Terry, Hound, and Buddy- with my Ankylosing it is an autoimmune type disorder so my natural resistance is extremely low to begin with. Anytime there is something around I am susceptible to it. I'm not out much except for appointments (which there are a lot of with us all) and of course difficult child's going to school which is a hot bed of germs to bring home. Generally I fair pretty well in beating the odds and don't get sick much but this year I seem to be less resistant to much. It started with my oldest having a cold this time and it just got passed around only my body didn't want to let go of it. I thought it was sort of leaving but then yesterday it popped back full force but much harsher then it was to begin with.
Anklosing Spondylitits, if you read about it, affects many things. I have it really bad and it never has gone or goes into remission and I've never fused. Let alone I have it cervical to lumbar (cerval- not cervix like nether regions but as in neck- being the worst ). I walk almost bent over in half and my chin is very close to chest at this point. I no longer have tatas really as all this bending over has caused them to disappear. Ankylosing also causes a "squeezing" affect on your bones. Wearing a bra can be excruciating and you can imagine what coughing would do? That is where the real problem lies. I can not cough effectively enough to help. Cough medicine, or any medicine, is just a bandaid to cover the underlying problem.
As far as how many times I've had pneumonia, I believe Sept was the last time and I was lucky I caught that on the cusp of it just turning into it. Prior to that I think it was June or July. Might have been before that I can't recall now. The problem is the more I do or the more stress I do with my body, the more susceptible I become and less resistant I am to things. This time is a rebound, the others were not. I've had my mother here since the 11th and she'll leave the 5th so I've had a lot of help (she is seriously Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) about cleaning- think "a" piece of laundry on floor...she will find other things to wash, a dish in sink....does the dish). Down side is that she doesn't quite get difficult child behaviors well and can cause friction with them at times. She tries but sometimes it is a problem. This time has been better then others in past. I haven't seen her in over a year and at that I saw her 1 day at that time. She is another mother like some of you have who you can't tolerate well. She has BiPolar (BP) herself with the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and probably other issues. Still, it has been helpful.
I have other health issues to that compound everything and also make it difficult as to what medications I can and can't take or what can't be mixed with my current medications (too many!). I'm happy just to be alive really. In 2005 they gave me 5 years to live, I've passed that and actually am doing well so I'll keep doing what I'm doing since it's apparently working! LOL
