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Non-existant Immune System

Glutenfreefamily

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Glutenfreefamily Enthusiast
Glutenfreefamily
Posted

<_< Im off to go to the dr tomorrow. Everytime I have come down with a cold it always has turned into an infection the last three years. I do have asthma and it seems that I just cant beat it on my own ever. I have such a short of breath feeling and of course my inhaler is empty :rolleyes: as I forgot to refill it as I only use it on a as needed basis.

Do you have the same issues? Do you think its my asthma that is causing this to occur?

I know you guys aren't medical professionals, just curious what your input is :)

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gfp Enthusiast
gfp
Posted

Are you CERTAIN its a cold and not allergies?

I spent a long time thinking I had 'colds' that turned out tobe allergic reactions (hay fever, city fumes, budgies to name a few)

Symptoms are lots of phlegm ... and headaches and the constant phlegm causes me to cough and irritate my throat..

These disapeared almost completely when I went 100% gluten-free... and now return if I get the slightest hint of gluten.

Joni63 Collaborator
Joni63
Posted

I always had allergies every Spring and Fall would get an infection in my chest kicked off by allergy season. Most of the time I would have to get antibiotics for it to go away and could not fight it on my own. 3 years ago it turned into pneumonia. This passed Fall was the first season for me since gluten free and I only had a sniffly cold that lasted 10 days but went away on it's own. I'm also off my allergy meds and can breathe fine through my nose.

I think it's weakened immune system from eating gluten that will hopefully get better the longer we are gluten free.

Glutenfreefamily Enthusiast
Glutenfreefamily
Posted
  • Author

Thanks :)

I know its not allergies this time although I constantly blame it on it at first since I hate being sick :lol: . My daughter became sick first with a fever of 103.6 and I became sick with a fever of 101 three days later. She is doing wonderfully and is basically back to normal, thank goodness, but my issues are still there after 7 days and now I cant eat because everything hurts my throat and Im having difficulty breathing especially when I breathe in. Im a bad patient, I send everyone else off to the dr but my husband had to get rude with me yesterday to see the dr :lol: My nose isnt running but Im sure its running down the back of my throat. I havent slept for longer than 4 hours total a night since this started. I just cant stop coughing. It might be gluten damage over the years, its been over two years of being gluten free, I hope Im healed up soon.

Usually the cold winters with ice and frost are my best times for allergies but hardest on my asthma. My outdoor allergies are leaves, grass, trees, and mold. Furnace dust could be a factor too. I do have airway restriction in the cold but I usually have a scarf around my face when outside.

I'll let you know what the dr says :)

missy'smom Collaborator
missy'smom
Posted

I recommend taking an antioxidant formula of vitamin E mixed tocopherals(SP?), selenium and a good beta caroteen supplement(Rainbow Light's Food For Life-check it for barley though I haven't used it for a few years). I did this before I knew I had celiac disease but I knew something was really wrong with my immune system. I was constantly sick with the worst version of everything that went around and I didn't even leave the house. It REALLY helped. Also if you're having problems with allergies, sinuses and infections, rinsing the nasal passages with salt water really helps.

Joni63 Collaborator
Joni63
Posted

Sometimes getting out the Christmas decorations can trigger and allergy problem that can lead to an infection. Do you have a live tree?

Good luck at the Dr., hope you get some breathing relief soon.

jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted

I was having similar problems--I do have allergies, and had been using an antihistimine, but they didn't seem as effective after going gluten-free. (strange...)

I was found to be highly allergic to dust mites--so much so that the allergist strongly recommended covering my mattress and pillows with protective covering.

Since doing that, my symptoms have been much easire to live with. I only use the antihistimine and steroid nasal spray occasionally now.

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~alex~ Explorer
~alex~
Posted
<_< Im off to go to the dr tomorrow. Everytime I have come down with a cold it always has turned into an infection the last three years. I do have asthma and it seems that I just cant beat it on my own ever. I have such a short of breath feeling and of course my inhaler is empty :rolleyes: as I forgot to refill it as I only use it on a as needed basis.

Do you have the same issues? Do you think its my asthma that is causing this to occur?

I know you guys aren't medical professionals, just curious what your input is :)

I felt the same way for awhile after I was diagnosed. It seemed like every small infection turned into something bigger and resulted in a stay in the hospital. A cold turned into a bad bout of pneumonia, a UTI turned into a kidney infection, etc. I think it's just so stressful for the body dealing with gluten and the deficiencies that come along with malabsorption that it takes its toll on the immune system. I'm not sure how long ago you were diagnosed but it if was somewhat recent, your body may just need time to recover from the effects of gluten and malabsorption.

