The Aftermath Of Glandular Fever Five Years Later

My story starts when my eldest was 6 months old - five years ago. 

I was hit with a two week long stretch of sever headaches and extreme triedness. Tiedness like I have never experienced, to the point of falling asleep upright. I remember saying to my partner one night, if something happens to me make sure my son remembers me. A little drastic I know but at the time I knew something was wrong. Off to the doctor I went and after a few blood tests later I was diagnosed with mononucleosis (Glandular Fever). Great news that I wasn't dying... The down side was that I couldn't do anything to make it go away. For about another month I suffered from the extreme tiredness and weakness of my body, some days it was so hard to even move. My limbs feeling like I had just been swimming for hours, so tired and heavy that moving them was something I had to plan in my head for minutes before hand.

Finally it had passed and here I was thinking it was all behind me...How wrong was I! 

Every few months I would get that feeling, not to the severity of the first time but enough to hit me for a six. The tiredness comes back, the hint to slow down forces me to rest. The frustration set in that yet again I am not me, I am grumpy, tired, and lack any ambition to do anything. 

The years have gone on and my next biggest bout hit just before I fell pregnant with my youngest three years later! Sure enough the two week headache hit and the signs were all to similar. This time I felt it in my throat. It would come on at night and last until morning. The only thing that would take away my sore throat was a morning coffee. I couldn't even talk until I had finished it. So back to the doctor I went. At first I was treated for tonsillitis but the medication made no difference. After blood tests all they could tell me was that mononucleosis was present but showing up that I had had it a few months prior to my symptoms. This is always the case now. It shows up in my system under the name of Epstein Barr Virus, its just lying there waiting to strike me when my immune system gets low or when I get stressed. Again I was left lifeless for weeks with my wonderful partner holding the house up.

Five years on and I am still having bouts. Im left wondering when it will leave my system, wondering what else I can do to prevent it from taking my body over. I am yet to find an answer. It is like nothing I have experienced and I find it very hard to explain the effect that it has on my body. I can only hope that one day it will pass...


The main reason for me sharing this is that a few years ago I was that person trawling the net for answers. I was that person wanting to hear other people's stories. I wanted to know what it was like for them, how they over come it...I really just wanted to hear that others like me were dealing with this virus and that there is an end...One day I will be able to say YES it does end!

My Perfectly Messy :)