r/EBV

Is anyone else experiencing a chronic sore throat and dry mouth? I'm 15 months in and still have these symptoms. A year ago, the dryness used to be pretty severe 24/7, but now it's only the worst when I'm asleep.

I've tried a lot of things for my throat, including: 2 short rounds of prednisone, a saline nasal gel spray, flonase, H1 (benedryl, allegra, zyrtec) and H2 blockers (pepcid), tums, viscous lidocaine, gaviscon, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, nyquil, chlorhexidine, humidifier, cough drops and throat lozenges, biotene mouthwash and lozenges, staying hydrated (1.5-4L of fluids per day including electrolytes), restricted diet, elderberry, L-lysine, vitamin C, vitamin D, multi-vitamin, L-theanine, vitamin B complex, raw honeycomb, local honey, manuka honey, magnesium, pre and probiotics, mouth taping, anti-inflammatory diet, sleeping slightly elevated, breathe right nasal strips, baking soda gargles, pilocarpine. I've seen two ENTs and several other specialists

I found out I have an iron deficiency, so I've started an iron supplement in case this deficiency might be contributing to my throat irritation and dry mouth.

Maybe it's going to take more time but does anyone have any advice or tips on something else I can try?

I got Mono about 9 months ago, was the worst infection I've ever had in my life. My throat closed to the point where i had to go to the Emergency room.

9 Months later Every month im getting progressively more exhausted, to where its affecting every thing in my life

I dont feel like going out to eat, as soon as im on a date my energy dies right away, driving is exhausting, chores are exhausting, talking is exhausting it feels like my arms and legs have this aching fatigue

I went to the doctors over 5 times and they said im crazy but did tests because i kept suggesting it

They said i was depressed and went through two medications in this period but they just made me bipolar but never addressed the main issue mental and physical crippling fatigue

Turns out i have mono active and EBV active in my body 9 months later, turns out my immune system might suck im getting an immune panel because they insist finally something isn't right

I can barely continue to sit on my desk and type without a feeling of exhaustion.

When they finally found out i was not crazy they loaded me with tons of vitamins and now i'm able to push through a mediocre task while still feeling exhausted. But it just takes me longer to go to sleep with all of them Im taking

B Complex, Magnesium malate, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Selenium, Coenzyme Q10, Acetyl L Carnitine, zinc.

I'm super compulsive and am trying to live up to myself but it's getting harder to listen to my family, i haven't talked to my friends in months, i just don't feel like doing anything, i feel like im ruining my girlfriends life because anywhere she tries to take me i dont want to go or if she makes me im exhausted mentally and physically. my favorite food doesn't even get me up anymore.

I dont think she understands the full extent and told me maybe i feel this way due to placebo because i know im infected, she apologized because it upset me but although im sure shes has empathy for me she won't understand.

My doctors aren't helping, and nobody in my life understands, i feel isolated how do you guys continue?

I'm asking both physically and mentally

Male 27; I have been dealing with EBV for the last 4-5 months. I have had elevated liver enzymes which have thankfully started to drop, but still deal with fatigue (some days are worse than others), and other symptoms flare ups. Since the beginning I have been dealing with GI issues, generally looser stools and every once in a while blood. I have made an appointment with a GI, but want to know if anyone else has dealt with similar issues?

My EBV EA is 59.40, with also abnormally high KFLC and IgG (IgM was in range). My doctor said this is only evidence that I had EBV sometime in the past. I've been symptomatic for 19 months (MECFS/PEM, persistent flu feeling following covid in 2024 - I went from being a high level athlete to mostly bedbound).

Is EBV EA really not indicative of current immune activity and only represents past infection? My doctor thinks my symptoms are due to mental health, and I need to improve my attitude and get out and exercise, etc. I would love to exercise, but every time I've tried I get very sick. I think I'm being gaslit but idk. I've lost 19 months of my life to illness, I am eager to find some solution!

West China Hospital will be doing new small Phase I study.

People with HIV + EBV + cancer will get mRNA EBV vaccine.

"The EBV mRNA vaccine in this study has shown potential anti-tumor efficacy in lymphoma."

I had EBV last summer for 5 months and I finally beat it. I tried so many different supplements and diets and herbal things to beat it and I can't tell what actually helped or if it was just time passing that made it go away.