I've been gluten-free for almost 11 months now and I think my immune system has been getting back to normal these past few months. I've had a couple of colds that I've gotten over successfully and besides an icky GI infection, I've been able to stay out of the hospital. Hopefully with time your immune system will also improve. It's good that you're going to the doctor so you can start treatment ASAP if you do have pneumonia.

I also I have asthma, and I think it just comes with the territory that some colds are going to go down into your chest. Even before Celiac that happened to me around once a year. If you have a lot of problems with your asthma you might want to look into taking an everyday controller medication. I've gotten a lot of help from Advair.

sneezydiva Apprentice
sneezydiva
Posted

I have terrible allergies also. And though winter is better for pollen allergies, it is the worst season for allergies to dust and dust mites, and those are especially troublesome for asthma. And if you use a humidifier for the asthma, you can spread mold. Even though this may be a virus, your indoor allergies aren't helping the situation any.

If you haven't done so already, cover your mattress and pillow with dust mite covers. Do your best to vacuum and dust regularly (a difficult thing to do when you feel ill all the time, I know, get the husband and kids to help) And get a HEPA air cleaner for your bedroom, and use high effieciency furnace filters in your heating system. Avoid the humifier as much as is possible. But if you absolutely need it, go to the health food/Vitamin store and buy some liquid Grapefruit Seed Extract. It is a natural anti-fungal and anti-bacterial. Put 10 drops in the water in your humidifier every time you fill it.

Glutenfreefamily Enthusiast
Glutenfreefamily
Posted
  • Author

Thanks very much for the responses :)

We do have a tree up, an artificial one. Im sure it has dust on it. It fully breaks down and is stored in a rubbermaid trunk but Im sure it gets plenty of dust on it when its up. We do have our bedding covered but my 3 year old has quite a few stuffed animals that hold the dust and our carpet. Also my house is over 100 years old, we have updated it fully but its still old. We live in a very old farmhouse.

Well I have bronchitis and a double ear infection along with a throat infection. She put me on an antibiotic along with breathing treatments and codeine cough syrup. Im glad I went in. I will look into the supplements too currently Im on a large amount of vitamins and I take elderberry every day along with probiotics. Im going to be off for the weekend as Im just too tired to post and hopefully the codeine will kick in and let me sleep.

I cant take an everyday med for asthma unfortunately as I have glaucoma so I have to limit my use to keep the pressure in my eyes down but years ago it helped me tremendously. Im on an inhaler for the next week to help me out.

Take care everyone and I hope you have a good weekend :)

kbtoyssni Contributor
kbtoyssni
Posted
We do have a tree up, an artificial one. Im sure it has dust on it. It fully breaks down and is stored in a rubbermaid trunk but Im sure it gets plenty of dust on it when its up. We do have our bedding covered but my 3 year old has quite a few stuffed animals that hold the dust and our carpet. Also my house is over 100 years old, we have updated it fully but its still old. We live in a very old farmhouse.

You can try putting the stuffed animals in the freezer for a while to kill the dust mites. We used to do that with my brother's stuffed animals. It's much easier than trying to wash them in super hot water!

JustJust Apprentice
JustJust
Posted
You can try putting the stuffed animals in the freezer for a while to kill the dust mites. We used to do that with my brother's stuffed animals. It's much easier than trying to wash them in super hot water!

THe stuffed animals in the freezer for a minimum of 8 hours will do the trick!

Justine RN

Glutenfreefamily Enthusiast
Glutenfreefamily
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for the freezer tip, I will have to take them over to my mom and dad's as my freezer is a very tiny one.

Generic Apprentice
Generic
Posted

I used to get sick every time I turned around. I literally got every thing. I do believe it was a weakened immune system from celiac. I have been gluten free for 20 years now, and was still sick up until about a year and a half ago.

I went through about 6 months of acupuncture, and it turned my immune system completely around. When I do get sick anymore, its is very minor. It is really weird to me. It used to beat me down so bad, i would end up in bed for a few days.

