'Fog of illness' never seemed to go away

June 21, 2008

Gosh does this sound familiar. In my local paper:

AID=/20080617/HEALTH/806170374/1113

Lack of antibodies makes it harder for sufferers of CVID to fight off

infections

For Judy Kozulak, 1998 was a rough year. Her marriage was failing and

her mother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. So when she succumbed

to bouts of pneumonia and bronchitis that winter, she chalked it up

to stress and the usual winter maladies.

Two years later, though, she developed chronic thrush, a fungal

infection that accumulates in the lining of the mouth and occurs most

frequently in babies, older adults and people with weakened immune

systems. Still, she recovered after a course of antibiotics and

resumed her normal routine: Exercising each morning before work;

ferrying her kids to and from school and activities; and organizing

parties for friends on the weekends.

But by 2004, she was getting sinusitis three or four times a year.

That fall, her primary care doctor referred her to an allergist. In

addition to allergy tests, the doctor ordered blood work and a

vaccine challenge to evaluate her immune system response. Tests

revealed that one of her antibodies was in the low-normal range, but

her reaction to the vaccine was good. To get her asthma under

control, the doctor prescribed allergy shots.

Kozulak's health worsened during winter 2005. Despite getting a flu

shot, she came down with the virus around Valentine's Day and was

sick for two months with sinusitis and asthma. She began to feel

better in April, but by the end of the month suffered yet another

sinus infection. She was referred to an otolaryngologist who

performed the first of what would ultimately be five surgical

procedures on her sinuses.

The rest at site:

Recommended Posts