Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group is your pain better when sick?

oh lisa, i've had times like that where i just want to crawl under a rock!

i'm so glad my body has been better these last few weeks as when i'm sick all i want to do is sleep and i've been able to quite a bit.

if i was sick during one of my "can't sleep more than 3 hours at a time phases" i would have been even miserabler

sue

hi colin, actually SI better today. but shhhh, don't tell it
thanks for the sentiment,
sue

hi jimmy,

i've been intrigued by all the different answers i've gotten.

its all a mystery to me

sue

Absolutely YES!

I have noticed this as well and wrote in one of these threads that someone (perhaps you or someone you know?) might be able to develop a benign virus designed to distract our immune systems?

I'm sure something could be cooked up that takes the runny noses, fevers, etc out of the equation and leaves only the virus itself. The trick would be to ensure that it retained the qualities that our anti-bodies respond to - these qualities could even be ramped up to attract more attention and be more effective.

I had the same idea when I was kid about robbing a bank. I know, I was a strange child. I figured that I could hit several big banks downtown in one day if I orchestrated a series of accidents and fires around town. If the timings were right, the authorities would be drawn away from the banks I wanted to hit and the resulting chaos would clog traffic and radio waves to the point where it would become very difficult for anyone to do anything about it. Then I would escape through the sewers.

This same concept could be used inside our bodies to distract our immune systems, I think.

Chris

i guess this is kind of what i was wondering, but don't know if there is any scientific validity to it. if my immune system is busy fighting off a real threat, will it temporarily leave me alone?

i think i remember that post now that you mention it.

and i like your bank robbery scenerio. either you were a very creative kid or had a lot of time on your hands

sue

Maybe both?

I don't know enough about the science or biology involved to even consider that it wouldn't work.

The only problems I can see are that the new "benign" virus could act in ways no one ever imagined or that even if it did work, would we then become helpless against other genuine threats?

Or would it be nothing more serious than the way biologics compromise our systems now?

I love these sort of "What if" discussions - especially the ones where I have absolutely NO idea what I'm talking about...lol

Chris

Another ABSOLUTELY YES over here Sue!!
As a matter of fact I am battling allergies/sinuses right now..and no back pain for 2 days..but I am sooo stuffed up. My big toe is still majorly inflammed..redness and sore..but the back is tolerable! Of course on the flipside, I cant breathe through my nose which I like to do mostly at night b/c of my asthma instead of my mouth open..lol. I cant smell, or taste! Eek! Called doc today and I missed call so I have to wait till morn for nure to call somethng in. I am using nasa cort and on preddy for feet. Also took benadryl sinus and allergy.no dice! I may try the zyrtec tomorrow. Over here in Texas..its crazy with this weather changes. Flowers look beautiful blooming..but I havent stopped sneezing for more than a 1/2 hour at a time!

I think the AS settles down because our body handles one thing at a time. I always know when I am getting better b/c the joint back slowly creeps back on and there is no denying it! bleh!

How are you my friend these days? I have to take my son to the pedi this thursday for some testing..his ears and I am worried. Your pal buggy

Actually Chris, I think you're making sense, I'm on a biologic drug and one of the first rules of thumb is that you must stop taking it if you get a cold or the flu but even off of the meds, I would never knowingly expose myself to a virus, I have enough health problems and it has been driven into our brains that an illness or injury is believed to be the initial trigger point that causes us to develop AS in the first place and we have a longer recovery time post-op and post-illness because of the AS, so that makes me think that no, my immune system obviously doesn't leave my body alone if it's busy fighting off something else...if that were the case, we wouldn't have a slower healing time....

hi buggy,

haven't chatted with you for a while.

i think finally this week things are settling down.

last week was the 4 boxes of tissues and 3 bags of ricola cough drops and a gallon (well not quite) of expectorant for that nasty cold. and enough fluids to fill a swimming pool. the fluids helped the throat more than anything else did.

and the week before was my father in laws funeral on st patty's day, very fitting for an irishman which he was, U.S. citizen but irish blood. a good irish catholic family. he had a blood disorder for 5 years and lived quite healthy for a lot longer than they thought he might so every extra day and year was a blessing.

my husband will be needing to go back now and then with his brother and sister to prepare selling the house, their childhood home. a lot of good memories there. i was lucky to know my husband's parents for all those years. good people. its wonderful when you like the family you marry into as much as the one you were born into.

sue