5 months in, my ebv story + tips
Posted , 7 users are following.
hi everyone! first off, you guys are amazing and i wish every one of you the best. this illness is very scary and debilitating to say the least. i'll do my best to summarize everything without getting into too much details because it can take forever.
i got sick end of July 2019th, so i'm 5 months in. I'm a 33 y.o. female. had a baby not that long ago and was under a lot of stress (i was also working out a lot and joggling other things). my initial symptoms were: sore throat, extreme fatigue, weakness (especially in my upper body), dizziness/off balance/feeling that you're floating or walking funny, muscles aches, neck pain, brain fog/feeling of complete detachment from the outside world, anxiety.
i just found out i had ebv, and the reason why it took so long to diagnose ebv in my case is because i didnt first present with typical mono symptoms. i didnt have a fever, my throat still looked normal although red and irritated. my main symptoms were fatigue, dizziness and all over achiness. a had a couple episodes with night sweats, but i thought its just hormonal ( i was breasfeeding at tha time). i saw many many specialists and was very much confused because even though everyone told me i'm fine, i though i was slowly dying. at least now i know i'm not crazy, i'm definitely not dying, and i'm not alone, so it's a huge relief.
when i got sick, i felt at 30% of my former self, now i feel close to 65%, sometimes even 70%. i wish i got diagnosed earlier, but what's done is done. many of my initial symptoms diminished (muscle aches and anxiety), but fatigue/dizziness/brain fog are still there. dizziness drives me nuts the most! prior to ebv, i used to walk a lot (at least 7-8 miles a day), which i really enjoyed, but now it's very hard to enjoy walking.
things i do to speed up recovery: *rest, *good night sleep (epsom salt bath + melatonin before bedtime), *anti-inflammatory diet (fruits, veggies, some protein; foods higher in lysine/lower in arginine), *supplements (multivitamin, vit c, lysine, monolaurin, nac, something for liver support), *drink lots of fluids!
i don't exercise now because every time i do, i feel like it greatly slows down my recovery. it' very tempting for me to get active on the days when i feel better, but i feel it's not worth it. i'd rather take things slow and once i feel my situation is more stabilized, i will reintroduce exercising. as of right now, my recovery is very zig-zaggy. two steps forward, one step back, but i'm hopeful.
ps. on a more philosophical note, i do think that no illness is thrown at you by to kill you. it's something you go through in order to learn something and become better and stronger. before i got sick, i used to either live in the past or in the future, but never in a moment. now, i cherish every moment of the day when i feel good because i don't know how i'm gonna feel tomorrow. NOW is all we have. i used to try to control everything in my life, now i understand that you have a very limited control over your life. sometimes things just happen, and it's up to us to do our best even when we feel at our worst.
this forum gave me life! without you guys i would feel completely lost. looking forward to reading more recovery stories in 2020. happy holidays to you and your families! xoxo
1 like, 12 replies
SADJ Guest
Posted
Hey,
I like your philosophical note, and I agree. Not knowing what makes you sick while feeling very sick is one of the worst things. I also really learned to appreciate the moments of feeling (somewhat) good and try to live in the present. It's a cliche, but this disease definitely taught me to live NOW.
Hope your recovery goes well, and all the best for 2020.
lori939 Guest
Posted
that all sounds very optimistic but yes this virus can cause other serious problems . so knowing what you have isnt really helpful . im at 21 months and it has attacked my thyroid and liver .
i too worked out ALOT ! i went undiagnosed for 5 months ...still kept running .
once i found out i stopped and felt worse!
Guest lori939
Posted
i do think that your emotional state contributes a lot, so i choose to stay optimistic. in my case, once i found out i have ebv, i started resting more, taking the right supplements, and i felt a lot better in as little as couple weeks. before i got diagnosed, i was still pushing myself too hard, so, yes, i still think i would have made much more progress a lot sooner had i known that resting is a critical piece in this puzzle.
sorry to hear about your thyroid and liver issues. with ebv, you never know what you gonna get.
emma198181 Guest
Posted
Hi KK858,
Just wanted to write a note to say how much I agree with you - I will never look at life the same way after this virus (I'm 4 months in, I got sick at the end of August 2019), and now I relish every moment I get of not feeling sick. I'm still battling symptoms, but it's nothing like the first 2 months (where I was convinced I was going to die). Dizziness was a big one for me also, and it comes back every so often. The recover is definitely zig-zaggy!
All the best,
Emma
Guest emma198181
Posted
from what i've read so far on this thread, people usually experienced a major shift around 8-11 months, and then it took them one more year to fully recover. i hope we'll get there soon! i agree, the first couple months are the worst!
lori939 Guest
Posted
yes what i always read on here when first diagnosed was the 2nd year is easier . so thats two years . im at month 21 but the first 5 months i went undiagnosed so i kept running working out 2 hours a day . felt tired some days bUt NOTHING like when i stopped exercising when finally diagnosed .
then came the complete hell !!! months and months of feeling so terrible literally crying and screaming with the torture !!!
so 2 years to get over it and then a year getting back into life seems the deal .
keep up on your blood tests as it can effect your organs and cause more problems which it has now done with me.
its an EVIL EVIL virus .
Crown2ground Guest
Posted
im also at 5 months and still having trouble with the anxiety and feeling of being disconnected.... ive had a gallbladder removed though the process too which really helped stomach issues so far. How long until you feel like yourself??? i feel like my personailty is gone! i feel so bad for my wife and kids because dad just isnt the goofy fun loving guy he used to be, the sickness i can handle the part where i feel like im a completely different person now i cant!
Guest Crown2ground
Posted
same here. it's really hard. i feel like the life has been sucked out of me. i'm trying to stay positive for my husband and my daughter as much as i can, but on the days when i dont feel well, it's very challenging. i don't know how much time it's gonna take to feel normal again as i'm not there yet, but bad days i have now are a lot milder, and they dont happen that often. all the symptoms are not that intense anymore. but the thing is, even when, let's say, we're 100% recovered physically, it's gonna take some extra time to recover mentally and emotionally.
Crown2ground Guest
Posted
yess!!!!! anyone had any luck with antidepressants/ anxiety meds? i think the mental aspect is the hardest part to overcoming it all
lori939 Guest
Posted
yes takes about a year to recover mentally and get back into life .
lori939 Crown2ground
Posted
ive taken more pills than i EVER have with this along with cbd/thc plus a glass of wine. its been awful !
yes i suggest getting anxiety meds and if pot is legal take that as well!! its an EVIL EVIL VIRUS !!!
Dodge81 Guest
Posted
I've taken no meds for anxiety for this virus....ofcourse that is a personal choice, but for me I always went with that it's the virus that is making me feel like this and how it limits your ability to perform normal tasks has an impact on your state of mind. For me the anxiety has cleared, but when I felt ready it took alot of hard work to push myself back into doing normal tasks even things like going to a shop. The first time was always the hardest, but then it become easier over time.