Health
My health has not been great over the last two years. I'm currently having a barrage of tests to try to determine what's going on. I will be posting about it from time to time, but I'll use lj-cut so it's easily skipped.
My cervical lymph nodes have been swelling up for the last couple of years, I've also been experiencing recurrent upper respiratory tract infections and a persistent flu-like feeling with exhaustion. It started around the same time my left ventricle was found to be mildly dilated with pericardial effusion (fluid around the heart). Initially, I would get the not-quite flu thing every 3 to 2 months, but in the last year I've been getting it every couple of weeks, and it's now unusual for me to feel completely well. Added to this is exercise intolerance; if I go to the gym or swim without 3 or 4 days rest, I immediately get sick. For example, I went to the gym twice this weekend and swam 2k, on Tuesday I was flat on my back with exhaustion and flu symptoms. I'm still very tired and have been off work all week.
I asked my doctor whether she thought it was psychosomatic or caused by depression and/or anxiety and she insisted that while anxiety and depression can make you fatigued, it doesn't cause lymphadenopathy and nor does it cause lymphocytosis (high lymphocyte count). Initially my doc thought it was reactivated Epstein-Barr Virus, however blood tests show I have no active antibodies. I've had a CT scan to check my lymph glands and I don't have any lymphoma-like swelling. My last blood tests show that while my WBC has come down to the top end of normal my lymphocytes are still increasing. This year I developed dyshidrotic eczema on my hands and feet. My last echocardiogram showed my heart is back to normal again.
I asked my doc if she thinks I have CFS and she said it's possible but because it's a diagnosis of exclusion she wants to refer me to a specialist to check other possibilities first.
The following is a list of possible causes:
My cervical lymph nodes have been swelling up for the last couple of years, I've also been experiencing recurrent upper respiratory tract infections and a persistent flu-like feeling with exhaustion. It started around the same time my left ventricle was found to be mildly dilated with pericardial effusion (fluid around the heart). Initially, I would get the not-quite flu thing every 3 to 2 months, but in the last year I've been getting it every couple of weeks, and it's now unusual for me to feel completely well. Added to this is exercise intolerance; if I go to the gym or swim without 3 or 4 days rest, I immediately get sick. For example, I went to the gym twice this weekend and swam 2k, on Tuesday I was flat on my back with exhaustion and flu symptoms. I'm still very tired and have been off work all week.
I asked my doctor whether she thought it was psychosomatic or caused by depression and/or anxiety and she insisted that while anxiety and depression can make you fatigued, it doesn't cause lymphadenopathy and nor does it cause lymphocytosis (high lymphocyte count). Initially my doc thought it was reactivated Epstein-Barr Virus, however blood tests show I have no active antibodies. I've had a CT scan to check my lymph glands and I don't have any lymphoma-like swelling. My last blood tests show that while my WBC has come down to the top end of normal my lymphocytes are still increasing. This year I developed dyshidrotic eczema on my hands and feet. My last echocardiogram showed my heart is back to normal again.
I asked my doc if she thinks I have CFS and she said it's possible but because it's a diagnosis of exclusion she wants to refer me to a specialist to check other possibilities first.
The following is a list of possible causes:
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
- Reactivated Human Herpes Virus (HHV) - EBV, HHV6/7
- Lymphoproliferative Disorder
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
- Lymphoma
- Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS)
- Auto-immune disease
- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
- ALPS