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Otherwise - Glandular fever
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Message 1.Ìý
Posted by Katy Tulip (U2239809) on Friday, 4th September 2009
Bulb 1 (16) has just been diagnosed with it, the GP I saw this pm called this evening to confirm the results of various blood tests.
He's been poorly for nearly a fortnight, and after taking penicillin for a severe throat infection all last week, I had to go and fetch him out of school this morning, they called to say he was very poorly, he'd come out in an awful itchy rash which got steadily worse as the day went on, apparently v. common if glandular fever is present and you take antibiotics. The doctor gave him medicine for the rash & itchiness which are helping.
I need to contact our own GP (who's on holiday till tomorrow) on Monday to talk about treatment procedures etc., apparently his liver obs are dodgy too.
He only went back to school last Tuesday, and could be home for weeks...
His GF is being very caring and supportive, I've already told them very firmly "No Snogging" on pain of separation for the duration - the last thing we need is for her to get it too!
Has any one here any tips on coping with this disease, either as a patient or as the one doing the nursing?
Ta muchly,
Katy -
Message 2
Posted by countrypug (U9227943) on Friday, 4th September 2009
I can't offer much in the way of help I'm afraid Katy, but just wanted to offer sympathies, to both you and Bulb 1. How miserable for him. The only thing I know is that it is really important for teens to rest themselves well if they have glandular fever, as they can get viral fatigue type things if they try to do too much too soon.
So I hope he manages to get plenty of rest. Will he get school work to do at home so he doesn't lose touch too much at this important stage?
Pug x -
Message 3
Posted by Katy Tulip (U2239809) on Friday, 4th September 2009
Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:18 GMT, in reply to countrypug
Thanks, Pug.
I can tell he's very poorly because he's so lethargic and listless, totally unlike his usual very grasshopper self (he has ADHD)...
Fortunately I'm at home fulltime, and can see he does get the rest he needs!
I'm going to phone his school on Monday to try and arrange something, unfortunately he's doing a vocational course (plumbing & central heating), and 18 hours a week are spent in the workshop. But maybe they can give some of the theoretical background work for him to do. An dhe does still get a smidgeon of Dutch, French, & Maths.
Sigh.
:S Katy -
Message 4
Posted by matilda groves (U1636558) on Friday, 4th September 2009
Oh poor bulb 1, it's a miserable thing, young groves had it at the same age. Like bulb, he was prescribed a penicillin by a locum, and came out in the spectacular rash! Like you say, it is apparently a well known response, as we discovered after the event.
It can be very variable, a brother had it had it and was OK after a few weeks, and it was just like nursing flu. Young Groves had a bad do with it, and had to repeat a year of school as he missed so much of it.
One thing I think is needed is understanding over the fatigue that goes with it, if it is a bad dose. We had plenty of people telling us that he ought to snap out of it, that he could cope if he really wanted to etc, but when your child is falling asleep in front of you in the middle of a sentence they are speaking, then I don't believe they are swinging the lead. Most people were sympathetic, but be prepared to fight that corner.
If it does go that way, I would contact the school
to work out a phased plan of return, as he may not be able to do full days to start with, or even a full number of days per week.
Trying to get sleeping patterns back to normal is recommended (but difficult), as is gradual exercise, such as a short walk a day.
Other than that, I think it is time - hope he ends up at the milder of it
matty -
Message 5
Posted by Katy Tulip (U2239809) on Friday, 4th September 2009
Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:37 GMT, in reply to matilda groves in message 4
Thanks for your reply, matty, it's very helpful. I'm sorry young groves had it so badly.
I have fibromyalgia and borderline CFS myself, so at least know what the fatigue feels like, as well as having to cope with the "malingerer" charge - peeps doubting his illness, beware. I am very very firmly reminding myself to NOT think about the links between glandular fever and CFS at the moment.
The days he has a lot of practical stuff to do at school will be very tough in the beginning, he almost certainly won't manage it all at once whe he does go back, one of the things I want to discuss with the school.
Ach, this so sucks. It's not just his school.
He's got a student weekend job in a local restaurant which he loves, and which only Heaven knows when he'll be able to return to. Not to mention hanging out with his mates, and GF. Katy -
Message 6
Posted by countrypug (U9227943) on Friday, 4th September 2009
Thank heaven for Facebook and MSN Katy - at least he will be able to keep up with his friends that way, but that won't compensate for missing the parties.....
