Posted 2/12/2020 2:52 PM (GMT -5)
Piling on today's trend of feeling worried and overwhelmed.... Maybe someone can ease my mind, share similar experiences, or offer tips for making it through a seasonal bug without a relapse!
I seem to be getting a virus. I had the audacity to leave my house multiple times lately, including being around children, so I'm not sure what exactly I have, but I know I have been exposed to a lot. So far, it's a very sore throat, headache, swollen glands, inner ear soreness, aching neck, and fatigue. No one in my house has had anything similar.
about a year and a half ago, I had a virus just like this, but that time my child had something similar (although vastly milder). I seemed to get better after a couple of weeks, and then all hell broke loose neurologically. New symptoms appeared, mainly myositis, limb paralysis, lack of coordination, arrhythmias, weakness, pain, and neuropathy. Old symptoms returned: POTS, gastroparesis, fatigue. One doctor said it was a post-viral syndrome (CFS/ME), another said Bartonella and EBV reactivation, another said adrenal crash. (No one really had any idea. Lots of shrugging. One told me not to be so dramatic.)
We have a lot of threads on this forum about immune function and transient bugs, but very little consensus. People say they get the flu and it lasts for weeks. Others are jazzed to get the flu because their immune system hasn't mounted a response in years. People say they never catch things - some interpret that as good and some think the opposite (because it means their system is too weak to fight things off). I know that I have low immunoglobulin of the types that combat viruses, and sometimes also low WBCs. I rarely catch bugs but I'm also pathologically careful and often isolated.
Some people say to avoid immune boosters because it can aggravate mystery autoimmune responses with Lyme, so I have wondered if the all-hell-breaking-loose last time was a result of my overloading on elderberry, echinacea, olive leaf, etc. (I don't have any other test results, signs, or symptoms of autoimmunity, as far as I know.)
Sorry this post is so scattered. I'm just really worried. The last time I got a cold, I spent five months in bed. I will spare everyone the details, but it was terrifying. Worse than I ever had felt before from Lyme and co-infections. I don't want to go through that again.
I know that just because a virus did all that to me once does not mean that every virus will do that to me. But I'm starting from a similar baseline, and I'm feeling very triggered. I know I need to fight against that, as the stress will compromise my system even further. I'm working on that. But if anyone has advice, please share.
Here's what I'm taking and doing that's relevant to this virus:
Manuka honey
Gargling salt water
Xylitol and saline nasal spray
Vitamins C and D
Elderberry
Echinacea
Medicinal mushrooms complex (Mycommunity Immune Support formula)
Quercetin
Emergen-C packets
Curcumin
Loads of tea (decaf green tea, licorice, chamomile)
Lymphatic massage
Slippery elm lozenges
And to protect my nervous system:
DNRS
Lion's mane
Jernigan Neuro Anti-Tox CNS/PNS
Butbur-pinella
Magnesium
DHA
Licorice (DGL)
Ashwagandha
CBD
Let me know what you recommend. Thanks for reading my anxious ramblings.