any one know about glandular fever?

[charlotte121]

About 2 years ago I went through a very tired spell which then lead to a period of not being able to eat and throwing up when i did... I also spent most of my time sleeping. After collapsing I was diagnosed eventually with glandular fever which had also effected my liver. I still get very tired days which I have been told could last up to 5 years or could even be perminant.
When I was ill the glands on my neck were massive and quite painful to touch. Enough rambling.... recently my glands have become massive and quite painful again. Im also having days when im extreeemly tired which could be down to having ds 13 months and dd 7 weeks, but alot of the symptoms I had back then feel similar to these.

Does anyone know what happens if you get it bk again?

[Twinklemegan]

Well, I can tell you about my experience if that will help at all. I got glandular fever when at uni, although it was initially misdiagnosed as tonsilitis. The actual infection was gone within around 3 months but the effects lasted for years. It was nearly 10 years ago that I had gf, and even now my glands go up and down like yo-yos. Every time I get a cold or something, up go the glands.

For me, glandular fever turned into a post-viral syndrome that came and went for years. The doctors stopped short of diagnosing ME, preferring to label it "debility". But this came and went for literally years. When I got a throat infection around 4 years after having gf, the PVS returned big time and I was signed off work for weeks and weeks. I'd say it's only in the last couple of years that I can say I've really got over it.

Symptoms for me were swollen glands obviously, but also extreme fatigue and very very sore aching limbs. Some days I could bearly climb the stairs and couldn't walk down the road.

It's worth going back to the drs for blood tests to see if you actually do have gf back again. It's perhaps more likely that there is no longer any active virus but that you're suffering the after-effects which, as you can see, can indeed last for years.

The most important thing is to listen to your body. Refuse to feel guilty and ignore anyone who suggests you just need to get on with it. Activity and exercise beyond your comfort level will make you worse not better. If you feel you need to rest, then rest, although I appreciate having two DCs that will be difficult.

Sorry that's a really rambling post. Best of luck though, and I do hope you feel better soon.

[misi]

what do you want to know charlotte?
if you explain your symptoms more I may be able to explain more, I would especially like to know where exactly the swelling is on your neck, what the tiredness is like, describe your finger nails for me, what your hair feels like and general skin tone, and anything else you think is relevant

[cheesesarnie]

my sister has it atm.she was very quite ill for a week swollen neck,vomiting,just really tired.gp did tests and couldnt work out what it was,by the time they testes again she was feeling beeter,back to work etc.tests showed she had glandular fever.even gp was shocked(stupid gp accused her of having easting disorder!).shes on antibiotics and they think shes damaged her liver and has been signed off work again for 2 weeks but she feels ok.i thought people got really ill for months with it?

[misi]

glandular fever can take 3 -6 months to get over completely if it was bad. if the liver is damaged it must have been bad, I would suggest you keep an eye on your sister, she may be having a good patch with a crash around the corner, seen that before. hope I am wrong but just be aware?

[Twinklemegan]

It sounds like your sister's pretty lucky cheesesarnie. From experience, I think a lot of the problems develop when you try to carry on regardless - I don't know if you've found this charlotte. For example, I thought it's only tonsillitis (sic) I've no excuse to miss lectures. Then a few years later, oh it's only a throat infection, no excuse to miss work, etc. etc. Boy did I pay for it. Never again does work come before my health.

[cheesesarnie]

thankyou-i'll tell her.i hope shes ok.

[girlnextdoor]

You have got to give your body time to recover- I had GF at 28 and went back into teaching after 4 weeks sick leave. I was still exhausted- had to go to bed at 8.30 every night for months.

I wasn't really 100% for a year I'd say.

Years later i would still get sore glands in my arm pits if I was run down or fighting off a virus.

There is no easy fix- just rest and good food.

[misi]

exactly girlnextdoor, time is the biggest healer with Glandular fever. relapses are common if you do too much too quick. GF likes to hide, so you may feel better, go back to work, then when you are a bit low/tired again, it comes out guns blazing knocking you for 6 again

[wotulookinat]

I had it when I was 14. I was in hospital for a week (was really, really ill) and then off school for 6 months after that.
I still get re-occurences of it now, which knock me out for a week at a time, but they are not common and only come about once a year.

[charlotte121]

cheesesarni i had the same with my liver... it didnt function propperly and my LFT dont always come back as they should.

The tiredness is noway near as bad as it was when I orriginally had glandular fever but I do have days where i literally can not get out of bed. My body feels like a lump of lead. I dnt know what to say about the other symptoms... I do get yellow skin. i think thats to do with my liver. My nails are pretty brittle but always have been so im not sure if that is relivant.

