Advice on "Mono"

I had mono in the 4th grade. I missed the first month of school and had very high delusional fevers. I don't remember a lot of that time, except the delusions. It takes months to fully recover, but a full recovery is possible. Just follow the doctor's orders, make sure he gets lots of rest and when he does start feeling better, don't let him overdo - exhaustion is a big deal and can last a while. I did make a full recovery and am none the worse for wear because of the mono.

Hey D.,
I had mono when I was about 18. My was very sick throwing up and couldn't keep anything down. My liver enzimes(SP?) were up and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with me either. They put me in the hospital and did an ultrasound and said my spleen was inlarged. After they figured out it was mono and was able to keep things down they sent me home. Soon after I got home my throat started swelling up and I could feel it closing. They gave me a steroid to make it go down. I was home for a while after all of that, but got over all of it fine. I wouldn't take what you read on the internet to much to heart, it seems those are always the most extreme cases. I hope your son gets better soon!

When I was 16 I also was told that I had the flu and wasn't diagnosed until I developed what looked like broken blood vessels all over my face. The best advice I can give is let him sleep as much as possible. I also got pneumonia while I had mono, so if possible see if his Dr will give him an antibiotic to ward off any other illness when you have mono your immune system can't fight off other illness. Also, when he returns to school he shouldn't participate in Gym or sports for a while because when you have mono your spleen can enlarge and if you are hit in the stomach your spleen can rupture and you can die. I was out of school for 1 month with the mono & pnuemonia. I hope your son is feeling better soon & I hope that I helped a little.

I had it when I was 17, and I literaly needed to sleep all day. It caused me to by hypothyroid, and I did have some liver problems. I missed so much school my senior year, that I had to go to an alternative school to graduate. I'm sure every case is different, but I think lots of sleep in the common denominator. Let him/her sleep as much as they want.

I had mono when I was 18 and in college. I didn't get it diagnosed for probably 6 weeks and then continued to be sick for probably 6 more weeks (of being EXTREMELY tired - barely able to make it up stairs). My grades suffered terribly and it took the remaining years in college to pull them up. Basically, I had the energy to attend classes, but no energy to do homework or study.

The best advice I can give you is to keep him home at least a week and let him sleep non-stop. I think if I had been able to stop and rest, I might have recovered more readily. But, as it was, I could not stop and just kept trudging through it - which didn't help with recovery.

The other problem with mono is that you are susceptible to a reoccurence once you have had it. You need to not over do it.

Also, at the time that I was sick, my side hurt and the doctor told me that my spleen had all kinds of toxins in it and was working hard to clean out my system - it was my spleen that hurt. So, even though I started feeling better, she said to take it easy because if I was over active, I could rupture my spleen.

Good luck!
L.

I got mono last summer from my 10 year old cousin. I drank after her and she didn't know she was sick at the time. I just remember being VERY tired. I have a 2 1/2 yr old so it was hard at the time with my husband out of town. All I wanted to do is sleep. Mine lasted about a month. Just plenty of rest and no sports because the spline becomes enlarged and could rupture if hit during contact sports. Hope he gets over it soon!

I had it my senior year in high school. Several of us came down at the same time. I had upper respitory issues with it. Dr. said a secondary infection. I spent two weeks at home and I slept a great deal as well. I was in the marching band at the time and had to give up my spot for awhile.

It was all about good nutrition, lots of sleep and I had to cut down on the extra curriculars. I was very fortunate because on of the other girls spent 6 weeks in the hospital because it got into her liver. Pacing will be the big thing.

Both of my sons had mono...and my oldest really had it bad. He couldn't even swallow...he graduated for North Mesquite HS and went straight to the ER. He spent a week in the hospital because the doctor didn't know what was wrong with him. He didn't test positive the first time they tested him and then they told us it might be lukemia. Talk about scared???? I was so glad they finally got it right and found out it was mono. He throat was so bad he just couldn't swallow. They treated him at the hospital when they finally figured it out and he was released. If your doctor has already diagnosed it...you are good! I wouldn't want anyone to have to go through what we went through. Good luck!

Something else you should be aware of is that Mono is caused by a virus. Most virus never completely leave your body and some can come back later in life like chicken pox can come back as shingles. Usually our immune system will keep it suppressed but if your teen gets run down or too stessed mono can reappear.

My brother had mono a few years ago and his doctor told him to take a multivitamin that was sure to include the vitamin B's (thyamin, niacin, riboflavin...I think those are correct you might want to research them). They all help with your energy level. Like everyone else said though...make sure he gets plenty of rest and stay away from contact sports. I would suggest exercise though to help keep active and it always helps with energy level as well.

Don't worry too much about it...just keep a good eye on him and now more than ever make sure he eats right, takes his vitamins, gets some exercise (walking would probably be best) and lots of rest. Most people get over mono without anything else going wrong. I hope he gets well soon.