Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group anyone here never get a cold / flu?

this may seem like a totally random thing to say, but ever since ive had AS (15 yrs) I can honestly say I dont think ive ever had the flu or even a common cold. Is this just pure coincidence? Or maybe the fact that ive been on Diclofenac for nearly all those 15 yrs ive made never noticed it?

Anyone else never get a cold here?

hehe.. just a little courious thing I had on my mind

Hmmmm, I very rarely get sick. Just had alot of flare ups before I was finally dx'ed with AS last july. I'm lucky to get a cold maybe once a year. I can't remember the last time I had a cold. The last time I had the flu was back in 2000.

Not sure if it's AS related.. but others may have better answers than I.

When using prednizone or the injectable steroids or the new biologics such as Enbrel ,humira and the other one that is infused, your immune systems is suppressed and leaves you wide open to every bug that comes along in my experience.
although I will no longer take these drugs as this is the result ,it seems my immune system is shot and i catch everthing.
kev

i dont get sick either but my gp always makes sure i get the flu shot and the pnumonia vaccine every year right before cold and flu season starts...but i have ky grand kids living with me and 1 goes to school so my gp is extra protective because of my lack of an immune system........oak

Hi,

guess It is a coincidence,I dont get flue so often, but ones a year just for fun!

sanela

Knock wood, ct4, but I haven't had even a cold for two or three years now, and I can't remember the last time I had the flu. However, I do think this is a total coincidence, because as others have mentioned in this post, Enbrel really lowers the body's immune system and makes me more susceptible to bugs. I consider myself very lucky that I have had so few colds, etc. in recent years.

Brad

Hi Carl,
This is a tough question, as I have gone a several years without catching colds or the flu, but during the last 2 years or so, I caught the flu once, and I have been catching colds about every 3 months. It's not the regular colds I used to get though, it more like a sneezing, bronchitis, and can't breath out of my nose if I tried combo.

Take Care,
James.

guess its just a lucky coincidence then I was kinda thinking that maybe if my body was constantly fighting inflamation maybe for some reason it had a stronger imune system for some reason.. like I say just a random thought i had.

me! Despite living with 2 small people who pick up every bug going I rarely get sick. My husband seems to get everything cold they get but I rarely do.

Hey Carl, I usually get one really bad flu/cold a year ... usually in January or so and usually after I've been pulling a gruelling schedule (18 hour days - 3 or 4 days a week) and have run myself down.

Now that I'm on Remicade I have to be extra careful to wash my hands regularly so that I don't inadvertently touch my eyes, nose or mouth with germy hands. Somehow, tho, I ended up with pneumonia in November/December, that I managed to hold off (not realizing how ill I was) for almost 2 months before it finally felled me on Christmas Day. Not sure how I got that, except I was in a show at the beginning of November and half the cast came down with a brutal cold. I don't think it matters how careful you are when sharing a small dressing room with 7 other women, most of whom are sick.

Hugs,