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Episode 364: Ig And Immunosuppression
I recently traveled to Seattle to visit my specialists. I saw my lung docs as well as a rheumatology specialist. Antisynthetase syndrome is rare enough that my local rheumatologist treats only me with the disease. There I learned a lot about Ig.
For many of us IVIg and SCIg is a live-giving therapy. It has changed the course of my illnesses even though I have an adverse reaction to it.
Those of us with autoimmune diseases are fighting our own bodies, in order to control that, doctors put us on drugs that suppress our immune systems. Naturally, that impacts our ability to fight disease and other external threats. In recent years, my chief complaint has been that being around people makes me sick. Even when those people aren't sick.
In Ep 350 I talk about getting my Ig tested to see if I was mounting autoantibodies for the COVID vaccine. The rheumatologist in Seattle looked back at those labs from May and said my Ig numbers were too low. One's Ig numbers should not fall below 600. Mine were barely above 500. There are two ways to remedy this: give Ig (SCIg or IVIg) or reduce immunosuppression. For me, that means reducing my Rituxan.
Here, 10 years into living with autoimmune disease I'd never heard of measuring my Ig levels, or learned about the 600 threshold, and that being on a heavy-hitting drug like mine, these levels should be monitored quarterly. That seemed like information worth sharing.
Are you on chemotherapy or other strong immunosuppressive drugs? Do you get your Ig tested regularly? Did you know about the 600 threshold? Sound off!
I'm Annette Leonard, speaker, coach, and sick person who believes that my illnesses do not define me. If health is the absence of disease and wellness is the presence of wholeness, then no matter what your disease status, we can work toward your wellness, your wholeness.
Whether or not you are ever "healthy" on paper, you can be well. Join me and others on the path back to wholeness at AnnetteLeonard.com. Whether you are a person experiencing chronic illness or are someone who loves or serves people with chronic illness I have great resources here on this channel or on my website for you.
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By Annette Leonard
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I recently traveled to Seattle to visit my specialists. I saw my lung docs as well as a rheumatology specialist. Antisynthetase syndrome is rare enough that my local rheumatologist treats only me with the disease. There I learned a lot about Ig.
For many of us IVIg and SCIg is a live-giving therapy. It has changed the course of my illnesses even though I have an adverse reaction to it.
Those of us with autoimmune diseases are fighting our own bodies, in order to control that, doctors put us on drugs that suppress our immune systems. Naturally, that impacts our ability to fight disease and other external threats. In recent years, my chief complaint has been that being around people makes me sick. Even when those people aren't sick.
In Ep 350 I talk about getting my Ig tested to see if I was mounting autoantibodies for the COVID vaccine. The rheumatologist in Seattle looked back at those labs from May and said my Ig numbers were too low. One's Ig numbers should not fall below 600. Mine were barely above 500. There are two ways to remedy this: give Ig (SCIg or IVIg) or reduce immunosuppression. For me, that means reducing my Rituxan.
Here, 10 years into living with autoimmune disease I'd never heard of measuring my Ig levels, or learned about the 600 threshold, and that being on a heavy-hitting drug like mine, these levels should be monitored quarterly. That seemed like information worth sharing.
Are you on chemotherapy or other strong immunosuppressive drugs? Do you get your Ig tested regularly? Did you know about the 600 threshold? Sound off!
I'm Annette Leonard, speaker, coach, and sick person who believes that my illnesses do not define me. If health is the absence of disease and wellness is the presence of wholeness, then no matter what your disease status, we can work toward your wellness, your wholeness.
Whether or not you are ever "healthy" on paper, you can be well. Join me and others on the path back to wholeness at AnnetteLeonard.com. Whether you are a person experiencing chronic illness or are someone who loves or serves people with chronic illness I have great resources here on this channel or on my website for you.