Am I immune supressed???

[delorisdoe]

I had my follow up appointment with the surgen yesterday regarding the issue that landed me in the hospital a few weeks ago. As is the story of my life, the surgen got called away and I only saw a resident who only learned about my case from reading his notes. She was actually great compared to the residents I suffer through with my weg doctor but I left confused.

She told me if I have another attack of diverticulitis I must come back to the emergency and they will most likely operate and remove a section of my colon. Usualy they wait for several attacks before removing the colon. She said that because of the wegners and my compromised and weakend immune system-due to the prednisone I am not on-I will have to have it removed.

She knew I was not currently on predinsone but kept saying that my immunes system is compromised due to prednisone. I have been on prednisone over the years on and off but not for at least 6 weeks now and it was only for 3 weeks. It has been 8 years I think since I was on cytoxan.

Now I do understand what she was saying...when I am on wegners drugs I am more likely to get infections and I also understand that infections in my bowels will maybe be more frequent due to the diverticulitis.

What I dont get is am I immune compromised when not on wegners drugs. Is just having taken prednisone in the last 3 months meant that I am immune compromised now? I never thought of it. I thought that after being off these meds for so long that I am not effected at least in that way anymore.

Sangye...look this up and get me my answer PLEASE. lol

pretty please.:love:

[Sangye]

From a holistic perspective, yes you would still have poor immune function compared to someone with a healthy immune system. From a medical perspective, the adrenal side effects of pred linger for about a year after stopping it. Pred can cause lingering immunosuppression after stopping it, but the degree is very individual. The suppression is due to the drain on the adrenals over time.

Personally I wouldn't listen to a resident's opinion about surgery for diverticulosis, not even a GI resident. If I were in your shoes I'd either consult a proper GI specialist or just wait and see. If you wind up back in an ER and someone says you need surgery, you should demand a GI consult.

[delorisdoe]

That is what I thought. I am the expert on residents I promise you that and I know how to take them. I was anoyed that I did not get to see the surgen himself but at the same time I had already waited an hour and it would most likely have been another hour if I had to wait for him...surgens get called away. I know that she would not be responisble for any decisions and I have alot of trust with him he is a fantastik doctor. I was just so confused because I have never considered myself immune compromised-not since stopping the cytoxan. The surgen would not do surgery unless he had to. He did not want me to go for a ct scan as he felt I have had enough of those in my life and it would not tell them anything they could not figure out any other way.

thank you for your response. I supose now I am fully convinced that I will not go back on cytoxan ever-up until yesterday I was secretly hoping that would be the drug they put me on again. When I was on cytoxan my wbc count was very dangerously low and i am pretty sure my immune system was just a little compromised. lol

[renidrag]

Debbie and I were talking about that subject yesterday. After a year of being med free for WG am I still considered immuno-supressed? Still suffer from an auto-immune disease? Can I take vitamins that would build up the immune system? Any suggestions?
Dale

[Sangye]

Dale, yes you still have an AI disease. Wegs is your BFF even if it stays in lasting remission. As far as still being immune-suppressed, I'm not sure. From a holistic perspective you might still be, but maybe not from a medical perspective. Do you get colds or other infections easily, and do they linger? That's a good way to tell. More than 1-2 colds a year is not normal.

Regarding supplements to build the immune system, I don't recommend that. You have to be very careful there so you don't wake up the Wegs dog. Definitely supplements that specifically boost the immune system should be avoided. Echinacea is an example. There are others that modulate immune function without specifically boosting it, but personally I would avoid those unless I'd been in a very solid, drug-free remission for a few years. (And then I'd use them very carefully, under the guidance of a skilled holistic physician who understands the risks of Wegs.) I'm always tempted to try immune-modulators but the risk is just too high. There are many supplements you can take now that do not directly affect the immune system but build and support the body in other ways.

(All of the above is true for supplements that detox the body, too. )

Some nutrients are safe to take in lower amounts regardless of your remission status or if you're on Wegs drugs. Vitamin C is a good example: 2,000 mg/ day will avoid stimulating the immune system while enabling you to repair connective tissue, etc.... I recommend that you work with a holistic physician to see what you can do. It's important to replenish nutrients that were lost and to safely restore the body within the limits that Wegs imposes.