it's not a typical side effect of allergy shots, although it's possible that they could be making me more congested, which could affect my sleep.

Has anyone else experience fatigue from allergy shots?

Oops, I must've missed your post. I'm sorry.

My daughter did allergy injections for two years but they didn't make her tired. However, your fatigue may be from your body trying to fight the injected allergen. Small doses are gradually increased over months or years. This gives your body a chance on how to learn to fight them or adjust until the key goal is to make you immune. So perhaps your body is fighting harder than normal?

The same thing happened to me. I have only been going for four weeks....This week my lymph nodes got very tight and painful and then I was exhausted for about 36 hours. I am not going back.

Hello MmeMulot.  I know you posted this a month ago, but I just came across this from doing a google search.  I have had 4 weekly injections so far and have been extremely tired as well.  Has it gotten any better for you?  Have you found out if there is anything to do about it?  I was wondering about extra vitamin C?  I'm thinking about calling the allergist for recommendations.  The first 48 hours especially are bad after the injections.

The allergist told me to take 1000 mg of vitamin C per day and that has really helped! She explained that when you have allergies your immune system works overtime, making you tired. So it makes sense that if they're injecting our bodies with our allergens on top of our environmental exposure, our poor immune systems really do need extra vitamin C.

I started allergy shots several months ago. I'm on my third week of my next higher dosage and I've noticed considerable fatigue...all I really want to do is sleep. It makes perfect sense that my body is tired from fighting the allergens. I may try the additional vitamin C as mentioned by Marshmelo76. I hope it works

I have been having shots weekly for a year, pollens in one arm and molds/environmentals/animals in the other. The last bottles seem to be crazy strong; each round is 5x stronger than the previous and the bottles last about three months. For the last two weeks, I have been so tired and the welts on my arms have been huge.

In the past, if I reacted with arm swelling and pain, they decreased the dosage, instead of increasing it in a given week. This time, I will be asking again to have it decreased two weeks in a row. I cannot function with this fatigue.

I take daily Allegra, two benedryl, benedryl cream at injection sites (for 48h after shots, as the worst time is two days later), Vit C, Zinc, multi, etc, trying to stay as strong as possible. I have no idea if the shots or if these meds/supplements are working.

I take all the antihistamines because I am allergic to everything and need to sleep. I still get nasal congestion and stuffiness, regardless of being on the shots.

When I saw the dr about a month ago, I told him my injection site is always itchy 48 hours after the shot, that sometimes it is swollen. He said that reactions would be called the "sweet spot" in my dosage, that I am reacting, but not badly.

It has been since then that I have had the large welts, itching directly after the shot, fatigue, and new vial. I guess it is time to talk to him again.

Thank you for your advice. I posted here as an immediate follow up, but will make my own post in the future.

I'm so tired for several days after my shots I can barely function this is my second shot ...also headaches...I feel drugged

Hi everyone! I just started my monthly shots and man, oh man, am I exhausted, too! I am going to try the vitamin C (maybe Emergen-C) and see if that helps. I feel like I took two Benedryl!

Welcome to the forum.

It's best to start your own thread (post new topic).

First time posting. Started allergy shots about 4 weeks ago. They upped dosage this week. Been drained,
all week. Today, dragged myself to office for shot. Fatigue got worse. Stopped at store to get water.
Filling bottles and placing in back floor area. Put last bottle in front seat. Took a deep breath and said to myself...I should not be driving. One block from home. Started backing up and my back car door I left open scraped post. Lucky not worse. Severe fatigue causing brain fog had set in. Now I know it is from the shot. I know I get fatigue from my allergy to all grasses and most trees. I usually start feeling more alive around sunset. Not with the shots. This is really constant now.
But I do not want to stop. The nurse thinks if you do not have big visual reaction, you or ok. I have had
these allergy problems for about 50 years. It is hard to defend or explain this to others. They think you or either lazy or faking it. Especially if they see you active later that day.
The first month made me feel better. I will ask them to reduce dosage and ease me slower. I
I don't know why doctors find it so hard to relate allergy to fatigue. I did have shots in June 2015 from a different doctor. I stopped after one month. The office person giving shots did not seem qualified. One needs to really connect with nurse or call office to leave message with doctor to get your self heard. That is what I
will do Monday. I am so tired that I had a hard time finding my words talking to my son. That is when I know I tomorrow will be all day in bed...maybe all week. All I did this week was my 2trips to get shot. Let us all communicate and hang in there.

So far I've received 39 weekly allergy shots (2 injections, 1 per arm, with 2 allergens per injection) starting in September 2016. I was told that the shots do not contain an adjuvant (such as aluminum hydroxide) but they do contain albumin and glycerin (as a preservative and to prevent allergens from adhering to the sides of the syringe). The first 6 shots produced no local or systemic reactions. The following 33, about 90% of the time, resulted in bouts of extreme fatigue appearing between 24-72 hours post-injection. The bouts usually occur once or twice per day, lasting 2-6 hours each, for 1-3 days in a row. The bouts never occur on the day of injection, or on the 6th day following injection. While experiencing the fatigue, many activities are nearly impossible, such as performing chores, driving, exercising, or intellectual work. During a bout, falling asleep in the middle of the day is possible, and even slight muscular exertion can feel impossible. My reason for receiving allergy shots in the first place (official diagnosis) is a combination of severe allergic rhinitis, mild atopic eczema, and mild asthma. Daily medications include: 10 mg loratadine (Claritin), 10 mg monteleukast (Singulair), 156 mg pseudoephedrine (Sudafed), 844 mg ibuprofen, topical mometasone furoate (steroid), ketotifen fumarate eyedrops (antihistamine/mast cell stabilizer), intranasal cromolyn sodium (Nasalcrom) and intranasal fluticasone propionate (steroid).

I don't think allergy shot-induced fatigue is common. I also don't think it's a high priority for allergists, perhaps rightfully, because they *must* remain wholly focused on, and concerned with, identifying rare and life-threatening anaphylactic reactions. Also, because the scientific literature has established that airborne allergens are sufficient to produce substantial fatigue, it is difficult to single out allergy shots as being a "sole cause of fatigue". I think the most likely scenario is that allergens in the air combined with allergens injected into the body add up to a burden on the immune system that results in it effecting "sickness behavior" - i.e., flu-like symptoms, so that the body's energy can be allocated to addressing this "double-onslaught" of airborne and injected allergens. Yes, the immune system is stupid to think pollen is an existential threat to our bodies, but, I'd rather have an immune system that is overzealous than one that leans toward incorrectly deciding that a future new virus or parasite is its best friend.

Personally, this degree of fatigue has caused some social problems - one coworker suggested that this could be "psychosomatic", as if a robust immune system response to injected allergens might be a psychiatric issue. An employer suggested that my hourly pay rate "might not be worth it to him", but I did not even consider reducing my hourly pay rate because when I am not experiencing fatigue, I am nearly normal and 100% productive. Family and friends are supportive, but they are perplexed, because one hour I don't have the energy to help them set the dinner table, but a few hours later they see me running three miles. I think that to the general public, the immune system's response to allergens consists solely of itching, runny nose, sneezing and....nothing else. Just like the television advertisements depict them.

I am not quitting the shots because I'm hopeful that they will improve my allergic symptoms. This is only a temporary setback. I'm also not going to use caffeine or herbs or whatever else - I'm on enough medications already. Good luck everyone.