Immune System Shot?

kmygil
kmygil Member Posts: 876 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hi All,

I hope all of you are hanging in there and fighting the good fight. I pray for all of you every day.

I do have a question for the veterans (although I consider myself a veteran, also.) Since chemo (ended in February 2007), I have had a lowered immune system. I seem to catch every infection that comes down the pike. Every time I see my onc he mentions the elevated white cell count. Can you believe I just got over impetigo? Kids get that, not adults!

So has anyone else found their immune system being lazy after chemo? Thanks!

Hugs to All!
Kirsten

Comments

  • msccolon
    msccolon Member Posts: 1,917 Member
    #2
    <<<<raising my hand>>>>>
    I have found that since my third rounds of chemo I definitely have a tendency to pick everything up, and if I don't catch it early, it tends to get very bad. However, I recently added 1000mg vitamin C to my daily supplements and have found I DIDN'T pick up a bug when staying with my daughter and her family recently. So, it looks like I've finally gotten a handle on it, almost a year now out of my last rounds of chemo! I remain ever vigilant about keeping wipes at the ready for shopping carts and keeping my hands away from my face and moving away from people who appear to be emanating bugs! How about you?
    mary
  • kmygil
    kmygil Member Posts: 876 Member
    #3
    msccolon said:

    <<<<raising my hand>>>>>
    I have found that since my third rounds of chemo I definitely have a tendency to pick everything up, and if I don't catch it early, it tends to get very bad. However, I recently added 1000mg vitamin C to my daily supplements and have found I DIDN'T pick up a bug when staying with my daughter and her family recently. So, it looks like I've finally gotten a handle on it, almost a year now out of my last rounds of chemo! I remain ever vigilant about keeping wipes at the ready for shopping carts and keeping my hands away from my face and moving away from people who appear to be emanating bugs! How about you?
    mary

    Bugs, bugs, bugs
    Mary, I do everything possible! I wash my hands every 20 minutes, lysol my keyboard at work, change sheets and towels every other day, shower twice a day and run away from people who are obviously bug-ridden. I take vitamins C, B-complex, D and Glucosamin/whatever complex. I try to keep my hands away from my face. I wipe down shopping carts and wash food. Maybe it's my diet (or lack thereof...) Anyway, I am really, really scared of picking up MRSA, since people with normal immune systems have such a hard time of it with that infection.

    Since I was about 16, I have always had joint pain and other uncomfortable symptoms. No one could ever diagnose me, but the general consensus was some sort of autoimmune syndrome going on. It's not lupus, it's not rheumatoid arthritis. I gave up trying to get a diagnosis years ago and just deal with the skin & joint pain as it comes and goes. Besides, there really is nothing to cure any of those autoimmune syndromes, so why bother? But I'm scared that I'll pick up something I can't fight. Ah, paranoia!

    Hugs,
    Kirsten
  • msccolon
    msccolon Member Posts: 1,917 Member
    #4
    kmygil said:

    Bugs, bugs, bugs
    Mary, I do everything possible! I wash my hands every 20 minutes, lysol my keyboard at work, change sheets and towels every other day, shower twice a day and run away from people who are obviously bug-ridden. I take vitamins C, B-complex, D and Glucosamin/whatever complex. I try to keep my hands away from my face. I wipe down shopping carts and wash food. Maybe it's my diet (or lack thereof...) Anyway, I am really, really scared of picking up MRSA, since people with normal immune systems have such a hard time of it with that infection.

    Since I was about 16, I have always had joint pain and other uncomfortable symptoms. No one could ever diagnose me, but the general consensus was some sort of autoimmune syndrome going on. It's not lupus, it's not rheumatoid arthritis. I gave up trying to get a diagnosis years ago and just deal with the skin & joint pain as it comes and goes. Besides, there really is nothing to cure any of those autoimmune syndromes, so why bother? But I'm scared that I'll pick up something I can't fight. Ah, paranoia!

    Hugs,
    Kirsten

    paranoia indeed!
    I think we all tend to be a bit paranoid, with good cause! Sounds like you are doing everything right! I also take glucosamine and find that it helps tremendously withe the osteoarthritis I have in my hands and knees! Of course, I've only been dealing with that since the cancer and chemo, not since I was 16! Now, having no eyebrows, that's another story!
    mary
  • ron50
    ron50 Member Posts: 1,723 Member
    #5
    kmygil said:

    Bugs, bugs, bugs
    Mary, I do everything possible! I wash my hands every 20 minutes, lysol my keyboard at work, change sheets and towels every other day, shower twice a day and run away from people who are obviously bug-ridden. I take vitamins C, B-complex, D and Glucosamin/whatever complex. I try to keep my hands away from my face. I wipe down shopping carts and wash food. Maybe it's my diet (or lack thereof...) Anyway, I am really, really scared of picking up MRSA, since people with normal immune systems have such a hard time of it with that infection.

