I am participating in an allergy study at my local hospital. I've done it before, but not for about four and a half years, since I was either pregnant or breastfeeding for over three years.
I am exposed, along with the others in the clinical trial group, to ragweed pollen. The Environmental Exposure Unit simulates levels of ragweed pollen equal to what would be experienced outdoors during peak ragweed season. The last two nights, I have attended "priming" sessions - exposure to ragweed to activate my allergic reaction, so that on the treatment day, my allergies will respond as soon as the pollen exposure begins.
On the treatment day, we will be exposed to the pollen for two hours, then each of us in the group will be given "treatment" - we will receive one of two drugs, or a placebo. We then record our symptoms throughout the course of about 10 hours of exposure.
The drug we're testing has never before been tested in North America. The EEU where I do the testing, is world-renowned in this field. I have tested allergy meds for companies all over the world. I tested Aerius (desloratadine) before it was released on the market, and I believe that I did get "the good stuff", the medicine rather than placebo, during that study. It seemed to work well.
My allergic reactions don't often involve a great deal of sneezing; I sneeze a bit but it's not my main symptom. The absolute worst for me is my itchy, watery eyes and itchy nose, and post-nasal drip. Last night my eyes felt so gritty and gross, even with having worn my glasses. My glasses were coated with pollen. Yuck. It made it very difficult to see, and by the time I went to bed last night I was feeling like shit warmed over.
So, why do any of it? It pays pretty well. $500 when you complete the testing cycle, for this particular study. Each one usually pays between $450 to $600, depending on what's required by the study sponsors (the pharmaceutical companies).
As it turns out, I can be bought.
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