Glutenfreefamily Enthusiast
Glutenfreefamily
Posted
  • Author

Thanks Generic :)

Update a bit, Im seeing my ENT next week. He is wondering if they are not going away with amoxycillin and Im still battling the ear infections that I was in June. My cold is much better and my cough isnt near as deep and Im not needing the codeine anymore for it.

num1habsfan Rising Star
num1habsfan
Posted
<_< Im off to go to the dr tomorrow. Everytime I have come down with a cold it always has turned into an infection the last three years. I do have asthma and it seems that I just cant beat it on my own ever. I have such a short of breath feeling and of course my inhaler is empty :rolleyes: as I forgot to refill it as I only use it on a as needed basis.

Do you have the same issues? Do you think its my asthma that is causing this to occur?

I know you guys aren't medical professionals, just curious what your input is :)

Oh i know how you feel about the inhaler being empty. I've been without it since last wednesday and possibly can get one tomorrow, otherwise will have to survive until Saturday morning without it!

My immune system got shot as soon as I got Celiac. I went from having one, to a non-existant one as you say. And forget about a flu shot. Got one of those I think 4 years ago and I was the most sick ever. Although some are arguing against it I find that if I'm sick with a simple cold its always a really bad one because the asthma makes it much harder. Its like...have a regular phelgm build up and then add the one from the cold on top of it.

~ Lisa ~

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    • cristiana
      Feel like I’m starting over

      By cristiana · Posted

      Hi @Scatterbrain Thank you for your reply.   Some of these things could be weaknesses, also triggered by stress, which perhaps have come about as the result of long-term deficiencies which can take a long time to correct.   Some could be completely unrelated. If it is of help, I'll tell you some of the things that started in the first year or two, following my diagnosis - I pinned everything on coeliac disease, but it turns out I wasn't always right!  Dizziness, lightheaded - I was eventually diagnosed with cervical dizziness (worth googling, could be your issue too, also if you have neck pain?)  A few months after diagnosis I put my neck out slightly carrying my seven-year-old above my head, and never assigned any relevance to it as the pain at the time was severe but so short-lived that I'd forgotten the connection. Jaw pain - stress. Tinnitus - I think stress, but perhaps exacerbated by iron/vitamin deficiencies. Painful ribs and sacroiliac joints - no idea, bloating made the pain worse. It got really bad but then got better. Irregular heart rate - could be a coincidence but my sister (not a coeliac) and I both developed this temporarily after our second Astra Zeneca covid jabs.   Subsequent Pfizer jabs didn't affect us. Brain fog - a big thing for people with certain autoimmune issues but in my case I think possibly worse when my iron or B12 are low, but I have no proof of this. Insomnia - stress, menopause. So basically, it isn't always gluten.  It might be worth having your vitamins and mineral levels checked, and if you have deficiencies speak to your Dr about how better to address them?    
    • knitty kitty
      My only proof

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @NanceK, I do have Hypersensitivity Type Four reaction to Sulfa drugs, a sulfa allergy.  Benfotiamine and other forms of Thiamine do not bother me at all.  There's sulfur in all kinds of Thiamine, yet our bodies must have it as an essential nutrient to make life sustaining enzymes.  The sulfur in thiamine is in a ring which does not trigger sulfa allergy like sulfites in a chain found in pharmaceuticals.  Doctors are not given sufficient education in nutrition (nor chemistry in this case).  I studied Nutrition before earning a degree in Microbiology.  I wanted to know what vitamins were doing inside the body.   Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.   Not feeling well after starting Benfotiamine is normal.  It's called the "thiamine paradox" and is equivalent to an engine backfiring if it's not been cranked up for a while.  Mine went away in about three days.  I took a B Complex, magnesium and added molybdenum for a few weeks. It's important to add a B Complex with all eight essential B vitamins. Supplementing just one B vitamin can cause lows in some of the others and result in feeling worse, too.  Celiac Disease causes malabsorption of all the B vitamins, not just thiamine.  You need all eight.  Thiamine forms including Benfotiamine interact with each of the other B vitamins in some way.  It's important to add a magnesium glycinate or chelate supplement as well.  Forms of Thiamine including Benfotiamine need magnesium to make those life sustaining enzymes.  (Don't use magnesium oxide.  It's not absorbed well.  It pulls water into the intestines and is used to relieve constipation.)   Molybdenum is a trace mineral that helps the body utilize forms of Thiamine.   Molybdenum supplements are available over the counter.  It's not unusual to be low in molybdenum if low in thiamine.   I do hope you will add the necessary supplements and try Benfotiamine again. Science-y Explanation of Thiamine Paradox: https://hormonesmatter.com/paradoxical-reactions-with-ttfd-the-glutathione-connection/#google_vignette
    • Wheatwacked
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      By Wheatwacked · Posted

