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I was diagnosed with glandular fever 4 months ago. I am still exhausted.

Posted , 17 users are following.

Gerbear
Gerbear

I am still not able to go to work or drive or do household chores.  Does anyone have any advise?

I no longer have a sore throat, swollen glands, fever, enlarged liver or spleen.  I am 61 years old and am quite depressed that that the fatigue symptoms have not resolved. My doctor says this happens sometimes for older people, that it can take months to get my energy level back to normal.  

Is this what others have experienced?

Gerbear

 

2 likes, 220 replies

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  • susan26953
    susan26953 Gerbear

    Posted

    Hi, I too was diagnosed with glandular fever at 61 years old. I put it down to my shift pattern at work as I was so tired all the time. Like you I suffered from severe fatigue and was unable to work or exercise. I felt that I may never  have enough energy to live a normal life again. My GP told me to eat healthily, go for short strolls to keep muscle tone and to rest, relax and not worry. Easier said than done but I would say 6 months later I felt more in control of things, but I still had to pace myself.  3 years later I think I'm fitter than before and walk the dogs am in a walking group and attend exercise classes. I know it's hard to be patient and a bit scary but listen to your body. I hope this will be of some help and most of all try not to give in to low moods. They don't help and can make you feel more tired.
    • Gerbear
      Gerbear susan26953

      Posted

      Thank you for your encouragement!  Yes, it is hard not to get discouraged.  I am thankful for the support of my family.  
    • christine_51321
      christine_51321 susan26953

      Posted

      Hi Susan, just wondering has your good health continued and if you did or took anything in particular to aid recovery. Did you have any setbacks while recovering? I am 59 years old and was starting to feel improved but have deteriorated drastically this past week. Feeling depressed now too. I was diagnosed 10 weeks ago. 
  • forgetmenot99
    forgetmenot99 Gerbear

    Posted

    I too had mono last summer, I am in my fifties. It took a good 4-6 months for my energy to return to normal. I still have times I feel unusually tired that come and go and I wonder if it is the mono. I had anxiety, severe sweating and exhaustion also. Take vitamins and rest and try to be patient. You will eventually get well. The supplement monolauren and apple cider vinegar tea helped me recover. Hang in there.

     

    • Gerbear
      Gerbear forgetmenot99

      Posted

      How kind of you to respond! Yes, the anxiety and exhaustion are overpowering so I appreciate the encouragement.  I am relying on God's comfort and my family's support.  I will look into your suggestion of the supplements. Thanks.
  • craig07920
    craig07920 Gerbear

    Posted

    Hi Gerbear,

    Just wanted to write to offer some encouragement too, there is definitely hope and it is true that it can take some time to get back to normal. I had glandular fever as a relatively young man at 25 and I didn't feel at all great for the first year but after that things improved dramatically and I was able to return to a normal life. Energy levels will slowly return and the symptoms will gradually fade over time. But you have to be kind to your body and give it rest as well as mild exercise, fresh air, etc. Finding the right balance is helpful.

    I would also recommend taking some good vitamins / herbs to help you on the road to recovery, that really made a difference to me. In terms of lacking energy, B vitamins are great and a 'B complex' vitamin each day can really make a difference, as can things like Co-enzyme Q10, higher doses of vitamin C and evening primrose oil.

    Wishing you well on your road to recovery but want you to know that you WILL get over this. I was the same as you I thought it was never going away at one point, but then suddenly it just happened, but it did take a while and probably a good 6 months to a year to feel full yourself again (that doesn't mean to say you won't improve gradually within that period too) .

    Take care and willing things to get back to normal for you.

    Craig

    • Gerbear
      Gerbear craig07920

      Posted

      Thankyou! It is encouraging to read about your recovery.  I don't know anything about evening primrose oil, so that is what I will look up today.  I am thankful for the comfort God gives and my supportive family.
    • craig07920
      craig07920 Gerbear

      Posted

      Hang in there my friend, you are right to put your trust in God because He will restore you and bring healing. I really believe that for you.

      Let me know how you are doing. It really will get better, speaking from personal experience. It is a very very frustrating and delibilitating illness, even more so when you read and hear from doctors and things that everything will be fine in 4-6 weeks. In the majority of cases for adults it takes much longer, but that doesn't mean to say you won't recover - definitely in a few months time you will start to see progress and hopefully by the time a year comes you will be starting to feel much better. It's hard to be patient I know, but remember your body has amazing powers of recovery and it does eventually get this nasty virus under control.

      Take care and wishing you all the best

      Craig

  • becky1987
    becky1987 Gerbear

    Posted

    Could I please ask about your enlarged liver.

    Did your blood test results show this in the ALT And APT?

    • becky1987
      becky1987

      Posted

      I have inflamed liver.

