![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Questionmark on January 31, 2005, at 3:43:16
Alright, so the Epstein-Barr virus [that causes] mononucleosis is said to stay in your body for life once you are infected. But supposedly your immune system keeps it suppressed after you get over the illness. However, it can (i believe) "flare up" again later in life, depending on various factors.
i was first told i had mono (after a blood test) when i was 14 (24 now), and then i was found to have it again at 17 and like 21 or something. But for a long time i didn't know about the virus staying in your body for life and thought that i was just extremely unlucky because one rarely ever gets it more than once.
i still get sick quite a lot though, and since early January i have had the flu for a week, and then have cycled between having a very fatigue-inducing, sinus-filled, tonsils-and-lymph-nodes-of-neck-very-swollen soar throat (w/ cough sometimes) for around several days and getting & feeling better for around a week... like 4 or 5 times each! (Sorry for that disgusting run-on.) And NOW i am sick AGAIN!! i am so SICK of this (NOT a pun)!
So, but anyway, my questions... Is it possible that i am having a bout of less-than-severe mono again? After a person has mono and gets over it, what is the relative likelihood that s/he will get it again (i.e., that the virus will infect him/her enough to induce with illness again) in the future? Can one's immune system be suppressed frequently and/or for a long time after first getting mono-- and if so, is it possible that this is why i keep getting sick so often? (It has been ridiculously, infuriatingly, deathly cold beyond deathly cold for awhile here in PA, too, and i haven't been eating healthy at all in the past month-- or always getting nearly enough sleep-- but i still wonder if there's something freaking wrong with me lately!)
i would really appreciate any comments or responses to this. Thanks.
Posted by Optimist on January 31, 2005, at 11:09:57
In reply to Mononucleosis questions, posted by Questionmark on January 31, 2005, at 3:43:16
"i haven't been eating healthy at all in the past month-- or always getting nearly enough sleep--"
Both of those can impair your immune system allowing you to be more susceptible to infection, as well as preventing you from getting over one.
Your other illness don't seem to be related to your past mono experiences. I believe they are independent of one another. My 2 c.
Brian
Posted by Larry Hoover on February 2, 2005, at 8:53:53
In reply to Mononucleosis questions, posted by Questionmark on January 31, 2005, at 3:43:16
> Alright, so the Epstein-Barr virus [that causes] mononucleosis is said to stay in your body for life once you are infected. But supposedly your immune system keeps it suppressed after you get over the illness. However, it can (i believe) "flare up" again later in life, depending on various factors.
Absolutely correct. Same with all the herpes viruses, including herpes zoster (chicken pox), which resurfaces late in life as shingles. Polio comes back (in some people), etc. It seems to be true of a great number of different viruses.
One of the theories of chronic fatigue syndrome is persistent viral activation. Eventually, your body succumbs to the constant activation, just literally tiring out from the effort to suppress the virus.
Stress can be a triggering factor because of adrenal stimulation. The end result is too much competition for the body's efforts/capacity, if I may simplify it to that. Stress is a high nutrient demand situation, and so is immune activation. They can't both obtain all the raw materials required for their respective biochemical machinery, while at the same time, the effects of the activation can actually reduce nutrient intake.
I strongly recommend that you ensure that your intake of B-vitamins and antioxidants (in particular), and minerals (as a matter of maintenance) are enhanced during your down periods. Vitamin C, for example, is a crucial part of the antiviral armamentarium.
Get a good multivitamin, and take two every day. Add in 2000 mg of vitamin C, 800 IU of vitamin E (mixed tocopherols), 200 mcg of selenium, and, if the multi doesn't hit this mark, top up to about 40 mg zinc/day. Believe it or not, fish oil might help with the general malaise, as well.
Adding in additional niacinamide (the amide form of B3....NOT niacin), and pantothenic acid (B5), will help with energy and the adrenal aspects.
Be careful about protecting your gut area from physical violence of any sort. Epstein-Barr can cause enlargement of the spleen, and it gets more fragile (subject to rupture/bleeding) during such episodes.
Best,
Lar
Posted by Racer on February 2, 2005, at 16:51:17
In reply to Re: Mononucleosis questions » Questionmark, posted by Larry Hoover on February 2, 2005, at 8:53:53
Adding my own suggestion to Larry's, another thing to consider -- STRONGLY consider -- is learning some form of meditation/self-hypnosis/biofeedback/whatever. Just some way of learning to relax your body and reduce your physical response to stress.
Now, I will have you know that I am the least New Age person you will ever meet -- my mother gave me for Christmas one year "101 Ways To Avoid Reincarnation" and everyone laughed because it was so appropriate -- but I go to Yoga class as often as I can, and I do pay attention to how I breathe when I'm tense, and which muscles are tense, so that I can relax them, etc. No matter how much you say you're just not into that sort of thing, it WILL help if you're prone to viral outbreaks.
And, as someone who has had at least half a dozen hard core outbreaks of shingles (varicella zoster), I will tell you that it really does help. Every bit of stress in my life seems to come out in my body somehow, and knowing how to control the relaxation of my muscles helps not only to keep some of that at bay, but also to calm me down in social situations.
Good luck to you, and that advice WILL help, if you take it.
Posted by Questionmark on February 3, 2005, at 15:30:54
In reply to Re: Mononucleosis questions, posted by Racer on February 2, 2005, at 16:51:17
Thanks so much people! Those were very helpful and encouraging posts.
By the way, Racer, i've been wanting to meditate and/or do self-hypnosis and/or take Yoga lessons and/or consistently do this "peace exercise" thing that my therapist taught me for quite a long time now. i just procrastinate so stinking bad and always have so little time that i have done those things very little. (i'm not very New Age at all either, but i am very open to various things being possible).
But yeah, i guess i never realized the extent to which stress is bad for your immunity and what not. i will definitely have to try eating better, taking some more of the nutrients that Larry mentioned, and doing some sort of relaxation or stress-relieving exercise mentioned above. It was very encouraging and motivating to hear you (/Racer) say that these things "WILL help if you're prone to viral outbreaks."
i need to get my a*s to start doing all these things i need to do.
Anyway, thanks again.
Posted by CareBear04 on February 4, 2005, at 17:16:24
In reply to Mononucleosis questions, posted by Questionmark on January 31, 2005, at 3:43:16
dear questionmark,
i'm so sorry about your health. i had mono the summer when i was 12, and it was so awful to be inside feeling so yucky all the time without a cure or a pill to make it better. luckily, i haven't had any flare ups of it again. it is true that the virus remains in you forever. the same is true of malaria; that's the first that comes to mind. i'm not sure about flare ups later in life, though. if anything, they should be milder because your body has antibodies to protect you and fight off the virus. like someone said, a serious complication is a ruptured sleen. have you seen a dr about this? it could be something else, you never know. and it would be nice to have some of these questions answered authoritatively.
Posted by Questionmark on February 9, 2005, at 22:52:20
In reply to Re: Mononucleosis questions » Questionmark, posted by CareBear04 on February 4, 2005, at 17:16:24
i just asked for a blood test for mono the other day, and it came back negative. So that's good. But i'm totally at a loss for why i cannot stop getting sick now. Oh well.
Anyway, just wanted to inform, in case anyone was curious.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Health | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.