Recovery from colds/flu whilst on Adalimumab

[UmaDaisy]

Hello,I was diagnosed with Crohn's 18 months ago and have been on Adalimumab for the last 12 months.

In that time I have managed to avoid colds/flu until a couple of weeks ago. Have felt quite unwell and presently doesn't seem to be ending.

My question is really to other people who have a reduced immune system due to biologic medicine has anyone found this sort of thing takes longer to fight off because of it?

Thanks,

James.

[Crochet-hook]

Hi JamesMy son (also named James!) was diagnosed with UC 6 years ago now, and was on the immunosuppressant Azathioprine for the first 5 of those, but has just had to move up to Upadacitinib in the last 6 months.

Just like you, we've definitely noticed that it takes him longer to recover from colds and infections since he has been on these meds. I remember a doctor telling us once, not long after he started taking them, that the general rule of thumb was somebody on these immuno-suppressant medications could expect to experience double the recovery time, compared to somebody who wasn't on them. So, using his example, for a very mild cold, maybe two weeks recovery instead of one. Saying all of that though, despite being a shielding patient for the whole of the pandemic, when James did eventually catch covid he was only ill for 24 hrs, and even then he wasn't too bad! So the immuno-suppressant risk hasn't been as bad as I first feared when he began taking this medication.

Hope this helps and I hope you start to feel better soon

Take care

Diane

[UmaDaisy in reply to Crochet-hook]

Thanks Diane for the info and all the best to your James !

[Steve2357]

As Crochet-hook said it just depends on how your system reacts. I have had Crohn's for over 40 years. On the flu-jabs and no cold has lasted any longer than anybody else. Despite being a shielding patient for the whole of the pandemic, when I did eventually catch Covid, the only reason I knew I had it was because I tested positive, as you always checked before a medical appointment. I had no symptoms at all. My niece has no medical problems yet she has had Covid a number of times and been really sick each time. We are all different and some people reacted differently to the same drugs/viruses, so there are no hard and fast rules. All you can do try.