    Since I was about 16, I have always had joint pain and other uncomfortable symptoms. No one could ever diagnose me, but the general consensus was some sort of autoimmune syndrome going on. It's not lupus, it's not rheumatoid arthritis. I gave up trying to get a diagnosis years ago and just deal with the skin & joint pain as it comes and goes. Besides, there really is nothing to cure any of those autoimmune syndromes, so why bother? But I'm scared that I'll pick up something I can't fight. Ah, paranoia!

    Hugs,
    Kirsten

    Hi Kirsten,

    Hi Kirsten,
    I think my immune system has actually come back too strong after chemo. It always amazed my onc that my blood counts stayed totally normal during chemo. Since chemo I have had a lot of problems with auto immune arthritis. Recently I had to take 75 mg of prednisone a day for over six months. When I was eventually weaned off it my immune system attacked full on and I was nearly crippled with poly arthritis. They tried sulphasalazine which is an immuno-suppressant put that just put me in the loo for a week. Now they are prescbing methotrexate which is a cy-toxic immuno-suppressant.. Wonderful ...after 11 years clear of cancer I'm back on chemo for arthritis. Makes you wonder is life just a series of circles. Best wishes ..Ron.
  • kmygil
    kmygil Member Posts: 876 Member
    #6
    ron50 said:

    Hi Kirsten,

    Hi Kirsten,
    I think my immune system has actually come back too strong after chemo. It always amazed my onc that my blood counts stayed totally normal during chemo. Since chemo I have had a lot of problems with auto immune arthritis. Recently I had to take 75 mg of prednisone a day for over six months. When I was eventually weaned off it my immune system attacked full on and I was nearly crippled with poly arthritis. They tried sulphasalazine which is an immuno-suppressant put that just put me in the loo for a week. Now they are prescbing methotrexate which is a cy-toxic immuno-suppressant.. Wonderful ...after 11 years clear of cancer I'm back on chemo for arthritis. Makes you wonder is life just a series of circles. Best wishes ..Ron.

    Jeesh!
    Ron, can you not get a break? That is awful. I'm so sorry about the auto-immune response to the chemo. Do they think it will back off at any point, or will you have to keep up the treatments with Methotrexate? BTW, that is an ENORMOUS fish! What is it?
    Kirsten
  • ron50
    ron50 Member Posts: 1,723 Member
    #7
    kmygil said:

    Jeesh!
    Ron, can you not get a break? That is awful. I'm so sorry about the auto-immune response to the chemo. Do they think it will back off at any point, or will you have to keep up the treatments with Methotrexate? BTW, that is an ENORMOUS fish! What is it?
    Kirsten

    Hi Kirsten,
    My
    Hi Kirsten,
    My rheumatologist is hoping that I can tolerate the methotrexate as he thinks it will be a permanent problem. I'm not happy with the idea as nine years of colonoscopy fleet preps have scarred a lot of the filters in my kidneys. Apparently meth is not a kidney friendly drug. If I lose much more kidney function I could be facing pernanent dialysis.
    I live on the Sunshine coast in Queensland ,east coast Australia. I am a mad keen fisherman and love eating fish. The fish is an estuary cod, they begin life in the mangrove creeks then as they get bigger they move offshore to the closer reefs. They are good eating up to 50lb over that size we release them unharmed(as I do most of what I catch). That one was 35lb. Cheers Ron.
  • Kathleen808
    Kathleen808 Member Posts: 2,342 Member
    #8
    vivaglobin
    Hi Kirsten,
    Our youngest daughter has a number of special needs. One of them is she has variable immune deficiency. As a young child she got very, very sick all the time. We started her on an infusion of immuneglobulin which would take about 5 hours in the hospital once a month. This made a huge change in her life. She almost never gets sick. This was done in the PAU unit (children's outpatient cancer center) as the kids with cancer would get an infusion if their immune systems began to crash.
    Last summer, after 8 years of going in every month, she just got sick of it and said no more. We discovered that I can give her subcutaneous (3 small needles under the skin, not in the vein) infusions of Vivaglobin (CSL Behrig) that take 2 hours and need to be given every 7 to 10 days. This has been highly successful. Again, she is rarely sick.
    It sounds like you have done the vitamins, etc.... you may want to talk to your oncologist about this possibility.
    Aloha,
    Kathleen
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #9
    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • ldot123
    ldot123 Member Posts: 272
    #10
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    It takes a while
    I found that my immune system was not the greatest after chemo. Probably took a year or more to settle down. I take multi-vitamins every day including C, D, zinc and fish oil capsules. I meet a lot of people in my line of work so washing hands is key also.

