Symptoms relieved when sick?

[gii]

Hi, sometime ago i was mildly sick with the flu. Weirdly i noticed that my SS symptoms were relieved, i felt more focused and energized for the whole day which is pretty rare due to my SS. Is it possible that when you're sick there's a relief in the symptoms caused by SS? did anyone else noticed something like that or did i just imagine?

[irish]

It could have been just luck or a coincidence. But with the autoimmune world who knows. I do not know the answer and have to admit that decades of sjogrens and other autoimmune diseases plus many viruses and infections I have never seen my symptoms be relieved.

Some things that happen with autoimmune disease have no apparent answers at the time. Just write this down in your book of things that occur and see if down through the years the issue has an  answer. That is the best I can do for you. Sorry. Irish

[wendyoh]

I just saw this topic discussed on a chronic fatigue/m.e. forum and a lot of folks related to it. I have had that happen, at the beginning of getting a bad cold, the flu or even pneumonia, before truly sick, there is some sweet spot where my immune system must be doing something to prepare for being sick, or maybe its actually dipping a little if autoimmune means ramped up, but it hits a spot where I might feel more normal briefly and I have wished I could find a way to harness that.

[LadyDi]

Yes, I have actually experienced this same thing when I have had a bad illness. Its almost as if I feel that my immune system is focusing on the actual virus or bacterial infection (which it should be doing) instead of my normal healthy cells.

It sounds so weird, but I have also found it to be true!

[SabbraCadabra]

Its almost as if I feel that my immune system is focusing on the actual virus or bacterial infection (which it should be doing) instead of my normal healthy cells.

I feel "better" when sick too, and this is the same conclusion I came to. I'm no doctor, but it makes perfect sense to me.

[wendyoh]

The theory that system is focusing on the bug instead of ourself is interesting----and what comes to mind is that proponents of psychosomatic theories imply that it is our mind worrying about ourselves that causes those "sensitivities". Now that more data is coming out about auto-immune illnesses there is more understanding but it does seem like that stigma lingers still.........

[Princess Tusi]

Me too! Had a nasty gastro bug last year and was basically living on the toilet. Typically the bending to sit and get up in itself would've had my joints screaming but the pain was greatly reduced.
I also thought it may be due to my immune system being able to focus on a real issue rather than fighting me!

[aussie mum]

I've had that experience occasionally too.
It's nice to see our immune system working as it should. Now if it could only relax once that job was done.

[SabbraCadabra]

I was searching for some info on hookworms the other day, and I accidentally found some information on Wikipedia about T-helper cells that's related to this subject:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookworm_infection#Hygiene_hypothesis

Allergic diseases, which are immunological responses to normally harmless antigens, are driven by a TH2-mediated immune response. Bacteria, viruses, and parasites, on the other hand, elicit a TH1-mediated immune response which inhibits or down-regulates the TH2 response. TH1 also inhibits the activity of TH17 which is heightened in numerous inflammatory diseases including multiple sclerosis and asthma.

So our "theory" would prove to be a fairly sound one, I would say.

[Sharon]

I agree with you all.
Helminth therapy is based on that theory I think.
I have also come across cases where parents report that their children with autism or schizophrenia
have remission of their symptoms when sick.
I just experienced that "sweet spot" that wendy mentioned last week a few days before I became terribly ill with a virus. We have to divert our immune system's attention away from attacking healthy cells, tissues, etc. by giving it something else to focus on.