Epstein Barr Virus

Hi Everyone,

I came across this article this morning and recalled I was diagnosed with Epstein Barr years ago. Maybe this was the biggest cause of my fibromyalgia symptoms?

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-04-epstein-barr-virus-linked-diseases.html

Has anyone else been diagnosed with Epstein Barr Virus?

The article states that approximately 90% of people have been infected with the EBV virus. I have one of the seven illnesses listed (IBD), but then wouldn't 90% of the people have one of these seven illnesses in order for this finding to be valid? I'm sure I would test positive for EBV because I had mono, (never been actually tested unless the test for mono is looking for EBV antibodies) but I don't think that would help explain anything for me due to the statistics of people infected with the EBV. It has to be more complex than this otherwise not just some of the 90% would get auto-immune disease, but rather all of us would.

I think I've read that EBV could also play a part in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I like reading these articles but until they actually find a cure for diseases will I be convinced of the cause.

Almost Medfree, do you have any reason why you think you should be tested for Lyme (i.e. Lyme symptoms, tick bite)?

I was tested in 2011 (way prior to my Fibro dx) because I had a weird rash that looked similar to Lyme rash, but I had zero clinical symptoms of Lyme and no exposure to ticks at the time (mid January in the northeast). I tested negative for Lyme and 3 different doctors determined I didn't have it, along with 2 pathology reports that dx'd my rash as a dermatological condition. They treated me for Lyme anyway as a precaution.

I just got retested. Negative. Once again, no reason to suspect it, but figured since I got the Fibro dx and I ruled out other stuff I might as well retest and rule it out a second time for peace of mind.

Only thing is the tests for it are not that reliable from what I've read. There could be false negs. Therefore, the dr's rely heavily on clinical symptoms. So I'm not sure if you think it's worth it to test or not. And if you go on the Lyme board to ask questions they are not too open to Fibro dx's. Seems many of them were misdiagnosed with Fibro.

I never had a positive result. Both tests were negative. The first test was taken prior to me taking meds for it. When I went to the dr for the skin rash they took blood and put me on 3 weeks doxycycline as a precaution. Turns out my results were negative anyway. So they took the blood before I actually took the abx. Therefore the abx did not alter any results.

I had no symptoms of Lyme when I was put on the abx. If you feel you have symptoms that could overlap with Lyme you could pursue it further. I don't know if it will make a difference if you go to the immunologist if they perform the same tests that you already had. Supposedly the best person to see is an LLMD if you suspect Lyme.