fatigue after Mono

[Bobettereg]

My daughter was diagnosed with Mono a year ago. She is a junior in H.S. and a competetive swimmer. After a year, she still does not have the stamina she once had. She works out really hard... swims anywhere from 2 to 3 miles a day. plus dryland training.  She has great spirit and drive, but the energy factor eludes her. How long will the effects of Mono continue?????


This discussion is related to mono/ fatigue how long?.

[helpmehelphim]

My son was diagnosed with Mono in January.   He too is still feeling a lot of fatigue.  It goes in spurts.  He will be fine for a few weeks, then it will hit him hard.  He's down for about 5 days or more.   This boy is so sick and sick of being sick.  We have him  on anti-depressants, because the fatigue just makes him so depressed.  Then it becomes a visious circle and he can't sleep at night, so we also have him on sleeping pills to try to keep the fatigue away.   It has been a very trying time at our house.   I too wonder, how long will this last....and why doesn't anyone know more about this illness.   It seems the doctors have no answers for us.  We just go from doctor to doctor, still no anwers.   If anyone has any ideas, tips or clues as to what is causing this, please, please help us.

[trigger20]

hey everyone...

ok to start off i will explain my history with mono.  before i had mono i was very rarely sick, could go for hours with little sleep, had normal amounts of energy and was extremely fit. but, when i was a soph in college i came down with a bad case of mono in janury; i missed over a month of college, lost nearly 20% of my body weight, and the following fall was forced to miss my season of soccer due to the enlarged spleen.  

that was four years ago and still to this day i become fatigued and get sick much more quickly than any other person i have met.  it truly changes a persons life if they have had a bad case.  

after i had the mono i visited several doctors and they really had very few answers, it was always the same; exercise, sleep, eat healthy, etc.  the most distinguished doctor was from a large university and the answer he explained was that "you may always be easily fatigued"

now for me personally i dislike this answer and still am trying to search for more answers or clues to help better the fatigue and getting sick.

what i have done, or advice you may give others dealing with this; the first most important thing i have found is to get enough sleep so that you regularily have energy, whatever number of hours that is for you as people have different sleep needs.  next, i started taking vitamins daily and more vitamins when i am sick; daily vitamin, fish oil, b-vitamin, echinacea when sick, and green tea.  thirdly, i exercise regularily, daily if possible, but when i am tired i understand i might have to take a week off to ward of my sickness.  for any athlete they will understand how difficult it is to miss time in the gym or on the field, etc. another i try to do is to keep a handle on my social life.  when i go out to the bars and do other not as healthy things it changes sleep patterns and puts stress on your body that your body may not be able to handle, especially at first.  now with the social life i also think it is extremely important to keep a social life and stay active, if not i think it would be extremely easy to feel like the world is cheating you and you may become depressed.  

now all of this being said for those of you that have friends or family with a bad case of mono i suggest that you really be supportive and understanding that this can be an extreme life changing event that your friend/family member will certainly not be ready for.  it will take longer than the person wishes and be a real personal struggle. your support and understanding is extremely important for their improvement.

the thing that has helped the most is time.  lots of time, this was four years ago and it still affects me.  now i dont want to scare you, i am training for a triathlon and am fit, have a social life, work, and everything else that goes with this 'normal.'  the main difference is i am a germ freak, and i keep a handle on my social life.  

i understand this doesnt have an answer or a magic potion, but i havent found one yet either and wanted to write to explain to some others that their friend/child isnt the only one, and that your real answer may be time.

i hope this helps to those who are concerned.

p.s. i have seen many cases of mono and most of them were very small cases people feeling fatigued for a week maybe two.  my case was much worse, similar to those i have read about.  but i have seen one case much, much worse than mine, so be sure to take care of those

[Donno]

