Headaches that continue after Mono

[rjnegron]

My daughter age 14 has continious headaches on a scale of 1-10 she never goes below a 2 and sometimes goes up to a 9, 10 and even higher at times.  No over the counter pain relievers have worked and two prescriptions from her Neurologist have not worked.  These headaches started when she got Mono & Shingles.  These two things presented themselves after she was immunized for ChickenPox just two months earlier.  Today is September 10, 2008 and she continues to have the headaches the onset of which was Sept or October 2007.  We have been to many specialist and do not have an answer.

[dayglow124]

Hi everyone, I've been reading a lot of medical literature about chronic Epstein Barr along with the onset of New Daily Persistent Headache after mono. I suspected my daughter had mono back in March 2018 - she recovered a couple weeks later, but the onset of persistent migraines began shortly after. Her symptoms for months now have been a chronic baseline headache that spikes intermittently throughout the day with extreme nausea and throbbing head pain.

In some people, this resolves after a few months, in other people it may last years. The EBV is a tricky virus that can instigate autoimmune illnesses and cancer in vulnerable people. It has a unique survival strategy that is not touched by typical antiviral protocols and will often worsen after antibiotic use. EBV will often target the central nervous system.

Most modern treatment protocols only involve managing the head pain with prescriptions and OTC medications. But I've found very valuable information about treating it naturally.

Wild blueberries, celery, melon, cold pressed coconut oil and many other remedies apparently are very effective. Bringing down inflammation in the body is essential.

[Altaki]

Did you find out what it was? I’ve had the same thing for the last five years, and I’m 13 please let me know what the answer is if you found one.

[headaches_always]

Hi,

Just wondering if you ever got to the bottom of your daughters headaches? I got mono a year and a half ago, and while the "sick" symptoms went away in a few months, I've had migraines nearly every day since then. I am a college athlete and engineering major, and since the migraines started, my quality of life has been nowhere near what it was before. Please let me know if anyone has had any luck getting their headaches to go away.

[jimmylittle]

I have mono you all need to get ms noble e-book

[rus142]

I had mono back in 2005 and felt extremely sick for at least a year. I started getting migraines on a persistent basis after this. I was recommended a pill called Migralief that I take twice a day now. It has helped immensely. It hasn't taken them totally away but has been a godsend for me. I get them through Amazon.com.

[Lian3]

I am 20 years old and I have been diagnosed with mono today and I have had the same headache for 16 days without any relief. I am starting to wonder If I suffer from the NDPH (new daily persistent headache)  it could be too early to tell but if it was a normal headache with the mono it would have subsided with some normal pain meds. I have had a history with Ice- pick headaches and  would it make this headache more permanent?
My ESR jumped from 25 to 32 so I am not getting better and I don't look forward to months of recovery. When should I seek help if the headache persists after the mono has gone away?

[maya78]

Hello,  Has your daughter had any improvement?  I am so sorry to read about her experience.  I got mono in Febuary this year.  It began with headaches and tiredness and since May I have had a headache that is like a pressure at the back of my head mostly that has not left.  Please let me know if you find anything that works.  I live in Napa.

[Gina2girls]

My daughter is 16 and has been suffering from chronic migraines for almost 3 years now.  She was diagnosed with momo right before the migraines started.  They were better when she was on her menstral cycle for a while but now it doesn't matter.  She has a migraine 24/7 without any relief.  Every day she is at a level 5-6 and when it gets to a 9-10 we end up in the ER. We have seen 25 Dr.'s and tried every drug possible with no avail.  It is the hardest thing to watch your daughters life change so much and you can't get her any help.  She is tired constantly.  She can sleep for 10 hours and be awake for 1-2 hours and go back to take a nap.  She has no energy and her my husband and I wonder if anyone out there has any suggestions.  Please help us.  Blessings from Petaluma, CA

[Niolita]

I know it's been a long time since your post but I was wondering if you have found any solution to your daughters migraines.  My daughter is14 now and has had a "status migraine" with out a break on pain level of 9-10 since Dec. 3, 2017, 5 mos now.  Her pediatrician just ran ebv test and it turns out she had mono at some point recently and we did not now it.  Wondering if this may be the cause of her headches and it is not migraines.  I do hope your daughter is better at this point and has found some relief.  Thank you for any help you can give me.

[Dariobraman]

In my case (I had mono in October 2011), I had headaches and pain on the nosebridge. I was very concerned about it because I never had any pain on my nose. The headaches which lasted for one week on each cycle are gone now, but I still get some minor headaches.

The headaches are between the eyes and also I felt at the back of my head, right on top of my neck, sometimes on the left side. It just comes and go, but I can deal with them, not like in the past, where the pain was more intense.

