I have mono. Aces.

[BunnyMacDougal]

Anybody had it and want to swap stories?  What can I look forward to?  Here's what I've seen so far:

Slept about 18 of 24 hours for the past 2 days.  Feel awesome while seated/relaxing, feel like ending it all while trying to unload the washing machine.  

Is that about the jist of it?  

[Deleted]

yup. sorry. lots of rest and just take it easy.

i had it in college and it sucked donkey balls. by the time i walked to class i needed a nap.

feel better soon!

[agnes]

When I first got mono (at 18), I broke out in a rash that pretty much covered my whole body. It was itchy and nothing would help. I still have "scars" from it. Whenever I get really hot my skin turns red around my knees.

I also threw up if I ate anything. I didn't eat much. I went from 125 lbs to 105 in less than 2 weeks.

[ering1115]

I had it as a kid and had horribly swollen glands to where my mom thought I had the mumps- nope. It was mono.
I slept a crap ton and started back to school with 1/2 days about 2 weeks after diagnosis. It was rough.

Sleep when you need to and I hope you feel better soon.

[agnes]

Oh yeah, and if I remember correctly, I had to do a bunch of blood work because my mono was so bad they were worried about my liver.

[jane6672]

Sleep a lot.

Don't try and do too much because you're feeling "better." You will crash hard.

Try to eat frequently, and high-protein. That helped me feel a little less miserable. If I went too long without food, I'd get really nauseous and not be interested in food.

[Deleted]

Ohhh... geeze. I got mono when I was 20.

I lost 10 lbs in a week because my throat was so swollen and sore I couldn't eat. I slept for about 22.5 hours a day for about 2 weeks. I had zero energy for about 6 months, and didn't really get back to "normal" for a year. I had to quit my crappy retail job and dropped 2 college classes.

But I apparently had an extreme case.

Do not do any lifting of heavy things, your spleen can burst.

[poppyseed]

Ugh. I had it when I was 16. My throat was so raw and swollen, I couldn't speak for a week and had to write down whatever I wanted to say so people could understand me. I slept all.the.time. I remember walking up the stairs and being so exhausted afterward, I slept for 12 straight hours. I remember sleeping at least 16 hours a day for almost 2 weeks.

Stay in bed, drink water, and don't overdo it, even when you're feeling better. When you rejoin society, walk slowly and don't let other people bump into you. My doctor told me that mono makes your spleen swell and that if someone bumps into you hard enough, it could burst.

[Deleted]

I slept for at least 18 hours a day the first couple of weeks. I tried to go to class but would go back home as I was too tired. I couldn't fight sleep so I gave up and just slept.

[omeomi]

I had it for about 6 weeks in college. I usually slept 16-18 hours a day. The more I tried to move, the worse I felt. The first couple of weeks my throat was really swollen and sore (the docs even tested for strep since it was so bad). I had nausea and dizziness for most of the time. Eating was the last thing I wanted to do.

I'm pretty sure I was on the more extreme end of things.

Like pp have said, rest, lots of fluids, eat higher protein.

Sorry you have the suck going on

[Deleted]

My 13 yo DD had it last summer. It is brutal.

Ditto everything PP said. Sleep, sleep and more sleep. Do not try to push yourself to do anything more. Drinks lots of fluids and higher protein foods. My DD basically lived on soup, scrambled eggs and popsicles for 2 weeks.

[peachykate]

I had a very mild case, slept a lot and had a very sore throat. One of the lymph nodes in my neck swelled up and is still bigger to this day.

That was the only way I even knew I had mono, I just thought it was a bad cold. It was going around school, my brother had a mild case of it also.

[pinkroses]

I'm sorry.  I had it in college and it was rough for a few weeks.  My throat swelled to the point where I couldn't swallow any food or water, so the health center put me on some steroids and that really helped me to feel better all around.  Keep that in mind if your throat gets really swollen.  Otherwise, rest and don't push yourself.  I remember before I got diagnosed I was pushing a shopping cart through the grocery store, and all of a sudden I just wanted to put all of my weight on the handle and take a nap.  If I wasn't there with my BF (now my H) I don't know how I would have checked out and got home. 

[shostakovich]

I had it when I was in 7th grade, and missed about 3 weeks of school (including half-days). I just remember sleeping on the couch all day, and then working myself up to climb the two flights of stairs (my parents had a split-level, so each flight was only like 8 stairs) to go to bed at like 7pm. My dad had to carry me a couple of times. It was also exhausting to take a shower - lifting my arms to shampoo my hair felt like lifting 100 pound weights over my head.

I also had to skip out on a team-building ropes course excursion that my 7th grade class took about three weeks after I returned to school - I still went to the ropes course place, but couldn't participate because the harness could cause my spleen to burst. Good times.

My advice: Fluids, fluids, fluids. Hot tea or water, even Pedialyte pops or Gatorade if you are having trouble staying hydrated. Take it easy, even when you start to feel better. And no ropes courses Feel better!

[mamasaurus]

Hope you feel better soon!

[karmasabiotch]

I turned a deep shade of yellow and had an internal rash that itched liked crazy. The best thing was just sleeping.

Feel better soon.

[amberlyrose]

Sleep sleep sleep. Get calories in any way you can!

I had it when I was in 1st grade- it was bad. They called CPS because they thought my parents were starving me and the Dr. finally checked for mono. Walla!
I was out of school for a few weeks but it didn't end there. My mom worked at the school, so she would take me to the teacher's lounge at lunch so I could drink ensure or slimfast with meds because I couldn't keep anything down. I graduated to baby food and pasta by thanksgiving. For awhile, they really thought I was going to die from malnourishment.
I guess because I got it so young, I will always have related problems and if I get too run down, I end up having mono-like symptoms. I had it full blown again my freshman year of college. The doctor kept telling me I couldn't get it twice and I probably didn't have it as a kid. I wanted to punch him but I was too tired to lift my arm

[pittsmcgee]

Ah shit, I am so sorry. Mono SUCKS!
I had it in 8th grade. It was awful. I also contracted chicken pox and strep throat at the same time.
I had just made the basketball team and had to quit.
It was right after my only living Grandma died, too. It was not a happy period in my life.

Just rest, rest, rest. That is my only advice.

[Deleted]

Ugh, I've never had it but I hope you feel better soon!

[SKP82]

So sorry! Mono sucks. I had it in high school and pretty much slept for two weeks. My throat hurt so bad, the doctor gave me demerol.

I hope you feel better soon.

[open24hours]

I had mono in college. It started with a fever, sore throat and swollen glands which I thought was strep throat. I was expecting that diagnosis and lo and behold it was mono. It sucks. Sorry you have it now. Rest as much as you can. I didn't - who can rest the week before finals - and my recovery took a lot longer than it should have.