What's your experience with mononucleosis ??

Do you wish to share your experience with Mononucleosis?

My 19 yr old daughter just got a text from her boyfriend - he's got mono. So we are just going to assume that she's probably got it and it hasn't manifested symptoms yet. (Maybe she doesn't, but we'll play it safe and figure she probably does). She's scheduled for blood work and full checkup in two weeks. That was on the calendar before this came up.

So .. anyone here want to share their experience?
I know everyone is different ... but if anyone wants to share, that'd be great.
Any tips in case my daughter actually has it?
What to watch for, etc etc?

She is in summer semester at college.
I hope she doesn't come down with it.
That will effect her classes as well as her health.

originally posted by: FlyersFan
Do you wish to share your experience with Mononucleosis?

My 19 yr old daughter just got a text from her boyfriend - he's got mono. So we are just going to assume that she's probably got it and it hasn't manifested symptoms yet. (Maybe she doesn't, but we'll play it safe and figure she probably does). She's scheduled for blood work and full checkup in two weeks. That was on the calendar before this came up.

So .. anyone here want to share their experience?
I know everyone is different ... but if anyone wants to share, that'd be great.
Any tips in case my daughter actually has it?
What to watch for, etc etc?

She is in summer semester at college.
I hope she doesn't come down with it.
That will effect her classes as well as her health.

It hurts ALL OVER! You find swollen glands in places you didn't even know you had body parts! It lasted a couple of weeks. They may have meds to take care of it these days since it was wa aaaa ay back in the mid 60's that I contracted mine (community soda in college). For her sake I certainly hope she does not develop it! But if she does, just give her hugs, pats on the head and lots if kind words! Good luck to both if you!!

a reply to: Rubicon3

I had mono when I was 22. It really wasn't that big of a deal. For about 2 weeks, I was very tired, but I caught it early, so I didn't go through the weight loss/vomiting/ etc. that some experience. I imagine it will be the same for her. I was able to work from home.

It SUCKS... of course the universe will pay you back for having the temerity to kiss someone.

That said, high dose vit c will cure it... faster than without it... mega mega doses... sounds flaky, but it's helped.

originally posted by: FlyersFan
Do you wish to share your experience with Mononucleosis?

My 19 yr old daughter just got a text from her boyfriend - he's got mono. So we are just going to assume that she's probably got it and it hasn't manifested symptoms yet. (Maybe she doesn't, but we'll play it safe and figure she probably does). She's scheduled for blood work and full checkup in two weeks. That was on the calendar before this came up.

So .. anyone here want to share their experience?
I know everyone is different ... but if anyone wants to share, that'd be great.
Any tips in case my daughter actually has it?
What to watch for, etc etc?

She is in summer semester at college.
I hope she doesn't come down with it.
That will effect her classes as well as her health.

I wouldn't wait the 2 weeks for that check up and bloodwork. It is notmally mild and goes away but there can be complications.Mononucleosis

originally posted by: Baddogma
It SUCKS... of course the universe will pay you back for having the temerity to kiss someone.

That said, high dose vit c will cure it... faster than without it... mega mega doses... sounds flaky, but it's helped.

vit C may reduce the severity and length of a cold. You can't go so far as to say it can cure mononucleosis.
Though in the face of a virus, it cant hurt to take Vit C, D3, fish oil, L-Lysine, a multi vitamen, garlic and other sipcy food and stay hydrated and well-rested.

The wiki also says to avoid contact sports and pressure on the abdomen as it can effect the spleen.

a reply to: FlyersFan

I had this when I was a teenager...I don't recall any pain...the onset I recall a good deal of shaking like the chills was setting in...flu like sympoms where I was so weak I could hardly stand and I was very dizzy when standing..I remember my glands on my neck were swollen but that's about it...I think I was down for a couple of weeks...I was diagnosed at my doctor's office so I'm sure it was mono...best of luck