Let's all keep fingers crossed for a quick recovery for him.
Pug x -
Message 7
Posted by Katy Tulip (U2239809) on Friday, 4th September 2009
Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:48 GMT, in reply to countrypug in message 6
Thank heaven for Facebook and MSN KatyÌý
Not to mention Runescape!
Yes, fingers crossed, eh?
Think I'll be off now, OH's just finished talking to his Mum, it's been a comfort to witter a bit on here.
Bfn, Katy -
Message 8
Posted by matilda groves (U1636558) on Friday, 4th September 2009
Sorry to hear about your own stuff, but yes it will be similar. I will keep fingers crossed that bulb 1 doesn't go the CFS route.
I would seriously talk to the school about the days of serious practical work, as it may well not be good for him in the short term. I guess it depends on the school and how well they know him etc, but young groves had a staggered return, starting in the afternoons, and then an option to go and rest when required. As you probably know, it is pretty obvious when the end point has been reached.
Hanging out with mates is probably not an option for a while. It was hard to see someone missing out on all that 15/16 yr old stuff, but young groves has made up for it since, and his mates were really good about it.
matty -
Message 9
Posted by Dunlurkin NL (U2675855) on Friday, 4th September 2009
Oh Katy, what bad luck.
Youngest Lurkin had it and, like young Master Groves, it really knocked her for six. Actually, it was a darn sight more than six, I reckon. It affected her school career too, which has been quite hard for her to cope with.
Best wishes to you and Bulb 1.
Dunlurkin -
Message 10
Posted by daphnejonquil (U5267343) on Friday, 4th September 2009
My son got glandular fever around the same age and to my eternal shame I did not really notice how ill he was until I realised that he had got extremely thin and was complaining about feeling very cold. I had thought that he was being droopy and lazy and had not been sympathetic. As I said before I am still very regretful about this time of bad mothering. Unfortunately I was repeating the way I had been brought up. So well done you for taking it all properly seriously and being kind and supportive.
Once we got to grips with the diagnosis and the fact that he was ill, son stayed in bed and rested a great deal and I tried to prepare food he really liked and even carried it up to his room on a tray. I think nourishing food is quite helpful and it does lift the spirits.
Son was lucky and he recovered within a couple of months without long term damage. I still shudder to think of a boy well over 6 feet weighing 10 stone though. Sometimes I wish I could go through son and daughter's whole childhood again, this time doing it better. -
Message 11
Posted by Westsussexbird or Birdy aka Westie (U6316532) on Friday, 4th September 2009
Just a message of support Katy ... I don't want to repeat what the others have said, but just to warn you that our eldest daughter had glandular fever and never really woke up from it!! She missed the whole of her last year at school but as she had worked hard she sat the exams and got her GCSEs (though not the grades she would have liked). I literally had to wake her up, help her dress and get her into school for each of the exams. I refused to let her have home tuition as it exhausted her. She then took 4 years to get her 3 A levels with me driving her to college for the first year, she would attend one lecture in the morning, I would drive her home and she would sleep, write up the lecture and then sleep. The next year she passed her driving test and drove herself, then she went to Uni and lasted nearly 3 terms at Bristol before she realised she just had to forget it. She had had music lessons since she was little and so has been teaching woodwind instruments ever since. It's perfect as she was able to gradually build up her business and now she works 3 mornings in schools, and teaches privately in the evenings.
I am telling you all this just to warn you to be on the lookout for Bulb not being able to shake the sleep off but I am pretty sure you will be the best judge of how he is. People used to say "How on earth do children manage who don't have a parent at home to look after them"? implying that our daughter could get up and walk if she had really needed to .... but I never doubted her for one moment. Funnily enough she is here tonight and I've been telling her about this thread. She wishes Bulb the best of luck.
It is always the children that put their hearts into everything and live life to the full.
Take care of yourself too Katy.
:0) -
Message 12
Posted by matilda groves (U1636558) on Friday, 4th September 2009
Sympathy for Youngest Lurkin, I think the knocking back goes all the way to eleven sometimes. It is hard to cope with the school career stuff, and that has to be dealt with as well, as it is not the end of the world., as it feels at the time.
matty -
Message 13
Posted by matilda groves (U1636558) on Friday, 4th September 2009
I'm glad eldest daughter has got herself sorted with something. I know what you mean about the waking up to get into exams etc.