    Cheers, Lance
  • CherylHutch
    CherylHutch Member Posts: 1,375 Member
    #11
    ldot123 said:

    It takes a while
    I found that my immune system was not the greatest after chemo. Probably took a year or more to settle down. I take multi-vitamins every day including C, D, zinc and fish oil capsules. I meet a lot of people in my line of work so washing hands is key also.

    Cheers, Lance

    Varies from person to person
    I definitely am big on washing hands... although, I don't necessarily use antibacterial soaps. The reason being, it's like antibiotics... once your system gets used to the antibacterial soaps it builds up an immunity to them and they become ineffective.

    I was one of the lucky ones... while on chemo and when not on chemo. I swear my immune system actually got stronger while on chemo. I used to catch any bug that went around, be it a cold, the flu, strep throat, you name it, if I was exposed to it, I got it. And when I got a cold, it rarely was just a common cold, it immediately went into bronchitis... to the point I've had bronchial pneumonia 4 times. So I was leary when I started chemo, wondering what was going to happen to me with an even lower immune system.

    But, I didn't catch a thing!! Not one little cold or flu! And this was with me not being paranoid or going out of my way to avoid anything. The only thing I did was make sure I washed my hands often... and had a small, purse-size bottle of hand sanitizer with me in my purse in case there was a time when I felt I better wash my hands but was not close to a sink.

    While on chemo, I was exposed to large crowds, I'd go out for dinner with friends to restaurants and/or to their homes... I didn't limit myself to what I could do or where I could go. Granted, I wasn't stupid about it.. if I was tired because of the chemo, I took a nap and had no qualms about canceling plans if I felt too tired. But overall, I didn't change anything in my life and was none the worse for it. My immune system seems to be fine as far as every day bugs go... it just hasn't killed off the cancer yet ;)

    I realize not everyone is this lucky... but one doesn't want to go so overboard that what they are doing to protect themselves actually puts themselves in danger. Haha... there are now studies out that are saying to let your kids play in the dirt and not to freak out when you see them eating dirt or mudpies ;) We all did it as kids and lived through childhood... they are finding that being exposed to every day dirt actually builds the immune system, whereas putting a child in a bubble is doing him no favours. I kind of look at it the same way for us cancer fighters. Obviously one has to take care and not expose oneself to an obvious danger (sitting beside someone who is obviously sick, coughing and sneezing and hacking away)... on the other hand, don't sterilize yourself so much that your immune system can't handle the every day bugs that you have no chance of avoiding ;)

    Just my .02 worth :)

    Cheryl
  • dianetavegia
    dianetavegia Member Posts: 1,942 Member
    #12
    kmygil said:

    Bugs, bugs, bugs
    Mary, I do everything possible! I wash my hands every 20 minutes, lysol my keyboard at work, change sheets and towels every other day, shower twice a day and run away from people who are obviously bug-ridden. I take vitamins C, B-complex, D and Glucosamin/whatever complex. I try to keep my hands away from my face. I wipe down shopping carts and wash food. Maybe it's my diet (or lack thereof...) Anyway, I am really, really scared of picking up MRSA, since people with normal immune systems have such a hard time of it with that infection.

    Since I was about 16, I have always had joint pain and other uncomfortable symptoms. No one could ever diagnose me, but the general consensus was some sort of autoimmune syndrome going on. It's not lupus, it's not rheumatoid arthritis. I gave up trying to get a diagnosis years ago and just deal with the skin & joint pain as it comes and goes. Besides, there really is nothing to cure any of those autoimmune syndromes, so why bother? But I'm scared that I'll pick up something I can't fight. Ah, paranoia!

    Hugs,
    Kirsten

    Sjogren's Syndrome
    Kirsten, have they checked you for Sjogren's Syndrome? My aunt has it and her symptoms began as join and skin pain, easily infected with everything and has now moved to dry eye, dry mouth. She's had it for about 30 years that we know of. It can mimic lupus, RA, etc. It's an autoimmune disease.

    Okay, what's with the eyebrow remarks I keep seeing? Did someone lose their eyebrows with chemo?

    Diane
  • msccolon
    msccolon Member Posts: 1,917 Member
    #13
    dianetavegia said:

    Sjogren's Syndrome
    Kirsten, have they checked you for Sjogren's Syndrome? My aunt has it and her symptoms began as join and skin pain, easily infected with everything and has now moved to dry eye, dry mouth. She's had it for about 30 years that we know of. It can mimic lupus, RA, etc. It's an autoimmune disease.

    Okay, what's with the eyebrow remarks I keep seeing? Did someone lose their eyebrows with chemo?

    Diane

    no eyebrows
    actually, when I lost my hair, i did lose my eyebrows as well as hair all over my body, including the nether regions ;). But, my most recent comment was regarding the fact that I haven't had eyebrows since I hit 16, due to keratosis pilaris, which causes damaged hair follicles, thus no eyebrows! :)
    mary

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