Glandular fever?

Hi Liam,

These symptoms sound very much like Mono to me. I went in for bloodwork because I had extreme fatigue just like you described, muscle weakness, and aching muscles. I never had the sore throat myself, but I've heard from others who did and they all described it as very severe. I didn't initially have a coated tongue, but a few weeks in, it became white coated and my mouth tried out. I too tend to Google everything, that's something I still can't get stop doing even with a diagnosis, and it makes everything so much worse. I hope I can help put your mind at ease though, because all of these things are very similar to my own experience with it. I hope you feel better soon, please try not to stress too much in the meantime. Wishing you the best!

Hi Liam,

It sure sounds like mono/glandular fever, The fatigue is horrible unlike anything you have ever experienced, that is why in the beginning you are convinced it must be something worse.

You will eventually recover it is a very rough road. This forum will provide lots of support, it is a great support system.

Yes, it sounds like the acute stages of glandular fever. The sore throat was so painful. For me it lasted about 10 days.

thanks a lot everyone for your replies. ive just been really worried. even pushed my girlfriend away and said i cant see her on NYE purely because i dont want her to catch anything. sometimes i feel ok. like in my head i feel like i could go and do things, then i walk outside and start to sweat. and i feel angry as well. Every little thing annoys me. and im an anxious person anyway so to go from being a PE teacher who goes to the gym every day to being absolutely wiped out is really getting me down so these forums are helping me. thank you. and enjoy your new year

Hi Liam, I didn't have typical symptoms either, my main symptoms were night sweats, fatigue & a general feeling of being unwell. Your symptoms sound very much like glandular fever so get plenty of rest & keep yourself well hydrated.

I was diagnosed in Oct with glandular fever & also turned to google for advice & it didn't help me at all. There are so many nice people on this forum that helped me so much more than google.

Hope you feel better soon.

Gill

i should also add that i had a hair transplant in turkey 8 weeks ago. as i flew out there i had a really sore throat. of course now i have this illness im putting two and two together and wondering whether it could be HIV . thats how anxious i get. Sorry for being such a pain

Easier said than done, but try not to worry about what you might have or what it could be. That is something only the doctors can tell you and from blood tests. One of the worse things about this virus is what it does to your mind. The anxiety and depression hits everyone, regardless of how you were when fighting fit. I've never suffered with anxiety before in my life, ok I might get a little nervous, but never experienced this before. Some of the thoughts that have run through my mind and then say about an hour later I look back and think oh my, why was I thinking that. I'm at the 10th month mark now and still going through a very zig zag recovery process. Sometimes new symptoms appear and I worry too if I've got something else now or if it's still part of the glandular fever. It's soo tough to deal with, it I try to remember that it will eventually get better. The support on here is amazing and has def helped me. I've found one decent doctor at my GP also, so I always request her now. I've given soo much blood in 2018 to be tested, but has given me a peace of mind that it is just this virus I'm dealing with.

Hi Liam,

So sorry to hear you have been feeling so unwell lately and may have mono, definitely empathising having went through a tough time with mono many years ago too. I do hope that you can get a diagnosis one way or the other soon, you've done the right thing going to get checked out and hoping that the tests can offer some reassurance. If it is mono, then although it's a horrible thing, remember that it does get better and that you will get through it.

The symptoms you describe certainly sound like it could be mono, but of course again try jump to conclusions before getting a diagnosis, I know as Dodge said it's easier said than done though. This virus can affect people in so many ways, the horrible and overwhelming fatigue and low grade fever and just feeling generally stunted and unwell were amongst some of the horrible and intense early symptoms I experienced, after about a month of feeling unwell got a blood test which diagnosed the mono. It's understandable that your mind worries about this or that or more serious things, but it definitely sounds like it is far more likely to be mono than anything more sinister (not that mono in itself isn't a horrible virus, but it is something that gets better even though I know it can take a bit of time to get fully over it).

Things that helped me when going through mono was taking vitamins and herbs to boost immune system, including a good strong multi-vitamin per day (Immunace Extra here in the UK is a good one I take), higher doses of Vitamin C (1000mg-3000mg per day), a B50 or B100 complex vitamin (great for nervous system and energy levels) and immune boosting herbs like siberian ginseng and echinaecea, oregano also can be good for mouth and sore throats too.

Thinking about you Liam as I remember how frightened and horrible an experience going through the early and pre-diagnosis stages of mono was for me, so definitely hoping that the doctors can help and give you reassuring results and advice. Key thing really is to not try to push through this thing, it's not like a regular flu or virus where you can press on regardless, it really needs rest and your body needs proper recover time with this thing - I had to take a number of months off work due to it, and I know it's hard to do these things but if you need to then take a step back from work, studies, or anything stressful that you can step back from for a while, and just put your health first.

And absolutely remember that if this is mono, you WILL get better and back to full health again - even if it takes a little while to get back to 100% don't panic because that can be very normal with mono but you definitely will get through it and back on your feet again. Hang in there and message any time - this forum here is such a supportive and good one with so many nice people offering encouraging messages and advice, a good place to come for people regularly to help with the worries and emotional and mental strain that mono brings too. Keep us posted as to how you get on with those test results and remember hang in there - you will get through this, trusting God with that!

Craig