Yes, you have to get used to the judgement, but I think from what Katy said she is prepared for that.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will be like my brothers, which lasted around 6 weeks and felt like flu
matty -
Message 14
Posted by Westsussexbird or Birdy aka Westie (U6316532) on Friday, 4th September 2009
Thanks Matty.
The first year we did jigsaw puzzles together as she could stop whenever she wanted and return to it later. If a friend popped in they could sit doing it together and that seemed to help it seem normal.
Oh for Facebook to keep in toucch though .. as has been said!
The second year we played cards throughout the winter as he concentration had improved a lot!
Of course the ultimate irony and cruelty was the inability to sleep at night! She was put on a very small dose of anti depressant to help with that.
Keeping these children focusing on the now is important and believe that the future will get sorted in its own time. -
Message 15
Posted by San Fairy Anneâ„¢ (U14092798) on Friday, 4th September 2009
Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:32 GMT, in reply to matilda groves in message 13
My younger daughter had the same thing happen just after New Year of her Upper 6th year. Everything others have said applied. When we said it was OK by everyone that she could just restart her U6th in the coming September and pass the upcoming A levels she relaxed, rested enough, ate well and was fit enough to go back before Easter. She *was* able to catch up and did, but the knowledge she didn't *have* to seemed to allow her to get better. It was as if she didn't have to /work/ at getting better so she just did, naturally.
I don't know if your system allows your child to consider restarting this year next September. SFAnneâ„¢ -
Message 16
Posted by dunlurkin US (U2222436) on Friday, 4th September 2009
Hi -
Big sympathies from here as well. I had GF when I was in the first year at University. I came down with it over Christmas but it wasn't diagnosed until I'd got back and the country was under several inches of snow (enough to stop trains, and I was a long way from home).
I essentially stayed in bed for 2 weeks with the Doctor's permission to take as much paracetamol as needed- way more than it said on the box (caution - I suspect this is not good advice given the potential liver issues) and not to touch alcohol for 3 months (that was the challenge for the first year undergrad!). After the 2 weeks I was just strong enough to get home on the train, and I stayed there, largely asleep, for 4 weeks, before going back to yewnee to try and both feel better and catch up for the last 4 weeks of term.
I was very fortunate that I was in the 1st year, and although I missed one exam and failed another miserably, I didn't miss enough that I had to repeat the year.
I was pretty much OK after that apart from one week-long relapse about a year later, again at exam time. It sounds strange, but I got a very distinctive bad taste in my mouth which had been a characteristic of the original illness, and that's how I knew why I was suddenly feeling so rough.
I think there are as many stories as there are cases. Whatever, it's a rotten thing to get, especially as it often affects teens who have much better things to do (both study and social) than stay in bed. What my doctor said at the beginning held, though "you are going to get better". -
Message 17
Posted by Lilith (U13728858) on Saturday, 5th September 2009
Hi Katy
Just wanted to add to the advice you've already been given that, once he has recovered, he shouldn't play any contact sports for 6-8 weeks after his symptoms are gone.
This is because sometimes the spleen is affected and can become swollen, making it more susceptible to injury. It reverts to normal after a few weeks
Some general information here
Lilith x -
Message 18
Posted by Rwth of the Cornovii (U2570790) on Saturday, 5th September 2009
Sat, 05 Sep 2009 06:15 GMT, in reply to westie (westsussexbird) in message 11
I am telling you all this just to warn you to be on the lookout for Bulb not being able to shake the sleep off but I am pretty sure you will be the best judge of how he is. People used to say "How on earth do children manage who don't have a parent at home to look after them"? implying that our daughter could get up and walk if she had really needed to .... but I never doubted her for one moment.Ìý
I would be inclined to say something like this, but meaning "It's tough, if only for the danger of CFS, but it is just as rough on the parents, and I hope you can manage. You are a wonderful parent." I'm not a CFS denier, perish the thought! I often tell DD that her kids are lucky to have her as a mother, but I'm being supportive of her. They are great, clever, creative children, and have had problems, but she has supported them a lot, giving home coaching.