I had glandular fever in sept and then founf out I was pregnant.... had ds and boom a few months later was pregnant again which worries me as i feel my body never really had chance to recover... I darnt sit down and rest because I know the moment i stop then i wont get up again which isnt an option and im a single mum with a 14 month old and a 7 week old and im trying to get through uni too. It does scare me.

[littlelamb]

Do you have tonsils Charlotte? I sound very much like you. I had dd when I was at uni and I got glandular fever in my final year It was very very bad and I ended up in hospital with tonsils so big I couldn't breathe. They agreed to take them out but there was still a years waiting list for the operation. Before that I was getting tonsillitis very frequently which is very debilitating itself. That was 2 years ago, with my tonsils being removed last year. I still don't feel right when I get run down. I had to ask for an extention on my disertation because it really knocked me for six. EVen now my tonsils have been removed I get very swollen glands and feel exhausted when I don't look after myself. I have a 7 week old ds now and got mastitis 2 weeks ago, with swollen glands to go with it and it was awful. The main thing is to try and eat the best diet you can and really try to look after yourself - you are in Bristol aren't you? I am in Exeter- you could come here for a day of relaxation and pampering ALso, make sure your department are aware of your situation- both with your children and your health. I kept mine informed of any problems I had during my course (there were many) and they were fab about it. And don't let things get you stressed (easier said than doneI know). Walking across the stage to get my degree was the proudest day ever (after giving birth to dcs of course!) and it is so worth all the effort in the end.

[misi]

yellow skin can be to do with the liver but it can also be a sign of poor detoxing from the kidney too. have your finger nails got ridges on them? is your hair dry and brittle? do you get joint pain as well as muscle pain? sick dizzy headaches? memory loss or unusual mental fuzziness and forgetfullness? any white lines or spots on your nails too? do you feel excessively cold when it is warm outside or excessively warm when you feel you can' cool down at all and the heat inside starts to really wind you up and it starts to make you feel panicky?
panic attacks too?
just a few questions if you can answer them !!

[misi]

I forgot charlotte, the swelling on your nexk where abouts is it? roughly down the middle of your throat, to the sides or round a bit further?

[missingtheaction]

this is all very scary - dd regularly tired and achey so took her to doc and she was diagnosed as having had GF in past but not currently actually got it. Diagnosis in May this year, she probably had it in Feb when on holiday. Now very difficult to tell difference between a real off day and swinging the lead! She has certainly felt fine since school ended - but of course no 7am alarm clocks or homework or exams!

[FluffyMummy123]

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[littlelamb]

Ah yes cod I had forgotten about that- the face thing happened to me too. I spent weeks brushing off people who were concerned that I had been crying Not helped by the funny voice that developed along with my swollen tonsils...

[FluffyMummy123]

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[charlotte121]

the swelling in my neck is on the side sorta just below my jaw. sometimes the lumps are the size of eggs when Im having a really bad day. I did used to get white spots on my nails but my mum gave me some multi vitamins which seemed to help that. I have very sensitive skin too. always have done and on the tops of my arms i have these little red spots from my elbows up to my sholders, looks like a rash, my little sister calls them boogles lol.
I have been having hot flushes and I do suffer from panic attacks but only about 5 a year I would say and theyre usually triggered by something mainly tiredness... had one at work once on sale day at next.... there was just this wall of people charging towards me and it was so bad I passed out lol! Im not sure about my hair as I use GHD's on them which does dry my hair out a lot. I mean I have alot of the thing your saying but im not sure if theyre linked. I feel like a bit of a hypocondriact but it would be devistating if it returned as i got it just as i was starting uni and have still managed to get to my second year and have 2 kids.... I just dont want to fall at the last hurdle... I also have massive sleep issues. I went to bed already tonight but couldnt sleep and just found myself wandering around and now im bk on here... Im a thinker thats my prob. And when i do get to sleep i have horrible nightmares about my ex or panic tht ds has escaped from his cot and is crawling around or that the front door it open. God im an actual freak!!!!

[charlotte121]

All this and im only 20!!! Sound more like a 50 yr old woman going through menopause!!!

[charlotte121]

Littlelamb.. uni have been fantasticly accomodating I have been really impressed with how much slack they hae cut me. I would never have got through the 2 years if they hadnt have been so understanding. I still have a huge chunk of assignments to hand in and another 2 exams to sit as i missed them because of the birth of dd. Thats an added stress but hey gotta take it as it comes. Im actually going to try and go to bed now... kids will be up at 6 and being on my own that means i will be too lol!

