Question from Houston, Texas, USA:

I am 27 years old, have had type 1 diabetes for 17 years, and I have always had problems with allergies/asthma. When I was younger, I was put on allergy shots which seemed to have helped, but they also appeared to make my blood sugar go consistently high (200-400 mg/dl [11.1-22.1 mmol/L], resulting in an A1c of 10% or more). However, I don’t know if this had more to do with simply going through puberty and adolescence rather than the allergy shots themselves.

About the time I started high school, I voluntarily stopped the shots, and at the time, I had seemed to have out-grown my allergies, needing only the occasional Sudafed to help with nasal congestion. Since then, I have also had excellent blood sugar control with A1c’s of 5.4- 6% with no complications so far.

Two years ago, I moved and my allergies have come back in the worst way, making my daily life miserable to the point I can’t function like I did prior to moving here. I’m basically surviving on over-the-counter allergy medications, but I have tried all sorts of them, and so far none have really helped me. So I am seriously considering going back on the allergy shots, but I am afraid to do so, remembering what my blood sugars were like at the time I was on them. Do allergy shots cause blood sugars to seemingly skyrocket?

I have worked very hard to control my sugars and to avoid complications, and I am just afraid that, by going back on them, I will be putting myself back in jeopardy of blood sugar problems and ruin all the hard work I have done to lower my A1c. If you or anyone on your team has any information or opinions on this topic, please let me know. I would greatly appreciate it. I am scheduled to talking with an allergist next month, and I am trying to get as much information about the possible risks before I go. I am hoping that my earlier problems were more related to going through puberty than the medication, but I would like to hear your thoughts on this.