SCI Induced Immune Deficiency Syndrome

I think a big part of this too is the fact after a spinal cord injury your chest muscles become weak, especially for quadriplegics & high level paraplegics. I have a very weak cough now than I did before my injury and as a result find it a lot harder to clear my chest if it's congested. Same with sneezing, my sneezes are weak so my body doesn't fully expel what it wants the expel. By not being able to get rid of the bad stuff, it stays in the body and causes more problems. Thankfully I have a strong immune system but when I do end up getting sick, it's a nightmare!

I think anyone in a wheelchair tries to exercise as much as possible. If l miss a session l really feel it and try to catch up asp. Exercising in the pool l find brings most benifit.

This is very interesting. I've heard it said that there is a connection between the gut flora and our immune system. Another good reason to take care of our bowels. I'm trying the Keifer and flax you mentioned Lara in another post!

Being a spastic case, my immune system also became hyper active. I developed a significant case of non allergic rhinitis and non allergic asthma. My doctors assured me there is nothing wrong with my immune system, instead over reacts in protecting me. I don't know if there is any medical data to support my body's response, just that my doctors figured out why I had rhinitis and asthma without being allergic to anything. Having a SCI is a wild and crazy ride!

Yes, that's why it's so hard to explain SCI's to people. My first caregiver said she thought I would get out of the hospital and my symptoms at that time would be my battle. A year later she said she couldn't believe all the twists I've been through. From what I've read, the brain doesn't like getting wrong signals back so it gets everything fired up trying to fix it. This is my interpretation. I'm not zany brainy enough to grasp it all.

SCI is a very difficult thing to explain to anyone, it is extremely complex and the associated health issues are vast. Many people just don't realize what being Spinal Cord Injured actually involves.

Wow, this thread hits my battle nail on the head. Oh wait, since my injury is cervical, maybe I shouldn't pick on my head. let's change that to hitting my battle nail in the tush. No,  nail and tush doesn't go together.  This will work, gently hits my nerf battle nail on the head.   I expect to learn how it all works. My last 2yr history I'm getting a bladder infection every 3 months. I've needed 2 rounds of antibiotics to knock them down. When I developed andreal insufficiency the infections aggrevated the condition. Not good. My original urologist didn't respond to my concern, so I found another urologist who specializes in chronic bladder infections and their underlying cause. He put me on an anantibiotic used for  long term care. He said I'll be on it for a minimum of 3 months. I've taken it for a week and gaining a lot of energy I've never had. I hope to hear after this treatment I'll be home free on bladder infections. Whatever I find out I'll share to help anyone else suffering chronic infections.