Getting alot of headcolds lately

[freifamily]

Is it normal to get alot of colds with Sjogren's or while on Plaquenil.  I have my 4th headcold since August.  Yeah I had one in August too of all months!!!!!!!!!!  I feel like crap.  So weak, and I am pregnant so I can't really take much.  So far I am able to breathe through my nose still at least during the day.  But at night my mouth gets so dry from having to mouth breathe most of the night.  And I feel short of breath with a bit of a heavy chest lately (used to get this a few days a month but it had been gone for a few months now). 

Ugh I am so tired of being sick and just want it to go away!!!!!  The docs still think the shortness of breath feeling is still anxiety but I am not sure, and it worries me b/c my grandmother just passed away from Pulmonary Fibrosis a month and a half ago.  I know I am far from the age she was (I'm 25 she was 75) and she was never diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder (not diagnosed but could have had one they said).

I guess I just need reassurance that everything is going to be ok and that for most people Sjogren's is not life threatning and doesn't affect your lungs (for most people).  I'm just tired of having colds!!!!!!

[Scottietottie]

Hi 

You're going to get mixed replies on this one I predict! Some will say YES and some will say NO.

I'm in the "no" camp. My immune system seems to be doing a good job at keeping everything at bay. It's just too strong - gets bored - and has a go at me too!

I haven't had a proper cold for ages (famous last words!) No viruses, nothing. I've been on Plaquenil for over 4 years now.

I'm sorry you're getting so many colds. I can assure you however that Sjogren's is not noted for being life threatening. It's not considered a terminal disease. If you 'google' Sjogren's + morbidity you'll see for yourself.

Hope you feel better soon.

Take care - Scottie 

[Katybarstool]

Hiya

I'm like Scottie, I have lots of issues with SJS related things, and arthritis and allergies, but it's ages since I had a cold or a virus, even when most of my family have hadd then. I'm just remembering a conversation I had recently with a colleague. She is 7 months pregnant now and was saying how different this pregnancy was from her first. With her first she seemed to almost continually have colds - this time round, not one. So, I'm wondering if your could be pregnancy related?

Kathyx

[watoozie]

I sneezed in the local restaurant the other day and someone ask me if I was getting a cold.  I said I don't get colds and they made fun of me.  It is true, I can't remember the last time I had a cold, or been sick from anything other than the Lupus and Sjogrens symptoms.  I've been on Plaquenil for 3 1/2 years.

[Calli66]

I rarely had a cold before starting Plaquenil a year ago, but have had several this year. There's no way to tell if Sjogren's helps keep them away or brings them on, and I figure it's not worth trying to understand it.

But you're miserable, and each cold probably leaves you with a slight vulnerability so that the next time a virus comes around, it takes hold.

I've started to use the Biotene mouthwash, and gargle with that twice a day, hoping it would kill off the viruses before they attack my throat. You could try that. I started because my son had strep throat, and I REALLY didn't want to get it.

There are those Cold-Eeze zinc lozenges, too---if you use them right when a cold is just beginning, they help a little.

Calli

[Reenie]

Hi,

I too had been plagued with recurrent colds/sinus infections at least every other month with full blown (no pun intended) miserable symptoms.  I had been told to do the saline sinus rinses for five years, and I just couldn't do it (it grossed me out).  It got to the point early this fall where antibiotics, steroid nasal sprays, decongestants, etc still weren't taking care of the problem and I was almost in a constant state of having a cold. 

Out of desperation and strong urging by my ENT, I finally gave the rinses the ol' college try again.  Once I got the hang of it, I was religious about doing them at least once a day and two times on the weekends.  I was faithful with it for about two months and had remarkable improvement....then I slacked on doing them, and sure enough a few weeks later, the beginning symptoms of another cold came on.  A few days after the cold started, I began the rinses again, and managed to nip that cold in the bud!!  So, even though they are a bit of a hassle, I am now a full believer in the benefit of the nasal rinses.  ENTs, Allergists, and Pulmonologists swear by them.

Saline sinus rinses are very safe and are something that you can do while pregnant since it is not a medication.  Maybe you are already doing them?  I use the NeilMed Sinus Rinse kit.  It has very detailed instructions; it takes a few times to get the hang of it, and to get used to the feeling of "water up the nose as if you've jumped in a pool", but it does get better.  After poo-pooing them for so many years, now that I have experienced the marked improvement with the rinses, I would highly recommend them.  This is something I thought I'd never say!! 

I hope you get some relief soon.

Reenie