EBV reactivated for me about 40 days ago again and I have been hammering every natural antiviral, antioxidant, immune supporting thing I can and resting a lot. I honestly don't know if any of it has helped. I seem to remember that last summer the thing that helped to beat it was just that I stopped caring and stopped trying to fight it so much and I just gave up and then it like disappeared 2 weeks later. IDK if it was just time passing that did it though or if truly not giving a fuck anymore was actually therapeutic. This second time around I am kinda realizing again that all the herbal antivirals and super foods and vitamins I have been trying just seem to make me feel even shittier. Raw garlic, green tea, pomegranate, red onion, vitamin C, vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, B complex, turmeric, etc etc etc. I know cortisol the stress hormone tanks immunity. So I honestly wonder if just not caring anymore, not thinking about it, stopping the endless "fire everything against EBV" is actually more therapeutic in the long run. Because I've spent so much on supplements and quality food and I genuinely still feel like hammered shit. It seems to not really help at all. I am so tired of feeling so foggy, spaced out and fatigued and worn out. I hate this virus so much. Doing it once is extremely unpleasant, but having to face it a second time is devastating. I've given such an intense effort to beat this virus and it's done jack squat this second time around.

I’ve been experiencing uncomfortable pressure in my head that I believe is inflammation. Reason I say this is that whenever I put an ice pack on my head the the pressure seems to slight go away, then after some time it comes back. This has Been going on for 2 years and I actually experienced psychosis which I believe was do to the inflammation. I’ve gotten all types of scans done and everything appears to be normal. The only thing I show back positive for is ebv. Has this happened to anyone? My neurologist also said I had inflammation.

So, my EBV Charts are very wild.

I know they are for years like that but no one can or want so anything about it.

So my EBV IGG ist Always off >600, always since years.

That is not a huge Problem, i know.

But, my EBNA is always 40. Not more, just 40.

I was pointed to a Immunology Center. The Thing is, my Body controls this Virus with massive EBV IGG but can't get the full Control of it because i can't build up more EBNA.

IgM turns on and off in my Case.

Someone here with the same Problem?

First off, I didn’t know this virus what something that could reactivate until last week. My initial infection happened when I was a teenager and truly don’t recall it being too bad.

Now I’m 30 yrs old and over the years have had physical issues, a lot of random pains and lab tests results have been slightly off. A lot of my issues involve fatigue and was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome in 2022. However I’ve had many GI issues that required CT scans. After I was diagnosed last week with EBV reactivation, I looked back at my 4 scans where they note imaging of my organs. My spleen and liver have been enlarged in 3 of my last 4 scans in the past 7 years. Does this mean this virus just keeps reactivating? This last year I’ve have 4 different short lived upper respiratory illnesses. All started with a sore throat, headache, and crushing fatigue.

I’m currently past the sore throat/Upper respiratory symptoms that I was ill with for 4 days. Now I’ve been sleeping upward to 12-16 hours a day with ease. I went to the ER because my doctor simply wasn’t returning my phone calls and needed to know if it was safe to return to work. I got a scan of my spleen and it’s on the upper limits of normal in terms of size so I was cleared. I don’t know what the hell to do though given I work in construction and heard pushing physical limits can cause setbacks? I feel defeated and drained of energy, I’ve got no answers, I’m on google on all my waking hours to see how I can treat the fatigue so I don’t miss out on a months salary. If there’s anyone that can speak to this or any advice please let me know. Anything will help!!! Thank you!

Has anyone successfully used peptides to overcome their EBV reactivation symptoms? If so, which peptides did you use?

I was doing research and saw that Thymosin Alpha-1 would be a good peptides, but wanted to know if anyone had experience with these.

Anyone prescribed for EBV? Did it help? Side effects?

I caught mono from my wife in August 2025. She was pretty sick for 6 weeks (swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, exhaustion) and then boom it just vanished and all was fine. Right after I started having symptoms but it was just exhaustion, lingering and very latent. I could still go on about my day and do some excercise but something felt off all the time and my muscles were sore A LOT quicker than normal, so I got my blood checked after a couple weeks and tested positive for EBV but already inactive.

I still didn't really take it seriously since it didn't feel that bad and went on to live quite normally with the always present feeling of something being off. I traveled to a bachelor party to Napoli, Italy and went on a trip with my dad for 10 days. I drank alcohol and partied occasionally. The only thing I had totally stopped was doing sports + I paused my studies at Uni. The lingering exhaustion just did not go away (surprise) and a new symptom started to emerge, which was pelvic floor weakness and urine dribbling after I had a wee. This probably came from having sex with my wife and feeling like a truck hit me after we were done (we tried having a baby). I went to the urologist and got completely checked out. Everything was fine infection and prostate wise, so it had to be functional and exhaustion related. He still prescribed me antibiotics (Cotrim forte), which in hindsight was a big mistake. I was supposed to take it for 10 days and after the 6th day I felt really bad and stopped taking it after he advised me. I was completely drained, it felt like all my energy had left my body, I was dizzy and my heart was racing. I honestly thought I was going to die, so my wife took me to the ER where I got my heart checked + a scan of my spleen and aorta. Also a blood test was done. Everything was totally fine and healthy. The cardiologist said I could restart physical exercise in about 3 weeks (lol). This was in November 2025 and I felt like a complete wreck and was at my absolute low point.

