40 replies to this topic

[Amygirl]

For those of you who have been around me in the last few weeks, no need to worry. I am not contagious.

Here is the deal. The last few months I haven't felt like myself, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, weakness in muscles, sick on and off and have not been able to run at 100% in a while.

Finally..figured out what was going on....Mononucleosis/Ebstein-Barr virus....This explains everything. Dr. was nervous about my swollen lymph nodes that have gotten bigger and have been like this for 4months. He scheduled for me to have a CT scan this week, you could only imagine what was going through my mind. I have never been sick in my life. Then at the last moment he also decided to test for Mono, thank goodness he did. I was happy to hear that I had Mono, instead of what it could have been.

I have looked on line of what it is, symptoms, ect. I was hoping to get some advice on how to keep my immune system up. The Doc told me to be careful with being around people who have the flu, pneumonia etc. Thats impossible! He said If I were to get sick with one of these it could put me in the hospital.

Any info re: Supplements, Food, Vitamins, something to help with energy? I have good days, bad days, good weeks, then all of a sudden get a little fever, feel weak, sore like I do today, this is why I am not at the Goose. This sucks!

[Julie]

Oh my that's crushing. I'm glad you went to the Dr and are on the path to recovery. I wish I had a magic bullet for you for the energy. I'd be curious what alternative medicine could offer you. Some go get acupunture at the first sign of a cold virus and never suffer.

[SpottyFish]

I had a really bad case of mono in college..quite honestly, I didn't do anything really different to help myself get better. I just rested more, still did a little running when I felt up to it, but I didn't take any supplements or anything and my immune system fought it just fine. I actually felt like I had more energy whenever I went out on a run, it was just dragging myself out the door that was the issue . I also cut my running (speed and distance) way back.

I don't envy you..I never want to go there again. The day I was diagnosed, I ended up in the ER with intractable vomiting. I literally could not stop throwing up. They had to hook me up to an IV with fluids and Phenergan. I went home later that day and slept for 15 hours straight.

[Amygirl]

Oh my that's crushing. I'm glad you went to the Dr and are on the path to recovery. I wish I had a magic bullet for you for the energy. I'd be curious what alternative medicine could offer you. Some go get acupunture at the first sign of a cold virus and never suffer.

Hmmm......thanks, I have heard great things about acupuncture.....Thanks.......I just hope it goes away fast.

[Amygirl]

I had a really bad case of mono in college..quite honestly, I didn't do anything really different to help myself get better. I just rested more, still did a little running when I felt up to it, but I didn't take any supplements or anything and my immune system fought it just fine. I actually felt like I had more energy whenever I went out on a run, it was just dragging myself out the door that was the issue . I also cut my running (speed and distance) way back.

I don't envy you..I never want to go there again. The day I was diagnosed, I ended up in the ER with intractable vomiting. I literally could not stop throwing up. They had to hook me up to an IV with fluids and Phenergan. I went home later that day and slept for 15 hours straight.

oooooo......doesn't sound good, sounded like that day was horrible for you. The sleep part sounds good though. Yeah I am still running but like you, just weaker, slower and not as much.

Curious of how long you had the virus?

[Jeff M]

Amy, Hi! I don't know anything about treatment for mono. However, I can offer my condolences and my hope you'll get better soon!

The good news is that you know what's wrong, that it's not life threatening and is 100% curable given time. That's Good!

All the Lizards are wishing you a speedy recovery. Take care of yourself!

Jeff

[kelbelle]

I had mono real bad in college too. Started as tonsillitis, they said, Kelly you need to get your tonsils out. Then I got an abcess in my throat and I went to the ENT and he drained it and I FREAKED OUT and he tested me and said, Kelly you have mono. So until the mono goes away we can not take out your tonsils. So for two months I had mono and tonsillitis. Bleah.

Then he called my mom--four hours away--and told her if she didn't come get me and take me home he would admit me to the hospital. So she drove to Omaha, picked me up and I spent the next week sleeping at home.

I was not allowed to go to the weight room or study hall (athletes had a study center on campus) and the majority of my eats for two months were things like refried beans or strawberry shakes from McDonald's. I got my tonsils out the Monday b4 thanksgiving and couldn't eat for four days.

During the mono period, all my professors knew I was sick. My advisor would insist on walking me to my car, he was such a cute old man. I actually fell asleep taking a midterm.

My problem was, I was used to being go-go-go, full course load, practice every day from 5:30-8a, weights 3x a week for at least an hour, plus long rows on weekends on my own. I didn't think I could possibly be that sick and still do all this stuff; but you can do almost anything you want to before you all of a sudden get too sick to do it.

So my advice? Sleep lots, drink lots of fluids, eat lots of fruits, take a full course of whatever the doc might give you (I was on steriods when I had mono--prednisone), and when you're not sleeping...rest.

Some people get over mono in six weeks others can be sick for months. It's just a matter of being diagnosed--as you already have checked out--and treating yourself the way you would treat an elderly relative. You can not let yourself feel selfish or guilty or like you're slacking off. You will only make yourself sicker and delay returning to good health if you don't let yourself rest.

It's not a really serious illness most of the time, just go to regular check ups. If your spleen becomes enlarged (which is extremely rare) it can be bad. It is better to be safe than sorry as they say! Mono has been around forever and most people that say they've never had it, had it and just didn't notice. The EB virus is carried in most adults, if I remember my HS bio correctly.

Bottom line, go take a nap. And when they ask you if you'd like help taking your groceries to the car, say yes.

[Amygirl]

Amy, Hi! I don't know anything about treatment for mono. However, I can offer my condolences and my hope you'll get better soon!

The good news is that you know what's wrong, that it's not life threatening and is 100% curable given time. That's Good!

