APBA and Prednisone Therapy .... OK to get a flu shot?

[HannahBenson]

Hi...I have APBA and am on 20 mg Prednisone...also on Itraconazole for the last six weeks...I am concerned about getting a flu shot. Does anyone know of any problems with this.

Hannah

[Minushabens]

I always get one done & have never had a problem with it, other than the usual sore arm for a couple of days. I am on a lot of medication, including prednisolone (10mg/day) & itraconazole (600mg/day). The drug contains chicken eggs & I was asked quite a bit about an allergy to them (they can be a trigger for my asthma, but rarely & only ever mildly), so I wasn't too worried.

[HannahBenson in reply to Minushabens]

Thank you...I will get it. I am on 400mg. of Itraconazole and really don't know if it is the right amount as waiting to hear from my blood level report. I see you are on 600...Did you start out on 400? So new to all of this ...

[Minushabens in reply to HannahBenson]

Yes I started on 400mg. I had a fairly serious set of lung problems which were severely exacerbating my asthma, so the consultant has been building up a medication regime to get thins under control. My IgE levels were extremely high when I was first diagnosed, but have come down a fair bit over the last few years.

[HannahBenson in reply to Minushabens]

I think my itraconazole is finally beginning to work. I have an eosinophil count that climbs when I cut down on steriods. But...I`m going to get down to a lower dose and stay there...I don't think I am a candidate for getting off Pred. completely. My IgE is extremely low but the drs. think that is because I have been on a steroid inhaler for many years for asthma. When ABPA starts to act up...I am completely unable to clear airway and asthma is severe. I hope I can get some length of time with relief. This has been a hard 6 mos.

[Minushabens in reply to HannahBenson]

I know how you feel! But it’s good that the itraconazole is working. It can take a long time (I’m coming up for 4 years now & am still a long way from levels getting close to normal). I’d really like to dump the prednisolone if I could. I hate all the side effects.

[HannahBenson in reply to Minushabens]

Hi...when you say levels, do you mean blood levels of the anti-fungal or just normal levels of eosinophils and all the Ig`s and the rest of the CBC. My eosinophils have always been zero until this started. So that was the first indication that this was not the usual asthma/bronchiectasis syndrome. I have never had to take Pred. before and now it is really the most difficult thing I have had to adjust to...hard to know how low to go and not get another episode.

[Minushabens in reply to HannahBenson]

I'll be honest with you, I don't fully understand the entire range of blood tests that I am put through, but the one that is frequently quoted by the consultant is IgE to aspergillus. As I understand it, that is something about the antibody levels in my blood. I also get tested for itraconazole levels because they tell me not to take the tablet before the blood test due to the risk of it giving a false reading.

I have never had a conversation about eosinophils. I have tended to associate eosphilinic asthma as a variant that is more likely to develop later in life; my reports always describe mine as "atopic asthma since early childhood."

[HannahBenson in reply to Minushabens]

How often do you get your itraconazole levels checked?

[Minushabens in reply to HannahBenson]

I used to have it checked every 3 months but the consultant has reduced it so it’s much less frequently now.

[HannahBenson in reply to Minushabens]

Thank you...

[GAtherton Administrator Fungal Infection Trust]

A flu shot is something that is usually recommended by the National Aspergillosis Centre as the last thing you need on top of ABPA is a viral infection followed all too often by a bacterial infection. Get the jab!

[HannahBenson in reply to GAtherton]

I did...last week