Viruses?

[Belbyr]

I know many are a lot more knowledgable on this topic than myself but do viruses like Parvo, Coxsackie's, HHV's, etc have anything to do with CFS?

I know that these can be elevated in the normal population since we have all probably been exposed. I just don't know what to make of them... I show positive for them on Quest labs, but does it really matter?

 

[Timaca]

I know many are a lot more knowledgable on this topic than myself but do viruses like Parvo, Coxsackie's, HHV's, etc have anything to do with CFS?

I know that these can be elevated in the normal population since we have all probably been exposed. I just don't know what to make of them... I show positive for them on Quest labs, but does it really matter?

Dr. Montoya at Stanford thinks there is an association with viruses and CFS. He is studying that. Check out his website: https://med.stanford.edu/chronicfatiguesyndrome.html

Dr. Chia thinks there is an association between enteroviruses (coxsackie viruses) and CFS. https://www.healthrising.org/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-mecfs-doctor-resource-center/dr-john-chia/
https://www.enterovirusfoundation.org/overview

I have been treated for Lyme and viruses. I'm currently on valtrex, but also have taken valcyte. I am much better than at my worst, but I am not (yet) well.

Best,

 

[Pyrrhus]

That’s a very good question. Unfortunately, it does not have a simple answer.

Some test results reflect viruses that you were previously exposed to, but have been eliminated from the body.
Some test results reflect viruses that a lot of people have, but that have gone into a latent state.
Some test results may reflect ongoing viral infections.

Some ongoing viral infections may have nothing to with ME/CFS.
Some ongoing viral infections may exacerbate the ME/CFS, but are not a cause of ME/CFS.
Some ongoing viral infections may be a cause of ME/CFS.

It really depends on a lot of factors. And we don’t have enough research to really know much for sure.

An unsatisfying answer, I know...

 

[Hip]

I show positive for them on Quest labs, but does it really matter?

Were you diagnosed by an ME/CFS doctor as being positive? Because ME/CFS doctors use a different criteria for positive diagnosis, which is if you have IgG titers which are elevated by fourfold or more over healthy population averages, then you are positive. This is not the same as the positive reference range on a virus lab report.

For CVB/echovirus, it's only the ARUP Lab antibody test which Dr Chia found are sensitive enough to detect chronic infections in ME/CFS.

From a practical point of view, if you are positive for these viruses, there are treatments which you can try, the most effective one probably being Valcyte (for herpesviruses).

 

[taniaaust1]

I know many are a lot more knowledgable on this topic than myself but do viruses like Parvo, Coxsackie's, HHV's, etc have anything to do with CFS?

I know that these can be elevated in the normal population since we have all probably been exposed. I just don't know what to make of them... I show positive for them on Quest labs, but does it really matter?

They can be, one can have a chronic low grade infection of many of the viruses which stay in the body. There will be indications of that though if a doctor knows what to test for and what kind of viral load to look for which could affect someone who has ME/CFS.

there are quite a few on these forums who have been helped with taking the right anti virals for their virus loads.

Just a positive though for exposure does not necessarily mean anything.