Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

Glandular Fever. Is it all doom and gloom?

90 replies

Sparklingbrook · 03/05/2018 19:46

DS (18) was diagnosed with Tonsillitis earlier in the week but they are now doing a blood test as they think if might be Glandular Fever.

Everyone I have spoken to have been full of awful stories of being laid low for ages as a teenager.

Just wondering what he's in for. Sad

OP posts:
AtiaoftheJulii · 04/05/2018 11:38

Ds had his blood test done on a Thursday (at the hospital - easier for timings, I took him v early before work and stuck him in a cab to get home) and the GP phoned him on the Tuesday to say it was positive. So hopefully the bank holiday won't slow things down too much.

I read that if you test too early you can get false negatives, but by the second week that risk is pretty small.

Original poster
Sparklingbrook · 04/05/2018 12:02

Today's problem seems to be whatever gunk is covering his tonsils needs to come up (TMI). You can hear it all rattling when he breathes.

His lips are falling to pieces too.

OP posts:
oigetoffmycheese · 04/05/2018 12:59

MyDS had it aged 10 and while it floor him completely for a good month or so he was back to daily life fairly quickly. However he didn't get fully fit & well again for at least 6 months. He slowly returned to normal and is completely fine now.
Lots of rest and don't get back to sport or exertion too quickly.
Good luck, it's a horrible thing.

afrikat · 04/05/2018 13:20

I had it at 19 and was really ill for a few weeks then horribly fatigued for about 4 months. I almost dropped out of uni as I couldn't go to class or work but thankfully I scraped through with a doctor's note.
The most important thing is for him to rest now and not push to get back to normal before he's ready

QueenofSerene · 04/05/2018 13:23

My eldest brother had it during his last year of high school and was out of action for at least 2 months and ended up needing to repeat that year due to his absence and the effect on his grades. It can be debilitating. Meanwhile I ended up having blood tests in my early 20s which showed I’d had the same thing and never knew it, I think I chalked up my being unwell with general fatigue and just pushed through.

0dette · 04/05/2018 13:24

I had it when i was 15 and was off school for a whole term. Sorry i wish it could be more positive .

Original poster
Sparklingbrook · 04/05/2018 13:33

I have read that you can have it without the awful symptoms.

I just want to know now so that we can get on with it. He isn't bedridden by any means and he isn't falling asleep.

Appreciate everyone's experiences.

OP posts:
Bubblesandsquarks · 04/05/2018 13:37

I had it at 17 (it showed up on a blood test after that I had had it and was no other times I'd been ill in the time frame that could have been it)

I remember having a sore throat that lasted longer than usual and feeling a bit rubbish, but didn't need any days off or think anything of it other than that I'd got a bug.

HidingFromDD · 04/05/2018 14:08

I had it at 35, with a 1 yr old (who then got chicken pox) and a 3 year old.

Didn’t have the luxury of resting and took about 18 months before I started to feel well again. Even now (at 54), the slightest infection will mean my glands swell to alarming proportions.

bakingdemon · 04/05/2018 16:05

I had a couple of friends (both female) who got it very badly and then had ME afterwards (although I think the direct link is disputed). Time to recover is absolutely crucial and if that's weeks of lying about on the sofa and sleeping then that's what he will need. There was a real epidemic of it at my school ~mumbles number ~ years ago but it seemed to affect the girls much worse than the boys.

Original poster
Sparklingbrook · 05/05/2018 13:19

Hi all. Well the GP rang this morning Shock and it's definitely GF.

OP posts:
Enwi · 05/05/2018 13:31

I had it when I was 16. Honestly I have always dealt with pain well, but I dinstinctly remember getting into my mums bed one night and begging her to let me die. My partner and I were particularly poorly with it- both had tonsillitis, glandular fever, numerous secondary infections and later developed Quincy which was very scary. I was hospitalised for a week, and my only memories of the week in hospital are one of me sitting up in bed, knowing I was about to be sick but having no way of telling anyone and throwing up black stuff all over myself, and another of me waking in the middle of the night to find that the skin on my lips had fused shut and a nurse had to come and open them for me.
My experience isn’t the norm I don’t think so I don’t want to cause you unnecessary worry, but I believe my glandular fever was a large part of the terrible depression and anxiety I developed for the six months after recovering. Not suffered with mental health problems since. I still cannot believe that more isn’t being done to prevent it, or at least expose people to it when they are children so that they don’t have it so horrendously as adults (or teens in my case).

