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Is chronic reactivated EBV different from chronic active EBV?
Infectious Diseases | Last Active: Mar 26 3:28pm | Replies (216)Comment receiving replies
@cjts1967 Welcome! So sorry you are dealing with such a debilitating illness. I'd be happy to answer some of your questions, although I am not a doctor. You do not have to have had mono to have EBV in your body. Well over 90% of people have been exposed to the virus by the time they are adults. Most may have just had minor symptoms. Mono (more severe form) is usually seen in teens and young adults. I'm curious as to what was actually "positive." There are different antibodies to EBV. IgM detects current infection/reactivation. IgG detects past infection although if extremely elevated along with an elevated early antigen, it can reflect a current infection. Since most adults have been exposed to the virus, most have elevated IgG antibodies. When I relapse, my IgM is positive along with all the other antibodies being out the roof. I also have a fatty liver found accidentally on a CT scan. EBV can affect the liver. I'm assuming that's why in my case. I'm not a drinker, or overweight, and I have eaten a fairly good diet as an adult. My liver enzymes have always been normal, unlike your case. So it is a good idea to continue to monitor your liver function. As far as fibro being linked to EBV -- that most definitely can be the case! Fibromyalgia is actually a collection of symptoms. It is only a diagnosis in the fact that there is an ICD10 code for it for billing purposes. The root cause can be different in everyone, but most always includes some kind of stress (infection, emotional, physical, surgery, environmental toxins, relationship stress, job stress). That can affect the immune system, sleep patterns, adrenal glands, and the list goes on. Most conventional doctors do not dig deep enough to find the root cause and treat it. For more information about EBV check out Kasia Kines, PhD at ebvhelp.com. For more info on fibro and chronic fatigue syndrome check out Dr. Rodger Murphree at yourfibrodoctor.com. Feel free to click on my profile, scroll to the bottom and read some of my other posts for more info. I'm glad you found this site. I know you want to get better! Please don't give up. You are your own best advocate! Keep us posted.
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@mrmie Thank you for the welcome! Wow, there sure is a lot of information to weed through - the acronyms alone might do me in 🙂 Regarding my tests, I tested positive for VCA IgG, VCA IgM and EBNA-1 1gG with a note that says 'This serological profile occasionally occurs in late primary infection; it can also be seen during an EBV reactivation in patients that were remotely infected' (umm...sure?) I find it odd that my GP doesn't seem the least bit concerned about it (this is all from tests done in August 2018; I didn't even know about it until my liver doc pulled my reports). If stress is the culprit - the last 14 years have been full of it - my dad died suddenly and I completely fell apart, had to care for my bats**t crazy mother, she died, diagnosed with fibro on the same day I lost my condo to a fire and was 'homeless' for 9 months, job stress and my sister was diagnosed with Parkinsons about 5 years ago (geez, I don't mean for that to sound whiny). My tests also indicated that I have an elevated rheumatoid factor (25), but was tested for that 9 years ago and it came back negative). It's interesting how everything seems to tie together. For the most part, I feel okay - I have had a lot of body aches and pains for the past few months, so I'm attributing it to all of these other things going on. Ah, so much to learn with all of this. I think it's also important to do our own research - I love my doctor to bits, but I know for myself if I didn't look into all of these things on my own, I wouldn't have any idea. I was petrified for 6 months that my liver was failing - but had I known I had EBV, I could have correlated the connection between that and a swollen liver. Anyhow, thanks for letting me express my thoughts and I hope that during my journey I will not only learn - but also to be of help to others.