It was the summer before 11th grade I was 16. I got it real bad. One day seemingly out of nowhere I got home from a summer job at 4:15pm. Within in an hour I started experiencing these bouts of being freezing cold and then on fire, hot. I went to the doctors and they gave me antibiotics. I wasn't getting better. Two days later I had a fever of 103, my heart was beating out of my chest, I was hallucinating a bit, and I could barely breathe due to my swollen tonsils. My parents rushed me to the hospital where they admitted me right away. I was in the hospital for three days, lost a lot of weight, had to take steroids, etc. Now I had a girlfriend at the time and she got it too but barely got sick. The other thing I experienced was for the next two years, every two or three months I would get tonsillitis. That is my experience with mono. Best of luck.a reply to: FlyersFan

I'm really happy that they know what it is for him. Should monitor her closely and have tests ASAP for her.

I was misdiagnosed, which almost caused it to be fatal if not seeking more help, being unable to breathe due to a swollen airway, etc, for me as a child. As noted, it is very contagious. Had to be treated with antibiotics, bed rest, limited contact(no school), etc. to recover.

While it's said most adults have come in contact during their lives, have had it and or carry it, some do not show symptoms. It's most common in young adults and teens. My case was different, as it's said kids don't show severe symptoms nor contract it as older kids do(ie known as the "kissing disease"). I figure saliva in the school environment which likely led in part to the misdiagnosis.

Give time to heal if she does have it as well as make sure she's treated properly upon how she affected(does she need antibiotics or steroids?). If not, caution her bf because it will be contractible for some time, such as with a cleanly environment, give time to recover etc.

I had it as a child. You can get it from fountains or drinking glasses apparently.

My symptoms were like mumps, whole face swelled up. Was very sick. They ran tests. When discovered it was mono, was put in the hospital. And then was told that would probably have it for up to 6 months, and be out of school. However was back to school in about 2 weeks, think that not knowing what it was and being on antibiotics helped it enormously. Anyway, I got over it very quickly and was OK'd to go back to school.

a reply to: Unity_99

Just a note... mono is a virus and antibiotics kill bacteria (both harmful invaders AND helpful internal colonies, indiscriminately, but still better than dying!)... different than a virus. A virus is much harder to kill... and is almost mechanical in it's simplistic utility.

Oh and the vit c amounts that have been helpful for mono (and certain other virus) is in the hundreds and thousands of grams per day arena... beyond what most can consume without IV infusions. Vit c also helps keep herpes, Lyme, shingles and other chronic virus infections in check, if not actually 'cured.'

Last year, my boyfriend and his sister were both positive for mono whenever they got the mono spot test done. I assumed that I had it then too and got tested, but my mono spot came up negative and they found antibodies. I either had it as a child or teen or have a natural immunity (which would be pretty cool) . I'm pretty sure my boyfriend's case was very mild though. He said he was tired but other than that, it was business as usual.

I'm glad that they did get mono though and urged me to get tested because when they did that blood test, they also found that I was anemic and had a very bad iron deficiency and didn't even know it. I had to go on about three months of supplements to correct it it was that bad. My doc is still concerned about my white blood cell count too because... I don't remember the order of this now... Leukocytes are high lymphocytes are low?... Other way around?... Either way, he was concerned about that but I didn't pursue further testing because I went to the ER for an unrelated incident and the er doc after taking a blood sample said the numbers were only off by .5 and she didn't see it as a big deal at all.


Along with that, I'm not really worried about the white cell results though because I also have herpes simplex of the mouth (cold sores) (Also, 80% of the population is infected but only a smaller portion expresses it because of immune lows or hormones) and that virus stays with you forever (so does mono, they're both in the herpes family) so I'm sure I have flare ups. Fun fact, your mono WILL flare up again at some point in your life more than likely and you even go through random cycles of being contagious again even after you're better.

originally posted by: FlyersFan
Do you wish to share your experience with Mononucleosis?

My 19 yr old daughter just got a text from her boyfriend - he's got mono. So we are just going to assume that she's probably got it and it hasn't manifested symptoms yet. (Maybe she doesn't, but we'll play it safe and figure she probably does). She's scheduled for blood work and full checkup in two weeks. That was on the calendar before this came up.

