Am I immune suppressed?

[podo]

How often do I hear someone say that they are "Immune Suppressed". Is there a standardardised test for this condition or is it just anecdotal tales of how often one catches various colds & flu? I've been on steroids now for 17 years & just recently Hydroxychloroquine as well. At 81 I still keep very active & suffer no more seasonal illness than I ever did but often wonder how bad my immune system has been affected by medications. How can one boost their immune system?

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Hi podo,

This link might explain what is and why you are immune suppressed- Steroids or any other medication aren’t clever enough to suppress just the inflammation caused by certain illnesses inc PMR - they affect the whole AI system.

patient.info/allergies-bloo...

And you don’t want to boost your immune system in this instance.

Glad to hear you’re keeping ok, despite everything.

[podo in reply to DorsetLady]

Thank you for that link DL, read it once but must look in more detail later. It's obviously a complex subject which we can't expect simple answers for. Will question my GP if I ever get to see him again! Glad to hear your regular posts & hope that you're able to visit Down Under again before too long.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to podo]

Have shelved this year’s trip - sadly.

But hopefully in the words of the immortal song - “we'll meet again” - let’s hope it not 6 years though.

Take care.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I think mostly it tends to be people told they are because they are on pred - its role in most cases it to quieten down the autoimmune disorder that causes the immune system to be unable to recognise the body as self and so attack various tissues causing damage and inflammation. I'm not so sure that that is the same as being more likely to catch things - like you, I would say I have had fewer colds etc and certainly not more since I've been on pred. I get one humdinger a year - but I always did.

The opinion about "boosting" the immune system is mixed - if you boost it, does that not increase the likelihood your immune system malfunction for which you are taking pred to reduce its effect? So it is an aim that is a two-edged sword for us.

You CAN do tests to find out the basic status of your immune system - measuring the various immunoglobulins which identify and aim to destroy foreign invasions and searching for the antibodies to various disease - but there are a lot of them! If you are deficient in them, then you are immunosuppressed.

sciencing.com/five-classes-...

but steroids don't affect all immunoglobulins the same

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/681....

and various diseases also have an effect on the different immunoglobulins. The immunoglobulins are the basis of production of the antibodies that protect us - and it is the lack of antibodies that makes us prone to catching things.

[podo in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you PMRpro, I knew I'd get a comprehensive reply from you. I'm just being very cautious with Covid 19 (still shielding) since I particularly don't want to catch it & infect my wife who is awaiting heart valve replacement (postponed from March). Who knows when that happens now!