I am magic.

[carriej22]

Or a witch.

Eric is on his 4th day of the most horrendous cold he has ever had. I have never seen him feel this terribad in our 10 years of being together.

Somehow, I have not caught it.

So therefor I am magic.
Or a witch.

Hogwarts, here I come.

[NikkiNicole]

Knock on wood and clutch a 4-leaf clover, with all the germs I've been around in the last few weeks I also haven't caught anything that I can directly call a cold or the flu.
However, my husband started sneezing like 10x in a row this morning before I left for work which is usually a sign he's getting sick. I bolted from the house immediately!!!

[Pete]

You two may not be as immunosuppressed as you think! Good luck. Hope you stay healthy and have a relaxing holiday season - especially you Nikki!

[Alysia]

Hi Carrie, can it be that the flu shot is doing it's duty ? :confused1:

[carriej22]

Could be Alysia, but Eric got one too. Although he did get his a few weeks later than mine.

My magic might be wearing out though; accidentally started drinking out of my husbands drink all afternoon.. Then he said to me.. Um thats mine

My throat has been feeling a little weird all day; not sure if paranoia or sick... Time will tell.

[pberggren1]

My parents are always sick and I never get what they have. Right now dad is very sick with the flu.

[Alysia]

maybe we are not getting infected from the ones we love :unsure:
my daughter had for copule of months mononucleousis, but i was not infected.
I hope that you are ok, Carrie.

[annekat]

I have taken note of the fact that I have not caught much of anything since having Wegs. One little cold and that was it. And cuts that I get are healing pretty well. So something is working right in my immune system. Plus maybe I take more precautions than the average person who is getting sick.

[mishb]

My husband and children have had so many colds, man flu's and sore throats, since I became sick in 2009 - and *touch wood*, I have not had any yet.

Is it the immune system working correctly - or, maybe I am with Carrie - I wouldn't mind going to Hogwarts :flapper:

[annekat]

I am somewhat mystified by this phenomenon. It is that our suppressed immune systems are not showing the usual inflammatory symptoms associated with these illnesses? Or we just aren't getting them in the first place? I do know that if we get an infection it can be deadly. But these colds and things are usually viruses. I have herpes type 1 (mouth cold sores), a virus, and do get outbreaks but find they are more easily controlled than before my treatment for Wegs. I don't get it.

[renidrag]

I don't get it either. Have not been ill since diagnosis and treatment. Off all meds. Asked Doc if I was still immuno-supressed and he could not tell me the level of suppression however my "inflammation markers" are still hovering above normal.
Dale

[Alysia]

I am somewhat mystified by this phenomenon. It is that our suppressed immune systems are not showing the usual inflammatory symptoms associated with these illnesses? Or we just aren't getting them in the first place? I do know that if we get an infection it can be deadly. But these colds and things are usually viruses. I have herpes type 1 (mouth cold sores), a virus, and do get outbreaks but find they are more easily controlled than before my treatment for Wegs. I don't get it.

Anne,
I only said that we are not getting infected from the ones we love.
but with others, it is a differnet story.
I used to work at a hospital at the beginning of my WG (psychiatric hospital, but still a hospital) and I was sick all the time with ugly viruses of all kinds. then I decided to quit.
I am careful not to be in places where I can be infected.
I think that we are watching ourselves, after all.

[annekat]

I'm sure you are right, Alysia. We have more control of our environment around the ones we love. And we may have built up some immunity to whatever viruses they are carrying around. When they catch things, they may be caught "off guard" more than we are, because they are not continually taking precautions the way we are. In a hospital setting like where you worked, you are constantly under pressure to attend to patients and may not always have the time to take the precautions. And they are carrying things that you have had no chance to develop immunity to. This immunity thing is weird.... we are immunosuppressed by drugs, but we obviously are not completely so, or all of our Wegs symptoms would be gone... so we still have immune systems that are capable both of inflammatory responses and of fighting off bugs that come our way. Or at least that's how I'm seeing it at the moment.

[Pete]

Hi Anne,

Interesting thought about compromised immune systems. I remember shortly after I was dxed how suppressed my immune system was. He couldn't say for sure. I think our immune systems are suppressed to the point where our bodies are not making enough of the abnormal white cells to cause problems. However, the immune system seems to be capable of mounting a reasonably good defense against some common bugs. My responses to a head cold and a bout of GI flu last year were pretty much what they were pre-GPA. In my new normal, that's somewhat comforting, but it doesn't completely dispell the paranoia I have about being around sick people...

[annekat]

I think you are still right to be paranoid, Pete. We know that Al and Lightwarrior got massive blood infections that they could not survive, and I'm thinking these infections must have originated with some kind of bugs that they caught, or an injury, or something that provided a route into their bloodstream for some insidious bacteria. My understanding of it is very limited, however.

[carriej22]

My throat has itched all week, but I haven't got it. I do have a little cough, but that could just be wegs.

However, this summer I got a boatload of fly bites that got infected. Cuts on me also take forever to heal and look terribad.

[annekat]

Infected fly bites don't sound so good! But you are obviously a tough cookie, to not get sick when others around you do!

[mishb]

Ouch, keep an eye on those bites.
A little bit of antiseptic cream should help.

Also a little gargle for the throat, or some honey and lemon.........maybe a witches brew or two, will keep you good.

Take care

[carriej22]

Oh the infected bites were in the summer! I garden and one evening I wore shorts.. It was a mistake. I ended up having to get a prescription, and it took forever for them to go (about 1 month) but they did leave! This summer, I will know better. Last summer I was so sick I didn't go outside.

And Anne I am still banking on my magical abilities.

Expecting my Hogwarts letter anyday now.

[mishb]

Sorry Carrie, it's Summer here now, and I keep forgetting that it's not Summer for you too :razz:

[carriej22]

Ah I forget also. There is about 5 feet of snow outside and counting... All the flies are frozen fly-sicles right now lol

[Alysia]

And Anne I am still banking on my magical abilities.

Expecting my Hogwarts letter anyday now.

here it comes, just in time.... the owl is on your window, hold your dog, please :wink1:

http://mbonaccorso.edublogs.org/files/2011/11/Hogwarts-Letter-hogwarts-professors-24783944-500-375-1u3a6ve.jpg

[windchime]

Ah I forget also. There is about 5 feet of snow outside and counting... All the flies are frozen fly-sicles right now lol

LOL fly-sicles indeed.......

[MCC]

I got my first cold in three years a month ago and it was still nowhere near as bad as pre wegeners days. I find it very odd...i was often getting terrible cold pre wegeners, really bunged up for days. Now I find I rarely get ill, even when those around me are.

Someone here suggested we take extra precautions, but I know I do not. I am not on any meds now.

[windchime]

I caught a cold last Thursday and it is mostly gone today. That makes me very happy. :biggrin1: