Glandular Fever.

[Johnny_]

Hello everyone,

Firstly I’d like to say thankyou for the stories you have all shared on this site which have helped so many people get through the days, weeks, months and years.

Recently i too have read your stories as I too didn’t know where to turn.

I am a fit an active person who is always on the go and have lived a healthy lifestyle.

About 12 weeks ago, I had a ear/throat infection that cleared up within two weeks while taking antibiotics. About 6 weeks ago, I suddenly felt tired during a gym workout.

I went home and rested for the remainder of the day thinking I was just tired however I woke up in the morning exhausted and with a little to no appetite. I had muscle aches and was just fatigued.

I rested the next day too and since I was not getting better I went to the doctor the following day.

After numerous tests (bloods/ecg/xrays) blood tests showed I recently had glandular fever. (Possibly about 12 weeks ago when I was sick) and was advised to rest rest rest.

Since then I have very slowly had a little bit of energy to do the normal domestic duties around home and walk for 20min twice a day.

In the last week I managed to return to work on light duties however today I crashed...like I am back to square one! I just want to cry and it feels like I am not getting better.

i look at the changes in my body and it just upsets me...the weight I’ve lost is shocking and I don’t know what to do.

over this time I’ve experienced anxiety which was scary and relied on your stories to get me through and advise me on how to cope...and .it worked so I saythankyou.

i guess if anyone has a glandular fever success story, it be great to hear it.

I’m hoping this isn’t chronic fatigue syndrome as I’m scared it is as I don’t know how I’d financially support myself. I’d like to go back to work as I enjoy it.

thankyou for reading my post.

[Johnny_]

Hi Flowertop

thankyou for replying again:)

My night was ok as I good a lot of sleep but woke up struggling. I ended up reaching out to my uncle who lives nearby. He’s the only family I have in my city. He came around after lunch and stay for the remainder of the day/evening. It helped a lot. He to finds what I’m experiencing difficult to understand but is here for and will come around again I’m sure.

you are right, it’s the worst time of year requiring any kinda of medical treatment as everyone is closed it’s also hard as everyone else is enjoying the festivities.

i have a small bunch of close friends who call and check on me. It would be nice to see them however it’s difficult with their work/family commitments this time of year which I understand.

its not easy to allow myself to cry and get emotional but I’m not strong enough to fight it but I find it passes quickly. I’m that person who is emotional when I’m really fatigued and tired otherwise I’m ok.

Atm the constant fatigue is tiring. I also have a tingling sensation on my forearms and face which worries me that this could be something more serious but I try not to think that way, I hope to recover from this.

thankyou again for your support and kind words. I am trying:)

[Flowertop]

Hey Johnny

Thank goodness you were able to reach out to your uncle. I know though what you mean about him having difficulty understanding. Years ago my friends sister had something similar and her mother had to help shower her because she was so fatigued and couldn’t do anything. She would of been about 18, I’m guessing. She also lost a lot of weight. My friend would get annoyed with her because she didn’t understand. A current friend of mine who has recently gone through something similar husband also would get frustrated with her. Very unfair. She ended up going and staying with her mother for a few weeks just for some care and she had a young child and her husband worked. I think it can be the same as someone with back pain or any type of chronic pain, I don’t think people understand that either unless you have it. I don’t have either btw, ‘touch wood’. Your uncle sounds like he is trying and great he was there for you.
My best friend who leaves a plane trip away now to be closer to her grown up daughter, has fibromyalgia. I had not heard of that before her diagnosis and I use to get frustrated with her when we would make plans and she’d back out. This was wrong of me, but I didn’t get how she could be good some days and not functional on others. She has it all worked out now is able to work and function.
When you said you are one of those people that get emotional when you are tired anyway, I thought, holy moly, this is all you need. My daughter is 20 and is emotional when she gets fatigued as well.
I think it is ok to reach out to your friends, I know everyone gets caught up in the business of life but you might be surprised. That’s why I think this illness is a silent thing because people just withdraw. I think that is the good thing about social media for some it helps to stay connected.
You know even if your GP is away you could always go see another in the interim. We also have dial-a doctor where I live and I have heard they are good. The tingling sounds awful, especially if it is constant. They’ll at least be able to check it outs d may be able to give you something or advise how to relieve the symptoms.

I hope today is bearable and you find some relief. I watched ‘Elf’, last night and that made me laugh.
Keep going, you are doing great doing what you are doing to get through this.

[Johnny_]

Hi Flowertop,

Again I appreciate you replying to my messages:)

I am a very independent person so as hard as it was, I’m glad I reached out to him. I know he will come over and check on me too.

i can imagine it would be very difficult for someone to understand looking on the outside in especially if they have never been exposed to anything like that before. Some of these things can be so debilitating.