[BrightSideOfLife]

HI,

I just wanted to add that I had glandular fever when i was 16 and like many of you was initially misdiagnosed as having tonsilitis, before getting diagnosed with Glandular Fever & the Epstein-Barr Virus (?).

I was ill (i.e. at home, in bed) for about 6 weeks and then generally run down for about 3 months after.

I had at least 2 relapses (that I remember)for about 5 years after - I would be knocked out with the tiredness, aching joints, nausea etc for about a week each time.

These days I still get swollen glands (Very low down on my throat and in my groin) when I am extremely tired, extremely stressed or fighting an illness. I am no longer incapacitated by it though.

This has been bothering me lately (My glands are currently swollen, I think I am fighting a minor infection) so I am pleased to hear that it is normal for everyone else too!

[BrightSideOfLife]

Oh - wanted to add that I also got (And still get) the funny voice thing!

[misi]

charlotte,
as you have has 2 babies quite quickly, you are more susceptible to hormone irregularities. over half of pregnant women develop pregnancy hypothyroidism. most is not bad enough to be diagnosed with a few being quite bad. 2-6 weeks after birth your hormones should go back to relative normality, with your metabolism returning to some sort of normality within 3 months (thats why it is hard to loose pregnancy weight soon after birth, your metabolism is still working slowly or that should be very efficiently, which means that every calorie is used or stored as fat, whereas in over active, calories are used up very quickly in an inefficient manner which leads to weight loss, does that make sense?) so, if your hormones, mainly the thyroid ones are not back to normal by the time you fall pregnant again, you start hindered and are more likely to develop worse hypothyroidism this second time. now, as your baby is 7 weeks if I read it right, if this is the case with you, your metabolism will be not working properly at the moment and you will be feeling tired, knackered, depressed and a whole host of other things, some of which you mention. your problem could be a mix of this and the previous GF.
my suggestion to you would be to go ask your GP for a blood test to check your thyroid levels. make sure you ask for a TSH and a T4 as most docs will only order a T4 test which only picks up around 21% of thyroid probs. I am not saying it is a permanent thyroid prob or a thyroid prob in general, but you need to have it ruled out at least. if you have a thyroid prob, you may only need help for a short while until your body adjusts back to normal, but I will say again, I suggest you get this checked as your symptoms suggest there is a hormone prob and thyroid is a good possibility given your history (GF can also lead to hypothyroidism later in life in people who don't get pregnant as the liver where the epstein barr virus lives is a major convertor of the inactive T4 (thyroxine) into the active T3 (tri-iodothyronine) and the EB virus can damge the conversion pathways as so cause hypothyroidism

[Caerydd]

Hello

Hope you can help! I'm 30 years old and I started to feel run down 6 weeks ago, firstly just got a cold sore (which never had before) and just thought I was rundown and needed to take it easy. Then over a weekend I started to feel awful - fever, really bad ache down the back of my neck, from skull to top of shoulders(just like whiplash) swollen glands on my neck (just under my jaw by my ears)glands are larger than normal and tender to touch, get exhausted to small things and needing to sleep lots. Went to see the doc after week 1, she took test for glandular fever as well as iron levels, thyroid, blood cells etc...all came back normal except doc said I did have some kind of virus, not known. Second doc was rubbish and told me to 'get back to my normal life' which is not possible even now, dismissed his 'advice' and finally found a more sympathetic doc, he took more tests b12 and folic acid as well as some other stuff, this came back clear and even showed I didn't even have a virus anymore! Although 6 weeks on I still feel terrible, some days better than others, depending on what I have done. Cooking a meal, walk around the block and I'm out of it again

The thing is prior to the virus I was more busy than normal, working full time in quite a hectic job, I have been training to be a be a Pilates instructor 6 months before getting ill - homework most weekends and sometimes evenings as well if busy on the weekends, training for up to 2 hours a day - 1 hour cardio and 1 hour Pilates. As well as the usual everyday stuff, meeting friends and family, having a good old giggle etc. Not anymore, still off work and not touched exercise or study for 6 weeks in bid to get better. Feel like I've pushed myself too much and made self ill.

I have been having acupuncture for 4 weeks, seems to help for a few days. Eating stupidly healthy and still off work.

I guess after a long blab (sorry) my questions are; does this sound like glandular fever to you, even tho' I've had the test and it's clear? How long can I expect the aching glands and whiplash neck to go on for, is 6 weeks normal, read that it's anywhere between 2 weeks and 2 months- sometimes longer? Did anyone else do lots of physical exercise before getting ill? Do you have any advice getting back to normal health, diet / attitude? I finding it hard to be positive but also remain realistic about what I can and can't do, particularly as time goes on.

Any help much appreciated.