E. Barr Virus

[KrissiK]

I have been struggling for the past several years with a variety of physical... things (for want of a better word) that I am trying to sort through and I'm wondering if any of you have had the same complaints and if so, what are you doing about them! I've gone to my GP and gotten no satisfaction. They are too busy to listen to me and not terribly interested in figuring out what my problem is. Over the past 10 years I periodically get bouts of extreme fatigue. Like, I can barely lift my arms and all I want to do is sleep, even though I get 8-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night. That lasts a week or two, then it's gone. Last spring I had a blood test and was diagnosed with E. Barr Virus (I'm 41 btw, so a little too old for full blown mono). My dr. said that's what's been causing my fatigue. Does this sound right? I've looked over the Internet and it seems right, but noone has any answers as to what to do about it. My dr. certainly doesn't. Does this happen to anyone? Any supplements you've tried that work?

[Tap]

I don't know if it will help you but ds had mono in the fall. He had lingering fatigue and what we found that helps is:

 

Coconut oil taken in the form of coconut milk added to smoothies

Increased protein-whey protein added to the smoothies is an easy way to do this.

 

A super B complex vitamin along with extra C.

 

A multivitamin

 

And Lysine.

 

 

He is a competitive swimmer and carries a heavy academic load. He has a lot of pressure for kid. If he slows down on this regimen he notices right away. He will get exhausted easily, feels the stress sooooo much more than usual, he looses focus academically and just can't keep up. A few days back on this regimen and he is back to himself. The change is drastic and predictable if he stops.

[WiseOwlKnits]

Have you read about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? Sounds like you might have that and people with it often test positive for EBV, although they're not sure what the link is....

[Paz]

I would also look into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. My brother and I have both been diagnosed with it. Often it is diagnosed when there are a variety of symptoms and they have ruled out other health conditions. Having a positive Ebstein Barr test may also indicate it. It is complicated and there are various theories about its cause. Good nutrition, proper sleep, resting when tired, not pushing oneself, and a variety of nutritional supplements are helpful. Two of the most recent and promising ones are D-Ribose (Corvalen is a popular brand name,) and immpower.

[Janna]

I had full blown mono 5 years ago. I did not present normally (I didn't have the sore throat, but rather a lot of weight loss, extreme fatigue and night sweats), so they thought I had lymphoma. Since I had a very swollen lymph node in my neck that had been swollen for almost 2 months and there was no pain with it, they decided on immediate surgery for a biopsy so they could start treatment for the "lymphoma" asap. The biopsy revealed both Epstein barr and also cytomegalovirus. After that, I got the sore throat *groan*.

 

Anyway, like I said, that was 5 years ago and I am *still* tired all the time. There are times when I feel like I am completely drugged. I was pregnant a year and a half ago and I cannot even tell you the kind of exhaustion I had with that pregnancy. I have said more than once, before, during and after that pregnancy that I feel as tired as I did with mono. And sometimes moreso.

 

All that to say that I am so relieved to see this post. I am going to look into this. I don't have any help to offer you and I never thought that the E.barr would still be causing problems so I haven't given it a second thought. I just know, and my dh will confirm this, that I don't have the energy I once had and it's not because I'm getting "old". Something's not right and I've said it over and over again. The memories my kids are going to have of me is that I was tired all the time. :(

 

Also, in regards to Chronic Fatigue syndrome, it's my understanding that the diagnosis for that is pretty strict. There *must* be cold symptoms followed by the fatigue that lasts for a certain period of time. I don't remember it all, I just know that I had looked into it at one time and was told I didn't have it because of the lack of cold/flu like symptoms...but that was 4 years ago.

 

Thanks for posting!

[cougarmom4]

I was diagnosed with Epstein Barr about 15 years ago. I can relate to the complete exhaustion--I used to try squeezing my hands into a fist with all my might and it was obvious I had no might at all! I haven't really had problems since, although I've never been one with tons of energy. I went to the doctor a few months ago because I have been feeling completely exhausted and just can't seem to get over it. (I had just had a bit of a fever & aches & pains, but it was lasting forever). He said that it was likely a recurrence of the Epstein Barr, but that typical blood tests wouldn't reveal much because once you've had the virus, you will always have antibodies in your blood. Apparently you can do more expensive tests, but as there is nothing you can really do for EPV, he didn't see much of a point. So, in a nutshell, he said rest, rest, rest and don't over do it.

 

At any rate, I feel like my kids will always remember me as a tired mom, too. I *have* to lay down every afternoon for a rest...I just can hardly function without it.

 

On a side note, my husband has recently been commenting that I sound like I'm hardly breathing at night and he thinks I need to go for a sleep study for sleep apnea. From what I've read about this, it really does affect your sleep and can really keep you from getting a good night's sleep. Just throwing that out there as a possibility--although as you described such complete exhaustion, it might be a long shot.

 

Hope you find something that helps!