Rogue Antibodies

As a child, and then as a young adult, I rarely ever caught colds, stomach flu, or any other virus that may have been roaming along attacking everyone else. My mom always said I never caught colds because she had a cold the entire time she was pregnant with me. That was a good theory and one we were both proud of.

It was not until I was in my mid thirties I learned I had a positive ANA (antinuclear antibodies). A positive ANA does not always mean there is an autoimmune disease present in the body. It does however tell us the immune system is making proteins we commonly know as antibodies made by our white blood cells. These antibodies help our bodies to fight off germs and keep us healthy.

In my case, my antibodies have gone rogue and are now called autoantibodies because they are attacking my normal proteins and my body’s organs. Crazy! My body is attacking itself! Okay. What’s next? Suppress the immune system, of course. My immune system has been suppressed with medication and my body is safe, until it’s not. I am now left vulnerable to every germ, bacteria, or dirty thing the free world has to offer. All I can do is keep my fingers crossed, hope and pray, and take extra precautions to not expose myself to anything.

Well this year my luck ran out. No, I am not saying I have not been sick in the past years since being placed on medication to suppress my immune system, just nothing quite like this. A “flu-like” virus, knocked me completely off of my feet. I have never gone down as fast and hard as I did less than 48 hours ago. It started with a cough late in the evening and landed me in the emergency room the following evening. The one thing that is supposed to protect me has left me exposed. My immune system, one of the best at least I thought, has turned my life upside down.

Here is what I have learned from this incident… I never want to feel like this again. So what can I do? Educate myself. I need to figure out what I can do to help protect myself to stay healthier longer. I know this is the beginning of a never ending story, but at a very minimum, I can help write my story.