mono is killing me

No one ever likes to hear the "oh yeah, you think you've got it bad" routine, but here's a little story for your consideration.

Mono is a low-resistance disease; it very likely won't make you feel sick by itself, but if you get something else--a bad cold, influenza--it can make you much sicker. I contracted mono in 1971 while i was on leave from the army. It incubated and stuck around (i know for how long, because i later learned from who i had contracted it), and waited until i got sick from something else. The something else was shigellosis--that's a septic disease, a form of dysentery which is caused by a bacterium. The combination of mono and shigellosis very nearly did kill me--and that's not just hyperbole to make it sound really bad when it isn't really bad.

When i started feeling sick, i went on sick call, and the doctor (who also happened to have been the chief of professional services at that hospital, and really should have known better) looked at my symptoms, the ones caused by the mono, and ignoring what i told him about food and bad tastes and diarrhea, gave a "URI pack." URI means upper respiratory infection--so basically, he decided i wasn't really sick, and gave me some standard cold remedies.

Two days later, i went in to the outpatient clinic because i felt so sick. My head began to swim, and i passed out and collapsed onto the floor. My temperature on admission was 104, my pulse was 120, and although i don't remember the blood pressure, it was off the chart, too. I was hospitalized for three weeks. I don't remember the first ten days--those ten days are lost to me completely. I lost 65 pounds in ten days. I'm six foot two inches tall, and going from 195 lbs. to 130 lbs. in that short of a period of time came close to killing me.

One night, i woke up, and didn't know where i was, and couldn't figure it out. I got out of bed, and walked to the end of the bed--luckily, there was a chair at the end of the bed, and i was able to sit down to rest. Walking the length of the bed had exhausted me. Slowly, it dawned on me that i was in a room at the evacuation hospital i was stationed at. I got up, walked across the hall to the bathroom, and sat down to rest again. After about 15 minutes, when i had caught my breath, i stood up, undressed, and got under a hot shower. It had so thoroughly exhausted me, though, that soon i just slid down the wall to the floor of the shower.

That's where the night nurse found me about a half an hour later. She turned off the shower, helped me to stand up, and then dressed me, and took me back to my bed.

You may feel awful, but i really rather doubt that you are being "killed" by mono. If you have no other major debilitating condition, then bed rest will take care of your mono. The risk of cancer or a ruptured spleen is negligible.

I agree with Setanta. I had mono when I was 16. It took me six weeks to feel human again. Your best bet is to chill out and rest. There is nothing wrong with taking pain pills for the discomfort. Ask your doctor for a prescription.

Eat lightly, and drink a lot. Baby yourself, and give your body a chance to come back to normal.

When I was a kid (in medieval times) doctors often thought that the kids with mono had leukemia, because of similarities in blood test results. Be grateful that they know better now!

baseballchic, and don't go around kissing everybody like Phoenix and Setanta. Just kidding, because they both have given good advice.

Baseballchic--

When did your symptoms start?

I know the middle of August can seem a very long way away, but you don't have a choice.

Obviously you're napping a lot. What are you doing between naps? Watching television? Reading? I assume from an earlier thread of yours that Video Games are not a recreation-of-choice right now.

in between naps im getting on the computer.....no video games really dont interest me right now.....ive had the symptoms for about a week.....by the fact that August can be a long way away do you mean thats when you expect me to get over it?

Well, you've gotten advice, and you've gotten the buck-up-it-could-be-worse thing, and all of that is very well and good-- but I know what you really need: pity! :wink:

You poor li'l pumpkin! I really do feel bad for you, feeling like crap in the middle of summer.... And sore throats are just the suckiest of the suck. I hope you feel better soon-- get your mom to get you some good magazines and whatever kind of treats your sore throat will let you enjoy...

Baseballchic--

If you have a typical case of mono you should be feeling better in six to eight weeks. Have you seen a doctor?

Darlin' as my grandmother always says, death doesn't come that easily.

Mono isn't killing you.

Chin up and soon you'll be back to normal and feeling good again.

I know it sucks to be sick, and especially in summer.

No worries!

Stressin' is the worse thing for mono. You need rest, happiness, good food, good lovin'.

Yeah, I've read your Relationships thread. That can't be helping. You've got a lot going on for someone your age.

So just take good care, kay, and no worries. And there's nothing wrong with asking for a little extra help.

I also had mono one summer when I was 15 and I had the sore throat, the whole bit. After 6 weeks with lots of rest and fluids, I was fine.

It was a miserable summer, from what I remember, so I feel for ya.

alright.....well thank you for pitying me cyphercat.....and ya ive gotten good advice.....but i think mono killing could be a lot more simple than thought......aparently ive got a really bad case of it......this morning i woke up and couldnt breath because my throat was so swollen.....im not asking for pity......but im not asking for the buck it up talk either......i just want some advice.....and ive gotten some so thank you all.

How are you feeling?

im getting better.....thank you......i was actually able to get up and go hang out with my boyfriend today without my throat hurting......we were also able to go job hunting......

Resting and eating nutrient-rich food is the best advice you can get for a fast recovery from mono. Your body's white-cells are doing battle and need all the energy reserves they can get to fight off the mono invasion. Another piece of advice I was given repeatedly is to take great care in guarding your abdomen from pressure or direct hits, especially the spleen area since the spleen is prone to rupture during a mono vs white-cell battle.

When I came down with mono during high school, it hit me instantly and I was down for the count. I was fine for most of the day, then about halfway through the long walk home from classes I started losing energy and soon had to stop at every driveway I passed to sit and rest before continuing the walk home. It took several months to get back up to speed.

Oh, but wait, baseballchic is near immediately all better and going out with her boyfriend....


Having not been able to swallow, her throat was so swollen, how many hours ago? Princess Diorama of Baseball is posting.

BBC does not seem to comprehend what six week's rest actually means.
Much less how to talk to her mother, to google, or to talk with her physician.

She's terrified, and shines it on. Poor dear.

Baseballchic--

When I suggested that you'd feel better by the middle of August, I assumed that you were going to follow medical advice for treating mono and rest.

Remember, your immune system is overworked right now and you are succulent meat and fertile ground for any microbe in your area.

You're also contagious to others via coughing, kissing, and other forms of coming in contact with saliva, and should not be out and about.

These websites all have helpful tips for making yourself more comfortable while waiting for the symptoms to subside. They include the sore throat you've complained about.

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/infections/common/viral/077.html

http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/infections/common/mononucleosis.html

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mononucleosis/DS00352

That's right, it had been so long since I had mono that I forgot some things.
My doc told me I needed to stay inside and away from others for 3 weeks and I think he gave me antibiotics as well.

Have you seen a doctor for this? If not, you really need too and do everyone around you a favor and keep your distance. I remember enough to know that I was miserable when I had mono and I certainly didn't want to give it to anyone else.
I didn't even let my boyfriend come near me for 3 weeks. We talked on the phone all the time and I missed him, but at least I didn't get him sick.