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Had GF for 7 months, Diagnosed 1 month ago. Has anyone else suffered this long?

Posted , 4 users are following.

Sally323
Sally323

Hi,

I've been ill since New Year, where I was bedridden for two weeks. Since that, I've been catching every cold and virus going and have been extremely fatigued. There have been short breaks in between without illness.

I hadn't gone to the doctor, and just carried on as normal working on a stable yard doing manual labour and then running and going to the gym in my spare time. I knew something was wrong because I lost all of my fitness for no apparent reason; running more than 5 minutes seemed like hard work!

Finally, I was diagnosed at the end of July with Glandular Fever. I went away to Africa for a month (A trip that has been planned for over a year) and unfortunately became very ill in my last week. Now that I'm home, I have been signed off work and am finally giving my body a chance to rest.

What should I be doing to aid recovery? Is there anything to avoid?

Considerng that I've had this so long, I just want rid of it now. It affects absolutely everything that I do and it's really getting me down.

I'm not used to sitting at home not doing anything and the prospect of no exercise really scares and upsets me because I thrive in having an active lifestyle. 

Has anyone else suffered for this long? It would be nice to hear from other people going through the same thing!

 

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • forgetmenot99
    forgetmenot99 Sally323

    Posted

    I had mono for 3 months and was very ill. I am better but when I don't get enough rest I start getting hot and sweaty and tired. It is hell, but hang in there, we will recover. Not sure how long it takes. I am taking alot of vitamins including monolauren and coconut oil. I googled what vitamins were good for mono and started taking them. Let me know how you are doing. We can encourage each othersmile

     

    • Sally323
      Sally323 forgetmenot99

      Posted

      Thank you so much for your reply, it's nice to hear of someone else experiencing the same thing. Coconut oil is a great shout, I'm definitely looking into it; I hadn't been told about it before but it looks like it could do a lot of good smile I'm feeling ok, back to work in a few days so fingers crossed I'll be good for that!
  • dan23971
    dan23971 Sally323

    Posted

    Sally,

    Time is a great healer.

    The worst thing Is not giving yourself time to rest at the very start of the virus. Guess what, I did the same thing.

    Incredibly fit and healthy prior to it my initial symptoms werent so bad but it effects everyone in a different way. My whole immune system was knocked out of whack for the next year however and I was an all round sight for soar eyes.

    Eating a Paleo diet for the next few months will help A WHOLE LOT! Nutrition is key, It will leave your energy levels at a constant I promise you that.

    No energy spikes one constant energy level, although its still not the energy level that you are used to, but it will be a marked improvement on your road to recovering.

    Keep sleeping hard and long, light exercise I recommend weight training, not cardio vascular. 30 minutes of weight training a day you will see your strength return to your body possibly feel better than ever (with time). 

    DO NOT OVER DO IT WITH WORK OR EXERCISE. 

    DO OVER DO IT WITH SLEEP AND REST.

    Stay away from google self diagnosis is a unhealthy and bad for your mental state if you have any health anxiety due to mono (I did).

    If you are an alcohol drinker, STOP it will only prolong your illness.

    If you must intoxicate to get loose on a weekend, I strongly recommend a more herbal remedy if you catch my drift wink. That would depend how open you are to that kind of thing but let me tell you it helped me when I had to stay away from alcohol because of Mono.

    I wish you all the best Sally, You will get better it is just a time game and some clever nutrition, exercise and rest will put a spring back in your step. 

    • Sally323
      Sally323 dan23971

      Posted

      I'm so glad I've heard this and know of someone else in the same position as myself. Most people seem to get rid of it in a few months, and my progress was scaring me!

      I'm going back to work in a few days but the doctor is suggesting a 'phased return' and I suppose now my work know about the glandular fever, hopefully they will understand if I get ill and have to rest so I don't get even worse.

      I'll look into the paleo diet, it sounds interesting!

      I've completely cut out alcohol, it's not too bad for me as I wasn't a HUGE drinker before... I just miss having nights out with my friends every now and then rolleyes

      Thank you for all of your advice, especially with regards to exercise. The cardio I was doing before I found out I had glandular fever felt very strenuous and did make me very exhausted.. So I will focus on some light weight training to start with.

      How are you feeling now? Do you feel you've fully recovered??

      Thank you again for your kind words!

    • craig07920
      craig07920 Sally323

      Posted

      You will definitely get there Sally. A phased return to work is a good idea, it's what I did and it really helped a lot, because going from being so tired and exhausted to working full time is difficult enough for a fully fit person let alone someone recovering from a nasty virus like glandular fever.

      Here's some things that I would recommend to help out:

      - Vitamins and herbs are vitally important - make sure you are taking a good multi-vitamin, there is a good one called 'Immunace' you can get out of Boots if you are in the UK, it really worked a treat for me and boosts your system

      - Going for a short walk every day if you feel up to it is really good for you - the fresh air does the world of good and gentle exercise for a short period can really help the recovery (but don't do anything that is making you exhausted or really tired all the time)

      - Still go out and see your friends! This is so important! But as noted definitely would recommend no alcohol and to try to cut out fizzy drinks and sugar as much as possible, although I know it's hard (dark chocolate can be good for energy if you have a sweet tooth)

      Most of all, try to stay positive and keep your chin up. I know how difficult this is, especially when all the worry goes around your head. The frustrating thing about glandular fever is the debilitation and the time it takes for your body to recover. If you think of a 'mental breakdown' where someone just can't cope anyone, I would kind of liken glandular fever to a 'physical breakdown' where your body just can't cope for a while anymore. But the encouraging thing is it does recover and your body does come to grips with the virus and puts it to bed.

      Craig

       

  • craig07920
    craig07920 Sally323

    Posted

    Hi Sally,

    I am writing to offer a bit of reassurance following my experience with Glandular Fever which was very similar to yours. This is going back 8 or 9 years for me now, and I got it when I was in my mid-20's. I thought it was never going to end, but let me tell you that after the first year things got much better - it does get better even though you don't think it will at the time because it feels like it's never ending. For about the first 6 months I felt terrible, the running fever all the time, the tiredness, etc. This really continued for about another 6 months where I still couldn't function normally really, and at about the 9 month stage I got terrible pains in my joints which lasted for a month or two.

    It's a gradual process and the really good news is that things DO start to get MUCH better in the second year - you feel more able to do things and your energy starts to come back - you still need to take it easy and take care of yourself (I would definitley recommend taking a good strong multi-vitamins and a B complex vitamin). After a couple of years you really start to feel back to yourself and properly and can live your life to 100% again.

    So don't worry! It's one of the most horrible experiences ever, but I promise it will get better and you will feel liberated and happier again for having your health back - keep the faith! I totally understand about how it makes you feel down, I felt completely the same and thought I would never get back to normal - but it comes, it's just a time factor and the longer you go on the better you will get!!

    Take care and good luck

    Craig

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