Post viral syndrome fatigue after flu/illness - please help

I pray that it goes away. I have almost no energy in the day time but unusually I feel better in the evening. I don't know about you but when I leave the house, it's a kiss of death; instant fatigue and wobbling. I can't be hospitalized to my bed for much longer

I hear you...somehow someway we just have to be strong....and hope and pray it gets better...I’ve been taking acetaminophen and taking my anxiety medication and just trying to push through

I'm assuming anxiety makes the fatigue worse? Or weaker? I'm taking 0 medication. Even that I have OCD and anxiety I don't take anything. I've been eating 700 calories or less; 0 appetite. But starting today I'm amping it up. Got to get nutrients in the body. Hope more people reply and help us

Sounds exactly like my case.  Except now it's going to be 4 months.  I am a 28 year old healthy (i was in the best shape of my life) male and went down with flu-like symptoms, got seemingly better in early january, and have not quite been better ever since.  However, I have been making gradual progress and recovery as doctors don't quite know still what I have and ran a flurry of viral tests on me which all came back negative.  For young males like us, they don't want to waste their time/money trying to order a flurry of expensive tests when we have healthy immune systems... 

I used to be bed-ridden for about 2 weeks only getting up to go to the restroom and eat food my mom would prepare me...now I have started to do light execise (light walks), run errands, and return to full-time work as I have been on disability for 2 months although I am extremely tired still after work and have moments during the day of symptoms of lesser severity.  I am still diagnosed as "viral syndrome" of a type they don't know but doctors just still think it's influenza working its way through and hit me pretty hard along with some anxiety/depression from stressing out too much about it.

However, I cannot just accept that as it has been 4 months now so I'm seeking a second opinion and looking into CFS specialists as there is always an underlying reason and I hope we all find it sooner than later.

But for now.. it's still early and I suggest you don't overdo it.  Listen to your body, get plenty of sleep, and find people close to you for emotional support.

I had th H3N2 flu A strain that hit Australia in 2017. Apparently the same flu that made it to the U. S.

It took an easy 6 months for me to get fully better and it was only once I started to get my appetite back. I was too weak to cook for myself so I asked my friends and they made a week's worth of food for my family and I could finally eat! Then I started to get energy.

My symptoms were really weird but they changed over time. I've only had that happen once before and it wipes you out.

I had sinusitis so bad that I could've hung washing on what was coming out of my face. I became extremely dizzy, which lasted the entire 6 months and set off the worst panic attacks. I never had panic attacks before this flu.

Then in rapid succession I got pnuemonia and in the middle of that I had two allergic reaction to antibiotics. I ended up in ER. Docs told me I have the flu. My brother who I saw right before I got sick had viral meningitis, and he's very healthy and fit.

After leaving the hospital and have terrible feeling of being so unwell, then I came fown with bronchitis. This flu will give you one thing after another. You think it's separate illnesses but they all come from the same flu.

Everything I had was viral. Antibiotics didn't work. And I'm afraid the doctors are right. This is the flu working its way out of your system. It takes time.

I know it sucks. I lost my job and had to take care of my family. At times like this, call on your friends to leave food at your door. Call upon natural health practitioners because antibiotics do nothing. Have epsom salt baths. Use lavender oil. Drink thyme tea.

Good luck.

Hey there,

So my mother came to visit me. Today I still was dead tired. I had a bowl of rice and beans and that's it. When she came, we ordered food. While it was coming, I felt almost fainting. This is because my doctor clearly said I NEED food! And it came and I forced some chicken sandwich down. It must have been low blood sugar to feel that faint and extremely weak muscles. I drank half a Gatorade after and I felt like a new being. I walked to her car and to the hotel she booked. And I had 0 problems. My heart is still a little crazy from 2 hours ago. But no fainting feeling. However, I'm still tired but not dead. I needed food. I can eat normal meals now because I was on 500 calorie days. That will make you very weak. Also doctor told me to take it easy while recovering. Let me know what else I should do. I do not feel extremely sick at all

Wow that is great news!!! Glad you are better...500 calories diet will make yoyou weak and not want to do anything keep us posted

Hey there I'm about to sleep. My chest is still congested and I'm not taking how I feel for granted. Going to slowly eat more food and more supplements. I have barely ate since Monday and have had 0 nutrients in my stomach which resulted in that severe fainting weakness I had. But still going to keep it bland. Let me know how you are doing and hope the best. 

