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Viral reactivation after exercise

Messages
67
OK firstly I'm brai fogged to hell so pardon me if this jumps around.
I have been feeling really good for the past 3~4 weeks, putting that down to a combination of mushrooms, mitoq, a beta blocker and probably some placebo effects or just plain good luck.
Yes, I increased exercise, I really want to exercise and I honestly feel it helps me, especially in the short term.
I found taking an panadol (paracetamol 500mg) really really helped with how hot I got and my post exertion headaches vanished. Taking panadol after did nothing, so I took 1 hr before,
However (you knew this was coming didn't you?)
Suddenly, very suddenly, I did too much in one day, I developed slightly swollen but very sore glands under jaw and side of neck,
back of throat is red,
producing yellow phlegm,
night time temp up 1.6 degrees (celcius) ,
Heart rate up, Hrv down (8ms rmssd)
mild headaches
Snuffly nose
and it feels like someone is driving molten metal through my bones.
If this happened 5 years ago I would have said, yep I have caught a bad flu.
But it's weird my symptoms are mainly at night, right now it 4.30 in the afternoon and OK I'm not wonderful but I feel a lot better than I will tonight.
This isn't the first time this has happened, it happened about 6 months ago, and a couple of times last year. But literally for 3~4 days
How do I tell if this is an epstein barr reactivation?
Is that useful to know?
Is there something I can do ( I'm just resting and drinking fluids)
There's definitely a change in my symptoms and I'm thinking if the virus has come out of hiding can I hit it with a hammer? I'm kidding about the hammer, I'd use something much bigger than that
 

Judee

Psalm 46:1-3
Messages
4,461
Location
Great Lakes
I do think you could have reactivated EBV. Without getting tested though you could try some things that help with that. Resveratrol has been used in studies to kill EBV cancer cells. I've been giving it to my mom off and on and on the days she gets some her coloring improves. (She doesn't have ME/CFS but she did test very high for EBV titers a couple of decades ago and now is anemic in a way they cannot solve. I think there is a connection.)

Anyway, just a thought but perhaps you could try something like that. I've been meaning to ask one of the brainier people on here what other things help with EBV other than prescription medications like valtrex as that is difficult for me to get for her.

I hope you can get some ideas that help you with this crash you are experiencing.
 
Messages
31
Location
Norway
What you are describing is good old PEM. This is what happens when you do too much.
Yes, it feels like you get the flu, streptococcus and a cold at the same time.
Flulike symptoms are a part of ME.

I've had ME for more than 25 years, not a week goes by without these symptoms and others too(neurlogical, balance problems etc). Yes, I have a real problem with holding back, so I get PEM weekly...
 

xebex

Senior Member
Messages
840
Yea it’s PEM, whether or not viruses activate as part of the PEM I’m not sure, but from personal experience I’d say most times viruses do not reactivate in crashes but sometimes they do. I did once randomly get a blood test in a crash and it showed active CMV. It also showed past EBV but it was not currently active. The weird thing was when it showed the active CMV I did not feel fluey.

ME is the weirdest beast.
 

leokitten

Senior Member
Messages
1,542
Location
U.S.
Exactly, I read your OP and said to myself this is PEM nothing more. Cannot prove it’s a reactivation without an EBV antibody panel before the exercise showing a negative or low high EA-D and then some time after the exercise showing EA-D shooting up, and even then it has to be more than the intrinsic variability of the test.

My advice is don’t exercise, you are really harming yourself. My first year with ME I kept trying to exercise to push through and “feel better”, it was the stupidest thing I could’ve ever done it definitely harmed me and made me worse. There are hundreds if not thousands of duplicate stories like this.
 
Messages
67
Thanks for the advice people. Really appreciate it.
Damn this bloody thing.
Anyway, I keep laughing on the outside.
I've made some observations, through this.
I found some resveratrol and pterostillbene and took that and I also took some blueberry extract. Probably baloney but Ill take a placebo right now :)
last night I wasnt as hot or sweaty and glands were down,
I didnt sleep though ( had 1.5 hrs) and felt tired and wired early this morning ( cortisol?)
At 9am this morning I was ugh, extremely fatigued, like the worst ever, I lay in bed pretty much all day.
My heart rate variability, something Ive measured for 4 years now which usually averages about 20-22ms is now 28-29ms. Interesting, thats quite high for me. It almost seems like before PEM kicked in it drops ( 8ms) and now it's up.
I feel better(ish) probably a fair way to go before im at baseline.
Some dry joint pain in the hips, heart palps, bit sweaty and irritable, but yeah.
Is there somewhere I can contribute data to ? Is it useful to anyone ? I have stacks of observations, sleep metrics heart metrics, blood pressure, peak flow etc.
 

leokitten

Senior Member
Messages
1,542
Location
U.S.
What is an EA-d ?
and yes, starting to realise the things I love I cant have ( chocolate and exercise)

EBV early antigen diffuse. This antibody increases early during an EBV reactivation. It’s the most important antibody to measure wrt reactivation. IgM, IgG, EBNA, etc each don’t directly give the same info.