Losing Grip At University, Messy Dorm Room, Fatigue, Ongoing Glandular Fever.

[kellynolan82]

I have a friend who says he is losing himself at University:

I have been at University for just over a year and a half. As the university that I am attending is about 1500 miles from my home I have to board at a residential college. It's a nice college, people are friendly and although I'm coeliac the kitchen staff seem to be really good at catering for my needs. For some reason though, I haven't been very sociable at all and I seem to just be in my room all the time, missing meals, living in a mess (laundry hasn't been done for 2 weeks now), not attending lectures/classes/tutorials, and I also seem to have glandular fever that has lasted for about 6-8 months now.

If any of you out there have any suggestions as to how I could collect myself and get back into routine. I am currently in a 13 week semester and this is the beginning of my 4th week. My room will take several hours to clean up and I'm waking up in the evening and going to bed in the morning. The days are slipping by.

What are some steps I should take to get back into a normal healthy routine?

I'm crashing, and I don't know where to start

If any of you could help (even if it's just a few words of advice) I'd really appreciate it. If you could provide some steps on how he should restore his daily sleep cycle so he goes to bed in the evening and gets up in the morning that would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance

[shadowicewolf]

Find some vitamins to take, make yourself a schedule (ie: get up at this time, shower at this time, etc), seek a doctor to see if maybe they can do something about this lack of energy you have, go to bed at a decent time (even if it means staying up all day, etc.

You'll be fine

[sreese68]

I think he may want to visit a doctor to rule out any medical issues that may be causing fatigue and lethargy.

He may also want to double check with the kitchen staff to make sure there's no CC going on.

Another thing may be a food intolerance causing his problems. I have mild fructose malabsorption, and when I eat too much fructose in one day, I get lethargic, tired, irritable, unsocial, etc. the next day. I also stay up late because it takes too much energy to get off the sofa and into bed. He could try a FODMAPS diet and eliminate high fructose foods, soy, lactose, etc and see how he feels in a few weeks.

For getting back on track with sleep, there's the gradual approach of moving his bedtime back one hour a day until it's at a reasonable hour. Or the dramatic approach of skipping sleep one day (pulling an "all-dayer" instead of an "all-nighter") and going to bed completely exhausted one night.

He may have better success if he asks a friend or resident associate to hold him accountable for making some changes. When feeling that fatigued, it can be very hard to motivate yourself to make the changes you need to to improve.

[Lori2]

For me, all the symptoms he has been having are a sign that I have been glutened. Fatigue, sleep problems and depression. He needs to check his food carefully.

[kellynolan82]

For me, all the symptoms he has been having are a sign that I have been glutened. Fatigue, sleep problems and depression. He needs to check his food carefully.

I will encourage him to do that. Apparently his kitchen has a notice on the wall warning people that *small traces* of allergens may be present in all deep fried items.

I think contaminated oil is more than *small traces* but anyway he does avoid those items. He's a nice guy, fairly shy though. I don't think he has directly spoken to the staff about the cc issue yet. How would you suggest he start with them?

[lynnelise]

If he has been diagnosed with Mono he may be doing too much. Mono requires lots and lots of rest! I had mono two years ago and I seriously don't think I ever really recovered from it.

[kellynolan82]

If he has been diagnosed with Mono he may be doing too much. Mono requires lots and lots of rest! I had mono two years ago and I seriously don't think I ever really recovered from it.

He had to get blood test results and has a series of results (ideal range in brackets):

Basophils 0.00 (<0.20)

Eosinophils 0.04 (0.03-0.40)

Monocytes 0.5 (0.2-1.0)

Lymphocytes 1.6 (1.0-4.0)

Neutrophils 1.5 (2.0-7.5)

White Cell Count is low.

Is this a sign of mononucleosis? I know he's pretty sick at the moment so if you could tell me if this may be related to coeliac, fatigue or anything at all as to whether he may develop another viral infection let me know.