Post Viral Fatigue – Have you been left floored after a recent illness?
I seem to have been contacted by a number of people recently who have been left feeling exhausted after a recent illness.
I also succumbed to a nasty cold virus a couple of weeks ago and I’ve had to really focus hard to get my energy levels back up.
What is Post Viral Fatigue?
In a nut shell it’s a significant lack of energy that doesn’t seem to be remedied by rest and extra sleep. It follows a bout of illness – a virus and it can leave you feeling unwell even if the original symptoms have passed.
Sometimes there are new symptoms to accompany the tiredness i.e. muscle aches and pains, a constant sore throat, a fuzziness to your thoughts, headaches and enlarged or sore lymph nodes.
The bottom line is that you simply feel like you cannot shake the illness and it severely affects your everyday life.
What causes it?
This is a huge question and whilst there is no definitive answer there are some common themes that seem to suggest a susceptibility towards a person ending up with post viral fatigue.
1. Having a particular type of virus. There are several known viruses that can trigger post viral fatigue i.e. Epstein Barr – this is the virus most commonly linked to ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. So, if you have had a ‘known’ virus then you may take a little longer to recover than you would normally.
2. Being very stressed before you became ill. Stress hugely depleted the body of vital immune nutrients. Your body cannot shake the illness because it does not have the resources it needs to mount a full attack. Stress can be emotional, physical or mental. It all ignites the same stress response in the body.
3. Having had ME/CFS or Glandular fever in the past. Even if this was years a go and you’ve completely recovered, a particularly harsh virus can trigger these conditions to raise their head.
4. Having an inflammatory response. If your virus has triggered a big inflammatory response such as asthma, eczema, hives etc then it can be difficult for the body to revert back or calm the inflammation. Being in an inflammatory response is exhausting – just ask anyone with hay fever how they feel during the pollen season!
What can you do?
If you’ve had an illness that has been going on for a few weeks you should first see your GP. They will typically run a number of blood tests and/or urine test to check for anything out of balance etc.
But even if a GP diagnoses post viral fatigue treatment will typically be simply managing the symptoms until the body recovers. For example, you may be prescribed anti-histamine, anti-inflammatories or pain relief!
There is no known medical cure for post viral fatigue.
How long does it last?
It depends entirely on the individual. It can take a few weeks, even months or years to fully recover from post viral fatigue.
Can nutritional medicine help?
Absolutely!
So, if you’ve been following me for a while you will know that I came to be a Nutritionist because I suffered from chronic fatigue in my late teens/early 20’s.
Nutrition was life changing for me as I can honestly say I fully recovered from CFS – it took 3 years, but I did it!
Because of my history with low energy, I make sure I protect it by doing a number of key things consistently. On occasion, when I’ve been very busy or stressed my energy levels will let me know. I will be tired and need extra sleep. I will know I’m not firing on all cylinders.
If I ignore these signs I can succumb to an illness – just like I did recently! Another lesson learnt!!!
I then have to really focus on getting my energy levels back up! This is exactly what I’m currently doing.
A Plan
If you’re struggling with recovering from a recent illness then lucky for you, you have come to the right place at the right time!
As you now know energy is very personal to me. For this reason, I love to help people boost their energy and know how to manage it.
Next week I am running my FREE 5-day energy accelerator programme. You can join me by clicking HERE.
During the 5 days I will be explaining to you exactly what energy is, how your body makes it, uses it, depletes it and how you can give yourself a boost when you most need it.
I absolutely love to run this programme. It has helped hundreds of people.
Don’t miss out! It’s not just for those with post viral fatigue but for ANYONE who needs a bit more energy. When we are energised, we can take on the world.
Let’s do this together! Join me HERE.
