A Sick Lupie

I have been fortunate up until now, but I caught my first cold since being diagnosed with lupus.  It started with an itchy throat that developed into a sore throat and nasty, mucousy cough.  I also experienced fatigue and a slight fever and chills.

I debated whether or not to go see the doctor.  I really hated to go in if they were just going to tell me to go home, rest, and drink lots of liquids.  I would normally just wait this kind of thing out, but didn't know if the lupus changed anything.  I felt better in the morning, so I decided not to call the doctor.  Later that night, however, the throat became more sore and the cough became more persistent.  My nose was stuffed, so I had to breathe through my mouth, which exacerbated the sore throat and the cough.

The next day I conceded to calling the doctor to get checked out just in case.  I remembered that my white blood cell count was low and that could lead to prolonged illness.  I'm also on azathioprine, which is an immune suppressing drug.  I figured better to go in then be sorry later.

Doc checked me out and turns out I have a sinus infection and a slight ear infection.  These probably developed from the cold I had since my immune system was low.  I got some nasal spray, antibiotics, and cough syrup to help me through the next few days.  If I don't get better in a week, I'll need to go back and see Doc.

One other thing I'll need to look out for is that this may cause a flare.  My body will be trying to fight off the infection, but this increase in immune activity may cause my body to start attacking the "good" cells as well.  Let's cross our fingers that my body decides to stick with just fighting the bad guys...

- a little lupie -