EBV (Glandular Fever) Help

Hello all

At the beginning of November 2020 I developed what the doctors diagnosed as Glandular Fever. I have never had such puss-filled, sore and swollen tonsils in my life and the fatigue, aches and chills were just as bad. Initially, the doctors thought I had severe bacterial tonsillitis and so put me on a 2 week course of antibiotics - of course, these didn't work, and whilst they eased symptoms, 3 days after the course finished I was back to square one. It took a blood test to discover that I had liver issues (typical sign of EBV/GF) and that I had, at some point, developed antibodies for GF as these were present in my blood - even though I have not known to have GF before at all. My GP was convinced by these results that I had GF.

By December I was feeling much better and I felt almost back to my normal self. My throat was still a little sore and I was feeling a little tired. However, fast forward to January 2021 and this current month, February 2021, I am feeling really low. Since January, I have at least minimum 2 mouth ulcers every couple of weeks, these develop near my tonsils - which by the way are still swollen slightly, they stick out both sides. The mouth ulcers seem to form on the back of the roof of my mouth and although not massive cause a lot of discomfort. My sinuses/ears ache too and fatigue is something that I have never experienced before until now - I am literally 0 energy and especially after a week of work, the weekends I feel wiped out, no matter how much rest or sleep I get.

I went back to my GP a few weeks ago and she said she was certain it's nothing to worry about and it's just the after effects of GF still lingering. To be on the safe side, she referred me to the Ear Nose and Throat specialist at my local hospital, and after a 2 week wait with them I had an appointment a couple weeks back. The specialist from the ENT team also said that I was no doubt experiencing the lingering after effects of having GF and that it would take some time to recover fully. I'm an active 25yr old guy, so in December where I had felt much better, I had started running 5k or so every other day. My doctor said that I should not be doing this and she also offered to sign me off of work (I have an office job) but I said no to this as I had been off the whole of November.

This virus has gotten me really low and of course, like many on here, I Google which gives the worst answers imaginable.. and I have started to worry tremendously that something is seriously wrong. Over the last couple of months symptoms have been:

1. An achy/sore throat (ulcer has just gone, but now both sides of my throat hurt)
2. Sporadic and random mouth ulcers every couple of weeks
3. Neck and sides of neck (glands) ache
4. Tiredness/fatigue. Some days I feel energised, but majority of days I feel worn out by 11am!
5. Dark circles under eyes. I stay hydrated, but I look 'tired' and have received comments off of colleagues and family of how 'drawn' and 'tired' I look.
6. tongue is yellow (more towards the back)
7. My teeth and jaw sometimes become a little achy and painful too, this is sporadic. I have been using TCP and salt as mouth wash and to gargle with recently and the tooth pain has started since then, so putting it down to the salt making my teeth sensitive.

I really don't know what to do any more. Feeling low, and worrying so much that something is majorly wrong is getting me very down. I have had blood tests for things such as HIV and other STDs, these have all come back clear as expected so they can be ruled out. I just want to talk to people who have also experienced these things after EBV/GF or who are also going through them like I still am. I'm 3 months from first being really ill, I felt better, but have dipped again.

Thanks for your time reading this and any comments you leave.

Sam.

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