I’ve had PMR for two years now and on 8mg pred attempting my second tapering cycle.
I’ve have a really heavy cold now for over a week which started as a mild cold for two weeks before that. I’m wondering if my immune system is reducing my ability to get on top of this and allowing it to prevail much longer than I would normally expect.
My typical, pre-PMR, cycle for a cold was bad for one week, loosen up in week 2 and gone after two weeks.
Thanks
Pred is suppressing your normal immune system to control your PMR.
Unfortunately that has the knock on effect of meaning that the work your autoimmune system would normally do, like rushing to fight off any virus etc you may encounter is significantly diminished. So even a simple cold can take a lot longer to go than it did pre Pred.
The elephant in the room, of course, is SARS-CoV-2 which, so I've heard, can often present as a cold. Infection with this virus is implicated in immune dysfunction, and unfortunately damage can occur even with very mild or even asymptomatic (one doesn't know one is even infected) cases. This can make one more susceptible to other opportunistic infections, like a common cold, or more serious illnesses.
However, on a more cheerful note, with pred the risk diminishes as the dosage decreases. I had colds (plural) during my first winter (2015-16) with pred when my dose was at its highest, but haven't had any since, and they didn't last any longer than colds usually had in the past.
Whatever is going on I think the recommendation is to rest and keep up the fluids! Hope you feel better soon. 🍀
Thanks for the replies. I should have said, I’ve tested twice for COVID in the past week and both were negative. You have confirmed my thoughts though so thanks for that! Happy Christmas!!! MtS
Unfortunately many have taken more than one test that have been negative… but they have still had Covid. Don’t think the existing tests are that reliable with new strains…and as I’ve said before HMG have acknowledged that the LFTs only determine if you are infectious, not whether you have the virus or not….
Interesting. Thanks DorsetLady and hopefully, I'm not infectious, at least.
Hmm..that’s one thing… 😊
I wonder though, am I likely to be still infectious to others? Does prolonged symptoms =prolonged “infectiousness”?
Pass… ask me one on sport guv!! 😳
Sorry, don’t know ….
Who scored the goal? 🤔
Well not Mary Earps -she saves them…😊
… if you mean an own goal then name any politician of recent times …🙈
She was brilliant last night. A very deserving winner. As for politicians, I'd prefer not to think about them. 😤
Wear a proper mask - just in case ...
Developed coughing virus 30 Nov. Covid negative. Was put on antibiotics by GP for 7 days after which she said I would not be infectious to others. Apparently this works if you take antibiotics within 3 weeks of developing cough/cold symptoms. Still coughing, by the way!
I'm just on the recovery side of a filthy cold which started about two/three weeks ago and although Covid tests came up negative, I'm pretty sure it was a dose of Covid. The nurse I was chatting to earlier in the week agreed that it was highly likely. I went up to 5mg I felt so unwell and now struggling to get down again.
Family members have taken between them 3, 5 and 7 days to test positive and one other who was amongst us with the same symptoms tested negative.
Very possibly though it varies from person to person - have never made a difference to me and hardly ever get a cold of any sort - just sneezes!
Are you sure it is "just" a cold? The LFTs are very unreliable as my nurse daughter usually demonstrates!
My feeling is it's best to behave as though everyone around me is carrying some sort of respiratory disease, and as masks are few and far between I always wear one. It's a bit annoying on a wet day like we have today because respirators lose their electrostatic charge when they get wet so I was searching rather desperately for an old surgical to wear as a "raincoat" over my N99, and rather wishing I'd hung onto more of them. Sign of the times: one of the things my adult children will find in their Christmas loot from me, along with the requisite chocolate, clemi etc., is anti-viral nasal spray!
I had no idea that you could get such a thing as anti-viral nasal spray.
We use one every time we go out…& also wear an FFP2 mask! I had immune system issues before PMR. If I catch a common cold it’s always 8 weeks before I improve, including at least 2 types of antibiotics & a chest infection. I think some people are just prone to this, really. I was like it as a child! Now it’s back as I age! We use Norizite. It forms a barrier as you breathe bugs into your nose. But, of course, I can’t really say if it works…if it works you don’t get sick…but perhaps the mask stopped the bugs, or you didn’t encounter any (unlikely, the whole area here seems to be coughing badly!) We shield most of the winter, tbh, on recommendation of the professor of a large lung hospital unit I attended.
There is one using sodium nitrite and other ingredients: Enovid, Sanotize, which although developed in Canada hasn't been approved for use here, last I heard anyway. But sprays using iota-carrageenan are also supposed to be effective, and that's what we use. Brand I use (Canada) is Betadine. This is in addition to wearing the best respirator I can find. The other thing I've used, in cases of almost inevitable exposure such as travel on public transit or going to the dentist, is CPC mouthwash. All these things lower any viral load you may take on and reduce the risk of becoming infected. Nothing is guaranteed but the more layers of protection we utilise the better.
I’ve had an exceptionally heavy cold too! Which affected my eyes.. which were stuck together when I woke in the morning!castor oil drops helped eyes. Cold took about a week.. a few days in bed or on sofa. Others in family had cold but not so severe. So glad to have this forum. Sticking to 2.5 for the moment.
I have been drinking Moringa leaves, daily, as a tisane for a good year or so and touch wood have not got my usual colds! I also put some fresh ginger in, and put some in a flask to take out with me... you can get moringa in powder form too to sprinkle on yoghurt etc
I dont think it has had any influence on my inflammation levels tho as I am on my second taper down and got to 8 mg and seem to be more in pain after 3 weeks of it...
Time to call a stop to that taper then - and maybe even go back a bit.
yes I think that a few extra tabs of cortisone will be my Christmas cocktail! but still not sure that the METX recommended by rheumy is what I need right now..I'm still trying to work out where the PMR came from and if i am doing everything I can to heal that
thanks for constant confort and wisdom
If you figure out the cause for you, please share! My theory is that stress piled on top of something happening in one's past (like a virus in childhood) makes one more likely to develop any autoimmune disease and we can count ourselves lucky (?) that it's not worse than PMR, although that can seem dire for a time.
In case anyone is interested I have been able to avoid and snap out of colds with vitamin C encased in elderberry juice and green tea straight from Japan. I have my first cold in a long time; husband brings all the germies in/ugh/ I’ll let you know how these push back this head cold!
One flu virus after another
Glandular Fever virus and PMR?
Bad cold not getting better
GCA after virus? At a loss! 
eventually upped dose - after virus - swollen legs