I do hope your bulb gets the chance to go back to his studies with the minimum of disruption Katy. He might do better to repeat the year if he is still easily tired this year. -
Message 19
Posted by Urban Yokel (U1485670) on Saturday, 5th September 2009
I had this when I was about 19 although not too badly. I slept for about two weeks - just waking to eat a bit of toast or some soup before going back to sleep. Boyfriend had it much worse and was sent home from college. I remember going for lots of blood tests - I think they were monitoring white blood cell count? The only after effect which I still have to this day is that the glands in my neck swell up at the very first sign of illness or even in a cold wind.
-
Message 20
Posted by Redbookish (U1335018) on Saturday, 5th September 2009
Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:43 GMT, in reply to UrbanYokel
Katy, I had glandular fever at 16, just before I did my equivalent of A Levels (I'd skipped 18 months of school grades due to migrating to Australia). I'd had a winter of constant coughs & clds, but that wasn't unusual for me & my family was very much "Oh mind over matter" until I got pleurisy when I was 14. So my mother was on the watch out for a recurrence.
I was doing a lot at the time: A level exam studying, POny Club & serious training & showing my horse, plus a youth theatre group. So my weekends were extremely full, as were my after school times, and I was sodiering n, because I didn't want to be ill! But what swung it was one morning at the breakfast table when I couldn't actually turn my head -- the glands were swollen, and my mother saw this and dragged me off to the doctor (we rarely went unless it was dire!)
Blood & urine tests later, the diagnosis was GF, and really, the next 3 weeks I don't remember much of. I was in bed and sweating like you wouldn't believe! Down the front of my shins at one point, and my eyes hurt so I couldn't read, I couldn't watch television, I had to be in a darkened room and time didn't mean that much. I can still remember the feeling of a kind of nowhere world and a very hazy sense of what was happening ... I think I was inches off being hospitalised, but I did survive.
I went back to school after bout 6 weeks, straight into mock exams for A Level. I would do the exam and then go home to sleep for the rest of the day. The exhaustion was real. I remember a few days after being allowed out of bed, my horse's rug needed changing, and it was very annoying and scary that I just didn't have the strength to lift his canvas rug off his back!
For the rest of that year, I tended to need an afternoon np, and I also ate a lot of protein: I remember heaps of boiled eggs. I did OK in the mock exams, and they were the litmus test for whether I would have to repeat my final year of school (as I was at least 18 months younger than everyone else this was a possibility). However, I am nothing if not determined, and I got through with a good result. It wasn't what it should have been but in those days, one didn't plead illness etc to get marks made up, and I gt into my 2nd choice of degree, but it actually worked out far, far better than my first choice would have.
My parents did however, for once in my childhood, actually consult with the school, an so the school knew how ill I'd been, hence the mock exam results being used as a way of checking I would do OK.
But I then took a gap year, and a lot of that time I'm afraid I just loafed about at home because I was still quite exhausted. I found I really wasn't fully back to my usual energetic self until about 2nd year university (3 years later) when I started to take up formal exercise: I started dancing again, and did aerobics etc. In all that time, apart from the period of acute illness, I didn't stop doing all my activities, but I generally found I needed to sleep a lot, and I also needed maybe one day a week in bed. I didn't get post-viral fatigue, but I think that's because the GF was caught just early enough. And it was a bad dose: there's no way I could have soldiered on just feeing a little 'low" as some people do when they're infected with GF. But the after effects lasted for about 4 years of justy having to be relatively careful. I found I couldn't do too man of the studenty ;ate nights at university, and just being tired was a fairly constant companion. But then I did do an awful lot, so maybe that was just normal & not the GF.
I still find that a cold (which I get very badly) will send my glands right up! Just before I realised I had an outbreak of shingles earlier this year, I thought I had glandular fever again, because the symptoms were the same: swollen glands under the arm, in the neck, and in the groin. If you have that, you really know it!
When I was really ill, I think there was a week or so when I couldn't eat, and it was difficult to swallow. I found sucking on ice was wonderful at that point. I think it's got to be a lot of rest, protein food, and talking it through with the school. Bt I think even at the time, no-one would have realised I'd been quite ill -- so a good recovery is really very possible.
