How to boost my immune system without boosting the PsA?

So I have been chronically sick with upper and lower respitory tract infections for the past 10 months. My rheumy has stopped my enbrel as well as all steroids (4-5 weeks now). My GP as literally told me she doesn't know what to do with me any more. I am struggling to shake tonsillitis at the moment. I have had it for 3 weeks now been on a light antibiotic which did next to nothing and now she has but me on a 10 day course of a strong antibiotic.

Any advice on boosting my immune system without making my arthritis flair up even more?? Also any advice on what to do about this infection as I am not convinced that antibiotics is necessarily the right course of action (I think this is my 8th course of antibiotics in these 10 months so I am sure my body is not happy at all!).

I would get in to see an ENT specialist for your throat infection. They may recommend the same course of treatment, or maybe something different, but at least you’ll know you are on the right treatment!
There’s not really anything to boost your immune system. It just seems that you have a really resistant something or another going on. Eat right, get your nightly z’s, and moderate exercise (if you are able).
If you were on a daily prednisone regime, maybe that’s something to rethink? I’d attribute that with your current predicament over Enbrel.
I wouldn’t worry too much yet. Some of the antibiotics are so useless, they may as well be placebo pills because they have been so overused. Give the new antibiotic a shot and see what happens.

What Grumpy said. :)


And you might want to make sure your B and D vitamin levels are ok - if those need a boost it could help to do so.

Eat healthy, exercise/move as much as you can, get lots of sleep.

Without a differential CULTURE, you likely should not be receiving antibiotics, NEVER without a culture in the urinary tract (yeah its a bugger to wait the three days) and rarely in the respiratory system. Yup, Grumpy hit at it, I'll say it. It sounds like a steroid issue that will take some time to right it self. if you are taking the droids more than a few times a year in anything but a birst (or MAYBE a 10 day taper) You can almost expect a Respiratory infection like this.

While you are at the ENT ask him if as long as you are off your meds, if it wouldn't be a good time to yank those tonsils. Infections of them is dangerous for you AND a real quality of life issue if you can't take your arthritis meds..................

Nicolene,

What everyone else said plus I had my tonsils out as an adult and finally broke the several year cycle of nasal infection> throat infection> tonsillitis> bronchitis> massive antibiotics [rinse and repeat]. Once those tonsils were gone the whole ENT circus ended.

Thanks everyone for the replies. Yes I have been on prednisone daily - 5mg. I had my tonsils removed when I was little and the one grew back this year after a really bad throat infection in December. I really don’t want to be taking the antibiotics cause I think it’s just making things worse. I think this is my 8th course of antibiotics this year! I did ask for a culture 3 weeks back when this first started up again and it came back negative but because my symptoms got worse they still put me on antibiotics. Which I think is crazy. But in the past if I didn’t follow doctors orders they would blame me for not getting better!

I try to get weekly/bi-weekly vitamin B shots so I think that should be fine. I also take a multi vitamin daily. Excercise is not an option at the moment as I have been more sick than healthy this year. I went to the gym once for some mild cardio excercise which I probably overdid cause I started getting sick the next day again :(.

I went to an ENT a couple of months ago and he said the tonsil that has grown back is so small he doesn’t think it needs to be removed sigh. I was lucky and got an appointment with a well respected physician tomorrow. Apparently he is very good in finding the real problems when others can’t. Hopefully he will have some answers for me.