what's the cure for epstein bar syndrome?

[neilbeth]

i have a list of things that my nutritionist says for my brother to take for his epstein bar synd. but is there something else we don't know about?

he's not depressed but just REALLY tired a lot.

thanks.

[healthybratt]

i have a list of things that my nutritionist says for my brother to take for his epstein bar synd. but is there something else we don't know about?

he's not depressed but just REALLY tired a lot.

thanks.

I googled this and I came up with Epstein-Barr virus.  Is this the same thing or are you talking about something different?

[neilbeth]

sorry, same thing...

[bendeleboysmama]

Mariel,
I have good news, I had epstien barr syndrome when I was 19, not fun, It took me down and sleepy and very low immunities for about 3 months, I started to feel better, got up and around and it hit me again for another 3 months.  The first 3 months I didn't do anything natural, I just figured that the MD was right and it just had to take it's course.  THe second time, I talked to a homeopathic doctor, and he put me on 2 things.  They were Complimed's Arsenicum, and Virus CM.  They also now have an epstien barr cleanse that I bought, but didn't have to do as the first two took most of the symptoms away.  They are drops, you put them on your tongue and they aren't bad.  Within 1 day, I felt more energetic, and better then I had felt in the last 6 months.  I also was put on an immune builder that had colostrum in it.  I was leary about it at first, but that also made me feel wonderful.  My mom, bought me a different bottle of colostrom manufactured in New Zealand and I think I took two bottles of the stuff and was feeling great, Great enough to plan a wedding!  Mine:)  I had Epstien BArr symptoms starting in early Feb, recieved the supplements Mid march and was proposed to Mid May.  By May I didn't even remember I had had Epstien barr and was married in August.  Since then, I have taken 1 more bottle before the pregnancy of my first son, and haven't felt the need, since I am no longer that draggy.  The doctor said that it cleanses your body, I am going to do the water cure, and the master cleanse, now that I know about it, but I am feeling healthy to do it.  I wouldn't have done it during those symptoms.  I will try to find the link for the colostrum, but here is the Doctor's number for the Supplements.  It is the only thing I can reccomend, and it worked great for me.  If you do give him a call, he can ship these things to you.  Just tell him what the symptoms are. 
And that a friend gave you his number...
His name is Dr. Henry G. West -208-232-3216
or 1-888-747-3216. 
The colostrum is...www.newlifefoods.com

I hope this helps.  I was overwhelmed and this really helped me.  At least it's a start, rather than having to put together your own tinctures and buying your own herbs.  These are already mixed and packaged.  I'll be praying for your brother and for you.

[neilbeth]

wow. sounds too simple! i'll forward this to my bro-in-love and sister and let them decide. they just bought over $100+ through my free nutritionist with _ _ _ _ _ _ _
can i say who? what are the rules on listing recommendations? since you gave that DR.'s number, i would imagine that i could give my free nutritionist's name out too... she's a Christian lady too.

please help!

[bendeleboysmama]

I'm not sure if I broke the rules or not.  Maybe I did.  I feel bad now.  I guess I should have read or maybe asked the moderator.  Well, If I did, I am sorry and won't do it again.  I just had such wonderful results.  I know that we aren't supposed to say that "this is the way to do it"  but to say in my opinion, or in my experience.  So I guess when I say that, if you did go to that doctor, and it didn't work out for you, then I would be off the hook?  Anyways, I guess I'll just be sorry and careful if I did break any rules.  Nice to meet you though,,,chat later...

[SteveTallent]

Well, I don't have the final say regarding the rules of the forum, and I know that there are some rules about certain things, but I don't see any problem with giving recommendations for doctors, midwives, nutritionists, etc. any more than giving recommendations for products. If one of the other moderators knows something I don't, jump in.

Regarding Epstein Barr or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, basically the only thing you can do is get well. Nice, huh? If I wasn't sick I wouldn't need to get well and if I could get well I wouldn't be sitting here sick. Viruses are very insidious and hard to target. There is no magic wand that you can wave and make it go away. In fact, once you get a virus, it will most likely float around in your system for the rest of your life, waiting for an opportunity to strike. So something like Epstein Barr syndrome won't touch a person until they are weak in the first place. In fact, doctors aren't really sure that Epstein Barr is actually causing the chronic fatigue, only that it seems to be a common factor in sufferers of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. But, there are many millions of people walking around carrying the Epstein-Barr virus that are asymptomatic. So, again, we can't target the virus, and we're not even sure that virus is causing the problems. However, we do know that the immune system is extremely weak.