Hey again, 

I have not received the flu shot since 2014 then again I haven't been sick since. Today I walked around freely but never pushed it. I had to disinfect my apartment and yes I am tired currently at 3 PM but not in bed all day. What a relief. My legs are extremely numb though don't know why. But I am starting to eat more too

Virus still running through you. Hang in there sounds like daily you are little better. Hopefully next few days all symptoms subside. I'm on the fence with the flu shot lately. thanks

Agreed. You are right. I still have a congested chest and still a pretty annoying cough. My energy is way better. I slept only 5 hours last night which makes me feel pretty damn bad but otherwise the significant change is I'm not bedridden. 

I walked to class for the first time today. The moment I got I am dead tired. Well it was an accomplishment. And I have to go. Do you think I'm doing better? I have exams to take too. Just wish I didn't fear the normal activities as much

Walking to class is more then you have done in a while. Each day little by little you will see small improvement. Stay positive and keep with the fluids at all time to flush it quicker through ur body. See how you do in few more days. Drink eat and try good sleeping and stay positive

Hi again, 

Yesterday I walked to the campus again for school but I did feel super tired the moment I sat down. I had to take two exams but I got them out the way. I been drinking Gatorade and definitely have been eating way more; 1500 calories around but it should be 2000. When I got home around 6, my eyes were drowsy and as always the body needed it's rest. Last night around 9-10 I was just dead tired which should be normal but I'm thinking I need to eat more. God forbid low blood sugar because  I did enough harm last week. This morning I woke up still symptoms; inflamed throat, cough, runny nose, etc. I hope for 100% soon 

Maybe in few days make a follow up with Dr at ur school or urgent Care center. Just to make sure your lungs are clear. Keep doing what ur doing. The cough and runny nose lingers for weeks. I am still 16 days later and runny nose. My kids have bad coughing. Just make sure symptoms don't get worse if they do go directly to ER or to Dr. Hang in there

Yes absolutely. Couldn't agree more. But what I am monitoring is my energy levels. That is what is key. Everything else is just lingering and takes time like the ER doctor said. So no worries. My mind just wanders when I get these things 

As soon as ur mind starts to go the wrong way redirect it by doing something else. Take ur mind off of it. My daughter has that and I tell her she controls her brain. As soon as you start to think anxiety go and do something to take ur mind to another place.

Hi again,

I did exactly what you said; I started to feel sick this morning again so I just left the apartment and walked to the school doctor to do a check in. She gave me a herb called eleuthero or Siberian ginseng. She said it's amazing for the body and health and it's also a cultural herb used around the world. I took one pill as I left her office and I felt great immediately after. However, it is very very strong and potent; 30 mins in and I realize that my entire body is having a reaction to its potency. Later on, I got back home and just rested til now. I am tired again but I did not feel that fatigue as I was walking around. Maybe it's ok to continue then. I did read on how many people it helped. The only thing I saw is it thins blood or lowers blood pressure but I'm keeping an eye open. This could be the thing. I just don't like how strong it is on my body

That's sounds wonderful. I say take it. It's natural and comes from the earth. It's fine to take. You are young and strong don't worry urself about the low sugar. Take the new herb drink lots. Ur still recovering but sounds each day little better. You also sound like you create anxiety for urself. Remember that u control that. Always redirect ur mind when you start to feel bad. I'm confident this will all pass for you. Your young and strong. Take ur mind off of all the illness and pick up a hobby of some sorts. Keep me posted