      Your goal is not to be a good puppet, there is no gain in that. You might want to restart the ones that helped.  It sounds more like you are suffering from malnutrition.  Gluten free foods are not fortified with things like Thiamine (B1), vitamin D, Iodine, B1,2,3,5,6 and 12 as non-gluten free products are required to be. There is a Catch-22 here.  Malnutrition can cause SIBO, and SIBO can worsen malnutrition. Another possibility is side effects from any medication that are taking.  I was on Metformin 3 months before it turned me into a zombi.  I had crippling side effects from most of the BP meds tried on me, and Losartan has many of the side effects on me from my pre gluten free days. Because you have been gluten free, you can test and talk until you are blue in the face but all of your tests will be negative.  Without gluten, you will not create the antigen against gluten, no antigens to gluten, so no small intestine damage from the antigens.  You will need to do a gluten challange to test positive if you need an official diagnosis, and even then, no guaranty: 10 g of gluten per day for 6 weeks! Then a full panel of Celiac tests and biopsy. At a minimum consider vitamin D, Liquid Iodine (unless you have dermatitis herpetiformis and iodine exasperates the rash), and Liquid Geritol. Push for vitamin D testing and a consult with a nutritionist experienced with Celiack Disease.  Most blood tests don't indicate nutritional deficiencies.  Your thyroid tests can be perfect, yet not indicate iodine deficiency for example.  Thiamine   test fine, but not pick up on beriberi.  Vegans are often B12 deficient because meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy are the primary souces of B12. Here is what I take daily.  10,000 IU vitamin D3 750 mg g a b a [   ] 200 mg CoQ10 [   ] 100 mg DHEA [   ] 250 mg thiamine B1 [   ] 100 mg of B2 [   ] 500 mg B5 pantothenic acid [   ] 100 mg B6 [   ] 1000 micrograms B12 n [   ] 500 mg vitamin c [   ] 500 mg taurine [   ] 200 mg selenium   
    • NanceK
      My only proof

      By NanceK · Posted

      Hi…Just a note that if you have an allergy to sulfa it’s best not to take Benfotiamine. I bought a bottle and tried one without looking into it first and didn’t feel well.  I checked with my pharmacist and he said not to take it with a known sulfa allergy. I was really bummed because I thought it would help my energy level, but I was thankful I was given this info before taking more of it. 
    • Wheatwacked
      Feel like I’m starting over

      By Wheatwacked · Posted

      Hello @Scatterbrain, Are you getting enough vitamins and minerals.  Gluten free food is not fortified so you may be starting to run low on B vitamins and vitamin D.   By the way you should get your mom checked for celiac disease.  You got it from your mom or dad.  Some studies show that following a gluten-free diet can stabilize or improve symptoms of dementia.  I know that for the 63 years I was eating gluten I got dumber and dumber until I started GFD and vitamin replenishment and it began to reverse.  Thiamine can get used up in a week or two.  Symptoms can come and go with daily diet.  Symptoms of beriberi due to Thiamine deficiency.   Difficulty walking. Loss of feeling (sensation) in hands and feet. Loss of muscle function or paralysis of the lower legs. Mental confusion. Pain. Speech difficulties. Strange eye movements (nystagmus) Tingling. Any change in medications? Last March I had corotid artery surgery (90 % blockage), and I started taking Losartan for blood pressure, added to the Clonidine I was taking already.  I was not recovering well and many of my pre gluten free symptoms were back  I was getting worse.  At first I thought it was caused a reaction to the anesthesia from the surgery, but that should have improved after two weeks.  Doctor thought I was just being a wimp. After three months I talked to my doctor about a break from the Losartan to see if it was causing it. It had not made any difference in my bp.  Except for clonindine, all of the previous bp meds tried had not worked to lower bp and had crippling side effects. One, I could not stand up straight; one wobbly knees, another spayed feet.  Inguinal hernia from the Lisinopril cough.  Had I contiued on those, I was destined for a wheelchair or walker. She said the symptoms were not from Losartan so I continued taking it.  Two weeks later I did not have the strength in hips and thighs to get up from sitting on the floor (Help, I can't get up😨).  I stopped AMA (not recommended).  Without the Losartan, a) bp did not change, after the 72 hour withdrawal from Losartanon, on clonidine only and b) symptoms started going away.  Improvement started in 72 hours.  After six weeks they were gone and I am getting better.  
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