Healthy in the US, ill in the UK

I'm sitting here after fighting a nasty bug for the last three days.  I've had a fever and nastiness.  My husband has commented on how often I've been ill since I came here.  I do seem to pick up most any cold or whatever comes my way.  My GP has joked that after a year or two my immunity may catch up.

So I'm wondering if others of you found that you were more vulnerable to illness for a while.  I'm normally relatively healthy, but I've had a lot of colds since coming.  If you were like that, how long did it take before you got back to normal?

I think it's a fairly common expat experience. I've been here 16 months, and feel like I have been sick way more than I had been in the US. I am hoping this winter will be easier for me. 

Yes, I went from having one bug a year in the US to about one a month in the UK! I've managed to miss out on a couple that were going around this summer, so I'm hoping that I've adjusted now and things will be better. It will be interesting to see how the winter goes, though.

I was like that when I lived in the US.  I think it's a common thing when people move to another country.

My trouble has been cold sores. I have carried the virus for years. In the US, I would have an outbreak once ot twice a year. In the UK, every couple months here they come again. Touch wood not recently though. Maybe it just takes a while to adjust to the new climate. Emily though has had it much worse. I know kids get sick more, but she catches everything. She only lived in the US six months and in the UK over a year, but still.

Count me in as well.  My worst illnesses are always when I come back to the UK.  i was just saying to my husband last night how it seems like I am always saying I don't fell well.  It passes, usually in time for me to go back to the U.S.

Count me in.  I can't remember a year when I was so ill, and I used to get strep throat monthly (from middle school to high school).  As I got older it was sinus infections with the same frequency.  I seemed to go back to that this year.  And every other month was a real nasty bout where I would just lay on my futon praying for death.   

Yup - I get the sniffles about once a month, but I've only lived in the UK since April, so maybe I'm still adjusting. I'm blaming a climate - there's about a 40 degree difference between the average temperature where I'm from in the states and here for this time of year.

I have never been so sick since living here! My DH laughs at me, but it's not funny and it's really annoying. I got strep throat twice in the last 3 months! That's just nuts. Now, I think it's the damp, cloud and lack of sun or possibly just my up and down moods. They do say health is 360 degrees - so it includes friends, family and your mood, not just physical health. I agree with that and have tried to keep exercising, eating moderately and keeping in touch with family/friends back home. It's been 2yrs, still hasn't gotten as good as it was in the US

I'm glad it isn't just me.  I'm usually fairly healthy, but I'm beginning to feel like a bit of a hypochondriac saying I'm not feeling well.  I mean, it was almost a relief to take my temperature this week and have it show 101 on the day I was actually beginning to feel better.  At least then I knew it really wasn't just me whining!  I just wonder what my temp was the day before that when I felt much worse!!

Thank heavens I'm feeling so much better today though!  I feel almost human again.

I have been the same way, especially during the winter months. One of my coworkers recently told me about an immunization or some sort of shot that GPs give in the winter (she thinks it's in Feb) that helps to boost your immune system. I don't really know much about it other than that but it might be helpful to check with your GP.
It was also suggested to me that because it rains so much here (depending on what part of the US you come from I guess) that it could be the mold that is everywhere. I had a really tough time with that. My GP suggested I go to an allergist over here to get tested. Our bodies just aren't used to UK livin. 

It's been the same here! Right before I moved in April 2005 I was very ill with Strep Throat for about 2 months and it got much worse after moving and didn't go away fully until June. Since then I've had pretty much every single thing that come around.

I've had a few stomach bugs and sinusitus and I've had more than enough sore throats and fevers! I think it's finally starting to subside as I haven't had anything like that since early Spring when I had been here for 2 years. Even my boss mentioned to my director once that I was out sick a lot, but my director stuck up for me as she knows it's hard on my immune system!

It's a pretty simple explanation.  Basically, if you've lived in the US all your life, you've gained immunity to the bugs where you live.  You'll notice its nearly the same thing (albeit on a smaller scale) if you live in NY and move to say...Topeka or Billings.  The strains of the viri and bacteria are slightly different.  It takes a few years to build up your immunity to the new illnesses, so it will seem like you'll have a never-ending cold for a while.  My wife has the same issues when we visit the states.  She always gets ill after a few days.

I am sick again right now.  I feel bad because I listed on my employment application I only had two days off at my last job and now I have laready had two days off this month.

I wondered about that while I marked the same thing on my application.  I'm hoping that my nine months here will have curbed some of my tendency to pick up every bug or my new employer will hate me!