How do you know if your CFS is 'post-viral'?

[outdamnspot]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I was tested for most of the major CFS-triggering viruses and only came back positive for the chickenpox virus, which I had quite badly as a kid. I know the testing isn't very sensitive in general, and I can't afford more sensitive testing overseas or done via private pathologies. A few months before my major crash, I had a week where I was in bed with terrible nausea and vomiting, but never had a 'flu' per se.

My doctor believes Candida is contributing to my symptoms, and I have been expelling very strange things (including yeast?) since starting coffee enemas at her suggestion.

The reason I ask is because I had been considering trying Equilibrant but it's relatively expensive and my budget is limited and I'm wondering if it would help me. Is there any way to distinguish between 'viral' and 'bacterial' based CFS? My bloodwork showed low Vit D, low B12, low Zinc, low iron (normal Ferritin), high monocytes, but everything else was normal.

 

[JES]

Were you tested for coxsackieviruses? Equilibrant is formulated to be effective against these viruses, but few labs have the equipment to detect enteroviruses. I'm surprised your doctor, let alone any doctor, would suggest coffee enemas, because there is no evidence for this procedure and it can potentially be dangerous and cause a number of side effects, even death.

There are some doctors that treat CFS with antibiotics, but CFS is generally not considered to be a bacterial infection. For example, if you have Borrelia infection, then you have Lyme not CFS, and if you have mycoplasma, then you suffer from mycoplasma, etc. I have treated myself with broad-spectrum antibiotics and had no response to them whatsoever, which is how I know that my CFS symptoms are likely not from a bacterial infection.

 

[outdamnspot]

Were you tested for coxsackieviruses? Equilibrant is formulated to be effective against these viruses, but few labs have the equipment to detect enteroviruses. I'm surprised your doctor, let alone any doctor, would suggest coffee enemas, because there is no evidence for this procedure and it can potentially be dangerous and cause a number of side effects, even death.

There are some doctors that treat CFS with antibiotics, but CFS is generally not considered to be a bacterial infection. For example, if you have Borrelia infection, then you have Lyme not CFS, and if you have mycoplasma, then you suffer from mycoplasma, etc. I have treated myself with broad-spectrum antibiotics and had no response to them whatsoever, which is how I know with likelihood my CFS symptoms are not likely from a bacterial infection.

Yes, I was tested for coxsackievirus, but it was just through a standard lab. To be honest, the coffee enemas have been the only thing that have made even the slightest different since I got sick a year ago. I am in such a physically toxic state that I can't tolerate basic supplements at all, and the CE's have given me some signs of life returning after a few weeks. I can't find any real evidence that CE's are dangerous, aside from issues with electrolyte balance, and I'm very careful to supplement and eat well.

I was thinking of bacterial issues because so many of my symptoms are gut-related, and I am waiting on the results of a faecal analysis as well as a parasite test. But maybe my gut got screwed up secondary to a virus.