Casey,
 
I went through sting desensitization for honeybees, mixed wasps, and yellow
hornets.  It's a five year procedure.
 
The opening test was as you describe, as was the basic treatment.  You get to
be quite a judge of the skill of the person giving the injections,
 Fortunately, the weekly sessions get replaced by bi-wwekly, then monthly,
and finally every six weeks.  At the end of 5 years, you will probably be
retested, and declared desensitized.
 
I was not asked to stop working my bees; in fact my allergist got a bit of a
chuckle out of her beekeeper patient who was allergic to bee stings.  I
tended my hives (and got stung ocaisionally), all during the initial
desensitization and later maintenance phases of the treatment.   In her
opinion, giving up bees might reduce the risk of a bad reaction, but one
could still get stung by walking through a clover field.
 
Your allergist might have a different opinion.
 
She also appreciated the gifts of honey at Christmastime.
 
I did put an "epi-pen" emergency injection kit in my hive tools pail, and
still replace it yearly per the shelf life instructions.  I consider it a
sensible precaution, especially since I have frequent visitors to my hives.
 
With all the bee stings I have had since, I can tell you the therapy works.
 
W. G. Miller
Gaithersburg, MD