Lupus and Allergies (hay fever etc) - your experiences?

Hi everyone,

This is a "comparing notes" post. I didnt have any allergies until about 15 years ago. They were controllable with Flonase spray until my lupus was triggered five years ago. Now, every time the wind blows I am pretty miserable. Stuffy, burning eyes, dry cough, difficulty breathing. Sorta sucks. Makes sleeping a challenge too.

What I find funny (well, in a sad funny way) is that allergies are an immune response right? And we are suppressing my immune system (cell cept, rituxan and prednisone) so why on earth would my allergies be getting worse and not better? .

Have any of you noticed you allergies are worse than they used to be? Now I am on Singular at night, Flonase twice a day and a Claritin in the morning if it is too bad. I also net-pot at least twice a day.

Thanks!

/tall

Yes, my allergies are definately worse.
I have several family members staying this week at our house. Everyone of them believes in the "smell goodies". I'm walking around wheezing and my eyes tearing up. Ugh!

Ahhh, but allergies are not contagious diseases. I get what you mean about colds and flu and "catching them" because our immune systems are suppressed - but allergies are the immune systems response to environmental allergens. The immune system ramps up to combat the allergen which causes the symptoms.

So still not making any sense that those of us being medically suppressed have worse allergies.

Another way to put this - allergy response is the same as the immune system attacking my kidneys... it is the immune system. So when we suppress my immune system it helps the kidneys because I have less of an immune response. So less of an immune response should be less allergies .

I am thinking of going to see an allergy specialist in the middle of the summer (when less people are trying to get in to see them) and see what they can do for me (with the blessings of my Rheumy of course).

cheers

/tall

It's their soaps and shampoos that are killing me.
I have my hypo-allergenic soap and shampoo out for them, but they refuse to use them.

My daughter suffers from allergies really bad. I say that she's allergic to "God's Green Earth", as she seems allergic to everything. I know when we were working thru her allergies, the Allergist explained to me that and I quote, "what really causes allergic reactions is your own immune system. It mistakes these innocuous allergens for a serious threat and attacks them. The symptoms of an allergy are the result of a body's misguided assault".

That having allergies may be genetic, but they don't know that for sure. However, if you think about the statement above, allergies are started by the bodies "misguided assault". That's the same thing that happens to us with our lupus. It was explained to me that when you're exposed to something that you're allergic to, you may be exposed many times and not have a reaction and then BAM you get hit with one.

I know that my hubby, and his father have allergies really bad. Hence, our daughter has really bad allergies, is that because they do, I'm betting on it. She also has had a positive ANA since she was like 7 and is now 21 and still shows signs of lupus at times. Even though I have RA/Lupus which are autoimmune diseases, my Doctor believes I have an underlying immunodeficiency disorder in addition to my autoimmune disease. So, it's possible that even tho you're taking medication to suppress your immune system it's not affecting your allergies.

Of course, this is all speculation on my part. I think it's a great idea if you can get into to see the Allergist over the summer, I'm not sure if you were aware of this or not, but the Allergist is also considered Immunologist too. If you go to see them I hope they can help you figure this out and hopefully, get your allergies under control. For my daughter the best thing that worked for her was allergy shots. She took them for just over 4 years and her life was so much nicer, but once she turned 17 she refused to have anymore shots. I can now say her allergies are the worst they've ever been and she's TOTALLY MISERABLE.

I hope you start to feel better soon, and please let us know what the Doctor says or you find out.

Hugs,
Barbara

Yep, it's common to have allergies, asthma, and eczema. My daughter suffers from all three of these and has since she was a baby. I mean her allergies were full in bloom at 1 month old. The doctors couldn't figure out why she was always so stuffy.

She wasn't tested for her allergies until she was like 7 so little did we know she was allergic to cats, and all the different grasses and trees out there. She's always stuffy no matter what, unless she's doing allergy shots.

I really hate to hear that you've had a lot of trouble acquiesce with your allergies and such. I agree with you that with our bodies flaring it would make allergies worse. I hope that you start feeling better and Tall I hope you've managed to get an appointment to see the allergist to get some answers as to why your allergies are so bad right now.

Hugs,
Barbara