Hey again

So yesterday I as usual walked to class with the intent of taking one of the  eleuthero supplements and it did not provide me with the same energy the day before. In fact, it drew my energy lower as I was sitting down while doing work. Quite unusual as that is not what I was expecting. I just went home after and rested until the night. I seem to be extremely tired after dinner or around 8-9 which is a hour or two after eating. I woke up today just still fatigued. I did walk to the campus though but just again, it's been quite the nuisance to feel the body not responding 100% to the energy levels. It's been 7 days since I have been eating normally too and maybe 2.5 weeks since all this began

Yeah I’m in the same boat at certain periods of the day I feel like I’m dragging along...but still staying strong doing what I have to do to get through the day....it’s been 6 days since I started eating normally here....and sometimes I notice the morning is still rough but I am glad you are walking and doing what you normally do and not circumb to this....I know on my end, in the one week I have accomplished a lot and am at 75%-80% with some minor rough patches along the way....like this morning my side hurt and my mind went crazy...thinking is my appendix spleen gall bladder etc. but then i realized if it was that it wouldn’t have gone away like it did....as it was just in the morning and it hurts when i twist and move around but nothing else....so our minds are very strong and we just have to be stronger.....i know i saw it before that if we do things it eases the feeling a little bit.....but most importantly make sure you are getting rest when you need it....as Lisa says it will pass and you will be back to normal....

Hang in there. Sorry to tell you but people are not feeling 90 percent until 3-4 weeks and some even longer. Keep taking the natural supplement. May need to be in ur body consistently for it to work consistently. You are a lot better then you were when it started. I would worry if you were getting worse. Even ten percent better each day is good. Just stay away from sick people because you don't need another illness especially cause ur still recovering. Make sure you constantly sanitize and wash your hands good. Never touch ur face. Keep drinking and eating and take a look at ur progress in few days. Also keep ur mind busy at all times so that you don't think so much about this. You don't want to create urself into being sicker then what you are. Just taking a while to get ur body back to normal. You will get there but you must keep ur mind strong and positive always. Keep me posted

Totally agreed. It takes time to rejuvenate the energy back. I'm definitely not worse but most of the time it's psychological. I'll prove it. I should've listened to your last post. I went out today to a movie and just got back home and I felt way better when I was out and about. I got to just focus on normality and not checking myself every 5 mins. It's hard but this issue is slowly resolving. It's the mind that tricks you into thinking the worst or something crazy.

Yes absolutely glad to hear it. A week has gone by since I been eating normal and I have been walking every single day back and forth. That's how you get your energy back by just getting up and moving

And also like I just mentioned to the other guy here, another person told me they had the exact same fatigue where they got up and wanted to immediately lay down all day with no appetite. You just have to get up and move and force yourself to eat normally. He got over it in several days but patience is key

Chris so glad when I hear close to 80 percent. In another few days it will be even better. As worse as this sickness was for you it actually made ur immune system stronger much stronger. Flu strains are pretty much strongest out there and ur body won the battle. That means the more milder viral germs you will be able to stand off. The phrase this shall pass was given to me as a child when I was sick and now my kids do it when they are sick. Always remember it will pass. Our minds are very amazing they way they can make us think things even though we don't want to think them. Always redirect ur brain when it starts to stray. Also godforbid appendix u would know, first sign like someone is stabbing you in ur side and u will have fevers and basically can't walk. Your body is still getting wrid of the flu. Hang in there keep me posted. Ur friend Lisa

