Hi Karren, I,m a new,old beekeeper. That is I had bees many years ago and then quite for thirty to fourty and just started again this year. I have experienced what your doctor told you to a certain extent. I can remember when I first started messing with bees, my dad and I would rob feral bee colonies and would get stung many many times. At first I would swell up quite a lot but after a while the stings would no longer swell.They still hurt like the dickens but no swelling. Well that was many years ago and after starting over again I find that I swell every time I get stung. This might have to do with the fact that the emunity has worn off after all this time or it might have to do with the fact that I,m a little older,well to be truthful,a lot older. I've heard,not from any medical proof, that your emune system changes as you age and things that once didn't bother you do now. Just my own thoughts on the subject from and old new beekeeper. Bobbee