Hi. I've been on IM B12 for about a year now and all symptoms have improved and I'm generally doing really well. I suspect B1 deficiency (improvement with oral supplementation) was present and I corrected D deficiency. I have hashimotos thyroiditis and am stable on medication.
I still get colds and flus all the time. I'm tired of being sick and it doesn't seem to be improving. Idk if this is related to PA or not. Any insight? Is it related and will my immune system improve after I've been on B12 injections longer?
Looking for stories, recommendations. I recently read that long term PA is pretty rough on the gut lining. I had macrocytic anemia documented via blood test for 22 years before diagnosed with PA. I've been eating a lot of prebiotic foods and am making saurkraut to eat daily. Wondering if the gut lining damage is related to getting sick a lot.
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4. Follow a good diet and supplement if necessary to avoid deficiencies (see my bio for tips)
5. Every week get some cardiovascular exercise that gets the heart rate up a bit and some resistance training. Start small and build up slowly to at least twice a week of 30 mins of each. Walking has benefits but it cannot replace the benefits of resistance training or cardio.
6. Along with the exercise, keep active during the day - don't maintain fixed positions for hours, get up and walk, stand or do some light activity every 30 mins or so.
7. Get enough sleep (7-8 hours) and cut down on caffeine after lunch if it affects your sleep quality
8. Reduce stress by doing things you enjoy, learning new things, and maintaining social connections
I'm not a big fan of anecdotes but if you'd like one, I only had one mild cold in 2 years since recovering from my deficiency and improving my diet and movement/fitness practice. When I caught COVID, I barely had to take a day off work. I don't eat prebiotics and I never have any stomach issues. Obviously I don't have PA so how much of this is useful to you I don't know but it's my experience.
I was the original snotty nosed kid when I was younger, always had a cold, and every winter got a chesty cough.
As and adult, someone suggested I take echinacea to boost my immune system. I started taking it every winter over 20 years ago (I take it every day for 3 months: Oct, Nov, Dec, or Nov, Dec, Jan - depending on when I remember to start taking it!!)
In all those years I've only had one flu, and no colds.
I am not a doctor, not meant as medical advice etc etc.
The way your response was phrased indicates you may have taken offence from what I posted. I did not mean to cause offence and apologize if there was any taken. I did not claim that you are saying it was scientifically based. My intention was just to share what I had found regarding the current scientific evidence for the effectiveness of Echinacea to help others make a decision on whether Echinacea would be useful to take or not versus colds/flu.
In this case the evidence is not there for its effectiveness but it could easily have been the other way round. I believe in the importance of sharing the best scientific evidence whether it supports or contradicts any particular anecdotal experience. I don't see a good reason to withhold sharing scientific evidence in general just because it contradicts a personal experience.
If I had found that there was some good evidence, or strong evidence across the board for the benefit of Echinacea I would have also shared that - I have no particular vested interest or opposition to Echinacea one way or another. Sharing the current status of the evidence is not meant as an attack on you, as an argument, as an insult, or as a refutation of your personal experience, whatever that might be.
When I was little, I always had colds, when I went into nursing I always had colds. Had a respite for a few years, then had kids - got lots of colds. Kids grew up, yay, fewer colds. Kids had kids, now I'm getting colds again. I think it may have something to do with the Grandkids sneezing on my eyeballs, but I could be wrong. *blows nose* 😂
Hopefully once the kids' kids have grown up, I'll get less colds 🤞
Seriously though, I have no answer as to how to avoid colds, short of staying away from tiddly peeps and sick people and washing/sanitising hands. That was one good thing about the Covid lock downs - no colds.
My kids held the record of least days off school much to their dismay. They were seldom sick.
I used to give them homemade elderberry extract every day during the winter and lots of raw veg and garlic and seasonal fruit in the summer plus lots of unprocessed honey. They are both ridiculously healthy in their 20s!
In my old village the elderly people used to ask me to make them elderberry extract. I used to make it in gallons and they said it was amazing!
Hope you find some relief as being ill is hard work!
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