Hey i was diagnosed with mono in march 08 at 16. I was sick for a really long time. I was sick for a while before I was even diagnosed which worsened my chances of getting better. I couldnt do gym the rest of the symester. I was still tired in the summer, but in late july I took a swimming course (bronze cross the one before lifeguard training but after the fist one) and i took lots of naps and complained of abdominal pain and headaches still. I didnt do tons of working out i havent done gym class because it is an elective now. It is January 10 and i am seventeen now. A few days ago i started getting up and stretching and working out. Today after lots of sleep I did the same thing. After i was done working out and i was eating i felt extremely fatigued and then my mono came back into mind. So i started looking on the internet for how long it lasts. I dont know if it is the mono or if I am just tired from working out, but I wonder because I dont believe i was like this before. I just want to say that if anyone is sick with swollen glands to get checked out for mono just to be sure because you never know. Also my boyfriend had mono when he was seven or something so it would be pretty amazing if i got it from him. I believe I got it from sharing drinks so i try my best not to do that anymore. My friend mark had mono and i didnt know what that was and I shared a drink with him. He was sick for a week and fine after that. Its just a part of life I guess. I also think I got lost in a depressed state which lengthened my illness. I thought of not being able to go into bronze cross with my past friends or play soccer or anything. So if anyone gets sick with this KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE!! And talk to lots of people not just one person if you can. Have a support system. No one is perfect anyone could come in contact with this and it wouldnt be your fault. one shared drink thats all it takes.

[Donno]

Me again!
I just wanted to say that i also get stressed out easy about things and it affect my relationships especially boyfriend realationships. So if anyone has this problem and if it is from mono i dont know but you arent alone if thats what is is from. Mono can also cause depression or worssen it. There i think im done with my random facts and comments.

The End:)

[sgfan45]

My daughter had mono at 16. On starting back to school after a semester she began having panic attacks. They said it can happen if a child has been out of school (homebound). Her attacks became so bad we homebound her for the rest of the yr. Its been 2 yrs and she is easily tired and yes is now fighting depression. I am now checking for others that havent seemed to bounce back. I do feel that our medical knowledge of life after mono is zero.  She is taking anti depressants, vitamins and working out.  She's been having what we call "spells" she will have a headache, must lie down 15 - 20 min (she can hear us but not respond) Afterwards she is exhausted.  It looks like passing out but not. It happens at random times - nothing exciting or scary is happening at the time of the "spells"  No its not seizures - shes had two tests by 2 different drs. The last one a neurologist. No - she never had any of this before the mono. No she is not diabetic. I am not sure if this is a seperate issue or if others that have had mono has similar issues.

[christiblair]

I am 31 and was diagnosed with mono when I was 15 or 16! I too was VERY active before mono. I was athletic, a cheerleader, ran track, LOVED to workout, etc. I have NEVER felt the same again since the mono. I was home for school for over a month and when I went back, I went half days for another month. After returning to school I found any amount of physical activity exhausting and even developed a horrible cough when I get winded. They diagnosed that as exercise induced asthma, but it didn't happen before mono. I have since been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and have been treated for both.  But, the one thing that never changed is that I am  CONSTANTLY tired. I could sleep 14 uninterrupted hours and fall right back to sleep. I yawn and feel just wiped out all of the time and I have had it. They say more exercise would help, but how do you motivate yourself to do stuff like that when you can barely get through a day?  If anyone ever runs into an answer or sees a dr that is studying this type of thing, I would love to know...
Christi

[Dave91]

I suffered from fatigue after mono. I am a 39 year old otherwise very healthy male.

For at least 18 months I suffered from chronic fatigue after a bout with mono. I didn't have it every day, but I could almost never go through a week without several days of severe fatigue or getting sick. I eat healthy, exercise regularly and do not drink or smoke.

Someone reccomended coconut oil to me. I bought some gelcaps of coconut oil at the local GNC and started taking them immediately (4 in the a.m., 4 in the p.m.). After 10 days I no longer had any of the fatigue symptoms and have had no side effects. However, as soon as I stop taking the cocnut oil, the fatigue and sickness comes back within a few days. So now I just don't stop taking the coconut oil.

I have to say I was completely demoralized before finding the coconut oil. I was hopeless. This is the first blog I have ever written to. I just want to give away the advice that was so freely given to me. The coconut oil has changed my life for the better and I highly recommend it to anyone. I don't know if it will work for everyone, but it has worked for me. Good luck.

Dave