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Diabetes and compromised immunity

woollygal

woollygal

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,485
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Coffee diabetes
So we get flu jabs and the like because we have compromised immunity.
But what exactly does that mean and why do we?

juat going through my second cold/cough feeling lousy since just before Xmas so it’s in my mind.

Why does diabetes make you more likely to get ill. And how can I improve my immunity.
 
As far as I understand we get flu jabs because having diabetes means that we're more likely to get dangerously ill in case we get the flu, not because we're more likely to catch it.
 
I think it is because higher sugar in our blood and bodily fluids helps bacteria to breed, as they feed off sugar?
 
lucylocket61 said:
I think it is because higher sugar in our blood and bodily fluids helps bacteria to breed, as they feed off sugar?
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Antje77 said:
As far as I understand we get flu jabs because having diabetes means that we're more likely to get dangerously ill in case we get the flu, not because we're more likely to catch it.
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that makes sense. Are not we at greater risk of catching bugs?

I haven’t been around arm time who has had a cold.

yet a pupil who has since come down with something after me. I’m thinking this compromised immune system may have got it from her but processed it quicker because it’s compromised. So the bugs took hold quicker.

i am really just fed up with having another big so quickly. It’s unnecessary
 
Perhaps another factor might be that the suboptimal lifestyles that can lead to metabolic syndrome and latterly diabetes may render us vulnerable to illness, rather than diabetes itself. Type 2, after all, is itself a symptom of metabolic calamity.

For what it matters, I personally haven't had so much as a cold in over two years. Even while those around me have been falling over ill. I don't even get hay fever anymore :nurse:

EDIT: I'll probably have the coronavirus by dinner time now I've said that :nailbiting:
 
Jim Lahey said:
Perhaps another factor might be that the suboptimal lifestyles that can lead to metabolic syndrome and latterly diabetes may render us vulnerable to illness, rather than diabetes itself. Type 2, after all, is itself a symptom of metabolic calamity.

For what it matters, I personally haven't had so much as a cold in over two years. Even while those around me have been falling over ill. I don't even get hay fever anymore :nurse:

EDIT: I'll probably have the coronavirus by dinner time now I've said that :nailbiting:
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I can understand lifestyle bit except due one thing. My lifestyle is different now. I’ve still got diabetes but technically (other than weight) that might have caused it such as carbs is gone.
 
woollygal said:
I can understand lifestyle bit except due one thing. My lifestyle is different now. I’ve still got diabetes but technically (other than weight) that might have caused it such as carbs is gone.
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Well sure, but the body is an unimaginably complex seething cauldron of atoms. It can take a long time to settle down and heal itself after many years of distress. Sometimes an entire decade may pass before hyperinsulinemia manifests a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, for example, so healing isn't ever going to happen overnight.

But yes it was just an idle thought, really. The arrows of causation in these matters are almost always shooting off in all different directions. Usually the wrong ones :D
 
Jim Lahey said:
Perhaps another factor might be that the suboptimal lifestyles that can lead to metabolic syndrome and latterly diabetes may render us vulnerable to illness, rather than diabetes itself. Type 2, after all, is itself a symptom of metabolic calamity.

For what it matters, I personally haven't had so much as a cold in over two years. Even while those around me have been falling over ill. I don't even get hay fever anymore :nurse:

EDIT: I'll probably have the coronavirus by dinner time now I've said that :nailbiting:
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thats what happens when you drink fizz drinks lol

(anyone else remember corona pop? I didnt like it)
 
Your body does not heal as well when diabetic. High blood sugars damage cells and organs. Glucose being abrasive to cells causing damage. Not withstanding the reduction in circulation.

