Staying well

[Guest guest]

,

I have the same problem. If there's a germ in the area, I catch it. When I

get a cold, I always get bronchitis, always need an antibiotic and a week of

prednisone and am generally ill for 6 wks. When I've told my rheumatologist

this, he says that he doesn't see any higher incidence of infection in his

patients who are on MTX and Humira, then in the general population. He only

treats my RA. When I get sick, it's my internist working on the lung problems.

It is truly frustrating and I don't think there's any solution. After my last

bout, at Thanksgiving-time, the dr took a chest xray and a CT scan to be sure I

was okay (in January).

I wash my hands frequently when I am around a lot of people. I h-a-t-e to

shake other people's hands in my church (Catholic), which comes during every

Mass at a certain time. When my husband catches a cold, he is sick 3 or 4 days,

while mine goes on and on and on.

My rheumatologist told me not to even bother with a flu shot this year because

it would be totally ineffective, with my non-immune system. I am thankful every

day that I'm walking around supposedly healthy. It's very hard to deal with,

isn't it?

Joy

How do you stay well?

Posted by: " ldydewinter04 " ldydewinter@... ldydewinter04

Thu Feb 19, 2009 6:44 am (PST)

Hey all!

I'm recovering from a double whammy of strep and bronchitus. I didn't

know I was really sick because the prednisone kept my fever down. My

rheumy has me on 5 mg of prednisone, 8 mg of MTX and 20 of Arava. I

work in a dayspa and have two young children, so I'm always exposed to

germs even if I stay at home. My BIG frustration is every couple of

weeks or so...I get sick. I seem to have no immune system left. And

not just the sniffles. Whatever illness is going around completely

knocks me flat for a couple of days. Despite having the flu shot, I

caught the flu. This is my second round with strep throat this

winter. My husband is the best guy and always handles the kids. My

employer is nice but she hates turning away business in this economy.

How do all of you avoid getting sick so often? This is really really

wearing on me!! My daughter (who is 7) asked me if I was ever going to

be well like other mommies. I burst into tears. I just got diagnosed

last August and it's been a trial of Job for me. Any suggestions?

G

[Guest guest]

Joy,

I can understand about the flu shot thing. I got the flu shot. Guess what.

I got the flu anyway, as did the rest of my 'healthy' family. My two year

old ended up in the ER around Thanksgiving because of it. We got the dead

shots, not the 'live' nasal thing, as per my rheumy's instructions.

Yes, this is very frustrating. I make a living working on people who don't

feel so good. Sometimes they don't realize that even the 'sniffles' are

contagious.

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