Paul don't let ur mind control you you need to control it. It ur brain could it would make you feel horrible lay in bed and pitty urself all day because ur not 100 percent yet. I try to teach my kids and myself to regain that control and redirect the mind to do other stuff when it goes the way it shouldn't. So glad u got up and saw a movie just doing anything is key to moving on. Each day fatigue will follow you but you will push through it and do what you have to do. Eat drink sleep and do things. I am definitely a germ freak and that's why I have done so many years of research with virus's and germs. Whenever you go to the movies or any public place you need to have sanitizer in ur pocket of jacket or pants. You never touch ur face in any way and always sanitize after leaving. When my kids get sick they always say this shall pass but I also remind them they must have touched their nose or mouth to get the yucky germs. Don't touch ur face and sanitize always. I never go anywhere without it. I have them everywhere. You can also get the alcohol free so it doesn't dry ur hands out. Also is you are a face toucher like my kid. She likes to pick her lips so I trained her every time she wants to pick her lips she remembers to apply chapstick instead of picking them. I trained her to remember how she felt when she was sick and now she travels to school with her sanitizer and chapstick in backpack. Just don't touch ur face until your hands r clean. We r all in the same boat as far as not being 100 percent yet but we don't want another germ on top of trying to get better. It can happen trust me on that. Stay busy, control that brain that wonders everywhere, remember you are in control and keep up ur daily routines. Smile be positive and happy because you won the battle of the flu. Ur just in recovery stage. Some people did not get so lucky like us. Be positive and safe and keep me updated.

Hey again,

I wanted to update you. Last 2 days have been fantastic. Last time I talked to you, I went to a  movie but later that night I felt better. The following morning, I woke up and literally I had ZERO fatigue issues. No body ache, fatigue while walking, etc. none of the issues I mentioned to you occurred that Saturday. I had a Powerade too later in the day and boy it felt like an adreline rush but not in a bad way. Yesterday same thing; no issues, no weakness nothing. I'm naturally tired not severely anymore. Today I also felt better. I even walked around 4-5 PM today to the campus to get my body moving at least once  a day. The only thing that has bothered me is my ears have some slight pressure differences but this is maybe because I was exposed to 30 degree weather and I'm in WA so it's pretty cold in the last week. Hopefully nothing occurs because of that but most likely not. Other than that, my fatigue somehow flushed out Friday night. I had a huge 1000 calorie burrito for dinner maybe I needed something huge instead of 1500 calories a day. I also stopped the Eleuthero herb. No need to take it if I'm not almost 100% or maybe I am back to full energy.

Omg you made my night. I'm so happy for you. I told you from the beginning this shall pass. Ur ears is def from cold weather. I get that also. Sometimes my ears get a weird pain when in the cold. Oh I'm so happy you are getting so much better. So glad that we can be here to support each other. Remember we are almost through this horrible season of flus. But still be careful and wash always and sanitizer as soon after you use money credit cards anything that someone else has touched. Keep up the eating and drinking. Promise me you will get the flu shot next year. I was always on the defense with it but even if it gives you 10 percent coverage it's better then no coverage. This year's we were just told it only covered 36 percent which is still better then no percent. The good thing is ur body was exposed to the strongest flu out there so if this strain comes next season your body has immunity to not get it so bad. It would be a quarter of what you had. The antibodies stay in you forever so if this strain tries to enter you again it will push it out because you built the immunity against it. I'm so happy for you. Keep me posted.

You have my word for next season on getting the vaccination. What you then said about my body being able to fight it off if it ever comes back made me feel way more confident. Again, I think I'm just a brink away from being able to work out and everything however I want to give it a few more days. Also again I'll be monitoring and being careful of cold weather. This week, it's going to snow some days and the high/lows is 40/20 which is pretty brutal. Just do not want anything to escalate. It's been a long demanding 2 weeks so much fear, so much worry, and I never at once trusted myself until I kept being told by you or professionals that this is not severe and takes time. Also my issue at first was not eating which caused the trip to ER via ambulance. Overall, the great thing is this is my last school year around students which makes anybody super vulnerable to flus or illnesses as I get my BS in June then its back home to the Bay Area away from the cold for me. I will definitely keep you updated