All the Lizards are wishing you a speedy recovery. Take care of yourself!

Jeff

Jeff,

Thank you so much!!!! Love all you lizards. Yes, Yes.....so glad to finally know why my energy levels have all over the place.

[Amygirl]

I had mono real bad in college too. Started as tonsillitis, they said, Kelly you need to get your tonsils out. Then I got an abcess in my throat and I went to the ENT and he drained it and I FREAKED OUT and he tested me and said, Kelly you have mono. So until the mono goes away we can not take out your tonsils. So for two months I had mono and tonsillitis. Bleah.

Then he called my mom--four hours away--and told her if she didn't come get me and take me home he would admit me to the hospital. So she drove to Omaha, picked me up and I spent the next week sleeping at home.

I was not allowed to go to the weight room or study hall (athletes had a study center on campus) and the majority of my eats for two months were things like refried beans or strawberry shakes from McDonald's. I got my tonsils out the Monday b4 thanksgiving and couldn't eat for four days.

During the mono period, all my professors knew I was sick. My advisor would insist on walking me to my car, he was such a cute old man. I actually fell asleep taking a midterm.

My problem was, I was used to being go-go-go, full course load, practice every day from 5:30-8a, weights 3x a week for at least an hour, plus long rows on weekends on my own. I didn't think I could possibly be that sick and still do all this stuff; but you can do almost anything you want to before you all of a sudden get too sick to do it.

So my advice? Sleep lots, drink lots of fluids, eat lots of fruits, take a full course of whatever the doc might give you (I was on steriods when I had mono--prednisone), and when you're not sleeping...rest.

Some people get over mono in six weeks others can be sick for months. It's just a matter of being diagnosed--as you already have checked out--and treating yourself the way you would treat an elderly relative. You can not let yourself feel selfish or guilty or like you're slacking off. You will only make yourself sicker and delay returning to good health if you don't let yourself rest.

It's not a really serious illness most of the time, just go to regular check ups. If your spleen becomes enlarged (which is extremely rare) it can be bad. It is better to be safe than sorry as they say! Mono has been around forever and most people that say they've never had it, had it and just didn't notice. The EB virus is carried in most adults, if I remember my HS bio correctly.

Bottom line, go take a nap. And when they ask you if you'd like help taking your groceries to the car, say yes.

Kelly,
Your awesome! Good advice. Thanks. You nailed it,(feeling like a slacker,and guilty for taking time off work)After reading these responses sleep and not over doing it seems to be the prescription. I guess just listening to my body and acting on it. I always listen to it, but don't always act.
Sounded like you had a tough time, glad your mom came and got you.

[Rick Lovett]

One word: bummer!

But at least you know what the bummer is. If I ever got mono, I was in the group who didn't know it. But it was certainly common in college. We were on quarters, and I don't remember anyone who hadn't fully bounced back by the next quarter.

[Angela]

I too had mono in college. I had it for months! I refused to give up track so I'm sure that didn't help with my recovery. I recall having to go in for liver tests because of the lengh of the illness. Hmm, maybe I should have taken some time off.
I was going through my college notebooks awhile back and had to laugh at my lecture notes where you could tell I was falling asleep. Notes started out neat and organized and progressed to messy, sloping off the page.

It's a wierd illness in which you never feel totally sick so it's hard to make oneself slow down. I recall being very tired and horrible night sweats requiring lots of quarters to do laundry on a regular basis.

I guess my advice would be take some time off, allow your body to sleep as much as possible and eat well and drink lots of water. All those things I'm sure you know, now just do them

[Amygirl]

Thank you all.....

Angela, you are so right, feels like I am sick sometimes but don't really get sick. Yes some night sweats, just thought I was having bad dreams. I just hope this doesn't last too long, because I am starting to train for the Orcas Island trail run. I guess it is 3 months out.

Thanks again, It's comforting in a weird way to hear others stories and symptoms. I am not going crazy

[pdxrunr]

Thank you all.....

Angela, you are so right, feels like I am sick sometimes but don't really get sick. Yes some night sweats, just thought I was having bad dreams. I just hope this doesn't last too long, because I am starting to train for the Orcas Island trail run. I guess it is 3 months out.

Thanks again, It's comforting in a weird way to hear others stories and symptoms. I am not going crazy

Amy,

Your doctor really told you that you weren't contagious? Check this out:

http://kidshealth.or...contagious.html

And ironically, my lymph nodes are swollen this morning! I know we only ran together on Tuesday, but perhaps you breathed on me! I hope it is only a coincidence and I'm not coming down with mono. I feel fine and had a great workout yesterday, but I never have swollen lymph nodes and it is really freaking me out.


L

[kelbelle]

Many viruses cause swollen lymph nodes.

Don't assume it's mono...it's more likely a virus or perhaps something like strep--hopefully that is the case! Drink some EmergenC and lay low today, if you still feel like junk tomorrow remember that running a hard workout will make you MORE sick and cause you to delay your body's recovery! The mono test is simple and takes only a few minutes to read; so if you have Kaiser you might even consider emailing your doc to order the test for you today.

[allezvita]

It's a virus. It runs it's course in it's own time (whether it is certified or not). Rest helps. Emergen-C will allow you to pee out all the extraneous vitamin C you pour into your body and it doesn't absorb...ergo...don't waste your money on it. Antibiotics-not indicated unless you get another infection superimposed like strep throat.

Do what your body can tolerate. You'll pay for it if you over do it. There is no miracle cure. Period.

You should have liver functions done for baseline and follow up.

EBV will go latent and probably never bother you again unlike chicken pox which can rear its ugly head later as shingles.

I was only sick for a couple of weeks but I do remember feeling like crap for a few days for sure.