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Glandular Fever
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Hi All,
I've just been diagnosed with glandular fever after a blood test. :banghead:
The doctor said no alcohol, smoking (:crying: ), plenty of rest and fluids, and no heavy exertion (that one doesn't affect me too much anyway!
)
I've already confirmed the alcohol advice to my cost, it wasn't nice at all waking up the next day, or the next day either. Won't be overdoing the drink again, which is a bastard because thats one of my greatest pleasures. The other problem is I'm right in the middle of an intensive masters course which I cannot afford to suspend or defer, so I'm going to have to keep working hard and its also pretty stressful.
But I just wondered if anyones had it before and if you had any useful experiences/remedies/advice? I'm pretty sure I've had it for just over a month already so I'm hoping the worst is over - although I have deteriorated quite a bit in the last few days.
:yuck:
I've just been diagnosed with glandular fever after a blood test. :banghead:
The doctor said no alcohol, smoking (:crying: ), plenty of rest and fluids, and no heavy exertion (that one doesn't affect me too much anyway!
)I've already confirmed the alcohol advice to my cost, it wasn't nice at all waking up the next day, or the next day either. Won't be overdoing the drink again, which is a bastard because thats one of my greatest pleasures. The other problem is I'm right in the middle of an intensive masters course which I cannot afford to suspend or defer, so I'm going to have to keep working hard and its also pretty stressful.
But I just wondered if anyones had it before and if you had any useful experiences/remedies/advice? I'm pretty sure I've had it for just over a month already so I'm hoping the worst is over - although I have deteriorated quite a bit in the last few days.
:yuck: 0
Comments
i had it really bad, i was nearly hospitalised because i was struggling to swallow. they let me stay at home though - but only because my mum is a nurse.
i know how you feel about the being ill and studies thing. i'm in my final year of uni now and had stomach problems on off since september - it's set me back quite a bit and i've missed a fair few lectures and seminars. financially etc i really don't want to repeat a year. been on medication and having a gastroscopy in 2 weeks. they've offered me extensions but i don't think they're going to help! even if i get an extension, i still have to do the piece of work and have other work to do after that, too. argh! anyway went off on a tangent a bit there...
your doctor is right, you need rest. otherwise you won't get any better. the more you do now, the longer you'll be run down for.
first and foremost you need to let your uni know what is going on - and then see what they suggest.
You do need to rest loads and drink bucketloads of water.
Aka, goodbye social life other than afternoon coffee or something for your sanity, no late nights or any of that nonsense and lots of tlc for yourself.
:yes: And be prepared to have a virtually non existent immune system for a good 12 months afterwards.
Poor you, I had it when I was 15/16 and it knocked me for six for quite a long time. The only thing that seemed to work were these herbal pills to help boost immune system, massive they were, I could barely swallow them! That's the crap thing about GF, it's a virus so there's not much you can do but ride it out and eat really well and take supplements (defo no alcohol, it can put you back a few days). It took me longer to get over because I was underweight, so make sure you try and eat even if you don't feel like it. It's normally usual for your glands to stay swollen even quite a few months down the line when you are feeling better, so it's even more important you take it easy. Hope you feel better soon...
Thanks a lot for the advice and support.
I did have one other question which is what medication would you suggest to relieve the symptoms? At the moment I'm just necking paracetamol and sucking strepsils for the throat...also Pearly what were those herbal supplements you were on?
Thanks again
Paracetamol is definitely the best thing to take, ah I remember that sore thoat, not nice at all. I was a veggie at the time and it was only a couple of years ago my mum admitted to me that the really realistic Linda Mcartney mince she'd been making me with pasta was actually real meat, and how she used to put a chicken in the soup all night to get the nutrients out just so I'd get some goodness in me!
This is very, very rare though, obviously....
It seems to have been since then, i'm nowhere near as bad as i was - but i don't think i ever got back to how i was.
Anyway, to make myself feel better....I used Strepsils with anaesthetic to numb my throat so I could eat, take nurophen and paracetamol alternating every two hours I think (check with the doc or nhs direct, don't want you to take too many)to reduce the pain, lots of hot showers and baths and of course as much rest as possible.
It can take a long time to get over for some people and can leave you feeling pretty down just as other viruses can! So make sure you look after yourself and better still make sure other people are looking after you and try not to stress about anything.
Hope you feel better soon
They really can't. A girl last year came to college one day, and went home early at the end of the day, missing our last lesson. She was in at 9 the next morning, and when asked wy she'd gone home she stated "I had glandular fever". I'm sorry, but if she had of, she'd of known about it, and she wouldn't have been in college less than 24 hours later. It's the sheer aching, and wanting to be asleep, I couldn't go to school for full days for a while, luckily they were really understanding.
It is horrendous, I found the best things for my throat were Tyrozets which you can get over the counter at most pharmacies, although you do have to be careful how many you take.
i don't think many 10 year olds get run down..
ugh i hate it when people do things like that! it's like when people say 'i had the flu'. no you fucking didn't, you had the snuffles. if you had the flu you'd really know about it.
Thanks, and thanks to everyone else for the advice and sympathy.
Hopefully those worst case scenarios won't happen to me...although I have to say I've never felt this bad before in my life. In fact I've never really had a serious illness before (at least not since a kid). Its not very pleasant! Just lying in bed forgetting about work, drinking apple juice and water and watching youtube...could be worse I suppose!
I haven't been the same since but i was also diagnosed with an underactive thyroid at the same time.
It actually stays in your blood so it is possible that Ballerina is still affected by it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/medical_notes/2903897.stm
My Brother also had it when he was about 17 and he had to go into hospital because he had to have a drip and his temp was WAY to high and also kept getting a random bright red rash that would appear for about 2 minutes and then dissappear and the docs were a bit freaked!
Nasty little virus id say make sure you follow the docs advise, you need get rid of it properly. Apparantley it stays dormant in you system for a few years and so if you get really run down theres always a chance of it coming back! Dont know if thats 100% true though, just what i seem to remember!