Today everything is better. All I got to say is I had to walk to campus and it was 30 degrees outside with medium to high levels of snow and wind and it just caused a little dizziness and weakness. Is this normal for cold weather? I'm calmer now but the moment I got back I felt that weakness. Other than that everything is good

I just talked to my counselor he said I'm in a heated room all day and walking in that cold weather can cause the lightheadness so it's just common anxiety and common occurrence then. Got to not check how I feel

Paul from talking with you for few weeks I can tell you def have anxiety. You are controlling it but sometimes it becomes you. Yes when you sit in warm heated rooms then go to frigid cold temps it def messes with ur equalibrium. Don't forget you still have a little more recovery to do also. Have you ever spoke about ur anxiety to a Dr? I have it bad from a traumatic experience I had when my child was young and my Dr put me on a medication when the anxiety flairs up I take it as needed. Works within 20 mins relaxing me away from the panic of anxiety. Anxiety is very common. I don't want to see you taking and meds however don't want to see you suffer with it also. See how you do in a week or so. Maybe when you go back home for break you speak with ur primary doctor about it. Anyway when you feel that light-headed make sure you are hydrated. Did you drink anything? You need fluids possibly.

Hey again,

Obviously as you said I did feel normal again and proceeded with my evening. I do have a psychologist and have had one for 7 years now. For the last 4 years he has helped me deal with some bad OCD. 4 years ago I quit smoking marijuana but only because I experienced a very almost painful and deathly feeling from mixing it with some over the counter meds when I was taking it with the weed. Eventually it caused such a severe reaction, I quit and have been sober since. Now the second problem was 4 days later out of nowhere, I started to experience vertigo one night for no apparent reason. I was just finishing off some bronchial flu as well that flushed out my system. So long story short, I have never been as sick as I was since I had the vertigo attacks in 2014 and I got the OCD anxiety since every time I get sick or even a common cold I feel the vertigo will return. Or the feeling of dying like you know about. But my counselor has been the most helpful since I have been on some very amazing supplements since I met him. The bright side is life is going back to normal. You said and the doctor said it takes time for body to adapt to normality so expect some ups and downs. It is nothing severe

Hey again, I do have a psychologist for the last 6-7 years who has helped with my OCD a lot. As I said to you in previous messages, I cope with doing the calming techniques such as the mindfulness and so forth. As of last night, you stand corrected too as what everyone else said; because I'm not use to weather below 40 degrees, it's a shock to your system and it takes time. It definitely can cause weak and faint but it's not severe from what I heard. But the bright side is no fatigue. I love the fact I'm taking good strides in my health. It's been crazy in the past but I'm taking everything for granted. Everything should be flushed out soon too. All I asked for is to be able to walk and enjoy myself and proceed with life instead of constant worry. But now that I'm over what I had 2 weeks ago, it slowly is going back to normal 

Good for you. Some people don't have the will power to stop things that are bad for them and you did. Ocd is real trust me I have it with my house. My family thinks it's funny but if things r out of place I can't sleep it bothers me. Just have to learn to live and manage it which you seem to be doing just fine. I never understood vertigo and why it happens. My mom had an episode once and thought it was vertigo but it was something with her hearing which made her unbalanced. Anyway keep up the good work and I'm you will do well. You are a strong individual and seems determined to beat whatever comes your way. Keep me posted. Proud that you stopped all that stuff before it could have been to late for you like others. Good job my friend.

Hey thanks for everything as usual and you are right. An example would be just today I made a bagel with cashew butter for a snack. Now I'm not allergic to any foods because I know I had before and I got checked when I was young. I immediately felt some parts of my throats swollen up and my anxiety went through the roof. I called a hotline nurse minutes later and she said I would be experiencing way more symptoms as she thought it was hard for the throats to swallow. So I'm better now. Wow what a scary moment. I hate when something small happens it triggers my thoughts. But it can't be anything serious. I obviously hate nuts and their butter but that was insane