Can Pots Lower Your Immune System?

[puppylove]

Lately I seem to catch every little cold and virus that comes through even though my whole family and I are super good with hand washing, coughing into your elbow etc... So, can POTS lower your immune system? Or could it make me more susceptible to illness? Thanks!

[arizona girl]

Hi puppy,

Glad you got through your scope okay.

I wouldn't say that pots causes immune problems per se. More like pots could be a symptom of a comprimised immune system. Fighting illness and infection often results in an elevated heart rate.

There are some pretty good tests that can check to see if your immune system isn't functioning right. One area you can check is to go back and look at your cbc's and see if your ig/ratio found in the cbc is abnormal. Then there is a test called a total quantitative immunoglobulin, a sub igg panel, ige, igd and if any of those are abnormal a test called a vaccine challenge.

Fortunately for me we finally figured out that my immune system is completely screwed up and it explains to some degree why I have so many autoimmune illnesses. I have common variable immune deficiency, which has an association with autoimmune diseases I have like hashimoto, lupus like, lichen (skin), I have pcos which is caused by elevated insulin so that is another endocrine issue and I wonder if my whole endocrine system is under attack, I do have a small adrenal nodule too. I can't help but feel they are all related.

It appears that my form of dysautonomia Hyper pots (bp/hr rise) with near syncope/syncope is a result of my body attacking my small fiber nerves (autonomic nerves). Skin biopsies of my various tissues have been diagnostic for sfn, lupus and lichen. I also recently found out I had a genetic mutation called mthfr that interrupts the ability to process folic acid. I'm still working that up and trying to figure out if that is an underlyer to the other things we've found. Treatment for this surprisingly is simple, you treat with an active from of folic acid called methylfolate.

The good news after living this way most of my life we are making progress with my treatment plan. I am so hopeful for you that this all gets figured out for you while your young and you get more of your life back. I often wonder if I would have gotten as progressively sick as I have, had I had earlier intervention.

I am so rooting for you that you get to a good treatment plan faster then I. Take care sweet girl.

If you want to read up on immune diseases, you can go to http://primaryimmune.org.

[looneymom]

Hi Puppylove,

In the beginning my son caught everything. He takes about 3000mg of vitamin C everyday and some other supplements to help with immune system. This seems to be helping because I can get him out of the house for a short time and he's not sick 3 or 4 days later.

[RichGotsPots]

Yes it does. You need to find supplements that boost your immune system. I used olive leaf, vit c, vit d, astragulus, spirulina, certain mushrooms, oregeno oil, and my go to Zinc. But zinc needs to be taken a special way. The body can only take so much zinc at a time and in order for it to work it has to be in the system constantly. Its hard to find the right amount except in lozenges but they taste gross so I break a 22mg tablet into quarters and I take a half before bed. If you need to take more than 35mg a day i take some copper because it can get low..

[Angela]

i have to knock on wood here and i am gratefull- my immune system functions well as far as this topic, i hardly ever get sick from flu or whatever, even with pots. getting sick with flu and such was one thing of the things that terrified me most when i got dx'd since we are supposed to be so succeptable to such. i go to work with people who get the flu every year and they even get flu shots, which i don't, and i have a son in daycare where there is a huge pit of stuff you can catch. i don't get it!!!! but something has to be ok in me at least

[yogini]

This season is a really bad flu/cold season so people in general are fretting sick and that includes all of us. I don't think POTS weakens the immune system. Like Angela, mine seems nprmal. In fact, some seem to have an autoimmune component to their POTS where the immune system is attacking things in the body it shouldn't - which is sort of like the immune system being in overdrive rather than being weak.

[arizona girl]

Hi guys, I would never have known this if my lab tests hadn't shown it and doctors hadn't figured it out, but you can have have both a hyper (autoimmune) state and a hypo (immune deficiency) happening at the same time. My doctor explained it to me like the immune system is a circle and once one part is effected it can effect any other part and you can tend to get clusters of immune issues. Hey my bp/hr swing high to low too.

Charlotte Cunningham Rundels, MD, back east is on the front lines of this research. Her published works are very interesting to read. You can google her and cvid and they will pop up. She is also looking at defects in several genes as the cause of this.

I also rarely get the respiratory illness, as my iga is still functioning, but my igg and igm are not so I get other types of infections, like mono, ear, gi, tonsilitis (removed at 21) fungal, bacterial, and chronic yeast/bv. I was running this very low grade fever and felt like I was fighting something for years, it was never high enough to alert a doctor. Once we diagnosed the cvid, it all made sense, as you can't mount a proper fever if your immunoglobulins are defective.

Since we have been replacing my immunoglobulins, my infection rate and the low grade fevers have almost stopped. My baseline temp though is only about 97.5, so at 99.2 I feel like I have a fever. I've only had two infections w/high wbc since starting replacement and we quickly treated that with rocephine shots to knock the infection down. The shots work fast and don't put the antibiotic directly in the gi track. I still do sometimes have to treat for yeast after. If I don't have the antibiotics though my wbc continues to rise. If we don't treat it early, I could get an infection that I would not be able to fight off and I could die from the infection.

My doc gave me a standing order to check my cbc when I feel like I'm fighting something, because I don't get the normal signs of infection.

[RichGotsPots]

Arizona, what do you treat the yeast with?

[arizona girl]

Hey Rich how are you?

My go to treatment for yeast is extended 14 days of diflucan. I try to add probiotics, but seem to be having a problem tolerating them, even the non dairy kind. I'm still experimenting with them.

Diflucan works like a charm for me. I also had an antigen test where they check my response to yeast, and I had no response at all. Healthy people get a red welt. It just confirmed for me that the cvid diagnosis was correct.

[rach73]

Hi,

My immune system is working ok with POTS. Ive found my general health has actually improved since leaving work but then I used to work in a super market where people would think nothing of coughing and spluttering over you.

Even before my POTS got so bad I became housebound I rarely caught a cold. I did get chest infections and tonsilitis but since leaving work I get maybe one chest infection every 18 months and Ive had the flu every year - which is more than when I was working. My recovery time is longer with POTS it will take me several weeks to bounce back.

Im very strict with all my visitors (as much as I can be) I dont allow anyone whos had a sickness bug in unless they have been 48 hours clear and I dont let people with chest infections come and see my either. It may seem harsh but everyone who does visit me knows that I need to protect myself especially having been on steroids at high doses on and off.

My sister on the other hand has always had a dodgy immune system and caught some strange viruses / illnesses when she was a kid - I didnt get them. Now her son (age 3) is in nursery and she seems to come down with everything. I do believe she has a problem with her immune system but in the UK there is only one place they test you for it and most drs are pretty ignorant about it. Its enough of a battle getting a POTS and EDS diagnosis.

I guess I am quite lucky but then my husband rarely gets colds and tends to get one or two chest infections a year along with a bout of flu despite getting the jab!

Rach