getting a cold w pmr just a question | Arthritis Information

Hi everyone..

Just a question..

my dr told me ...DONT GET SICK..

said.that with a poor immune system and pred it would be tough to take care of

well..i have a son that is a coach and came over and sneezed all over my house..long story short..2 days and a bottle of lysol later..i. feel pretty sick ...

so is this a big deal? is it just that much harder to get better?

i am in the begining of pmr..still on 15 mg of pred..

any information???

thanks !!

cathi

You'll be just fine. Don't go "soldiering on", just announce to all that you are sick, stay warm and indoors, rest plenty, lots of lovely hot and drinks and refreshing cold drinks! A good book, some DVDs, a box of tissues, some nice lozenges or peppermints and sit it out. And in future don't let any sick people come and sneeze all over your house. When I was on pred, I simply told everyone to please be considerate and just stay away if they were sick with anything infectious. Hope you will be better soon. Cathi,

Chico is right. You have to weather it out and make sure the cold does not go on to become something more serious. My doctor told me to stay away from large crowds and to instruct folks to stay away if ill.

However, my husband has had a few colds, and I spent my days spraying and making sure my hands stayed washed. We live in the same house and those germs were there. I invested in a lot of large cans of antibacterial spray and many a cannister of Clorox wipes.

I have been fortunate and not caught anything major or any colds. But I do worry.

thanks sooo much...been sleeping..and been a bit worried..

thanks for all your support..

so nice to have you all here!

cathi

Cathi, my rhuemy also told me if sick to bump up the pred for 2 or 3 days. Since you are still on your highest dose, you might ask the doctor before doing this - Many of us play around adjusting our doses as we find necessary - but usually not until we have been on for a while and have gleaned much info from this site and our own body's reaction.

Hope you are feeling better
pgrHi....interesting question that I had to jump in on.....! I am just over a year with PMR and have gone from 20MG currently down to 4MG ( I will stay here a while as I feel like I am on the edge), anyway, I work in childcare ^ 60+ children in and out everyday....it seems like half of them are always sick, and young children aren't always the best at covering. At times the entire staff is sick right along with them. I have not been sick in over a year ! sometimes I feel like I am starting a cold but it just goes away after a day or two. I asked my Rheum. about it, wondering if my immune system was in over drive but she had no answers......not that I am complaining. I'm curious if anyone else has had this happen...Good luck to all! GailI also work in a school setting (high school) where people are sick all the time. I was very worried ( started on 0 mg last August and down to 7.5/7 now). I have not caught anything going around until last week when I got a 24 hour horrible stomach bug. That was when my doctor gave me the advice about bumping the dose higher if sick.
pgrI spent twenty five years working in an ER. Exposed to everything. I left there five years ago, so not sure if my immune system is still as protected. There is just on way to avoid the germs. I wipe down surfaces and use good old hand washing. In the public restrooms I bring towlettes with me so I do not make contact with any surface. Especially the sink area's.

Now, with warnings from the doctors about our compromised immune systems, it is just one more thing to worry about. Bumping up the dosage for a few days makes sense.

Gail -

My experience with prednisone is much like yours - I haven't had so much as a sniffle in the two + years I've been on it. I've had some times when I was tired and more achy than usual - I've wondered if the prednisone just prevented the inflammatory symptoms and I fought off the bug without the usual symptoms manifesting themselves.

Also, you know how lots of people with a relatively stressful job will be perfectly well until they go on vacation and their stress level (consequently their cortisol level) drops and they get sick as a dog? I'm wondering if a moderate dose of prednisone might not work the same way - possibly at higher doses the immune system is suppressed, but at doses under 15 mg. it has a positive effect on the immune system?

Interesting question!