EIGHT years of repeated throat infections and flu symptoms - any advice/experiences?

[gardeninggirl14]

As per the title, I have suffered from repeated throat 'infections' (although they're not actual infections as the dr says no white spots) and flu-like symptoms for almost 9 nine years. I have been recording these episodes and I seem to get between 5 and 12 a year which is just so debilitating. My mum had lupus in her forties and it coincided with perimenopause but I dont have any of the same symptoms as her, nor for lupus generally. I'm just so tired of being sick all the time so I've decided 2024 is the year I have to figure out what this is.

Symptoms are the flu and sore throat/swollen glands as mentioned above, plus crashing fatigue. I have definitely noticed a correlation with alcohol (although am not a big drinker these days) and when I've been doing a lot/not sleeping so well. I am sure this is tied into perimenopause as it started when my periods become erratic when I was 38. I've been to the GP sooo many times and seen so many different doctors at my surgery but the consensus is always that its normal to get 8-12 bugs per year. However, given this is ALWAYS the same thing with same symptoms I'm confident its not just normal illness.

If it makes a difference, I'm taking HRT but it doesnt seem to have changed the symptoms.

Even if you dont have any suggestions as to what this might be, any suggestions as to the type of dr I should see would be great, as I've concluded that I'll need to go private and pay for it to make any progress here. THanks so much

Have you ever had your thyroid labs done? A full blood count? Iron panel? All those would help rule out or elucidate what may be going on.

Cut down on sugar and milk, both irritate the soft tissues of the head.

Gargle with mouth wash very frequently, anti bacterial Mouthwash.

Are you supporting your immune system with vitamins, actimels etc?

Drink enough water.

@CrunchyCarrot not currently anemic since my periods stopped in menopause, but i was for a good chunk of my adult life. And I've had my thyroid testing but all came back clear, according to the GP who ordered the tests. The full blood count did say I had low platelets and low white blood cell count, but the doc didnt seemed concerned by it.

@CreationNat1on My diet is pretty good and I try to eat tonnes of fruit and veg rather than take supplements. I do know that I get massively dehydrated these days though so if I dont drink at least 1-2 litres of water per day I feel awful. But my symptoms dont feel like dehydration - it feels exactly like the start of flu...

If you can get hold of your thyroid results it would be interesting to see what the values are. I've seen some shockers that are apparently 'normal' yet are really hypo. The ranges are just too wide in this country.

Firstly get as many test as possible but I would recommend making your own kefir to increase your gut bacteria. You can by grains online and plenty of instructions online. Try for a few weeks. It might not make a difference but it does with me over winter so I make and drink it every day.

and I try to eat tonnes of fruit and veg rather than take supplements

they won’t help boost vitamin D though or magnesium, low B12 and/or folate, which may all mean you feel tired, aching, generally unwell and pick things up easily.

THank you very much to all who've responded, its really appreciated.

As regards thyroid, I had tests done about a year ago. The results were:

• Thyroid stimulating hormone 2.38
• Free thyroxine 16.8

According to Thriva, these are both in the normal range. I might do the tests again though, would be good to make sure they're still ok.

For the other B, D vitamins and iron levels, I do regular blood tests to make sure they're still in the normal range so I'm fairly confident that they're ok. Also, this issue has been going on for soo long and its not constant - rather, I get a flare up and feel dreadful for a week or 10 days, then it dies down again. Always the same symptoms.

@Mintearo7 that's a great idea, I'm going to try ordering some grains today, thanks.

I do regular blood tests to make sure they're still in the normal range

Are these home finger prick test type tests? Only asking because it said my vitamin D was normal, I was then actually prescribed a double high strength dose because it was so low. Vitamin B12 can be marked ‘normal’ at just 150 but you can still be symptomatic and need injections at that level. Our lab even marks that on the lab reports.
Magnesium can be normal on blood test results but still be really low. The only accurate test is a 24 hour urine collection test. It just isn’t done very often. Ferritin will be marked normal as low as 15, depending on the labs reference range, but you need levels of over 70 to even support healthy hair growth.
Symptoms would fluctuate if you were low on something but that left you susceptible to constant infections and re infections.

I get similar to this and I have Sjogrens. It also gives me a rash from any UVA light exposure, I can’t sweat from my upper body, and I have frequent sore throats/feel like a cold is coming on, especially when I first wake up. Plus I get debilitating fatigue. Triggers for me I think are stress and sunlight, also infections like
Covid and the Covid vaccine/boosters trigger a flare. I think I also have lupus (they keep changing my diagnoses!) so these could be sjogrens, could be lupus!

Have you been tested for Epstein-Barr virus aka Glandular Fever? Your symptoms don't sound dissimilar to when I had it. The virus stays in your body, but inactive, although it can flare up.

Have you tried cutting out wheat and dairy for a few months? I had the worst tonsil infections for years and when I cut out wheat and dairy and started wearing a scarf, they shrank to nothing and I haven't had an infection since.

Thanks to all for responding, its so helpful to get input from others.

@platypuspart Yes, apparently I have the virus in my system although I'm not sure when I had it. I did have a horrible illness back in 2010 when I had a major fever, sore throat, rash on my stomach and was laid up in bed for a good 10 days - I always wondered if that was the start of it all. Can Epstein Barr reactivate? My Googling suggested that it doesnt reoccur except in very rare cases. Also, would an ENT doc be able to help with this? I've finally bitten the bullet and am paying to see a private ENT doctor next week, as I just need to figure this out. Its so debilitating... If not an ENT, do you know what kind of doctor might be able to help with Epstein-Barr issues?

@Amber245 I'll look into that, thank you. As mentioned, my mum had lupus too but the GP told me the symptoms werent right for it. I definitely get these flare-ups when I'm either run down, have been doing too much or have drunk alcohol, so it does seem logical to me that there's an immune system issue.

@KeepTrying0 I love cheese so much though! The wheat is an interesting one, I'll maybe try switching out some products first and see if I see any improvement. THe probelm is, I'm totally fine the rest of the time - it's just when I get a flare-up that I feel like death warmed up.

THank you all again for taking the time to reply - my GP has basically dismissed me as a hypochondriac so I am grateful to you all for your suggestions x

@MugsAplentyForMe You've inspired me to finally get the overdue THriva test out of the cupboard! I'm waiting on results. I know my ferritin will be low (it always is) but hopefully not as bad as before when I had to get iron infusions.

This could have been myself and my sisters.. we started on Vit b12 injections ( weekly).. we SI and buy from Germany at £1 per ampoule.. we buy in bulk.
Go onto a Vit b12 group/ forum. GPs don't know enough about it .
Now we don't hardly get any symptoms.

I had this for around four years; usually reoccurring just before a period. Would have high temperature, flu symptoms, sore throat. Occasional kidney infections that would put me in hospital. Doctors were mystified but eventually scraped my throat when it was bad. It came back positive for Strep A. Ten day course of antibiotics and it's never come back