Gotta question

[pudmott]

Hey guys  i have a question, but first a bit of background.
I got a head cold about 4 weeks ago and was unwell with it. I had a week off work and got better. i went back to work four days then got unwell again. This time it was a massive sinus infection, but i think there was also something else as i had a lot of joint pain that was very hard to control even with anti inflammatories and pain killers. I had another week off and got over the worst of it. I felt ok then went back to work yesterday. I was ok for four hours then started to feel ill again. Now i'm all congested in the head again but also have no less than three cold sores and my gums are starting to split and i have a few ulcers and where it is splitting it is swollen. i feel my gums are a bit pale. I only have a small bit of infection now but am feeling really unwell, run down and my arms and legs are really tired and a bit sore. I am having some blood work tomorow.

My question is and i know i need a dr opinion but would value opinions here, does this sound sjogren's related or am i off the beaten track. I just can't seem to kick this and am feeling a bit like i was last year when first diagnosed.

I have an appointment with the immunologist but can't get in till september. i am on the cancellation list

Any input would be appreciated

Pud

[lesleyjoy]

Hi Pud, long time no see but sorry to hear that you've been so unwell  Sounds to me like it may well be Sjogrens and or other autoimmune related and that you're having a nasty flair up  You're wise to have some more bloodwork (a full blood count) done just to make sure nothing else is going on. Once we get really run down, it takes ages to recover, especially in winter.
I went on a cruise in July and contracted a viral bronchitis from the air con system. I grabbed some antibiotics on the day I arrived back, then a week later I came down with a nasty cold which wouldn't budge  I had a sore throat for 12 days and in the end I had to see the Dr again for some more antibiotics I usually only get 2 colds a year and I work with young children. I don't know about Australia but over here in NZ it's been so wet with only a minimum of sun!!!

A girlfriend of mine has Sjogrens and Lupus and she gets alot of mouth and throat ulcers when she's got an infection and is run down. Mouth ulcers can also appear when your body is run down or stressed.

Keep us posted, hope you feel better soon,
Lesley (NZ) xx

[pudmott]

hey Lesley good to hear from you. Like you i don't really get these illnesses to this degree. that's why the alarm bells began ringing. I'm so desperate at the moment that i'm thinking of putting myself on prednisone just to get back on my feet. i have had 31/2 out of five weeks off work. i can't afford anymore.
I'm seriously thinking i might have to reevaluate my career options and move more to a "desk job" within nursing. I'm feeling a bit down at the moment cause i was doing so well.

As for the weather we have had lots of sun not much rain but quite cold and very windy. our august westerlies came in june and have stayed

[Linda196]

Sorry you've had such a rough time Pud, and it can be such a confusing situation to sort out sometimes. SjS could very well be the culprit, because any increase in activity or stress (and when you've been lying low for a week then jump back in, there's both).

There's also the concern that you have, 2 of 3 times (and maybe the first time too) become ill in the same place! Hospitals are notorious for harbouring infective microorganisms, and if your are slightly more susceptible than your coworkers, your workplace could be making you sick. Does your hospital have an infection control/employee health network? On the course of looking for your own relief, I think I would contact them, see if there have been any other recurrent illnesses, and if there have been any issues with "quality control" either of the hospital maintenance or mechanical systems (A/C, water, etc).

Sometimes we just need longer recovery times, maybe four days wasn't long enough for you to resolve the initial virus, and it's just been snowballing...I just realized that may be a Canadian or at least North American, term that means nothing to the southern hemisphere...it's something that rolls along, gathering momentum and mass, like rolling a snowball to collect more snow and make it bigger!

[pudmott]

Thanks for your input Linda. We did have a bug go through the place awhile ago and i think that's where i got it from. A couple of people got sick but not many and they have all recovered. The other thing is we don'thave sick people per se as we are a rehab hospital and only small (40 patients) i know bugs can still come in tho.

The thing that gets me tho is that i have been so well and healthy for nearly 12 months  and now i have crashed in a screaming heap. No one else at work is sick and there has been nothing in the a/c. I don't drink the water (it makes people pregnant..................lol).
If i was in a medical ward i could understand it. Even last year when i was in a flare i didn't get this sick so many times. I don't know I think I'm just having a whinge. Don't mind me