i feel so sorry for you.

i do take vitamin C. i did get a flu shot last month. i wash my hands a lot too. i do use hand sanitizer a lot (bcoz i work in our convenience store). my toddler gets cold once in a week as she goes to school and a lot of other places and get into contact with others who have cold. but i use a homeopathic cold med for her which works very fast and i didnt get cold from her the last two months.

i have chronic sinus infection too. the thing that works for me is
COVER YOUR EARS, NOSE AND MOUTH whenever you get out of house and DONT LET THE COOL BREEZE ENTER YOUR EARS,NOSE,AND MOUTH. first i tie a bandana around my nose and mouth (like a mask) covering them and then wear a hat on my head and wear a scarf around my neck.

covering my nose and mouth from that cool breeze always works for me. i do this from years and the chances of getting cold for me are very very less. i hope this helps.

i do get some comments bcoz i do it like a mask covering my face, but i least bother those comments bcoz BEING WELL is important for me.

i am scared of colds. i cant handle them bcoz my sinusitis gets worse and then it leads to bronchitis. so i am always careful about colds and i follow this covering my face and head HELPS a lot.

hope you feel better soon. glad you posted. we hear you anytime. pls be well and hope for the best. try looking for some homeremedies too. i dont know much about strep throats. i am sorry.

I'm the exact same way on Enbrel.
I even stopped going out in public unless I had to.
The longest stretch of time was approx. 3 months during summer & still had sinus symptoms.
Before my diagnosis & treatment I was rarely sick. Trained in urgent care around every virus & infections & never once got sick.
Now it's the norm.

The immune system is so compromised it opens the door for anything out there. Not to mention illness that can be triggered by treatments.,
Someone on here said it best, it's like being a human pee tree dish.

My PCP has warned me more then once how a common cold or virus can be very dangerous to patients like us with an auto immune disease & treatments that further suppress our systems.

Thus far I've not felt well enough to get the darn flu shot. It's a vicious cycle.
I feel for you.
Good luck
Sammy

I take 1000 mg of vitamin C, and 2000 D, and if I feel the slightest tickle or sniffle, I take 2 vitamin C a day.
The stuff to worry most about is :
ATM machines
Door knobs
Menus
Grocery carts .... Ewww don't pick one with a kleenix in the cart. Bleh.
Any buttons you push, like car washes, etc.
Don't ever touch your face after touching public stuff. I keep antibacterial in my car. And always wash my hands when I get home.
I truly have not been sick in years. If someone sneezes by me, I'm away from them asap.
I swear it's the 1000 vitamin C that helps me. You can never have to much, and if you do you just pee it out. I eat a lot of fruit also.


=)
Lin

i do the C, echinacea daily (spelling) b 12, ( i am not on mtx) and probiotics, I swallow probiotics like candy.

at work: gloves, masks, (for closed door meetings where there is no circulation)

flonase if I have to. (pre sinusitis) and allergy meds when i have to. steam treatments and whiskey

i jjust had strep in october followed by another virus followed by dental surgery.

i share my empathy with you

hugs
Ros

I agree with dreamchaser Linda's thoughts.

I am fortunate that I am only out in the public once every other week when we do our grocery shopping. Her list of things to avoid like ATM machines, shopping carts, etc. is great. There are some larger grocery stores that have sanitizing wipes where the shopping carts are stored - a great way to quickly wipe down the handle.

Another thing to add is the touch screen food ordering system at one of our mini-marts. I will try to use my knuckle to make the screen presses or use anything I can find as a stylus.

Public bathrooms are the worst I think. I like the ones in Wal-Mart as they are truly "no touch" including no doors.

By looking at your forum name, I can assume you have children. I know when my daughter was in grade school, they bring home so many germs which is impossible to avoid.

I guess I have nothing to add as it looks like you are well aware of how we can get sick and are doing everything you can to sanitize everything.

I wash my hands a lot and use hand sanitizer, that's about as much effort as I make. But since I have 4 kids in school it's nearly impossible to not be exposed to things. I've actually been very lucky this year, maybe just because my meds are keeping the RA in check. Last year was awful. One cold after another that turned into pneumonia. I also tried various medications over the year to find what worked and many of them made me very sick.

not gonna lie, i am TERRIFIED of this. i was on mtx and prednisone and got a tattoo - and developed cellulitis! i didn't even realize prednisone lowered my immune system (i've taken it as a child for asthma, so didn't really read up on it this time around). my rheumy was like, 'oh the mtx won't lower your immune system that much'. ugh.

and now i'll be starting a biologic right before christmas. which is a HUGE thing in my husband's family. i already told my MIL if anyone is sick when i'm there we're leaving. i think she wanted to say something but bit her tongue.

my cousin has been on enbrel/humira before and works in a hospital with end of life cancer patients. she NEVER gets sick. she washes her hands all the time, uses antibacterial wipes and stuff, and stays away from people she knows are sick. i hope i'm that lucky!

ros..... Funny you should mention echinacea... I was on another site where they were talking about Echinacea and it was said not to use it with RA.... since I had no idea what it was I googled it. and this is what it said:

Auto-immune disorders such as such as multiple sclerosis (MS), lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus, SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a skin disorder called pemphigus vulgaris, or others: Echinacea might have an effect on the immune system that could make these conditions worse. Dont take echinacea if you have an auto-immune disorder.

