Which came first?

[Kimmie0502]

I have a question, maybe one that doesn't have an answer.

Do you have Sjogren's because your immune system is so weak, or, do you have a weak immune system because you have Sjogren's?

I wonder if all the sickness I have been through in the past few years is because I had sjogren's and didnt know it. I eat pretty healthy, work out regularly and I have always been in good shape. No one can ever understand why (including me) I am ALWAYS sick with something. If there is a virus to be had, I will catch it. I would like to think that there is a reason I have been so sick, that I was doing everything right and there was an underlying cause for my weakened immunity. Though it could be that I was doing something wrong and my weakened immune system allowed me to come down with and AID in my 20's.

So...which came first??

[navydad]

Kinda like the chicken or the egg thing,, so many theorys out there,,, might be a virus that sets it off,, some say and I dont belive it, Stress,, I dont think they have a clue what sets it off,, why doesnt my mother brother and sister have it,,, they have some health problems,, (my sister get a sore finger),, SIGH,, but my brother has had two heart attacks,,, so naturally I wonder at what point this dreaded non Dx of SS and the SFN decides to start playing with my heart,, if it does I hope its huge and over with quick,, I dont want another thing to think about if its just a teaser

[puccini914]

Some people claim there is a genetic link to AI diseases, I think that it is something we are born with and then something triggers it into activity.  For many people it is exposure to virus like Eppstein-Barr (mono) or something similair.  I may have gotten it from exposure to Parvo virus.  I worked as a Vet tech for many years and treated numerous cases of Parvo.  I saw Parvo listed as one of the disease that can be a possible trigger, however, I did have a past titer for Eppstein-Barr as well.  I don't have a genetic family history since I was adopted at the age of 2 and my birth mother has ignored all attempts of contact even when it was just requests for medical info.  For me I really didn't start getting very sick until the birth of my second child, so the big trigger for me was the massive doses of hormones form pregnancy.  

[navydad]

Well there you have it,, more ways to get it,,,, I think by nightfall we;ll have at least two pages on how we get it,,

[lynnmarie219]

Hi Kimmie,

I think its not the fact that your immune system is weak but that is it overactive. I hope I can explain this ok, but when we have sjogrens...our immune systems go into overdrive but it does not attack the things a normal system is supposed to attack like a virus or bad bacteria and other things that make us sick.

Instead it attacks our own bodies (moisture producing organs/glands) and leaves the other things to go on without any challenge to stop it so that is why we may catch more illnesses etc and take longer to heal than others.

This is also why we should not take anything to boost our immune systems as it will only work against us instead of helping us!

I hope this makes sense...maybe someone else will come along to explain a little better.  

Clear as mud, right? 

[inga]

I don't know, but I NEVER get sick.  I don't get colds, flu, nuthin.  My ANA is thru the roof, and of course, it could be the IVIG, but even before that, I stopped getting sick around age 40....except for this garbage, whatever it is called.

[Katybarstool]

Inga

I've been like you for the past few years - hardly ever got any infections. However, I've had shingles recentlu, and now I'm bothered with a sore throat. I'm wondering if the Plaquenil is working, as it's supposed to dampen down the immune system. Just hope it doesn't dampen it too much.

KAthyx

[navydad]

Inga

I've been like you for the past few years - hardly ever got any infections. However, I've had shingles recentlu, and now I'm bothered with a sore throat. I'm wondering if the Plaquenil is working, as it's supposed to dampen down the immune system. Just hope it doesn't dampen it too much.

KAthyx

dam if you do dam if you dont,,, it all sucks

[bloodless]

As I understand it our immune system is like the army of our body. If the army kills the enemy, YAY! Victory! If the army turns on us. OOPS! If the army just turns on, say, the navy, maybe theirs enough army guys to kill the enemy too. It's not the army being too small or too large, it's what the army chooses to attack. You know when your army is attacking home ground because you have symptoms. That's when you got to fight back against your own army with drugs. It can make you more sucetible to other diseases, but whatcha gonna do?

[DragonflyC]

I'm another with a super-strong immune system. 

I'm a high school teacher, but even so, I never get the things that are "going around."  My immune system is so strong that it attacks germs, viruses, my thyroid, my salivary glands, my tear glands . . . it never quits!

[Babs659]

Me, too.  I never get sick (hope I didn't just jinx myself!)

[lynnmarie219]

That's exactly what I was thinking...that you all are jinxing yourselves.....lol...hope not! 

[navydad]

Just hope it doesnt attack the CNS,, then you got problems like you never knew existed,,,

[Gerty]

For me I feel its like our AI system works back to front upside down or the wrong way about some how AI systems is confussed what causes it to be confussed I don't think anybody knows Ive read they don't fully understand how the immune system works properly them self by that I mean 100% how normal immune systems knows when there is a bug/flu virus that should not be there it attacks it. With us it attacks things that are suppose to be doing there part in our body and minding there own darn business when the immune system seems to thing oh gee there is an enemy lets attack.

bit like a bully in the alley that see somebody that is just minding there own business and gets attacked for no reason. This is the way I see it.

[puccini914]

Well, I used not get the bugs very often, that was before Methotrexate of course.  I used to actually feel better when there was a bug in the house, because it gave my immune system some kind of direction and it was already fired up and ready to go.  I think it must be made clear that Plaquenil doesn't really affect our immune system as I understand it.  From what I understand about Plaquenil and I could be wrong, but it works as a disease quieter.  It slows the progression of the disease and somehow has a diminshing effect on AI diseases and the Docs have no idea why, however it does nothing to supress your immune system at all.  This is why it is so widely prescibed, it has very few side effects and will not make you more suceptible to disease.

Now, with MTX it's a totally different story.  You have to be extremely careful with any and all contangion, no more super immunity.  Once you get what may be a common cold, you now have little or no immune system to fight it off, or what you do have still isn't functioning the way it should, it can take a long time to get well once you get sick.

I kind of look at our bodies as large computers, each systems with integrated, programmed tasks to run on a scheduled basis.  Think of the immune system as sort of anti-virus program, the only thing is that it regognizes things like Windows, or finaincial programs, or Adobe or Internet Explorer as viruses and keeps trying to clean them out of the computer.  Well I guess my joints would be Windows, my GI would be Explorer, etc, etc.  My Anti-virus needs to be reprogrammed, the only problem is that no one in the world knows how to reprogram our our immune systems.  I think that's the kind of stuff their are trying to with stem cell transplants in severe Lupus patients, or Lukemia patients.  They nuke the immune system completely and then implant stem cells and hope the new one grows.  It's very dangerous and the rejection rate is high.  There is a new Lupus drug coming out, Benlysta, maybe it will work for us, too.  Who knows?