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| ecc12v13
- Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:14 am |
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Recently, I have been experiencing random sore throats, swollen glands, fever of 100, and achiness. It occurs for an evening, or for a day, leading me to believe I am getting sick, and then I wake up and its gone. Last night, I had the worst episode yet- higher fever,very sore throat, redness, achiness, and very swollen, sensitive glands - I was sure I was coming down with the flu (with the swine flu scare, the symptoms definitely had me worried). Again, I woke up this morning, and I am feeling much better. Is my body fighting off something serious that keeps emerging, or are there other underlying reasons that this could be happening? Thank you.
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| John Kenyon, CNA
- Fri May 15, 2009 8:17 pm |
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 Hello --
Depending upon just how long the current problem has been going on it could be that your body is fighting off a peristent acute viral infection or if it's been going on for, say, several weeks, this could be Epstein-Barr/mono, which is fairly chronic in its acute phase (sounds contradictory, but is acute so long as it keeps acting up, then finally goes dormant). Much of what you describe could very well be EB/mono, and if it's been going on for two weeks or more there's a good chance that's what's happening. If this has been a week or less you're probably just having one of those passing viruses that can't quite get off the ground, or recurrent reinfection by exposure to someone at work or in the household who's either infected or carrying it.
If this has gone on at least two weeks you should be seen and have bloodwork done, including a monospot test done, as well as CBC and blood chemistry. If it is mono/EB, knowing this you can know what to expect (a drawn out, intermittent syndrome such as you're experiencing, followed usually by an equally long period of fatigue and energy dropouts) and can plan to concentrate more than usual on good nutrition, rest, planning shorter activities, etc. This is helpful because not knowing you can continue to be caught short as the infection flares and energy falls off. It can make life miserable for a month or more, with sometimes several months of slow improvement.
I hope this is helpful. Good luck to you and please follow up with us here as needed.
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