Let me tell you something about doctors. We live in different countries (I'm from Argentina), but according to my experience they are like "guessers", they hear what you have to say and then they give you hints, they may fail, so they end up ruling out their theories... then move to the next one.

I've been through almost 23 doctors already. Most of them offered a different diagnosis. Just one of them nailed it. Lately, with my headaches and nosebridge pains I've spent several hundreads of dollars for different studies. I'm ok, but I don't trust doctors at all. It's a huge business.

So, what to do? What I said doesn't mean you have to move away from medicine. Of course, not! Trust science, but not people. So, when you go to any doctor, ask them the following questions:

Could mononucleosis be responsible for these headaches?
According to your professional experience, have you seen cases like this one? If so, how long could it last, what should we expect?
What could you tell me about long term symptoms after mononucleosis?
What's post viral headaches and how it could be solved?

If you're not satisfied with the answers you get, you should demand different studies to be conducted. That's what I did in order to relax, because I was very concerned they didn't know what they were doing.

Doctors could fail, but clinical analysis or other studies usually provide you with accurate information of what's going on.

Good luck.

[Di2244]

My 17yr old daughter had Mono 5 months ago, and has had daily headaches that whole time!  Her Pediatrician is clueless, and wants her to go to a Pediatric Neurologist.  She had a CT of her brain, and it was negative.  Should she see this doctor, or is a waste of time and money?  I'm thinking the doctor will just say "give it time".  Has anyone had this problem, and had the headaches go away, and how long did it take??

[Dariobraman]

All I can say is that I found out that you could get "post virus headaches" after you had mononucleosis. According to what I've read, this could last for a few months. The headaches and other symptoms may come and go in cycles. Good luck.

[jtglas]

My son, 7yrs old, has been suffering from headaches for months much like the girl whose pain level never goes lower than a two.  MRI was clear, Neurologist put him on Periactin, an antihistimine used to treat headaches such as migraines.  We hv not had the chance to see if it is working because a week later, he came down with mono.  Unlike the previous cases, mono seems to hv come after the headaches.  Could they be related?

[Dariobraman]

Hi. After mono I had some headaches. They lasted one week. Every day. But the pain started in the nose and then the head. Later it just vanished, but one week after (now) I started with the nose pain again, not the head. It's the nose bridge. I've taking a spray, but it doesn't seem to work. Also, I don't have any mucus at all.

What do you think about this? Doctors told me that "it's nothing".

[rjnegron]

Dear Mary:

My daughter started out in 2007 with Mono (sore throat, tired, bad breath) at the same time we found out that she had shingles.  After about 4-6 weeks her started regaining her energy but the headaches that started when she had Mono and Shingles has continued.  The headaches jump from one side of her head to the other and spike in level of pain.  Her neurologist just prescribed her a new medication to see if it helps with the pain and so far the medication has helped but has not taken away the pain completely.  Yesterday (Sunday) I took her to Michaels Art Supply store and the noise in the store spiked her headache so maybe that will bring us closer to an answer.  I don't want to scare you but my sister had gotten Mono about 30 years ago, she suffer from tiredness to this day and the doctors had finally told my mother that she had "Chronic Fatigue Symdrome" caused from Epstin Barr.  I hope that your daughter will completely recover but in the mean time she will probably need a lot of rest.  My sister found that she functions very early in the morning and then when she comes home from work she takes a nap.  Please let me know how your daughter does.

Best Regards
Rhonda

[maryl52]

My 17 year old daughter has been having the same headaches that you described. She was diagnosed with mono last February. Is your daughter also very tired? We went for an MRI  at 7:45 AM and she fell asleep during the test. I don't know if the headaches or the sleeping is bothering her the most. I would just like to get her back to where she was before mono.

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Post herpetic neuralgia is caused by varicella zoster virus. It starts off as skin eruptions followed by pain. The pain is burning, stabbing and gnawing type. The diagnosis is made by CSF examination and viral culture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postherpetic_neuralgia
This condition is different from NDPH. The diagnosis is made by exclusion of other similarly presenting conditions like spontaneous CSF leak, cerebral thrombosis and CNS infections like meningitis and encephalitis.
Hope this helps.

[rjnegron]

Thank you for your response.  I will look into the NDPH and see what I can find and discuss this with her neurologist.  My husband is todate with a lot of info and has also been researching PHN Post Herpatic Neuralga??  Is NDPH similar or the same?  Is there some sort of test that can been done to verify either one?  I really would like a concrete answer so we are not just covering up the symptoms via meds.
Thanks again.

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

How are you?
It is possible that your daughter is suffering from new daily persistent headache (NDPH). This type of headache is seen following infections like mono. This headache is different from chronic tension headache and the medical literature on this condition is very limited.
However there is a clear association with EBV which causes mono. I would suggest you to consult an experienced neurologist about it and discuss this possibility.