Post-viral fatigue/CFS and nausea/digestive problems

To make a long story short, I came down with a virus in April and have not felt well since. There were some clues before I got sick like short spells of fatigue and nausea, but for the most part I felt good until April. The virus I had consisted of low-grade fever, fatigue, dizziness, lightheadedness, aches and pains in my ribs and back, no appetite, and some nausea and vomiting. The main part lasted a little over a week, then came back in the middle of May and then it has just been off and on. For a while I woke up with severe nausea every morning and would vomit most of the time, thankfully that has gone away. My fatigue hasn't been too bad but every now and then I will get hit with a wave of extreme fatigue, and I need a lot of sleep to feel normal. I also feel much better late at night, which has caused me to stay up until 3 or 4AM every day and sleep until 1 or 2PM. Now the digestive symptoms are terrible gas, sometimes with severe pain, and also nausea that comes and goes. I also feel lightheaded a lot, but not the typical lightheadedness, more like my brain's about to just shut down. I get some heart palpitations too; my doctor said this is normal in women but I didn't really get them until I was sick.

I have good days and bad days, and I'm convinced that nothing really serious is wrong with me because it's not getting worse. The only thing doctors have been able to find is the Epstein Barr virus in my blood, which is not active. I do have a swollen lymph node in my neck though, and it's been there for at least 5-6 months.

I know the fatigue and other issues can be post-viral but how about the digestive problems? Has anyone else gone through something similar?

Well most of my doctors seem to think it's still from having mono and that led me to research post-viral syndrome and CFS. One doctor did mention CFS but I only saw him once (it was a walk-in clinic) so I couldn't get a definite diagnosis. My doctor now pretty much says it's from mono, it'll go away, and I'm perfectly healthy otherwise. But after 7 months I'm not so sure it'll go away. She did suggest lactose intolerance but I don't notice any major trouble with milk products, and actually I haven't had any dairy today but my stomach's still a mess. It's funny you mention soy though, I had soy milk on cereal earlier and felt really sick afterwards, but I've eaten it before with no problems. I've also been tested for gluten intolerance which was all negative.

Wow, with all that nausea and vomiting it sounds like you've got it worse than I do. I vomited most mornings for about two months, then it was an occasional thing for a while, and now it's disappeared *knocks on wood*. I haven't thrown up since late September.

I have been tested for celiac disease and I don't notice any trouble when I eat wheat so I don't think that would be my problem. I think lactose intolerance and soy intolerance are possible though.

Thanks. :)
I'm almost certain I have an issue with soy but I don't eat it very often so it's not too big of a deal to give up. My nausea isn't too bad now and wasn't yesterday except in the morning, my main issues now are fatigue and heart palpitations, which I might be able to blame on my period.

Do you not have the "quick reply" box at the bottom of the page? That's what I use.

Lindsay-Greetings. My ordeal all started with a virus just about 2 years ago.  I would have never guessed the journey I was about to take given that this was relatively mild as well.  I lapsed into most of the symptoms you mentioned.  Even the nausea.....about a year ago I dealt with divertculitis, which is some eroding of the intestine wall. I had a colonoscopy to find this (fun stuff).  This thankfully abated after an anti biotic.  However, the fatigue and brain fog/lightheadedness have persisted to this day.  My only test result that has some back suspect is an anti body that attacks the thyroid.  I just discovered this, and my doc is coming up with a treatment plan.  With a viral onset, you should have tests performed that see if your immune system is in overdrive. One theory being that this was activated when the intial virus hit, and then it never regulated itself to shut off. When that happens, fatigue and cloudy thinking result.  See ifyour doctor can do this....it may reveal something!

Lindsay, I also have bad sickness, I don't vomit but I am sick every day. I have tried many tablets but none work, I am to looking for something to help. A friend of mine has cfs to and has acupuncture which helps them a lot, hope this helps you. Megan :)