does anyone find that they’re more susceptible to getting sick since surgery? I find that I’m picking up every flu bug bronchial Bug comes along. I can’t keep missing work because they’re going to fire me. But just about the time I am up and running then I catch some bug.
Anyone else experience that.?
Yes, I found I was more susceptible to damn near every bug.
I think that when our systems are busy trying to recover and adjust to post surgery life, our ability to fight off these bugs is reduced. It’s a bit like chicken pox. As a child when we get chicken pox our system builds an immunity to it. As we get older that immunity naturally decreases, but then add an illness and the chicken pox virus can reactivate, causing shingles. You do not need to be re-exposed to someone with the virus for this to occur, it’s more that our defence systems get so overwhelmed it allows the virus to reboot.
Through the surgical process our whole bodies get a reset (this is partially why I’m trying to avoid further surgery. I don’t want to be managing another ‘reset’). Trying to navigate the recovery we can run ourselves down in a major way, allowing these bugs, which normally our systems can fight and beat, to overwhelm us.
Merl from the Modsupport Team
Absolutely. although I’ve always had a puny immune system, it much worse now. And since I had Covid a year ago everything goes to my stomach and flares my chronic gastritis. Praying you feel better!!
I sent a message to my doctor and he said he had never heard of a connection between the craniotomy and being susceptible to illnesses. But I have to call BS on that. I’ve been fighting some weird infection for the last two weeks and I’ve been in the walk-in three times and missed like two weeks of school, I’m a teacher, and I’m finally going to go to my PCP doctor next week. He suggested that maybe I talk to an infectious disease specialist.
It’s been a whole, let me of illnesses in the last two weeks. I I’ve gone from congestion, runny nose, coughing to now having nausea and diarrhea all day. The congestion went away, but not the cough. They think that I just have acute bronchitis and there’s nothing they can do for that. But it still doesn’t explain me diarrhea for 10 days and nausea all day. I’m getting frustrated just eating toast and rice.
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Hey Abby
I’ve got to give you +1 for that line.
I had (and still have) some weird and wonderful side effects post surgery, but upon reporting them to the surgeon the response was ‘Well, that’s got nothing to do with us, we didn’t go near that region of the brain…’ and although they may not have ventured to a specific region, it all has an affect. The whole idea that the impact works in isolation, only effecting one specific location/function is crazy. That thing inside our skull, our brain, controls EVERYTHING, including our immune responses. Their view was ‘We operated, we fixed’ and sure, they had dealt with an issue, but in doing so they unleashed a whole plethora of weird and wonderful side effects on me.
So, I went looking for answers elsewhere. I exhausted every other avenue open to me. Saw specialist of every colour, creed and specialization. I followed through with all of their suggested treatments, medications, therapies etc. Some were of benefit in one way or another, but none of them were my ‘Key’. I now use a combination of these to manage ‘better’. Don’t get me wrong here, it’s not that I’ve found an answer, but rather I’ve found some management tools that assist.
Merl from the Modsupport Team
i’m sorry if it came across that I was trying to say that he didn’t necessarily know what he was talking about but I guess you’d have to know him. He’s kind of a dismissive man. So after being sick for the last 10 days I guess my patience is thin. But I don’t think there’s really any answers. Everybody is different. Everybody heals differently, and you just have to be OK with the way you are now.
but, aside from this sickness, and a bit of a roller coaster, he emotions, really things have gone pretty well. I’m very very grateful for that. I just have to remember to go a little more slowly.
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My neurologist said I would be especially susceptible to illness for at least a year. I’m not getting as sick now, I was getting down where I felt like I could barely move. I’m at my 1 year mark this weekend still getting sick but it doesn’t drag me down as bad.
Hey Abby,
By no means was I questioning their knowledge but rather their common approach of minimising and being dismissive. Personally, I find that insulting. I’m not going to see the medicos because I like them and I’ve seen enough of them to last me 3 lifetimes, so the idea I go there for the fun of it is laughable, to then have them minimise it all… Grrrrr. It was suggested to me that they often minimise to reduce us stressing about it all… TOO LATE, I’m already a ball of stress.
Your line “…Everybody is different. Everybody heals differently…” is correct, so for them to ‘Tar us all with the same brush’ or make out we’re all the same, is simply wrong, we are NOT and I think some acknowledgement of that, that we are all individual. I recently had a surgeon tell me ‘You’re not a normal case…’ to which I asked “What is a normal case?” but he didn’t have an answer for that. He sort of brushed off my question and continued.
And often that’s the best approach, slowly, slowly.
Merl from the Modsupport Team
I do know that sometimes a person can get things like chronic gastritis and bowel problems if they have major surgery. I would consider what we have had major surgery. I think it just takes a toll on your body all over. I think to myself hey I had the surgery in July shouldn’t I be completely healed by now? For the most part I feel pretty good, but it’s just a notice as time goes by there’s certain things that change. I expected that those would all be at the beginning, and then go away. I did not expect to feel pretty good in the beginning and then start having issues later.
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