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Thanks to everyone who took time to reply.  It was most helpful.

My question was:  Do any of you find that when you get sick with a cold or flu, you take a  very long time to throw it off.  I always take much longer than my husband to get better from  anything -  it just drags on and on.  I wonder if there's any connection  with   our immune systems and celiac. 

There were 10  who found they stayed sicker longer than other people:

You are so right! Every time I get a cold (which I have right now) it lasts for over a month and really drags me down.

I seem to get quicker than everyone else, but I don't think it lasts any longer.  I am more susceptible, though.

 

Yes, I do because I can't take any drugs as I am very chemically  sensitive.

 

Yes, I always get the worst upper respiratory viruses than anyone else.

I have an IgA deficiency so that is probably why. My husband gets a cold and is over with it in 3 days, mine take 10 days. If I have a cough, or bronchitis, it takes 3 weeks.

 

I think that's true. I've become a bit of a germ-a-phobe because I do get sick easier than most non-celiac people and I have to work harder to stay well and recover.

 

Yes, very true for me as someone who is gluten intolerant.

 

I have a terrible time when I get a cold.  I get sicker than anyone else I know and it takes me about eight weeks to fully recover.  I just got over one that took 3 trips to the doctor to no avail.  We tried antibiotics (a waste of money) and sinus rinse, Musinex, Naseral, Walgreens cough drops, cough med and just about anything else on the market.  It is a broken immune system and this has been going on for years.  I am neurotic about being exposed to anyone with even the sniffles.  There is no way to connect this to Celiac Disease but my mind tells me it probably is as it took me so many years to get diagnosed.  RC

 

Not only does it take me longer to recover, but it seems that I get things more often than my husband does, too.  I would think it has to be related to our compromised immune systems. 

 

For things like colds and flus, most people will get a few light boughts of illness over a year. I get REALLY SICK once. and by REALLY sick, i mean a week+, serious muscle pain, neurological complications (all my celiac symptoms were musculo-skeletal and neurological, so I expect this now...) while other people get stuffy noses and fevers and chills.  On the other side of the coin, I recently contracted MRSA from my doctors office (totally unpleasant) but I think my hyperactive auto-immune system really saved me. The docs were AMAZED that the antibiotics they gave me at first werent working and essentially were overdosing me- because my body had compressed all the infection into my skin and wasnt letting it into my muscles or deep tissue.



 

 

 

 

Some found they had been very sick before going GF and have  done much better since:

Actually, since I have been diagnosed and following the gluten-free diet rigidly - I think I have only been sick with the flu once (in over 5 years).  Prior to that I was sick at least once or twice a year but now I realize it was probably undiagnosed celiac with a weakened immunity system and/or a gluten reaction.   

Several used to have prolonged infections but have improved with supplements: 

 I eat more yogurt--organic brands like Stoneyfield Farms, Brown Cow, Mountain High,
or Nancy's that are all gluten-free and don't contain lots of sugar and preservative/filler junk. They have more types of cultures than most and the probiotics can be beneficial in helping us stay well-especially from stomach flu and the like. 

My doctor, Cynthia Rudert, recommended taking Culturelle up to 3x/day as a probiotic. This helps a lot, and the whole family takes it.

I also take Zicam the minute I feel cold symptoms, plus a zinc supplement daily.

Olive leaf extract, tumeric and alfalfa.  I take these every day even if I don't take the rest of my vitamins.  I hardly am ever sick now and I work with the public handling cash.  I use to get sick all the time!  I wouldn't go with out any of them!! 

Usually the lingering cough etc. is sinusitis ... a bacterial infection that follows the viral infection. You can make it go away a lot faster by using a Neti pot with salt, xylitol, and tea tree oil (I mix the oil with the dry salt and xylitol, then use a tsp. of the mix per pot of water). You can use a "squirt bottle" that is sold these days instead of a Neti pot, it's easier for most people.

You may need to replenish your Vitamin D and B12.  These are two vitamins that we celiacs seem to not be able to absorb as easily.

After the discussion on this board about whether to take the flu shot, I've started taking vitamin D3 every day. Since then, even my allergies are less troublesome.

Two of my three children and my husband have CD.  They used to be in the same situation you describe, but now that they are on a vigilant GF diet and take probiotics and lots of different vitamins, they rarely get sick, and when they do, they recover quite quickly.

Absolutely, until I found these Enzymatic Therapy products.  Pearls X-press (a maximum-strength probiotic) when you first get sick and use the Pearls Immune(to strengthen immune health) for everyday.

I have found an amazing product which has kept me from having a cold or flu for over three years.  (Go to www.seagateproducts.com).  I use the nose and throat sprays as soon as I even think I may be coming down with something.  Just keep after it in the beginning when all the bacteria are multiplying and your symptoms should disappear if it works for you as it does for me. 

I do some things to try to help my immune system.......my Dr encourages these:  drink green tea, EmergenC 1 pk/day and 2-3 packs/day if exposed to something, also ground flax seed on my cereal 
twice a day.   Yes, my immune system is not good, but doing the above has seemed to have helped.  I also use the Zicam nose swabs when exposed. that is zinc and good for helping the immune system.

Some had no problems:

Quite the opposite my daughter and I have had 1 two day cold in five years knock on wood but I should also add that we are casein free as well - and dairy is a big suppressant to the immune system as well as a congesting mucus maker 

I have not had a cold in years and as I get the flu shots, I have not had the flu for at least 15 years.  The first year I taught school I got everything that my students had. Did not get long for me to get over each bout but it was  before I knew I had CD. 

The last winter before I was diagnosed with CD I was sick all of the time, I would no sooner get over something than I would get it again or something much like it with a fever each time.  I was very anemic which probably did not help.

I have found just the opposite with my daughter who is 13 with Celiac.  SHe is probably the least sick out of all of us, and even when she catches something, it doesn;t really slow her down.

 

I have 4 autoimmune diseases (celiac, hypothroidism, type 1 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis) and I'm on medicine to suppress my immune system for the RA.  I think I actually get sick less than other people and for shorter periods.  I believe my immune system is overactive even if it's somewhat misdirected!  Of course I wash my hands non-stop so that might have something to do with it too.

 

 

 

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