I think any of the meds to lower your immune system doesn't help you fight any infections well so like Joann said.. Takes a lot longer to get better

Hi,unfortunately Gilenya (Im on it as well) effects your white blood cells so drastically effects the bodies ability to heal and fight off infections so you might want to see if you can have a break from your meds though it takes up to 2 months for the immune system to come back so can fight off all those other ailments. Of course the risk then is that you have a flare up of MS. Catch 22.

With MS it takes longer for Us to get over any thing.

I think I am developing anxiety which is worse than anything from MS, maybe

hello Anne Marie, i am not on Gilenya but i am taking Betaseron as an immunosuppressant. Last year i got very sick with what started as bronchitis that turned into something more severe, this lasted at least 3 months or longer. I thought the same thing that my drugs were causing me to get so ill. After visiting my primary physician then a pulmonologist , my neurologist, a represnetitve of the drug maker, then a hematologist. And several test later (esp. an IgG blood test) the answer i received went like this . The immunosuppressant that I take will not cause this. The Hematologist explained that the immune system is a balancing act of sorts. So if i have a a disease caused by an over active area in my immune system that causes MS. ( I question my own memory here but, this might be the T-cells that are over active) Then I'm going to have an under active area, which in my case was the IgG levels. Low IgG levels will cause me to be more susceptible to upper respiratory issues such as colds, flus, and etc.. I assume this is why it took so long to heal also.