Immune system stronger?

[dizzyd]

I'm just curious if anybody (excluding those on immunosup) finds that they never get sick or rarely get sick ie colds, flus etc. We were talking about this on the weekend and my S.O. says I never get sick because I have crohns. I'm not sure I agree with him but funny enough it's been a long time since I have caught anything. Even when I was sick with the crohns and couldn't eat and was run into the ground, I never caught anything. I work directly with the public so it could be that I just have a strong immune system from that.

 

[Kev]

Hey Dizzyd.. no, same thing happened with me.. sort of a blessing in disguise... Until one stops to consider that it's our overactive immune system causing it all

 

[elp888]

apart from crohns and my recent flare, i've only been sick once in 14 years... maybe you're right?

e.

 

[Jeff D.]

Even on immune suppressents I still rarely get sick and most of that is allergies. Besides flares I have only stayed home from school one or two times due to sickness.

 

[My Butt Hurts]

That's funny - I was just thinking that about a week ago.
I didn't have one single cold all winter, and I said that my body didn't have time to be sick with anything else, because I was in a bad flare all winter. Usually I get like 3 or 4 colds during the winter. (I swear I've read somewhere that's the average too.)
Now I've been in remission for 10 weeks, and I just got a cold 3 days ago. The first of the season.
Coincedence?

 

[D Bergy]

I rarely got sick either, and if I did, the symptoms were much less than the average persons.

I think our immune system is active most of the time because of the disease. Or more specifically, the bacteria that our body fights. It is too active and yet not strong enough to rid us of our demon bacteria.

Dan

 

[Guest]

i guess i'm middle of the road on this one. i do tend to have at least one bad cold/chest infection each winter, and maybe a couple of short-lived colds as well (just had one in fact) - but on the plus side, i dont catch everything that my kids come home from school with, despite playing nursemaid to them and being in close proximity when they're bug-ridden. another plus - i'm pretty anxious when i hear of sickness/vomitting viruses doing the rounds, and again i've only caught it once in 10 years, although my family have come down with them.

 

[dizzyd]

Geez I hate to admit S.O is right...it's so early in the year to be wrong.:lol:

 

[Wiles]

I used to be that way... Not anymore though. I catch everything. My girlfriend's daughter is in daycare, so she brings home pretty much every cold and flu going around. Not only do I catch everything, but I often get infections while I'm sick with the cold. Some months it's crazy, as soon as I get over something I catch something else. It usually takes me a lot longer than your ordinary healthy person to shake the sickness for me as well.

 

[Creepy Lurker]

I used to get at least 4 colds a year. I started taking Azathioprine and didn't get so much as a sniffle for 4 years.

Had a 3 day cold this year though. Everyone else who got it took at least a fortnight to get over it.

Maybe we're just more careful around people with viruses?

 

[BWS1982]

Before Crohns (B.C.) and After Diagnosis (A.D.) are different (ha, that's actually quite clever, BC and AD, biblical Crohns terms...) I went most of my life getting on a few actually illnesses, and I haven't thrown up in like 15 years (strong stomach prevented me from doing it even when massively nauseaus recently, still won't)....rarely got sick while everyone around me was ill. Attributed it to just healthy eating and a wicked immune system. Maybe that's why this 9 month damn flare is so fiesty, as I have too powerful an immune system...anyways, whenever I've been flaring I've turned out to be more vulnerable, I almost went to the ambutal with a 103 something fever on Labor Day last year, and in the 2007 earlier flare 14 months ago, I caught a bug that was going around at work. Normally I just "didn't get sick" though.

 

[Kev]

Stronger... definite possibility.. Invincable... Apparently NOT! Not sure if we all should feel 'cheated' , or heave a collective sigh of relief. Wouldn't stand a chance of ever beating it it if it were invincable

 

[Keara07]

Interestingly enough, I skipped all the flu bugs this year (and oddly, the last 2-3) that my kids brought home (and there were lots) until after my resection surgey and then I picked up a bug that came into the house right away...and it hit hard! Still have CD though (surgery not a cure I am told...) so let's hope it reverts back to no bugs!

 

[drew_wymore]

I was sick a few times during the year with mostly URI's .. being a smoker with asthma so I expect to get sick. I haven't gotten sick as much since I've been dx'd with CD though, never thought about it much i guess. As soon as I got back to work though 3 weeks ago I've had 2 very short lived colds.

 

[elp888]

Before Crohns (B.C.) and After Diagnosis (A.D.)

Indeed very clever

 

[Mazen]

I remember before Crohn's I rarley got sick. When I was a child I didn't catch any of the usual children viruses (mumps, measles etc.....); then I was diagnosed with Crohn's at 26; but the strange thiong like you said is usually only get sick once a year. But I got many sicknesses from the side effects of meds..........

 

[pennywanna]

I find this interesting, because I cannot even remember having a cold, been at least 4 years, but caught a nasty stomach virus, (had crohns long enough to know the difference) and this is the first year they missed a virus in the flu shots in Canada, and I always get the flu shot. I was in bed for 3 days. Being on Humira now, if I go to the docs office or hospital for test I use an anti-bacterial lotion,,, having crohns is enough to deal with.

Penny

 

[AgB621]

I don't get sick often either, and when I do it's generally pretty mild. I have a really strong stomach, I haven't thrown up in 16 years (and I'm only 21!), even when I was going through the worst nausea of my life. I had dry heaves once on the very worst day of my recent illness, but that's it. I've always felt like I've had a strong immune system, but I do get sick once or twice a year. I did get strep throat 11 times while growing up, but I seem to have outgrown it. It's interesting, all these things I've wondered about, I keep stumbling on the answers in this forum.

 

[ccarp001]

actually i have had the complete opposite experience, even though it makes no sense. before being diagnosed and put on a variety of immunosupressants i was sick almost constantly w/colds, flu etc. whatever was going around i was bound to contract. now i think my system is less revved up, and so i dont react to every virus i am around.

 

[Kev]

Well, before dx, I was experiencing what I referred to as stomach flu. Nausea, N diarhea.. and of course I had fever N chills. But, now that my disease is full blown ALL of those symptoms are just common, everyday variety of my disease, and NOT a case of flu... IBD explains a lot for me, in retrospect.

 

[jny1179]

Just recently diagnosed and I have had the opposite experience. Up until now, I have been sick a lot, especially this past winter when my symptoms were the worst. I would catch whatever was going around and then wind up in the hospital because I'd get severely dehydrated. I hope that now after diagnosis and with treatment this will get better!

 

[teeny5]

I rarely get sick too. The GI questioned me as to why it took so long for me to see a dr. when I wasn't feeling good. (I avoided the dr. for months) I told him I never get sick so I truly thought it was just a minor stomach bug that would go away or that I had ate something bad. I thought it was crazy that I had an autoimmune disease and that I never get sick. Thought is sounded kinda contradictory, but I guess when you really think about it, it does make sense...over active immune system. Oh, by the way I do get allergies though.