Why I Chose OIT
Everyone’s reason for pursuing oral immunotherapy treatment is different, just as everyone’s journey through the process is unique.
Here are a few reasons why I chose OIT. If any of these strike a chord, you might want to talk to your allergist about starting OIT. Just a thought.
I missed eating certain foods. Many young children with food allergies develop aversions to the taste of their allergen, but I was the opposite. I developed my allergies later in life, which meant I had a fondness for the foods I was now allergic to. I dealt with a lot of grief losing these foods, so the possibility of having them back was a HUGE factor in deciding to do OIT.
Constant vigilance is exhausting. Once I developed food allergies, I couldn’t just go out to eat, I had to either call the restaurant or scour the allergen menu (if they had one) to find the one item I could eat. I was triple checking food labels and always worrying about cross contact. OIT would eliminate the need to always be on my guard and would allow me to simply enjoy food without fear.
Allergy friendly diets are EXPENSIVE! Since I was still in high school when I developed my food allergies, this wasn’t exactly a factor in deciding to start OIT, but I started college in the middle of treatment and let me tell you, it sure was motivation to keep going. For example, almond milk is easily twice the price of dairy milk. Basically, OIT is an investment toward your bottom line.
Again, there’s no one right reason to choose OIT, but these were mine.
Sending you all the love on your food allergy journey.
:-)Katie