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Family Medicine (Expert Forum)
Diagnosed with mono
Answered by
Kevin Pho, MD - Internal Medicine
Kevin Pho, MD
Boston - MA
Questions in the Family Medicine forum are answered by Dr. J.M. Keyes. Topics covered include general health issues, adolescence, babies, child health, eating disorders, fitness, immunizations and vaccines, infectious diseases, medical tests and procedures, and senior health.
Diagnosed with mono
by Zorn, Oct 30, 2005 12:00AM
Diagnosed with mono
I went to the doctor complaining about feeling sick, having chest pains, headaches, nausea, trouble breathing and trouble concentrating. He did some blood tests including Limes, West Nile, HIV, Syphilis, Mono Spot. All came back negative except the mono spot. I was still feeling bad 7 weeks later and in addition to the original symptoms which come and go I have back pain and dark circles under my eyes. So just to "make me feel better" he ran the EBV test to confirm it, but it came back negative.
I made note that I found articles online about mono spot being positive could be other things like hepatitis and certain types of cancer. He told my liver function was normal and that EBV may not show up in the first 8 weeks.
Should a press him more on hepatitis and cancer?
I went to the doctor complaining about feeling sick, having chest pains, headaches, nausea, trouble breathing and trouble concentrating. He did some blood tests including Limes, West Nile, HIV, Syphilis, Mono Spot. All came back negative except the mono spot. I was still feeling bad 7 weeks later and in addition to the original symptoms which come and go I have back pain and dark circles under my eyes. So just to "make me feel better" he ran the EBV test to confirm it, but it came back negative.
I made note that I found articles online about mono spot being positive could be other things like hepatitis and certain types of cancer. He told my liver function was normal and that EBV may not show up in the first 8 weeks.
Should a press him more on hepatitis and cancer?
Doctor's Answer
by Kevin Pho, MD, Nov 02, 2005 12:00AM
, Nov 02, 2005 12:00AM
You have had a pretty comprehensive workup.
If there is concern about hepatitis, you can consider obtaining liver function tests. A hepatitis screen can be easily obtained to rule out this possibility.
Regarding cancer - there are many tests to consider if you want to rule this out.
If there are no other symptoms, you can consider age-appropriate cancer screening. This would include breast screening and cervical cancer screening (if you are female), as well as prostate cancer screening (if you are male). Colon cancer screening should be considered as well.
If there are any symptoms that would point to a specific type of cancer (i.e. lung), then this can be discussed as well.
Repeating the monospot test can be considered.
I would discuss these options with your personal physician.
Followup with your personal physician is essential.
This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.
Kevin, M.D.
http://www.straightfromthedoc.com
If there is concern about hepatitis, you can consider obtaining liver function tests. A hepatitis screen can be easily obtained to rule out this possibility.
Regarding cancer - there are many tests to consider if you want to rule this out.
If there are no other symptoms, you can consider age-appropriate cancer screening. This would include breast screening and cervical cancer screening (if you are female), as well as prostate cancer screening (if you are male). Colon cancer screening should be considered as well.
If there are any symptoms that would point to a specific type of cancer (i.e. lung), then this can be discussed as well.
Repeating the monospot test can be considered.
I would discuss these options with your personal physician.
Followup with your personal physician is essential.
This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.
Kevin, M.D.
http://www.straightfromthedoc.com
Hey post back if you get any answers,I hope it is mono and your recovering....georgie