From there I totally quit all alcohol, no more traveling and almost didn't meet any friends or my family. I was very sensitive to most stimuli (TV, reading books, too many people - I just couldn't handle it). Going to the supermarket could be too much at points and set me back for days. My stomach was unwell, everything felt wrong, I was dizzy at times and rarely felt fully rested, my muscles ached etc. At this point I finally started to research as good as I could about this virus and learned about pacing and the importance of a strict routine (especially diet and sleep wise). I tried quite a lot in many self experiments or after doctors or science advise over the next weeks/months and found my rhythm at around the beginning of April this year.

What really helped and made me recover fully:

1. Orthomol Vital against exhaustion for 30 days every morning (this was the first thing that actually helped me to not feel like I had ran a marathon after taking 5 steps)
2. CONSISTENT EARLY SLEEP at 10:30 - 11 pm with no distractions beforehand, no phone, no TV, nothing (every night the same time, no matter what day, no matter the circumstances)
3. REST - I can not stress this enough. REST for as long as it takes and if it takes 1 year then that's what your body needs to recover. In the end I completely paused Uni and stopped all sports or exhaustive activities. I know it is hard but I prolonged this way too long because I did not take the warning signs seriously and resting is SO important!
4. Cutting out bad foods and having the same thing for breakfast every day while pairing this with a good morning routine. You need B-Vitamins, you need Vitamin D, you need fermented unpasteurised foods to rebalance your gut bacteria and maybe some Magnesium (120mg magnesium bisgylcinate before bed time) for your Mitochondria to refill. So a perfect mix is going out for a short walk in the morning and having a soy yoghurt with fruits, nuts, 1 ts psyllium husk, 1 ts wheat germ, a scoop of vegan protein powder and some dark chocolate (at least 80% cocoa) right after. I also take 1 ts olive oil, eat some sauerkraut and drink 100ml of red beet juice before my walk on an empty stomach. I'm also having a very light lunch at around 3pm and a healthy dinner with lots of protein and healthy fats at roughly 7pm.
5. PACING - Slowly but steady. Listen to your body and don't push too quick too far. Monotonous and slowly is the name of the game in everything with postviral fatigue. Your battery is not fully loaded, so you might empty it a lot quicker by doing things you normally did when you were healthy. Make sure you don't, because otherwise you might crash and undo a good amount of work you had already put in to recover.
6. ALWAYS REMEMBER - You will VERY probably get back to your normal self. Science and data is clearly on your side here. 98% of people have caught this virus before they turn 40 and the vast majority just normally goes on with their lifes. For around 10-17% it just takes longer but the majority also recovers fully with the right routine.
7. STAY POSITIVE (even if it's hard) - a positive mind heals your body quicker.
8. And PLEASE get yourself fully checked before starting any physical exercise, especially when you stopped for more than 3 months. Bloodtests, internist and sport-check at cardiologist.

I'm still not fully back to my old and energetic self of course but I rarely have energy drops anymore and can basically do all day to day tasks without any weird sensations like the months before. I will try very light physical exercise beginning next week and see how it goes.

I know for each person life circumstances are different and telling a single mother of 3 to rest for 1 year is probably a joke to her so this is just how I recovered and even if it helps you a little bit in your process to getting back to normal I'm glad. Good luck!

I got mono real nasty 5 years ago. I experienced liver failure, needed surgery on my spleen, and was hospitalized for weeks. I had symptoms that followed for about 3 more months and then slowly started getting diagnosed with new fun chronic illnesses.

My biggest stressor now is my interstitial cystitis diagnosis. I have tried everything conventional and unconventional to treat this illness with no results. Out of desperation I found several studies linking the use of valacyclovir in treating IC in a subset of people that are affected due to reactivation of EBV.

My doctor heard me out and prescribed me valacyclovir 500mg and it WORKED. For the first time in 3 years I've felt relief. I know this is a weird one and I will cross post to the sub for interstitial cystitis but figured I'd put this out there for anyone with IC and persistent EBV.

Recently had mono at 27 and while my case was pretty mild (chills, sweats, fatigue, vertigo, and loss of appetite). It still took me out, I could just barely keep up with work and little else.

My EBV infection was recent, likely got it from a date, which bummed me out since I still feel some fatigue but I managed to get to 27 without catching the virus. Initially I thought mono went away but realized that while mono may go away EBV stays for good.

Doing more research I realized about 90-95% of adults have EBV virus, which made me think it was only a matter of time before I got it.

Did more digging and found that certain cancers and immune conditions are associated with this disease, and I thought well unless you are a hermit are you just screwed?

I really hate this, I've been a gym goer, shared food, drinks, made out and thought nothing of it. Now I have this virus :(