Sorry for the essay ... -
Message 21
Posted by notjenniferaldrich (U8555450) on Saturday, 5th September 2009
Oh, poor Bulb and poor all of you with your terrible experiences. I had GF when my kids were teenagers, which is quite unusual, as the general tendency is for it to affect the young. I thought I had tonsillitis, terrible strep throat and roaring headaches with fever, but the usual penicillin miracle just wouldn't happen. Then, after the second round of penicillin treatment, the doc realised what it was. I was very tired and felt sick a lot, but made a good recovery, and then, about 6 months later when I was working again, I came down to breakfast at a conference and, although I was really looking forward to it, I felt so sick that I had to leave the room.
GF does affect the liver, and I had follow-up blood tests showing not-so-good liver results for about a year and a half, then things settled down, thank goodness. It was not so debilitating as it sounds for the poor teenagers, but still not to be treated lightly. My daughter's BF had been laid low for about 6 months (off school) before I got it, so I was always aware of my good luck.
Well done to the mums who have brought their youngsters through it successfully. It is a definite nasty, and I hope they all get their strength back soon. -
Message 22
Posted by Katy Tulip (U2239809) on Saturday, 5th September 2009
Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:01 GMT
Hello again, everyone, finally a brief moment to pop in and catch up on this thread.
Goodness, what a lot of replies, all very much appreciated.
It's been a long day, today, and nearly 11 pm now, so I'm off to bed soon. I'm too tired to write much more, but I did want to say how much I appreciated all your replies, and concern, a lot to digest. I'll be back soonest to reply properly, but until then, many thanks again. Katy -
Message 23
Posted by Westsussexbird or Birdy aka Westie (U6316532) on Saturday, 5th September 2009
Fingers crossed that Bulb gets off lightly. :0)
-
Message 24
Posted by cookiepuss (U1485231) on Saturday, 5th September 2009
My sympathy to Bulb and hope he only has GF mildly.
I was diagnosed with GF a month before finals, having felt off-colour and bad tempered for weeks. I'd gone out with my parents to the pub one evening, had a vodka and lime, went shopping with Dad the next day, collapsed in the street and had to be brought home by taxi. We just thought it was too much revising for exams, though I was also off my food (Mum cooked a lot of fried food and I couldn't face rissoles that day).
A few days later, back at uni, my skin, the whites of my eyes and especially my eyelids went yellowish, almost primrose colour, so it was off to the doctor's. Next thing I knew I was in Student Health for observation, then by ambulance to an isolation hospital for tests. I was there for 10 days. It was hepatitis, brought on by GF and triggered by alcohol.
I sat the final exams but only scraped through with a pass. (I think they gave me my degree just for turning up - I fell asleep during at least one exam). It took 6 months to get over the GF (and no fatty food for 3 months or alcohol for 6). Fortunately it has never recurred.
=^..^= -
Message 25
Posted by Katy Tulip (U2239809) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:19 GMT, in reply to Katy Tulip
Hello again, everyone.
Have just notified Bulb 1's school, who are very sympathetic, and have form on a phased return of students' suffering from this, not to mention catch-up tuition and so on. Biggest problem is going to be all the practical work, especially as it's on permanent evaluation basis and determines his passing the school year (he could if necessary do the year again, but as he's already doubled last year...). But those are bridges to be crossed as and when, imo.
Bulb 1 still fast asleep after a very disturbed 2 nights, and lots of rest & naps during the previous days - he can sit up just long enough to eat something (I've taken good note of all the foody tips!), and faff around on the computer for about 30 mins. Spends the rest of the time he's awake drowsing in the sofa or watching goofy Disney films like 'Chicken Little'.
Not to mention sitting in various forms of tepid baths, in a desperate attempt to relieve the itchy rash which is driving him mad (one of the things I'll be bringing up with GP when I call later on).
Today's top tips re The Rash.
(1) Immersing yourself in lukewarm water very liberally sprinkled with bicarbonate of soda (idea from moi, remembering the Chicken Pox Days of yore), helps quite a bit. Until you run out of bicarb, that is - I've used more these past few days than in 28 years of marriage. Sunday the shops are shut over here.
(2) Plan B (the chemist's idea): starch aka cornflour, applied to tepid water as above. Useless, and the sticky goo is an absolute pain to rinse off.
(3) Plan C (Google): oats, applied ditto. My advice: don't. It doesn't relieve the itching as promised, in fact the myriad flakes swirling through the water and landing on your body at the slightest movement, even if you only gently breathe, makes things worse. Like the starch, a pain to rinse off. And you're also left with the world's biggest bowl of watery porridge to clean up...
