swine flu

so this is my latest major paranoia- what the heck is going on with this flu?!?!?! With my extremely compromised immune system, I can not deal with a possible flu threat. Mentally, I mean. Is anyone else terrified of this? I see my GI next month, & have decided to stop one of my meds- either Imuran or Remiacde. Most likely the Imuran- I think the Remicade is still helping somewhat, & I'm loathe to stop unless I absolutely have too. But I am completely done with living in fear of every germ/bug that crops up- I suppose if things go horribly downhill after stopping Imuran, I will try to use Humira. If I can't get that, or if it doesn't help, I guess it's time to look into surgery for real. I'm at the point where I'm so tired of being scared, keeping my colon is not worth the mental drain I deal with every time *someone* around me becomes ill. Do any of you worry about this flu?

I agree with Scrap Girl. I've had two colds and one sinus infection in the past five years. I do plan to keep a mask available, so if I go into someplace where someone has obvious flu symtoms - sneezing, coughing, etc - I can put my mask on. I'll also be staying away from any crowds I don't have to go into.

i am nervous about it because my wife is 6.5 months pregnant.... i have heard reports of a case in eastern ohio, i am in western pa... i have a feeling it is going to spread exponentially....hopefully it does not mutate like they are saying it can....

I'm on 6MP and I don't get sicker than normal. I worry about it sometimes but not too much. If you're living in fear like you say, I think it's a good idea to seek counseling. It's bad enough worrying about UC but worrying about getting other illnesses on top of it is no fun.

you're right when you say I ought to look into counseling- I don't though, because I don't feel like dealing with another doctor's appointment on a regular basis! Such a lame reason. I may try to find some books at the library. That "robust immune system" quote absolutely did not ease my mind- wouldn't you think that "our" immune systems are super robust as is, hence the immune suppressors? I'm just keeping an eye on the news, re. swine flu. Keep posting people, especially if it hits your home state- I'm in Massachusetts, & so far so good. But NYC is pretty darned close. Plus, get this- a women I work with is in Cancun right now! We all plan to avoid her upon her return. Not meanly, but....

So maybe we are the safest!

callalily22 said...
When I was on 6-mp I got mono. A REALLY REALLY bad case of mono (if anyone remembers that...). I don't know if it was from my immune system being compromised or what but it took the doctors a long time to figure out I wasn't fighting the mono because I was on 6-mp...duh!! But other than that I wasn't anymore sick than usual.
I'm not really worried about the flu. It hasn't come anywhere near Minnesota yet. But it does scare me how easily these viruses can mutate....

ps. I was ALWAYS sick as a kid. I have at least 3 cases of strep a winter and had chronic ear infections. I think my immune was just bad to begin with.

I was also always sick with strep and ear infections as a kid. I lived on antibiotics.

I don't worry about myself. I work from home. I do worry about my younger daughter. She's attending university, is very social, and likes to hug her friends. I'll have to tell her to be more careful.

I don't think this will become too big of an epidemic. We are more cautious nowadays. Food preparers use gloves. We can wear disposable masks if the disease spreads to where we live.

I think there's a good chance that this will infect a lot of people. Chances are as it spreads it'll get less dangerous (because mutations are normally successful ones, which in the case of a virus means spreading itself better - and if everyone that gets a virus ends up too sick to go out and cough and sneeze on people then it's probably going to be less successful at spreading itself).

The theory is indeed that the healthier the immune the response the more dangerous it is. Apparently the fluid build up in the lungs of those who died may be a result of their very effective immune response. So the stronger your immune system the worse it is for you.

What I don't get is, I thought the problem was that our immune systems were overactive - which would be bad news for us. Isn't our problem our immune systems getting over-excited and attacking things they shouldn't?

I very rarely get sick. I have two small children in a house of five, and plenty of coughs and colds go around and I'm always the most robust. So I assumed that was the silver lining to my UC cloud. What did I misunderstand?

PalaceDan said...
I think there's a good chance that this will infect a lot of people. Chances are as it spreads it'll get less dangerous (because mutations are normally successful ones, which in the case of a virus means spreading itself better - and if everyone that gets a virus ends up too sick to go out and cough and sneeze on people then it's probably going to be less successful at spreading itself).

The theory is indeed that the healthier the immune the response the more dangerous it is. Apparently the fluid build up in the lungs of those who died may be a result of their very effective immune response. So the stronger your immune system the worse it is for you.

What I don't get is, I thought the problem was that our immune systems were overactive - which would be bad news for us. Isn't our problem our immune systems getting over-excited and attacking things they shouldn't?

I very rarely get sick. I have two small children in a house of five, and plenty of coughs and colds go around and I'm always the most robust. So I assumed that was the silver lining to my UC cloud. What did I misunderstand?

the jury is still out on if it's over or underactive so they pretty much just go with "inappropriate response of the immune system".

:)

I am flying home from DC tomorrow. I've only had one infusion. Should I wear a mask? Has anyone asked a doc? Our staff doc (an expert on pandemics) advised office travelers that evidence that masks help is "scarce" and that it's unlikely you will come into contact with someone infected (so far). But that's advice for normal people...

Maybe if I see others in the airport with them, and they sell them there, I will. I get my second infusion Thursday, I'll be asking questions about it!

My sisters and I were extremely healthy kids, never missed a day of school. My mother was school nurse, we probably built good immunities.

     I was always sick when a child.....sinus infections, ear and throat problems.  Had my tonsils out at five yr old.  Our family doctor would prescribe erythromycin as I was allergic to penicillin.  I think that was the route of my problem....too many antibiotics.

     Mentioned in an earlier post about hubby being sick with upper respiratory infection last week.  Well, he's all better, today I have a scratchy throat...oh joy.  Hope it is just allergies as the pollen is blowing everywhere.  Very HOT here in south Jersey for past four days too. 

     I live close to Philly and they have had a few confirmed cases of Swine Flu.

Totatally agree with you Sherry!