      ALT 900 APT 500 😱

    • Gerbear
      Gerbear becky1987

      Posted

      The liver symptoms I had resolved within 2 months.  Although, my doctor is continuing to check the liver and do the blood labs.  Are you having any pain or discomfort with the inflamed liver?
    • Gerbear
      Gerbear becky1987

      Posted

      How is your liver doing?  My AST (SGOT) 76 and ALT (SGPT) 149 as of 2 months ago is now within normal levels.  I feel better now that I am no longer having soreness over my liver and not as much nausea. The EBV Early Antogen Ab IgG is now down to 59.  My doctor said not to track the EBV AB VCA, IgG which is still 600 because that level can persists at a hIgh level even when patients feel better.

      I am still at home resting everyday.  I have resigned my position at work.  My boss was being supportive and holding my position open from me. But since I have not been able to work since January 2016, I thought I should resign and let my boss replace my full time position. Thankfully my boss said that I can come back part time whenever I feel well enough.

      I am no way near being able to work.  The most I can do is shower, empty the dishwasher, put a load in the washing machine or take my dog outside for several minutes.

    • becky1987
      becky1987 Gerbear

      Posted

      Good to hear it has gone down. Sorry you are still suffering. I am back at work full time and ,touch week, haven't really had any symptoms Sparta from leg aches when exercising.

      Having an ultra sound tomorrow for liver and had bloods done last week although am yet to get the results of that- fingers crossed its heading in the right direction.

  • Aquin
    Aquin Gerbear

    Posted

    I'm a 26 year old female, currently entering my 8th month of glandular fever/mononucleosis recovery. This has been the most challenging time of my life. I was feeling a lot better for about 6 weeks and then i changed my diet pretty drastically and relapsed hard to the worst symptoms i've had so far. My stand out symptoms are: fatigue, brain fog (stoned/drunk/out of it feeling), anxiety/depression, weakness etc.

    It feels like it will never end. This relapse has been going on almost 8 weeks now. Craig07920, your posts are very encouraging. Thank you for taking the time to share your story.

    • craig07920
      craig07920 Aquin

      Posted

      Hi Aquin,

      I really empathise with what you are going through as what I went through was very similar. I was exactly the same age as you when I got glandular fever and was fit and healthy beforehand. I specifically remember the first few months being terrible, the feelings of fatigue, tirdness, illness, running fever. I thought after maybe about 6 months maybe I was starting to mildly recover, but I was definitely nowhere near where I wanted to be still. At about the same stage as you, after 8-9 months, I had what felt like a relapse situation too, where I had terrible sore joints, just not feeling at all great again for a few weeks.

      But then a good level of recovery came after that kind of relapse period Aquin, that's the encouraging news. I really believe you won't feel like that for much longer. Just hang in there because I know how tough it is, I thought I was never getting there too and it was the hardest thing I ever had to face too. But I do want you to know that your body does get it under control in the end, so even though you feel discouraged at it going on for such a long time, it will recover and I would say at around the year mark I was making very good progress by then.

      Just be careful too that if you changed your diet maybe it's not affected things for the worse - remember it's important to take some good vitamins, I take a multi-vitamin called 'Immunace Extra' which you get at Boots (if you live in the UK). Other things like B vitamins (B complex), Siberian Ginseng, Co-enzyme Q10, Echinicea, that kind of thing can all be good at boosting energy levels and your immune system.

      I would be more than happy to stay in touch if it would help because I know at the time I would have really appreciated someone who had been through it to that extent before as well.

      Most important thing I want you to remember is that you will fully recover - I'm now in my mid 30s and have been fully recovered for several years and live an active lifestyle again.

      Take care and wishing you a speedy recovery

      Craig

       

    • Aquin
      Aquin craig07920

      Posted

      Hi Craig,

      Thanks so much for your reply. It's so hard to stay positive but your posts give me hope. I'm so sad as this is the worst i have felt since becoming sick in October last year.. I thought i should be getting better, not worse. I really hope things start looking up soon as i'm starting to feel very depressed. I have 2 young children too and i feel a lot of guilt about not being able to give them the attention they deserve. 

      I've started taking all the good vitamins and seeing an integrative doctor who is checking for any imbalances that may be hindering my progress. I will keep you posted on my recovery smile

    • Gerbear
      Gerbear Aquin

      Posted

      Yes, Aquin I can totally relate to the fatigue, brain fog, anxiety/depression and weakness.  I have started walking with a walking stick when I take my German Shepard to the backyard.  I sit and watch him and do my deep breathing.  Getting outside to relaxe has helped me mentally.  But needing a walking stick shows how weak I am.  My doctor just keeps saying rest and good nutrition are the keys to recovery.
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