Am setting off for shop soonest to empty their shelves of bicarb.
:O Katy
P.S. Daphne, please don't beat yourself up too much, many many parents must wish they had done things differently in the past re their children, I know I have... -
Message 26
Posted by Westsussexbird or Birdy aka Westie (U6316532) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Katy how are YOU?
:0) -
Message 27
Posted by Katy Tulip (U2239809) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:43 GMT, in reply to westie (westsussexbird) in message 26
Hi Westie!
Ok-ish. The stress of it has affected my muscles a bit, so I'm rather more sore and stiff that I have been lately, but am going to have a soothing lavender bath in a minute. I'm going to take care to rest enough though, I'm going to be no good as a nurse if I crash....
Have also had offers of help from my Mum & Dad, and my favourite supermarket does home deliveries if necessary. And I already have help with the heavy cleaning in the house.
Ah, he's awake. Asking if he can have (would you believe it?!?), porridge for brekkers...
Must dash. Katy -
Message 28
Posted by Lilith (U13728858) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Hi Katy
Have never tried oat baths myself but have heard (from someone who swears by it) that the best method to avoid getting covered in sticky oats and having to clean porridgey bath is to cut the leg off an old pair of tights put the oats in the leg and then tie a knot in it. Then tie to bath tap so that, as bath is running, water flows through bag of oats, releasing anti-itch oaty stuff but not actual oats.
Lilith x -
Message 29
Posted by Rwth of the Cornovii (U2570790) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Mon, 07 Sep 2009 09:38 GMT, in reply to Severnside Lilith in message 28
I don't know if oatmeal rather than rolled oats are any better for this. Try the Body Shop, or Yves Rocher. They mix it with lavender.
I don't like the stuff that dries out your skin, and maybe a mild skin cream would be better to soothe the skin. Also remembering chicken pox. -
Message 30
Posted by conductor (U2040502) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Dear Katy
First of all best wishes to the bulb.
Secondly, PLEASE make sure he recovers completely before going back to school/college/whatever. I had very mild GF when I was 13 years old and although I took 3 weeks off school, I should have stayed longer. The result is a lifetime of ME or CFS, whatever you want to call it, intruding every now and then and forcing me to scale down work and miss out on things.
I don't want to be too dramatic - I have a career, a marriage, a life - but I often look back and wonder what might have been had I been well, particularly from the point of view of work.
Lots of positive thinking coming your way! -
Message 31
Posted by Bearhug (U2258283) on Monday, 7th September 2009
4) Calamine lotion.
Has he stopped the antibiotics? My rash went pretty quickly after I had. I think tLG's hung around a little longer. I can't actually remember. It was only last year, but he has so many health issues, I can't distinguish them all any more... He did get v. v. ill with it, though, whereas me at uni got off pretty lightly, though I do still remember the pain of the inside of my mouth being one huge ulcer.
You can't give blood for 2 years after you recover from glandular fever, which gives some idea of how it can hang around. I have a cousin who also retook a year at school because of GF and resultant CFS. -
Message 32
Posted by DeeKay Bee - Disenfranchised (U236881) on Monday, 7th September 2009
You can get oily calamine lotion as well as 'normal'. I think it contains peanut oil and lanolin so not suitable for everyone, but you don't get the flaky bits that you can get with 'normal'. -
Message 33
Posted by Westsussexbird or Birdy aka Westie (U6316532) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Glad you are keeping a beady eye on yourself as well Katy :0)
Be careful not to block the drains with all the spin offs from the porridge etc ... run lots of water down the plughole after you have let the water out of the bath.
I so agree about taking it slowly slowly when Bulb begins to recover ... DD1 has a friend who just couldn't bear not to be playing his music and we were astonished to hear he was back playing his sax and carrying on doing the things he loved as soon as he could, and has really been quite compromised ever since. -
Message 34
Posted by Clarinda (U13194630) on Monday, 7th September 2009
I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will be like my brothers, which lasted around 6 weeks and felt like fluÌý
Katy, my middle daughter had glandular fever when she was 9 and once the acute stage had passed she felt pretty OK. However she was off school for a few weeks since her spleen was enlarged and the usual primary school playground rough and tumble might have been harmful.
Apart from the enlarged spleen she felt fine and, while recovering, was well enough to walk there and back to the doctors for check-ups - about a mile away.