If you get an illness and already have compromised cells they are easier for a virus of bacteria to attack or compromise. Having a high virus load puts stress on many organs, organs that in a healthy person could be a minor inconvenience may result in more significant damage in some one already compromised
 
sno0opy said:
Your body does not heal as well when diabetic.
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I asked my internist about this and she told me that as far as she knows it's high blood sugar that makes us heal slower, not having diabetes per se.
We have plenty of members who manage to keep their bg below prediabetic levels, despite having diabetes. I don't see a reason to expect to heal slower than non diabetics if that's the case.
But it's only the opinion of one specialist, so I may be completely wrong with my assumption.
 
woollygal said:
So we get flu jabs and the like because we have compromised immunity.
But what exactly does that mean and why do we?

juat going through my second cold/cough feeling lousy since just before Xmas so it’s in my mind.


Search Results
Featured snippet from the web
Flu and People with Diabetes. People with diabetes (type 1, type 2, or gestational), even when well-managed, are at high risk of serious flu complications, which can result in hospitalization and sometimes even death. Pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infections and ear infections are examples of flu-related complications.
Flu and People with Diabetes | CD

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/diabetes.htm
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Antje77 said:
I asked my internist about this and she told me that as far as she knows it's high blood sugar that makes us heal slower, not having diabetes per se.
We have plenty of members who manage to keep their bg below prediabetic levels, despite having diabetes. I don't see a reason to expect to heal slower than non diabetics if that's the case.
But it's only the opinion of one specialist, so I may be completely wrong with my assumption.
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Sorry yes - i perhaps wasn't clear that my understanding was based on the high sugars being high, thus damaging cells etc..

The reason all diabetics are in this category is that they if your diagnosed your at risk of high blood sugar, thus at risk of complications.

If you keep your bloods in check then your risk is lower (perhaps normal?) but the NHS is cumbersome so wont draw that distinction.
 
I have been in non diabetic range for over three years. And not have had a a cold till this year. It lasted three days. Everyone around me took over a week to get over it.
I did notice that my BG numbers where 1-1.5 pints higher a day before my cold symptoms showed up and during.
I know that in-spite of having non diabetic numbers that I still have severe insulin resistance. So I suspect that would hinder healing should I get really sick.
We must remember that even though the numbers are healthy is doesn’t mean that insulin resistance still isn’t present. It takes a long time if ever for that to change.
 
Wheat may also be a factor in compromising the immune system, independent of blood glucose or carbohydrate intake. Certainly there is a lot of chatter out there about intestinal permeability.
 
I haven’t had the flu or a cold for the last 15 years,even though my A1c has gone up
To 6.9 . I realize that I need to be stricter with cutting back with sweets
 
To be perfectly frank, until I have an episode or some tests that demonstrate very clearly I have a compromised immune system, my attitude is to be mindful, but carry on exactly a story beforehand.

I was a sickly child. I ipoften joked I'd had all the colds on offer by my youth, and certainly a number of years working up-close and personal with the super-spreaders of the world (children), topped up on that theory.

I tend not to get colds. I might have the odd rough throat, but then it goes. My GP calls me a super-healer because i heal very quickly indeed. Mainly that's a good thing, but sometimes it can mean healing an infection in, but I digress.

We're all different. I think if a person gets a really nasty cold/tummy bug/earache/whatever, it can't run their system down a bit, as they fight it. On that basis, they might not have the same reserves is a similar affliction is around, and they catch it.

My mindset is that I am a well person. I have biometric markers others would be proud of, so I'll get on with that.

Yes, I have had health challenges since diagnosis, with the hardest being my failing thyroid gland. Is that related to my T2 or an auto-immune condition? All antibodies and inflammation markers are low, and to be honest a huge swathe of the population have thyroid issues, so I personally won't lump the two together. That's been a challenge - partly because (like lost of other things), my presentation I said very atypical, but I'm getting there and feeling very well again.

I find the phrase "that'll be because of your T2" just so irritating and once asked my GP (on the back of my results) what our conversation would be that day, if that one single line in my test results hadn't existed. One test, hugely, generalised labelled for life? Not in my hacienda, thanks.

/Rant off. That feels better. :)
 
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