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-981-ECHINACEA.aspx?activeIngredientId=981&activeIngredientName=ECHINACEA

just a little info.... but if you are taking it daily maybe it doesn't affect you like it could others.

Cindy

As a teacher I've always felt that to take anything stronger than prednisone for my RA would mean a career change. After watching what MTX did to my mom during breast cancer treatment - I became even more convinced of it. (Hair fell out, couldn't leave house, got shingles, etc)

Now after reading all of these personal accounts - I'm now convinced of it. After all, I work in a highly infectious environment. Though I'm lucky and even when I was on low dose prednisone for three years - I seemed to get sick at about the same rate as all the other teachers. I did take vitamins, lots of C, and echinacea - so perhaps that helped.

You all are so strong. I could never handle the challenges that you stride through every day.

Good luck and God bless!

thanks Cindy

wow, I just thought it was harmless like tea. to tell you the truth i HATED swallowing the echinacea caplet.

now I am concerned about my probiotic regime.

I'll look that up next

thanks again
Ros

Caffeine interacts with ECHINACEA
The body breaks down caffeine to get rid of it. Echinacea might decrease how quickly the body breaks down caffeine. Taking echinacea along with caffeine might cause too much caffeine in the bloodstream and increase the risk of side effects. Common side effects include jitteriness, headache, and fast heartbeat.

Medications changed by the body (Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) substrates) interacts with ECHINACEA
Some medications are changed and broken down by the body.
Echinacea might change how the body breaks down some medications. Taking echinacea along with some medications might increase the effects and side effects of some medications. Before taking echinacea, talk to your healthcare provider if you are taking any medications that are changed by the body.
Some medications changed by the body include lovastatin (Mevacor), clarithromycin (Biaxin), cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune), diltiazem (Cardizem), estrogens, indinavir (Crixivan), triazolam (Halcion), and many others.

Medications changed by the liver (Cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) substrates) interacts with ECHINACEA
Some medications are changed and broken down by the liver.
Echinacea might decrease how quickly the liver breaks down some medications.
Taking echinacea along with some medications might increase the effects and side effects of some medications. Before taking echinacea, talk to your healthcare provider if you are taking any medications that are changed by the liver.
Some of the medications that are changed by the liver include clozapine (Clozaril), cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril), fluvoxamine (Luvox), haloperidol (Haldol), imipramine (Tofranil), mexiletine (Mexitil), olanzapine (Zyprexa), pentazocine (Talwin), propranolol (Inderal), tacrine (Cognex), theophylline, zileuton (Zyflo), zolmitriptan (Zomig), and others.

Medications that decrease the immune system (Immunosuppressants) interacts with ECHINACEA
Echinacea can increase the immune system. Taking echinacea along with some medications that decrease the immune system might decrease the effectiveness of medications that decrease the immune system.
Some medications that decrease the immune system include azathioprine (Imuran), basiliximab (Simulect), cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune), daclizumab (Zenapax), muromonab-CD3 (OKT3, Orthoclone OKT3), mycophenolate (CellCept), tacrolimus (FK506, Prograf), sirolimus (Rapamune), prednisone (Deltasone, Orasone), corticosteroids (glucocorticoids), and others.

Thanks all. Appreciate your words and advice. Yup, I've got kids - 3 boys under 10, so constantly exposed to germs, not to mention many hours in hockey rinks!

I feel like it's the Enbrel, more than the MTX causing all this. My rheumy said last month if I got another bacterial infection she might stop the Enbrel entirely. I will call her on Monday. We'll see. Healthy thoughts to all of you!

I haven't read all the other posts,but wondered if you have seen an allergy-eye/nose=throat specialist?

I'm waiting on a referral to an ENT. I've never had allergies, so I'm not even that sure this is a sinus infection?? But for last few mths I've been so stuffed up and am turning into a mouth breather (ugh) at night unless I use a breathe right strip. I'm using a neti pot twice daily right now as well. I'm actually surprised my family doc prescribed antibiotics for my sinuses, as I think it's in my chest, but she says it sounds clear.

I haven't heard anything either way on echinacea, but I take probiotics (used to be daily but I would forget every now and then). Now that I'm back on antibiotics I'm taking them again.

let us know how you make out.

I am going to the ENT next month.

it's surreal to be between infections and ON meds

yeah

that's what I want for you.

hang in there.

Ros