She remembers the time off school with pleasure. I was just terribly relieved that it wasn't leukaemia, since two of my first cousins died from this.
It seems as if the aftermath is variable - I hope that your son isn't too badly affected -
Message 35
Posted by Dunlurkin NL (U2675855) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Katy, up North (NL) the usual remedy for itching is methol powder (mentholpoeder) bought from a drug store. It comes in various strengths - for babies, children and adults.
I agree that it is quite possible that it is a reaction to antibiotics. If so, make a note of the name and tell the doctor as it could indicate an allergy to that particular anti-b.
Good luck
Dunlurkin -
Message 36
Posted by carrick-bend (U2288869) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:53 GMT, in reply to Clarinda in message 34
My elder son hadit at 18 as well. I'd second other posters and say to advise you son to take it easy for a month after he feels better, to lessen the change of any post-viral complications. -
Message 37
Posted by matilda groves (U1636558) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Dunlurkin
This rash is a well-known response to amoxycillin, as is not an allergic reaction. Young Groves was terribly excited, as he had never seen it 'live', as he had been taught never to prescribe amoxycillin if GF was suspected. Why the locum thought a teenage boy with a raging sore throat and swollen glands was not a prime candidate I will never know.
It is quite a spectacular rash though.
cheers
matty -
Message 38
Posted by carrick-bend (U2288869) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:11 GMT, in reply to matilda groves in message 37
Really? I had a severve rash in response to it (I was in a coma at the time, so didn't participate in any discussions about y treatment) and ITU assumed that I was allergic to it and took me off it.
Well, so I can go back to not being allergic to anything that I know of, That'll make filling out medical forms quicker. -
Message 39
Posted by Bearhug (U2258283) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Why the locum thought a teenage boy with a raging sore throat and swollen glands was not a prime candidate I will never know.
Ìý
Mine (GP rather than locum) decided I had an ear infection. TLG did /also/ have some sort of bacterial infection at the time (I forget what) as he had GF. GF doesn't always present exactly the same with everyone, and its symptoms can be very similar to bacterial infections.
OTH, you'd think with people under about 25, it would at least be something you'd wonder about, with those sort of symptoms. -
Message 40
Posted by notjenniferaldrich (U8555450) on Monday, 7th September 2009
My doctor thought I had tonsillitis (so did I), as I had had it many, many times before. I was "too old" for GF, too. So there are other possible "differential diagnoses".
-
Message 41
Posted by matilda groves (U1636558) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Maybe I should have been a bit clearer. Young Groves has never been allergic to amoxicillin, either before or since having glandular fever. The rash he developed at that time was what is known as a macular rash, and is a well known reaction to being given amoxicillin when glandular fever was invoolved. Here is one link for you:
www.gpnotebook.co.uk/simplepage.cfm?ID=1161101332
I was not implying that there was no such thing as an allergic response to amoxicillin, and yes, indeed, in this case rash may be an allergic reaction to amoxicillin. As no doubt was the case with you.
matty -
Message 42
Posted by matilda groves (U1636558) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Indeed, but Young Groves had his tonsils out when he was 8. And there are plenty of antibiotics that he could have been given instead of amoxicillin. His usual GP listed the ones who would have used, can't remember exactly but think it was some other kind of penicillin type antibiotic.
I mention all this because I had never heard of it before Young Groves got it, and it was very worrying at the time.
matty -
Message 43
Posted by carrick-bend (U2288869) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:37 GMT, in reply to matilda groves in message 41
As I was, then! -
Message 44
Posted by Katy Tulip (U2239809) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:41 GMT, in reply to Severnside Lilith
the best method to avoid getting covered in sticky oats and having to clean porridgey bath is to cut the leg off an old pair of tights put the oats in the leg and then tie a knot in it. Then tie to bath tap so that, as bath is running, water flows through bag of oats, releasing anti-itch oaty stuff but not actual oats.Ìý
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why didn't I think of that myself?!?
Have noted all the tips, but am going to bend GP's ear about it soon.
Re The Rash:
Sorry for all the confusion here, folks.
He was prescribed a week's course of amoxicillin (sorry I wrongly said penicillin) by our own GP 10 days ago for an acute throat infection - he's prone to them, and has never reacted to antiobiotics before, unlike Bulb 3, who musn't have them after a very severe allergic reaction as a toddler. Bulb 1 felt a bit better after a few days, and really did want to go to school on last Tuesday so as not to miss the start of the school year.
