Alcohol intolerance & glandular fever
Posted , 9 users are following.
Hello everyone,
I've been suffering from glandular fever for about 8 months now. It has been very up and down with now mainly weak legs, muscle twitching and stomach pain as my remaining symptoms.
My questions regards peoples experiences with alcohol? As i am a 25 year old male I have very occassionaly tried alcohol whilst ive been ill. I find even after one glass of prosecco I will experience full relapse of symptoms for weeks and will take ages to recover.
I obviously do not drink now but my worry is this is my life now and I will never be able to drink again! I read a lot about people with CFS having alclohol intolerance, however I dont feel I have CFS as I have been improving and my sleep is fine and I dont suffer PEM (at least I dont think I do).
Does anyone have any experience of this?
Thanks guys!
0 likes, 11 replies
jen83382 Smukeyuk
Posted
I dont drink much, but the few times I have, I've noticed extreme fatigue for a week after. I recently had a night out, then had a relapse of about 2 weeks. I an exactly 1 year from my first symptom.
josh46287 jen83382
Posted
If i drink two beers i will be hungover for three days no way around it. No telling how bad it would be if i actually got drunk.
jess14025 Smukeyuk
Edited
It's been 15 months since my diagnosis of glandular fever & symptoms still linger now. I can totally relate to you, i'm 24 & before this illness I was a real party girl, always socialising & loved a drink. I tried drinking alcohol around the 7 month mark but it made all my symptoms worse, so I just accepted I wouldn't be able to drink until I felt significantly better. I do occasionally drink now, only when im feeling really good but don't do nights out like I used too. I can have the occasional drink now without the lingering week long hangover. I think it's just time, you need to be patient with you body, eat super well & rest as much as you can. It's super hard to come to terms with, especially as we want to be living our old life but once you've accepted the illness & make some life style changes you start to see gradual improvements. I'm so much better compared to this time last year. OHHH I avoid white wine, my stomach cant't deal with its acidity anymore
Smukeyuk jess14025
Posted
Thats really interesting Jess thanks, what are your remaining symptoms 15 months on?
jess14025 Smukeyuk
Posted
if I push myself I get fatigued, achey joints & my glands swell. However, i've learnt to really listen to my body, so if I feel myself crashing I just rest & eat super healty , I tend to be alright the next day. I still don't go to the gym as I get super tired, however, i've taken up yoga which is amazing for me mentally & is helping my body. I had a constant fever/temperature for the first 8 months of GF,but ive not had that since March which makes life much easier. I'm so much better than I was, you just need to listen to your body, eat healthy and rest when you need too
eric81273 jess14025
Edited
Hey any updates. How are you feeling now?
craig07920 Smukeyuk
Posted
Hi smuk,
Just want to write to offer some reassurance, I was the same age as you when I had glandular fever, many years ago now, and like you it took extended time to get better, but it did get better thanks to God - in no way will this be CFS I truly believe, it was about 10 months before I really started to see a major breakthrough, and my experience was that Year 2 was SO much easier than the horrors of Year 1, it was one of liberating and really starting to feel well again and able to live freely again, thanks to God only I know that for sure. So hang in there, you will get there!
In terms of alcohol intake, I've never really been much of a drinker but definitely it's wise to keep away from it right now, but hopefully in time you will be able to return to enjoying a sensible drink here and there but again it's just about not going to excesses with things. It's definitely not worth it when going through or in recovery from mono though, but truly with a bit more time your body will get stronger again and you will be amazed at how your body resilience returns again over the coming period - I remember thinking it never would for me when it went on for so long and was really struggling - it just takes time though and definitely I believe you will get there!
Thinking of you and message any time - it's a great and supportive forum here!
Craig
lewis13542 Smukeyuk
Posted
hi there!
i asked my doctor about this at the time when i was sick, and he told me no alcohol for 1 year!
eventually i was able to drink again without my neck aching and feeling sick, but it certainly took a while
Ryan1124 lewis13542
Posted
hey lewis13542. not sure if youre still around on this forum but i was reading through and saw you mentioned your neck aching after drinking. i havent really cut back on drinking at all thriugh the duration of my illness from what i would usually drink because i never thought much if it but what ive noticed is neck pain for close to 10 months now. your comment hit me and i was curious if you could explain what sort if neck pain you were enduring. thanks!
lewis13542 Ryan1124
Posted
Hi Ryan
I haven't been on these forums for a while but i still get the notifications and saw your question so thought i'd try and help out any way I could.
I had neck pain generally throughout my illness. During the acute 'flu' stage, i had a very stiff neck, sort of like i had slept funny the night before and it caused pain every time i turned my head. After i got over the acute infection, the months that followed the pain was more localised. I had a gland that i could feel and thought was swollen on the lower right side of my neck. When i used to go to the doctor thought they said it was nothing to worry about. Any way, it would cause a hard to explain sensation but maybe i'd describe it as a sore, swollen and stiff feeling on that side of my neck. I used to sit there trying to massage it but never knew if i might just be making it worse. I also couldn't stop pressing and poking it and trying to feel the lump.
So i sort of had this general ache there anyway, then when i'd drink, the sensation used to get worse, it would sort of throb around that gland that I could feel and would just generally bother me. The pain would also refer sometimes around my jaw and run into my arm and hand. So i didn't drink for 8 months and now (around 2ish years later) i don't really have any problems with it at all.
I never knew if it was the gland i could feel itself that was bothering me and causing pain, or if it was just coincidence and i just found the gland because i was pressing the area due to the pain.
Anyway, hope that helps, let me know if you have any questions about anything else and i'm more than happy to answer you.
elena54204 Smukeyuk
Posted
Its such a eureka moment for me to come across all your stories here. i first caught glandular fever 30 years ago and ever since have been finding it increasingly impossible to drink alcohol, feeling like im dying after just half a small glass of wine. i also have developed zero caffeine tolerance and wondered whether this might also be a common symptom? I came across this post as i was searching the web for reasons why every flu i contract turns into a big ordeal and usually tonsillitis or a throat infection.