I hope your friends sister and your friend have recovered from their situations and are onto a better life now. No doubt you have helped them out just as you have helped me.

i think I’ve always been this way, it’s just that I’m so tired atm I can stop it as much which it sounds like you can relate as your daughter is the same.

my close friends know the extent of what’s going on. Initially I didn’t say much thinking I’ll get through it on my own but after this set back I need the support now so I have reached out. I really do hope I get past this, I’m having doubts it’s glandular fever so I’ll see a doctor tomorrow or tuesday. I will look into dial a doctor in my area too.

the tingling feeling is like anxiety but I’ve never had anxiety before just normal anxious moments..ie first date/public speaking etc but they pass.

Elf is a funny movie...always makes me laugh. I try to not watch sad movies etc and only happy comedies to help through the days.

Thankyou! Im doing my best..it’s the hardest thing I’ve been through but I’m trying, thank you 🙂

[Flowertop]

Hey Johnny

How have you been and have there been any changes with you health?
I hope you have been getting some alleviation from the symptoms and were able to enjoy some Christmas quality.
Sending you positive thoughts.

[Johnny_]

Hi Flowertop,

Its great to hear from you:)

I hope you had a great Christmas and were able to relax and enjoy time with family and friends.

I’m pleased to say I am doing a lot better then I was before Christmas, i have a bit to go but feeling much better.

Christmas was quiet but I managed to have dinner at a mates place with his family so it was nice.

i appreciate the positive thoughts and feel a little more confident that I’m moving forward.

thankyou 🙂

The symptoms are all still there but are no where near as strong and my emotions have settled too.

[Flowertop]

Hi Johnny

Good to hear you were able to hangout with your mate and their family on Christmas night. That would of taken a big effort. I have found connecting with people can help mood. As long as they are people you want to hang out with and there is no drama. There are some people to be honest I would rather not be around when I not traveling well.

I had a good Christmas with my immediate family. My son works in a bar and made a few cocktails, yum, so I can’t complain and then played a game that I bought called, ‘‘Qwirkle’. I won the first game. It’s always a bonus to be the winner if you ask me. Oh yeah and I guess as long as you have fun! Ha
Hope you are getting through each day and sleeping ok at night. The nights seem really long if your not sleeping.
I continue to send you good vibes and hope that things are moving forward.

This has been life changing for you especially because you sound like such an independent and active person. We all take our health for granted.

Take care and I look forward to hear your progress.

[Cranberry_Juice]

Hi Johnny

Always believe there is light at the end of the tunnel, hope you are recovering ok

Take Care.

[Johnny_]

Hi Flowertop,

It has been good to just hang out with close friends these last couple of days as like you said it lifts my mood. Yes! Only I am the same, I only speak to people who are positive and helpful when I am unwell.

thats great to hear you enjoyed your Christmas with family and had a cocktail or two as well, perfect time of year for it. I’ll admit I’ve never heard of that game before but I have been wanting to buy some board games so I might look into that too. I have been playing chess online which has been good.

Nights have only improved recently which makes a big difference during the day and my emotions too. I had acupuncture which was great and he gave me some Chinese herbs to help me sleep which I think has been doing the trick.

thankyou for the good vibes, it’s appreciated. I remain confident that I’ll get through this. It’s hard but with the support I have around me including here has helped far more then I could imagined.

it appears stress is an element in all of this so I’ll add more balance to my life from here on and relax more as like you said, we take out health for granted.

thankyou again for your support and happy new year to you too 🙂

[Johnny_]

HI Cranberry Juice,

thankyou for your message of support. it’s hard to see at time as progress is a little bit two steps forward, one step back but with the support around me, I can still see the light at the end of the tunnel.

thank you again:)

[StgCrw]

Oh yeah, glandular fever can be rough.

I had it when I was in my early 20’s.

It went basically as you described but it also caused my liver to fail, to the point that I was suffering severe abdominal pain and jaundice.

It’s common knowledge that when your liver is crook you can get yellowing of the skin, but they don’t tell you about the itching that comes with it. Every square cm of your skin itches like the worst mosquito bite ever, but particularly on the soft bits of skin in between my fingers, back of my knees, around the neck etc. And this went on for weeks, during which time I was in and out of hospital a fair bit.

it was at least a couple of months before I was able to return to work and the better part of a year before I was back to 100%.

I guess the point is that you WILL get better from this, even though it may not seem like it at the moment. Just take it in small steps, look after yourself and you’ll get there.

Its good that you’ve an uncle nearby you can rely on. Having a third party can make all the difference if things take a turn for the worse and you’re not coping. I ended up staying with family for a couple of weeks (reluctantly) during the worst of it and it made all the difference.

Here’s to a speedy recovery 👍