Another cold type virus

[EnyaBlue]

Posted in January about respiratory virus which I recovered from about 2 weeks ago. Blow me down, I have a sore throat, runny nose, feel flat and no energy again. This is the 3rd cold/flu type bug I have had in 3 months. Is this due to suppressed immune system or overdoing it or just bad luck? @

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Suppressed immune system certainly won’t be helping…. but not a lot you can do about that. But if you think you are overdoing it, you might be! So ease up a bit.. and plenty of TLC - PMR has a habit of dragging you down at the best of times. And you are also in the ‘adrenals needing to wake up again’ zone.

Are you sure it’s ’just another virus’ and not covid which hasn’t properly gone away?

[EnyaBlue in reply to DorsetLady]

I did wonder whether it was the same virus not quite going away. Could be Covid but previous tests were negative and I have not tested this time yet. Being an active person, when I feel 80% or 90% better, I think I get going again. Still trying to accept the fact that PMR doesn't necessarily work like that.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to EnyaBlue]

Trouble is many are getting negative Covid tests… but it still is that!

And as PMRpro says, not all the bugs have been zapped [whatever they are] so re-emerging when you aren’t 100%. Very frustrating …

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Bit of all of the above I suspect - though personally I have never found pred made me more likely to catch colds (or anything else). It could be the same one repeatedly - you are almost getting rid of but not quite and a few weeks later the bugs have built up their attack again ...

[EnyaBlue]

Tend to agree.

[SheffieldJane]

Following a long haul flight, I have had a cold and cough for a month , including antibiotics for an infected lung, using sick day rules and two weeks totally bedridden. I seem to be starting again, with the same bug, coughing sneezing, feverish and feeling very sick. I saw my Rheumatologist , the day before, when I thought it was post viral ,who said that these viruses and their after effects can drag on for months. She advised me to stop trying to taper and took some bloods for kidney function and inflammation levels. She had such a busy clinic so we didn’t go into the ins and outs of suppressed immunity. These days I seem to only have to poke my head out of the door and I get sick.

[EnyaBlue in reply to SheffieldJane]

One more thing to add to the PMR and pred catalogue. I never used to suffer so many winter bugs. Taking it easy for a few days now.

[PMRCanada]

What you’ve and others have described is exactly what I dealt with last winter, over and over again for four months. My rheumy and I determined it was likely due to me being immunosuppressed being on both pred and high dose of Methotrexate, so last March lowered my MTX dose and by now, this winter, I’ve tapered my pred down further as well.

This winter I just finished with my first cold that my daughter (who lives with us) has had on repeat. Between us tested multiple times (she is a nurse and must follow protocols). And now my fit, active hubby is sneezing and blowing his nose the week before our winter holiday. At least we haven’t suffered with coughing and respiratory issues and I haven’t had to increase my pred dose.

I believe the 3 of us keep sharing with one another. So I now avoid them both, lots of hand washing, separate hand and bath towels, mask when in the car with them, etc as we are about to go on holiday soon. I’ll be masking up on the plane too….hate to get a bug and ruin my vacation.

[EnyaBlue]

It seems par for the course. I didn't used to suffer with these bugs pre PMR and pred, even when I was teaching and in contact with lots of coughs and sneezing 🤧 Good advice about masking up on a flight. I'm going abroad in March and will do likewise

[artfingers]

I agree about masking. My husband masks up every single time he is in public, stores, everywhere and doesn't get colds or flu. Also keeps up on vaccines which helps for flu, etc. I think it doesn't hurt but must admit I don't mask up as often as he does. The one time I didn't and sat next to someone with COVID, of course, I got it. Ah, my own fault really.

[HeronNS]

Just to add to this thread the fact that SARS-CoV-2 is known to disregulate the immune system, which explains a good deal of the extra illnesses people are dealing with now. I only had a couple of colds the first winter I was on pred (2015-16) and since then have been no more susceptible than I'd been before. Meanwhile everyone else in the extended family has been getting sick more often (at any time of year) since covid (specifically since 2022), whereas only my husband had previously been likely to catch anything going.