So, the recommendations above of cleanses and herbs to boost the immune system are great. Also I would add a daily regimen of vitamin C and propolis. Probably 1000mg of vitamin C every 1-2 hours for a while, and a propolis cap with it. GREAT immuno boosters. Lindy posted on another thread that these high doses should only be done a few times per week to activate the Killer Cells. Probably good advice. Oh, and elderberry. Elderberry extract  is one thing that not only boosts the immune system, but also seems to make viruses very uncomfortable, so were it me, I'd probably be going through at least 8oz per week. Echinacea and Goldenseal are good and somebody can probably tell you the best way to take those.

Eat right. The problem is a lack of resources to deal with everything. Eating a bunch of crap and making the body deal with all of that in the weakened state is foolish.

Most people think that they will die during a water-only fast, and the Master Cleanse people tell you that there are no benefits from a water-only fast that you don't get with a Master Cleanse. Not true in my experience. I've had tremedous success fasting. If you're so tired you can't get up anyway, might as well be fasting? Just a thought. It is a great cleanse and seems to reset the entire system, as well as being a great time for spiritual study, introspection and worship.

Steph started doing some things to remove poisons a while back. She got something from the health food store, a small bottle with a dropper. Put about 20-30 drops in water. Not quite tasteless, but definitely painless. Also there were some kind of mustard packs for the bath. There was also something there for a cleansing foot bath and I've heard great things about those. Sweating is also a good thing, so regular steaming hot baths and excercise are great. Spirulina is another good cleansing agent. Foods high in antioxidants. All of these are good.

In my experience, most people have a yeast buildup to some extent, so capryllic acid, acidophilus and a good multi-strain probiotic, along with garlic is a good choice for that. In addition, do a parasite cleanse using black walnut.

So to sum up: Do anything and everything to boost the immune system. You can't attack the virus directly, but take care of all the other things with which the body is having to cope and free up resources for it to take care of the virus on its own.

[lotsaboys]

Bumping this topic to hear more ideas for helping someone with EB virus or any experience anyone has had overcoming it.

[Mrs. B]

This is pretty much the main issue that brought me over to the natural health side.
When I was 22 I came down with a severe case of mononucleosis, which is a disease resulting from the EB virus.
I had a horrible time with it initially, missing several months of work, and never being quite the same afterwards.
When I initially came down with it I was young and on the go... I worked alot and went back and forth on night shift.
I was young and in denial that anything could knock me down and I chose to develop even worse habits after the initial mono.  I started  to smok 2-3 packs a day and drank alcohol heavily.  I worked the night shift at a stressful job, and then decided to take a travelling job. 
Basically I was the poster child for an unhealthy lifestyle.
I had dabbled at herbs prior to this, but I realized that there must be a way to get myself on track.
I was coming down with sinusitis/tonsillitis on a monthly basis... I would miss days at work, I never had any energy, and life just wasn't fun....

What I did was to first eliminate bad habits... quit smoking, quit drinking, get off nights and caffiene.
I made sure I got plenty of sleep at night.
I started an organic diet with a focus on vegetarianism/veganism.  (I am not a vegetarian any longer, but at the time it seemed to be where I needed to be personally).
I really made a point to take a good multivitamin and added green foods daily to my diet.
I also used to take an herbal blend that contained golden seal  and echinicea with some burdock and other things along those lines... I believe I would take them for 2 weeks every 3 or 4 months as a maintenance dose.
This was all 18 years ago and I wasn't very knowledgable at the time...  I pretty much just kind of tried to treat symptoms as they came and then would cleanse and rebuild.  I remember primarily looking for herbs for liver and blood cleansing.

I still will have the return of my mono symptoms if I let myself get REALLY run down, but otherwise they are really not a factor in my life at this time.
I do try to stay on top of promoting my adrenal function as I feel that this is still a thing for me that is one of the weaker components of my body, but in much more of a chronic way rather than acute manner. 
When I read thru the adrenal thread I realize that I don't have issues nearly as severe as others, I just really need to maintain.

This is also kind of stupid, but my main goal is to just to not let myself get sick.  I generally don't catch colds/flus and all of that despite working in a hospital for 20 years, but if I do get the littlest thing I don't tend to have the reserves. 
This past winter we all came down with a stomach virus.  Everyone else had it for 12-24 hours, and my vomiting did clear up in about 12 hours, but while everyone else was fine after this time... it took me 4 days before I could get up out of bed... I just didn't have the energy to walk.
It's not that I get a worse case of things, I am just so physically tired by them that I can't function.