The weird thing is, he took the last of it last Thursday, our GP had said to come back if he still wasn't better by this weekend, I decided I was going to do this anyway as he didn't look or feel very well at all, unlike all the other times, by which time our GP would also be back from a week's break, which he took the day after we saw him last.
Then on Friday morning, so when the course of antibiotics had just finished, the rash came on, it started by his neck and spread down, looking something like this, covering his whole body (not a piccie of him, btw):
His face was also swollen, as well as the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet. I had to dash over to his school to fetch him and then find a locum GP, and he immediately suspected GF, saying it was a typical reaction. It doesn't mean he won't be able to have this medicine for another illness at another time, however. Blood tests later confirmed this diagnosis. Bulb 1 has been getting steadily more ill over the weekend, and now has all the symptoms mentioned in your link, Lilith (message 17), apart from the spleen one.
The locum will have been in touch with our GP with all the details today, I've arranged to call him this evening to discuss things more fully. Knowing him as I do, he'll probably be mortified by what's happened. He's a very good GP, we've been with him for as long as we've been married, knows our family inside out, he's been marvellous with my own health issues, and I trust him implicitly.
The rash itself has almost faded away now, but he is still itching like mad all over, and his hands & feet are all puffy, tender to the touch, and itch terribly, especially when he's resting. Says he feels like he's fallen into an ant's nest. Apart from the misery of the itching, the worst about it is that it's affecting his ability to rest & sleep properly.
I'll take extra care he's well recovered enough though, at the moment he's too poorly to bother with anything much. The difficult bit will be when he's feeling better but still convalescing. He gets bored enough at the best of times...
Thanks again for all the replies, I'm sorry not to answer you all more individually, it's a rotten illness to have, I feel for all of you who've had the misfortune to have suffered from it, or have cared for someone who has.
Anyway, must get on with things, I joined Bulb 1 in a 3-hour snooze this pm while the others were still at school because we'd both had such a rotten night last night :D Katy -
Message 45
Posted by matilda groves (U1636558) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Very similar reaction to Young Groves. It is obviously well-known looking at google, although I hadn't heard of it until then. Mind you, it did confirm the diagnosis before the blood test results came back.
I hope he is at the milder end of the scale, although that is a relative turn.
Young Groves sleeping patterns were all over the place, I think it's because it is impossible to control when you fall asleep, so the normal routine goes haywire.
Also, young groves appetite was non-existent, so comfort food was the order of the day
matty -
Message 46
Posted by Katy Tulip (U2239809) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:55 GMT, in reply to matilda groves in message 45
comfort foodÌý
Yeah. All his favourites.
Porridge, scrambled eggs 'n' white bread & butter, tomato soup wiv teeny meatballs, cartons of fruity Petit Gervais soft cheeses, yoghurt, chocolate blancmange. Oh and a ginormous bunch of sweet grapes donated by my Mum & Dad! Rivers of various herbal teas and loads of water.
Oh dear, I really must be off now.
Bfn, Katy -
Message 47
Posted by matilda groves (U1636558) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Hope it is the right sort of Tomato Soup for comfort food, beginning with H
We also had mashed potato with gravy hot and drinks of Bovril
matty -
Message 48
Posted by notjenniferaldrich (U8555450) on Monday, 7th September 2009
I don't think we meant to be dismissive, matilda, and sorry if you felt my post to be snotty, it's just that diagnosis seems not always to be quite straightforward, especially if other atypical factors are involved. GF is a tricky entity altogether, as this thread shows.
I hope young Groves made a full recovery and wasn't left with permanent issues. -
Message 49
Posted by notjenniferaldrich (U8555450) on Monday, 7th September 2009
Oh, and best wishes to Bulb, of course, if he's awake. It sounds as if your afternoon sleep is the best medicine you could be getting with all the complications of the chemical sort.
-
Message 50
Posted by Bette (U2222559) on Monday, 7th September 2009
In reply to Katy Tulip in message 44
Thank goodness you have a good GP that you can trust, Katy (sounds like our own).
I'm /so/ sorry you are having to cope with this on top of everything else. TBH, I knew nothing whatsoever about GF before this thread (apart from the name), so it has been an eye-opener. Chin up.
Bette.
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