My roommate came down with a nasty cold last week and stayed as far away from me as is possible in this house (partly because my labs recently showed a mildly low WBC).
So all this week I've been a little more achey than usual, with a l.g. fever, and pretty bad chest ache - all symptoms I get with M.E. It seems like every hour I changed my mind "It's just M.E., no, it's the cold, no, it's just M.E.". Yesterday I went to bed deciding that it was "just M.E." due to the fact that I have not had any congestion....only to wake up with a productive cough.
Turns out I have a cold virus. It seems to have seated itself in my chest from the get go which is unusual for me. Well, it makes me think that M.E. for this individual must be VERY VERY closely related to a virus.
Another interesting find that I've been pondering this week.
When I get low grade fevers (probably 5-10 days a month) they tend to peak in the afternoon and go away in the evening. I was considering how strange this is so I googled it and guess what? It's typical of a mononucleosis infection.
While there is still debate whether or not Epstein Barr virus (the virus that often causes mono) can be chronic or not, it was the infection that triggered my M.E. My specialist thinks that I often have what she calls a "reactivated infection" and I think, despite the contradictory science, that I'm in agreement.
I haven't felt inspired to blog here, partly because my life is pretty dull at present. I lay in bed, play computer games, read, watch TV, rest....not much to write about. Hope all who read this are relatively well.
Good to read your post, upnorth, but not good to hear you have a cold virus settling in your chest. Stay warm, rest along and drink alot of liquids. I bet that sounds like your mom! Ha! Sometimes it is hard not to be the mom after 42 yrs of it. On a serious note, sure hope you heal quickly from this latest onslaught. Hugs to you!
ReplyDeleteHi UpNorth! Been a while, hope you've been doing alright. Sorry to hear you have a cold, I've been home sick myself with a cold this last week and a half. Always so frustrating, on top of everything else!
ReplyDeleteMy CFS definitely started with mono because I got mono for the first time, and then instead of resting until I got better, I took some time off but then went back to work, worked my butt off and traveled/applied to grad schools. When you say it's the infection that triggered your M.E., do you mean that you had mono and also never got better? Or got better, and then it later reactivated? Just curious, hope you don't mind the questions :)
Feel better!
DolceVita,
ReplyDeleteI got sick with mono and never recovered...actually felt pretty much the same ever since, although some Dr.s tell me the mono is gone. However, my specialist believes some people either continue to have a reactivated infection or something like "chronic mono".