So .. anyone here want to share their experience?
I know everyone is different ... but if anyone wants to share, that'd be great.
Any tips in case my daughter actually has it?
What to watch for, etc etc?

She is in summer semester at college.
I hope she doesn't come down with it.
That will effect her classes as well as her health.

Whenever I was suspected of having it, my doctor recommended a week away from any school or work just to be safe, so that might happen. Also, I don't want to make any negative assumptions about your daughter, but you also need to be sure if she does have it that she doesn't consume any alcohol. Mono makes the liver work really hard and can even enlarge along with the spleen and you can damage your liver if you keep pushing it during mono if it's enlarged.

a reply to: Myomistress

We have to be careful anyways. She had hepatitis as a baby in the orphanage. Hep A. They say there is no liver damage but we still tell her to be very careful and not drink excessively etc etc. Hopefully she has been listening ..

a reply to: FlyersFan

I had it 41 years ago when I was 19 years old.I remember that I ran a fever
for over two weeks before I finally went to the emergency room.I was very
sick and bed ridden for six weeks.I don't know how or who I had gotten it
from.
I also remember that I was contagious and no one could use anything I used
while sick.Because I had delayed getting diagnosed and treated it really got
me.I was having trouble breathing because the glands in my neck were swollen.
Don't wait,find out now!

I had it when I was a teen. Felt like a crappy case of the flu.
Fever and swollen glands. I got over it in a couple of weeks.

a reply to: Baddogma

Yes I know. But in my case, still think that they don't know everything, because I should have been sick for 6 months, but though they discovered it was mono in the tests, I had been antibiotics, and I got better fast.

Also happened with a few cold flu's they said were viral. Until I convinced them to finally give me the antibiotics, I didn't get better. Coughed for over a month until finally antibiotics cleared it up.

I had it myself as a teen. I got it from being over tired. My mistake was I thought I just had a cold or bit of the flu and just kept going. When it took me I went down super fast. My throat was like having mumps again like some others that have posted. I was also exhausted for pretty much the 6 months as well as the chills fever etc..A trip to the bathroom was like planning a trip.

If I were to at least make one suggestion, if she is on the go a lot at the moment I would have her slow down immediately just in case. Better to slow down now for a few days than be down for possible months. She will be sleeping A LOT if she does get it because that will be all she can do.

a reply to: FlyersFan

I got mono when I was 17. Wanted to keep working (and going to school), so for 3 weeks, I fought through being completely wiped out, with a worsening sore throat, etc. Finally, the day came where I really fell ill. Temp was 104.5 before taking any fever reducers. I'm not sure if that's the day I went to the doctor or if it was one of the next couple days. I barely opened my eyes for 3 days, so my memories of what happened when are blurred.

What I remember most is that at one point I fell asleep on the couch after waking up in the middle of the night. When i woke up, it was 7:00-7:30...i remember the time because MacGuyver (sp?) was on! It wasn't morning, it was after 7pm. I'd slept 24+ hours with only one brief wakeup. I didn't understand how it could be evening.

I also remember, a day or two after that, waking up on the couch in the other room. Starving. Finally ready to eat. I wanted a granola bar (hated them at the time.) Finally, my brother happened to be walking past. I summoned all my strength and meekly breathed one word: "help..." He came close and I managed to say: "granola bar." He brought me the granola bar, and went on his way to the other side of the house.

The effort expended in the plea for sustenance knocked me out again for awhile. When I awoke, I tried to open the paper granola bar wrapper. Fell asleep 3x from the exertion of the attempt. Eventually, my mom came to check on me and I asked her to open it for me. I think I took my first bite 2 hours later.

The doc put me on a steroid and antibiotics. I was told not to go to work or to lift anything over 20lbs for a month. Something about my liver being inflamed and not to play off sickness so long anymore.

So my advice: rest, fluids, and make this one of the few times you use antibiotics (and of course, when taking antibiotics, either take the full course, or quarantine, then immolate yourself: it's the only responsible option for those who use antibiotics wrong in an attempt to create superbugs!