What do you do for general wellness?

[bubbaray]

So, I'm sick again. I have chronic sinus problems, though, frankly, I'm not sure that this all relates to that. I also have asthma and some weird lung issues, but again, I'm not sure this relates to that either.

I just pick up every.single.cold/flu that goes around.

DH, the ever supportive spouse, asked me the other day "why are you always sick?". Thanks.

I went to DH's doctor today (mainly just to shut DH up, he dislikes my dr, my ENT and my respirologist -- who, PS, happens to be the most gorgeous man on the planet). DH's dr says I likely have a bad cold or possibly influenza. He doesn't think I have a sinus infection or bronchitis/pneumonia currently. He gave me a prescription for Biaxin XL and told me to fill it if I get a fever or my condition worsens.

LOOOONG story short, is there ANYTHING I can do or take to be healthier? DH's dr recommended that I exercise daily and eat healthy (usually do, though I'm not counting the small bag of Skittles I just downed).

Any supplements you'd recommend? I am supposed to take Omega3, Vit D and a multi on the advice of my respirologist. I usually forget, so I should make an effort to do this.

ENT wants me to do nasal rinse, I swear it makes things worse and DH's dr agrees, says its bunk. A naturopath I know has suggested eliminating dairy and gluten, but honestly, with my kids FAs, I'm just not interested in more food restrictions.

HELP!!! I used to be the picture of health and fitness. Then I had kids and its all been downhill!

[Tondi G]

I think the Omega 3's (fish oil), Vitamin D (2000iu at least) and a good multi is a great place to start. Just buy em and take it all before you go to sleep at night.... that is my routine oh and I take a probiotic too.

Other immune booster I use is Elderberry. The kids and I take the Nature's Way Syrup.

calcium and magnesium are good too ... women can always use a calcium supplement and mag helps you absorb the calcium.

B vitamins are pretty important for women as well.

Zinc is supposedly good for immune boosting

[ThreeofUs]

They say the best thing you can do is get enough sleep. Are you getting enough for your immune system to operate well?

(I wasn't. Now I let everything else go to sleep, and don't get sick as much. Helps with the anxiety of having a high-needs child, too, lol.)

[mikala]

Multi-vitamin, fish oil, vitamin D...and drinking lots of water, washing hands frequently, working hard to get a full night's sleep, attempting to eat healthy food, walking and getting fresh air as much as possible throughout the day.

Individually I don't know how much things matter but the combo seems to help a lot and I escape most of our household illnesses.

Do you have any specified allergies? Could it help to reduce any potential allergens in your sleeping area? Do you have any pets that might be triggering allergies and making you susceptible to other things?

How is your general health? Is it possible you're anemic?

[bubbaray]

General health is good. Have had full workups multiple times in the past 2 yrs. Only issues are the structural defects in my nose/sinuses and the lung issues, as well as seasonal & mould allergies and asthma. Not allergic to dogs (only pet), possibly allergic to husbands. J/K. Getting fresh air is problematic because I have severe pollen allergies at this time of year.

When I remember to take my vitamins, I take Omega 3, Vit D, Calcium/Mag, and multi which has a good dose of Bs. I generally eat whole foods, though possibly too much dairy. I take probiotics when taking antibiotics.

I remember someone posting about quercetin a while back. Am considering that.

[MommyAllison]

When one of us starts coming down with something, we use Vit C/echinacea/zinc. If it's DH, a echinacea/goldenseal combo works really well. (Note that goldenseal is *not* recommended while pregnant, and I wasn't able to find much info on using it while nursing. I know you aren't either at this point, OP, but wanted to put the disclaimer for others reading along)

So sorry you are so sick!

[AngelaS]

I take about 10,000 IU of Vit.D a day, sleep about 8 hours every night and see my chiropractor once a month for maintenance. I'm very rarely sick. (I'm also fat and don't eat as well as I should... :P)

[tiapam]

When I was pregnant with DS and felt a horrible head cold coming right at the holidays, I took Mucinex. I was drinking a lot of water then due to being pregnant. That is/was the only time my sinuses were completely clear in the last ten years, maybe more. And it did not even last a day. I am going to try that regimen again soon (minus the pregnancy ). It was amazing to feel oxygen going up into parts of my head I did not even know existed!

I agree about the importance of sleep. My kids are good sleepers and have been pretty healthy.

[ahrimie]

I think this is really different for everyone.. not everyone's bodies are the same and some will have to work harder than others. I would make sure you are taking quality vitamins since they're not all created equal. For me, I need ample sleep and lots of water. I try to exercise or at least go on walks but being pregnant has been a damper on that.

[hellokitty]

I am a big believer in vit D. Last yr during the whole swine flu scare, I started taking it before flu season and I did not get sick at ALL. This yr, I completely slacked off on vit D and other supplements and omg, I have been sick, sick, sick. It's horrible. I re-started vit D again, BUT I believe it needs to already be built up in your system to help with immunity. So, I'm back to religiously taking it to re-build my immunity, b/c I am not going through all of the crap I went through this flu season ever again (basically, I've been getting flu/cold one top of one another since Dec), and it's been esp frustrating since I've been trying to become more fit, but all of the sickness has really screwed up my ability to stick to a workout program, b/c I've been feeling crummy.