So my main goal is to keep my body strong and healthy, as much as possible, so that I can easily fight off colds, etc.

I feel that to be at my best I need to stay off of caffiene, eat my veggies, take a daily vitamin, take green foods daily, get plenty of water, and sleep.  This may seem like no-brainer stuff, and it pretty much is, but I really feel it if I start to slip up on any of these. 
Also, while I know that a good diet can eliminate the need for vitamin supplements, and as much as I hate to take any pill daily, I do find that they provide me with that little bit of extra energy, and that it does give a subtle boost that my body sometimes requires.

[BJ_BOBBI_JO]

I feel that to be at my best I need to stay off of caffiene,

Why no caffeine?
Recently I have been trying to drink a small amount of caffeine just to help me keep on keeping on. If I ingest to much I get sick because I am very sensitive to it.

A lot of what your posts says applies to me. For me I feel better if I eat vegetarian and even better if I eat vegan but cant afford to. Dairy makes me extremely weak and sick.

The brittle diabetes and sever sugar swings  and possibly along with having had MONO before really tucker me out. Sometimes I just dont wanna deal with anything cause Im to tuckered out.

So far what helps me is :

-Not eating and if I have to eat  then eating veggies. About everything else other then apples tuckers me out to much but I eat them anyways cause I need food for my diabetes and cant afford to eat vegan.

-Weight lifting

-Staying away from dairy, pork, MSG and food that is not really food.

-Having enough salt intake. I am not a big salt eater and I notice when the weakness or strange feelings start happening that if I intake some salty foods I feel better.

 I am  greatful  that I still have good enough health to walk, talk, see, hear, drive, thrive, go places, have fun and get by. But some times I long for heaven to hurry up so I can feel better and have energy.

[Mrs. B]

I feel that to be at my best I need to stay off of caffiene,

Why no caffeine?.

I just feel better off of it.  For me it just seems to give an artificial boost, and not a real one, and I just have found that my body needs to be functioning not 'on fumes' but on its real energy.  I do currently have 1 cup of coffee in the mornings right now, but I'm slowly attempting to get rid of this... I just don't want to!

Also.. I am not currently vegan or vegetarian.  This ended the moment I first became pregnant 11 years ago.
I do feel my best with a "zone diet" plan with moderate protein, moderate complex carbs, and decent fats.

[Eglantine]

I would love to see Epstein Barr Virus have its own category. Is there a way to do this? I did a search and found it mentioned within many threads but it would be great if it could be consolidated somehow. The info. in this thread is particularly helpful.

[Eglantine]

My husband was tested in February for EBV (Epstein Barr Virus). The test came back that he had the virus presently active in his body AND that he had had it in the past. He has not had mononucleosis as far as he remembers. I've known him since we were 7 and I have no recollection of him having it either! We've been trying to build his immune system since we found out in Feb. but we just don't seem to be gaining any ground. His symptoms are getting worse...tingling in his legs and feet along with a weak, sluggish feeling in his legs. Cold hands and feet...well, lots of other things too. Generally, he is exhausted and has lost weight - some fat but primarily muscle. 
He now has increased weakness in his legs, particularly on the front of his legs, right above the knees.

When his symptoms increased so rapidly in Feb., he went for a lot of testing. Blood work every week for weeks, an MRI to determine if he had lesions on his brain (trying to rule out MS- no lesions visible), ultrasound, and x-ray. The last two were because he has a lump on the inside of his jawline about the size of an unhulled walnut. The diagnosis on the lump was lipoma - fatty tumor. We still question that because it is an odd place for a lipoma from the reading I've done.

He is weak, tired, and feels like he is wasting away. He's only 46. He's been taking olive leaf for months, a quart of red clover tea every day, another quart of pau d'arco tea - both left to steep overnight to extract as much as possible. He eats bee pollen every day and has begun eating a handful of apricot seeds too. With EBV comes the possibility of lymphoma.

I could really use your thoughts and experience here. We no longer have insurance although God provided for that just while we were doing all that testing and then it ended. His Lyme test came back negative by the way.

There is so much more but I have limited time right now and really want to get this out there. Thank you!

[Eglantine]

I'm bumping this up...

It's been 2 years since I posted about my husband's decline due to EBV. I've since seen a surge of info. on the internet about it but we still are struggling to overcome this awful virus. Last week he said that if things continue the way they're going for him, he expects he has 2-3 years. Not sure what to do with that other than resolve yet again to continue this fight.

Have any of you successfully treated and overcome EBV?