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Q: Mood changes occurring during/after illness??? ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   0 Comments )
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Subject: Mood changes occurring during/after illness???
Category: Health
Asked by: pcventures-ga
List Price: $7.00
Posted: 13 Nov 2003 15:18 PST
Expires: 13 Dec 2003 15:18 PST
Question ID: 275590
I recently spent three difficult weeks.  Waking up shaking and with a
knotted stomach in the morning.  Strange aches and chills. Bouts of
fatigue. Worrying about whether I had a serious/fatal health problem.
 Much to my relief, I was diagnosed with mononucleosis, and the
symptoms are easing up, but I have a new concern - my mood has grown
darker recently.  I'm not exactly moping in the corner, but I've been
feeling unexpectedly sad at odd times for a few moments.  In addition,
I'm thinking a lot of maudlin thoughts about mortality and the purpose
of existence/life itself.  Please note that I can function and do what
needs to be done.
 To the best of the commentator/answers' knowledge, does being ill for
a few weeks cause mood changes, particularly mono?  Can a period of
extreme health anxiets also trigger such mood changes?  How can I best
seek help for something like this?
 Any insight would be appreciated...
 
 Thanks...
Answer  
Subject: Re: Mood changes occurring during/after illness???
Answered By: sublime1-ga on 13 Nov 2003 17:12 PST
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
pcventures...

It may be possible that you are experiencing the onset
of CEBV, or Chronic Epstein-Barr Virus Disease. A very 
informative article on the 'Wellness on the Web' site,
authored by Allen Lawrence, M.A., M.D., Ph.D. and 
Lisa Lawrence, M.S., Ph.D., states:

"One of the most controversial areas in medicine today is
 the issue of Epstein-Barr Virus Disease. While some medical
 doctors and researches believe that Chronic Epstein-Barr
 Virus Disease (CEBV) not only exists but is at epidemic
 proportions here in the U.S. others believe and are adamant
 that CEBV is just a hoax, a fad, 'the disease of the month,'
 an excuse to rationalize fatigue and depression. Large
 numbers on non-medical 'sufferers' of CEBV, however, are
 coming forward to tell their stories of the problems that
 they have been suffering, some for years. With or without
 a name for it, they see their symptoms fitting those that
 are most frequently used to define CEBV."

"Those experts who believe in CEBV, often claim that both
 children and adults may suffer for many years, from one
 or more combinations of often debilitating symptoms which
 can include:"

"Fever, fatigue, sore throat, swollen glands, joint pains,
 ear and muscle aches, breathing pains, heat, cold and light
 sensitivity, diarrhea, nausea/vomiting, chills, stomach pain
 weight loss, rashes, sleep problems, dizziness, hair loss,
 night sweats, alcohol intolerance, bladder dysfunction, lack
 of physical or speech coordination, swelling of eyelids or
 hands and fingers, odd sensations in the nerves or skin,
 confusion, inability, to concentrate, impaired reasoning,
 memory loss, depression, anxiety and mood swings."

and...

"Often patients come to doctors with long lists of symptoms,
 symptoms having long durations and often significant severity.
 The physician may not even think about CEBV. Most doctors are
 taught that "mononucleosis" is that of a short term,
 non-reoccurring illness. CEBV infection, they say, is different
 from mononucleosis, it is a separate disease entity own. Some
 people who later develop CEBV have had full blown "mono"
 initially, while others have much milder symptoms with their
 initial infection."

and, most importantly:

"Does CEBV Really Exist?"

"While many people do believe that CEBV is a real disease
 entity others believe that it is not. In fact, many
 physicians believe that CEBV doesn't exist. Some physicians
 believe that it occurs as a secondary problem to chronic
 yeast infection. Still others believe that Epstein-Barr
 virus does not cause the problems listed above but rather,
 that it is secondary to another process entirely."

"I, myself believe that the primary process is a kind of
 depression, wherein the immune system is depressed along
 with other biologic processes of the body."

