Robert & Bee-L,
I have discussed bee stings at length with a very good allergist in Seattle, where I used to live, and he assured me that people who have a local swelling reaction are NOT at increased risk for anaphylactic shock.  You have the same potential to have a severe reaction as someone who doesn't swell.  To illustrate this, I swelled extensively for years and have never had a systemic reaction.  My son doesn't swell at all and his most recent sting sent him to the hospital with a severe reaction.  (I posted in detail about this earlier in this thread.)
 
For about a dozen years I swelled intensely with every sting.  Sometimes the swelling migrated, especially when the sting was on the top of my head.  It would migrate to my eyes.  My swelling usually lasted for a week or more and itched like crazy.   Finally last year the swelling pretty much stopped.
 
I discovered a way to reduce or in some cases eliminate the swelling though.  I found that if I took an over-the-counter antihistamine BEFORE going to the bee yard my swelling from stings was very minimal.  Taking the medication after the sting was totally ineffective.  The trick is to find an antihistamine that doesn't make you too drowsy.