Enwi · 05/05/2018 13:34

Oh and the day I left the hospital I went into work to give them the sick note they had demanded I bring in in person. I had lost over 2 stone which I didn’t really have to lose, and looked like absolute death. I gave the note to my manager who took it off me and admonished me for not bringing it in sooner. Hmm

Tinlegs · 05/05/2018 13:36

I was 24. 2 weeks of hell. One further week off work. Then knackered for about another two months - but functioning knackered and in a very full on job.

AtiaoftheJulii · 05/05/2018 15:55

I hope he's at the less badly affected end of the spectrum Sparkling. If he's not completely bedridden now, that's hopefully a good sign.

Fontella · 05/05/2018 16:07

I had glandular fever as a young (single) mum and had to get other mums from the school to come and take my kids as I had moved to a new area, had no-one else to look after them and I literally couldn't get out of bed for about 10 days. I've never felt so weak in my life.

I recovered pretty quickly, or so I thought - but a few weeks after I'd been bedridden, I did a day's gardening and the next day I could barely move with exhaustion. It absolutely took everything out of me and it was like that for several months. If I ever overdid things, I'd be wiped out for the next few days, so I had to be really careful, and a lot of work that needed doing around the house and garden had to be put on hold.

I reckon it was the best part of a year before I was back to normal.

unlurk85 · 05/05/2018 16:13

Yes @timeistight I'd be very interested to know what helped you too. I had it over 10 years ago and I still have ongoing issues. Fingers crossed for a straightforward ride for your DS @Sparklingbrook

Original poster
Sparklingbrook · 05/05/2018 16:19

Thanks all. It's a week today since he started looking unwell. He actually looks better today than he has since then.
He has managed a little bit of food and says he can taste it.

He's up and down the stairs getting drinks, and is up, showered and dressed, watching footy on the telly etc.

Bit worried it's the calm before the storm possibly. seems like every case is different and some of your experiences are dreadful.

OP posts:
PerfectlySymmetricalButtocks · 05/05/2018 16:22

I was off work for 2 weeks. We had a company doctor, he diagnosed me and sent me home!

PerfectlySymmetricalButtocks · 05/05/2018 16:25

Reading these, it sounds like I got off lightly!

Mellifera · 05/05/2018 20:14

Sparklingbrook could it be Scarlet Fever?

I have since spoken to the friend whose son had GF recently and she said all his exams have been postponed to the end of the first year, so he‘ll be taking them at the end of May.

Original poster
Sparklingbrook · 05/05/2018 20:16

It's been confirmed as GF Mellifera Sad He is able to get his exams postponed but we need quite a bit of paperwork from the GP by the sound of it.

OP posts:
lifechangesforever · 05/05/2018 20:17

I had it over Xmas one year, alongside tonsillitis (went to A&E Christmas Eve and didn't come out until NYE) worst Christmas ever! I couldn't eat or drink so needed to be on the drip.

I was unwell for 2 weeks before that and probably another 2 weeks after so 5 weeks in total.

MiraB · 05/05/2018 20:52

I had it when I was about 7-8 weeks pregnant. It was horrible, my glands were swollen for weeks and it was painful to even move my neck around. My head felt like I had spent the previous day banging it on a concrete wall. Was also concerned about the effect on the baby so it was traumatic all around.

Mellifera · 06/05/2018 07:35

Sorry I missed that.

Lots of rest, especially hard for the sporty types, I know.
He will be fine, SB. TLC from you and him listening to his body.

Swipe left for the next trending thread