"In this conceptualization the cause of the symptoms is
 the kind of depression where faulty beliefs, lies, guilt
 and shame have been suppressed for many years. When this
 happens the body/mind does not allow these conflicts into
 our conscious awareness. This causes a constant state of
 stress, Fight or Flight, which over a long period of time
 undermines the immune system and leaves the body vulnerable
 to infection, especially yeast and CEBV. This process while
 regulated through the stress mechanism is in itself not
 part of the stress mechanism, but rather an affect of its
 overwhelm and long term over stimulation. In order to cure
 this process, the depression must be tackled and resolved.
 In this sense Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is one of a long
 list of conditions known as Stress-Related Disorders."
More on the page, including recommendations for treatment:
http://www.well-net.com/prevent/cebv1.html


MedicineNet.com has this to say:

"Infectious mononucleosis, "mono," and "kissing disease" are
 all terms popularly used for the very common illness caused
 by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). By the time most people
 reach adulthood, an antibody against EBV can be detected in
 their blood. This means that most people, sometime in their
 lives, have been infected with EBV. (The body's immune
 system produces antibodies to attack and help destroy
 invading viruses and bacteria. These specific antibodies
 can be detected in the blood of patients who have been
 infected.) "Mono" is most often diagnosed in adolescents
 and young adults. However, it is also seen in children.
 Generally, the illness is less severe in young children,
 which may explain why it is less commonly diagnosed in this
 younger age group. While there are other illnesses falling
 under the broad classification of "mononucleosis," the one
 caused by the EBV is by far the most common."
http://www.medicinenet.com/Infectious_Mononucleosis/page1.htm#1whatis


The American Academy of Family Physicians site has a page
on sore throats, which includes a link to the question
"What is mononucleosis?"
http://familydoctor.org/healthfacts/163/index.html

If you click on the link to that question, the frame states:

"Mononucleosis (mono) is an infection caused by the
 Epstein-Barr virus. One of the main signs of mono is
 a sore throat. Other signs include swollen glands in
 your neck, armpits and groin, fever and chills,
 headache, and feeling tired."


So there seems to be a considerable amount of agreement
as to the cause of mononucleosis being the Epstein-Barr
virus, while there is some controversy over the existence
of the Chronic Epstein-Barr Syndrome. 

Having worked in the field of mental health for over 20
years, I'm inclined to agree with the Drs. Lawrence in
the quote about the effect of depression on the immune
system. This can result in a vicious cycle in which
illness feeds depression, which weakens the immune system,
which leaves one more susceptible to illness and so on.

I would personally recommend finding resources which 
offer the best of both conventional and alternative
medicine, as well as bulletin boards for contact with
others who have similar symptoms.

One such site is the website of Walt Stoll, M.D., author
of the book 'Saving Yourself from the Disease-Care Crisis'.
The site is searchable from the main page:
http://askwaltstollmd.com/index.html

There are 5 years worth of archives on Epstein-Barr/CFS
(Chronic Fatigue Syndrome):
http://askwaltstollmd.com/archives/ebv.html

He states:
"Any one who practices the 3 legs of the "wellness" stool
 will have none of these conditions within 6 months. See
 the glossary and the link at Wellness archive."
The Wellness archives are here:
http://askwaltstollmd.com/archives/wellness.html

The tree-legged stool is described here:
"Three-Legged Health Stool that Walt advocates: (1) Whole
 Foods Diet (NO refined Carbs!), (2) Aerobic Exercise
 (20 mins 3 times a week), and (3) Skilled Relaxation
 (20 minutes, twice a day), with (1) being the most
 important."
http://www.askwaltstollmd.com/archives/wellness/2381.html


I hope you're not upset by the possibility that your
diagnosed mononucleosis may be the tip of an iceberg,
and hope that you will find some relief in understanding
that your depression and anxiety have a cause and that
there may be a deeper process involved in your full
recovery than simply taking an antibiotic.

Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that
the answer cannot be improved upon by means of a dialog
established through the "Request for Clarification" process.

sublime1-ga


Searches done, via Google:

mononucleosis "mood swings OR changes"
://www.google.com/search?q=mononucleosis+%22mood+swings+OR+changes%22

mononucleosis "Epstein-Barr" "mood swings OR changes"
://www.google.com/search?q=mononucleosis+%22Epstein-Barr%22+%22mood+swings+OR+changes%22

"Epstein-Barr" "support groups"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22Epstein-Barr%22+%22support+groups%22
pcventures-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars and gave an additional tip of: $1.50
Awesome answer - thanks!

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