Have felt ill ever since glandular fever- thyroid problem?

[jimboneedshelp]

Hi, im a 25 year old male, shortly before my 20th birthday i had glandular fever and it was pretty serious. my doctor considered hospitalising me. my throat and neck area was hit pretty hard. since then i have steadily being putting weight on and most recently (last 3 months) my digestive system is in total chaos (appears to be a link between hypo and gastro conditions?). weight loss is nearly impossible considering i do excersise and have tried cutting calories progressively but still, my body refuses to change. feel rubbish about myself in general, low confidence, self esteem. Lack of motivation, concentration, always feel tired, muscles ache quickly when exercising.

A little more about my digestive system. without being crude about the details of my 'stools', it's so inconsistant. i can go in the morning and its like diahorrea, lunch time it's 'normal' and in the evening can be small pellets! BUT then i can go perhaps 3 days with passing nothing, sometimes longer. Ive attempted to keep my diet near enough identical for a week to see if it was the food i'm taking in but it makes no difference. Ive passed blood on a few occasions and even mucus on another (which the doctor knows about but did nothing). get mild cramps in my intestines and sometimes a strong pulse near my lower-left area of my rib cage- stomach??

Ive been taking a 'one a day' multivitamin to see if that helps......but i dont feel any effect. It's like im not getting any nutritional value from my food or anything that passes my lips and is just being sent out of my back end??? Like my body is attacking itself....if thats possible?

Ive never felt the same since glandular fever and was wondering if someone could shed some light on the possibility that it may have had a permenant negative effect on my thyroid and if it is contributing to my problem/symptoms.

Why haven't i seen a doctor yet? Fact is im in the military, doctors care about getting you back to work asap with the minimum of fuss and will almost certainly be wasting my time although any information i can gather from here may give me the confidence i need to confront the doctor where possible backed up with good knowledge to make some progress.

Thanks for reading, all opinions greatly recieved. Look forward to contributing to the forum,

Jimbo

[kaurini]

Hi I;m 52 and have had Glandular fever since early Sept .......my sons girlfriend has also contracted it from me and has a positive mono blood result. I cant go back to work cos after and hour of anything my glands swell up...also recently, i feel pressure near ribs on my right side..liver..and there was a little lump that was sore to touch but within two days, went..but pressure is still there if i bend over say, or lay on that side...is it serious?...I feel fat suddenly in the area under the ribs .and about 3 inches diwn and spread across stomach.

My blood levels have been checked but mono was borderline???or a question mark was set against it Doc said.... but not positive so another blood test booked.

The..things is, as my sons girlfriend has it...it has to be Glandular fever..but Doctor seems to be thinking that as mono test is negative, it might not be....I also had fever for about 4 weeks, she thought it was menopause, i said i hadn't had before..,and now sweats have gone...i am confused...she said it isn't  a Lymphoma because cells involved are not high enough.

I think it is GF...its too coincidental for it not to be..what with sons girlfriend getting it..isn't it?

What shall i do about the liver  thing??? i was thinking of a liver flush treatment of apple juice, lemon juice and a small spoon of epsom salt..do you think thats a good idea.?.

Doc isn't doing anything about it...what will she give for liver????? is there treatment??

Also i have noticed a lot of flatulence so stomach is upset somehow due to  the GF?? How is the thyroid affected in GF?

Any help or suggestions welcome..

.PS, why has little lump disappeared so quickly from liver surface area???..it was there and now gone in such a short space of time 2 or 3 days..it felt like a burning sensation suddenly and that led me to prod about on surface under ribcage  on stomach, about an inch down and I found it, pressed it and it hurt...now its gone????

[yallolorry]

lol! love your no nonsense approach nurse primrose - and great name! :) you tell it like it is!

[nurse_primrose]

Glandular fever is a completely different illness to mumps for goodness sake!!!

[yallolorry]

Hi Jimbo

poor you, big sympathy. so sorry you feel so rotten

I have to counter medicmommy's view that glandular fever is the same as mumps, not so, I think the US call glandular fever mono. Mumps is something different. these links give more info on both.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infectious_mononucleosis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumps

She's right about the blood tests though - do go and get them done you need a proper diagnosis, with everything going on in your digestive system and general malaise, you obviously need to find out what's wrong, something's clearly up!.

Like you I used to have lots of digestive issues but my digestion is now pretty good. I also had terrible skin and that too is now sorted so there is light at the end of the tunnel! Sugar and white flour are two things well worth avoiding, they just clog you up, they're rubbish, eat lots of fruit and veg and good quality protein. you might find trying something like digestive enzymes and/or a probiotic helps regulate your insides. Exercise should help too but if you are too tired to exercise don't force it you might need rest more right now. Seriously, go to a doctor, tell them how mixed up your bowel movements are and how miserable you feel and insist that they help you.

tamstar's suggstion to see an acupuncturist could be worthwhile as well but you might want to start with addressing your diet as detailed above (you might not need to limit calories, just eat the right stuff and cut out junk) and getting key blood tests done first.

wishing you better. It's so tough feeling unwell. We all know.

xx

[tamstar_5]

hI jimbo, i have had the same sort of problems, find yourself a good acupuncturist that is qualified to also practise traditional chinese medicine, believe me, it will turn your life around, but give it a good shot, at least 6 treatments, and do drink the herbs you will have to cook up, do it for you, please.i understand. tamstar

[tflounderb]

I had a lot of digestion problems as well as lack of motivation, muscle aches and more before the doctor told me I was prediabetic. Take sugar out of you diet and see how you feel or go to the doctor and ask for a blood glucose test.  You might be surprised at the results.

[medicmommy]

Hiya! In the US, we call glandular fever the "Mumps"...When caught in adulthood, it can wreak havoc on your fertility, hormones, and, yes, it can give you thyroiditis resulting in hypothyroidism...It can also mess with your pancreas...Were I you, I'd start out with getting a full physical complete with full range blood labs that check the functions of thyroid, liver, folate levels, and pancreatic functions. Unbalanced levels in any of these can cause metabolism problems, diabetes, malabsorption (gut) problems, and even fertility and psychiatric problems (e.g depression, anxiety, sleep disorders)...It's sort of a "shot gun" approach, but blood tests are easy to do, and way more efficient than playing guessing games with your Dr...Also, get copies of all of your lab tests. You just never know when they will come in handy, and -you may make "connections" before your Dr does...(Keep in mind, they have to address the problems of hundreds of people, where you only have to address you.) Good luck! ~MM