Wombat, this is something we have been working to understand for 17 years. How an immunosupressed system works.
One of her primary hepatologists, who happened to be on the team of the original liver transplant in 1963 at University Hospital, Denver, CO, and wonderful German gentleman who was deeply into the dual worlds of
Science and homeopathy, shared a lot of information with us before he passed away. Mainly because I was a terrible pest with a zillion questions which he loved. He said hardly anyone asked more than beyond the basics...
His core mantra was that only a portion of a transplant recipient's immune system was suppressed. The T-lymphocytes cells primarily. Fairly easy to understand. But not when one adds to it the many, many other complex interactions that things can have within a transplants physiology. The obvious problem is, how can one bolster her immune system with any supplement, when she is immunosupressed? That theoretically would throw her into either a failure state, or require advancing her immuno drugs to be increased.
We have learned as you articulated in your post, otherwise. Yess'um. It is huge.
Will defer from getting too science-y here, but this has been our main mission for 17 years. To understand how interactions work. It helps (and is also a supreme drag, and scary) that she has bi-monthly labs. So we can track things.
Needless to say, we have learned a substantial amount. Guess what has made it into the top five of the leader board? Iodine. And its related support supps.
All this is a very slow march through time. But it is also mega wonderful to have experienced little victories here and there. They add up. 17 years ago she was given last rites, twice. Then subsequent issues with things like the raging attack of the joints as a results of meds from the transplant. She's had more show stoppers than more people have in 10 lifetimes. Recently she was in a circle dance with a bunch of females at a late night party. Shaking the booty thing. The all-female thing was like tribal-scary 'I am woman, roar' type stuff for a guy to watch. Except it was Latin dancing so guys get over that real fast. For me it was unbelievable to reflect on what it took to get there. She was on the verge of a wheelchair two years ago. Now she walk short distances, be on her feet to make meals, essentially sustain stuff. Not too long ago, it was becoming increasingly reliant on modern medical
Science to quell pain and other things.
Anywayz, typically long. But yes... these little victories or in this case, at least arrows pointing in the right direction, are beyond inspiring.
I would be remiss if I didn't ascribe thankx to this community as well. Ya'll's have made a big diff towards all this...