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mononucleosis

here is a random tangent if there ever was one... but give me some feedback on something. a few weeks back i got the epstein barr virus, aka mononucleosis... i haven't felt so tired since I did my BArch. Has anyone had this illness? how long were you kicked for? i've heard of people who go literally weeks. i'm about to hit week four. I keep missing work because I wake up after nine hours and feel just as tired as when i went to sleep. it's not that i always feel terrible, but if i leave the house and actually start trying to function and my body goes bleh. maybe i should go take another nap...

oh yeah...people always ask me with a wink and a grin 'how did you catch it?' so for you folks: don't ask. ;)

 
May 18, 05 1:39 pm
larslarson

it lasted about four weeks for me...the first two i slept
basically twenty or so hours a day and when i woke up
just took a shower and went back to sleep...

the last couple i gradually slept less and less although
it was still pretty bad..probably like 16-18 hours or so..

one thing i was told...not sure if it's true...was that you
shouldn't drink booze at all...mono is a virus that effects the
liver in particular and you can do major damage to it
if you drink alcohol...

but i hear what you're saying about getting out of bed and
trying to do anything...i remember walking at all made me
want to get back in bed and take a nap...but i think you
should be on the tail end of it.

personally i got it about two months after graduating college...
(supposedly it's really rare to get it after about 24)... i think
my mono was related more to my body basically shutting down
due to stress and lack of sleep...

cause i sure wasn't gettin any action at the time...

May 18, 05 1:48 pm  · 
 · 
larslarson

ok...so i took a quick looksee at some info and the bottom
line is that 4 weeks is fairly common...although it can last
2-3 months. also the spleen is what's primarily under attack...
and has a danger of rupturing...so you shouldn't involve
yourself in too much physical activity...for the most part i think
you should just sleep as much as you can til things kinda go
away...i think moving around just makes mono last longer.

May 18, 05 1:59 pm  · 
 · 

thank lars... i definitely should not have gone back to work after the first week or so. i went right back to teaching and just get wasted...kind of weird ..as if i were mildly stoned and tired at the same time. the doctor said it was fine to go in, but i should have just rested. i haven't gotten drunk, but occasionally have had booze and probably shouldn't have either! fuck! yeah, sports are a bad idea...you can rupture your spleen. one day i thought i was feeling better and i went jogged about three miles and that was dumb too. next day i was so tired. the weird thing is i can't really sleep it off. sometimes i nap but other times i don't fall asleep even though i'm tired. i think that's kind of my patienceless personality.

May 18, 05 2:34 pm  · 
 · 
Luis Fraguada

take it easy Javier!

May 18, 05 2:46 pm  · 
 · 
Jr.

I had it in high school, my parents finally clued in that I shouldn't be sleeping 24 hours a day after several weeks of exhaustion on my part. Also, I had a swollen gland under my chin the size of an egg. Sad to say, the whole episode lasted five months or so, pretty much November to April. The only good thing was that I was excused from P.E. for the rest of fall semester and the entire spring semester (due to the endangered spleen thing). The very bad thing was that I had to make up that second semester of P.E. my junior year.

May 18, 05 2:50 pm  · 
 · 
katem

I got mono two weeks before finals when I was in school. I skipped classes and slept for one week, and the next week I spent 90+ hours in studio trying to catch up and get my work done. The worst part about it was that for the next year I wasn't able to stay up much past 1 or 2am - I would just get exhausted. The doctor told me the virus stays in your blood stream for a year or so.

May 18, 05 2:52 pm  · 
 · 
whistler

Not to make you worry but a buddy of mine had Epstein Barr and it lasted years, I haven't spoken with him or seen him since university but it pretty much ruined his life, lost marriage all that stuff had to move back with his family. Do they have different strains????, I do remember mono and it was more like what you describe as a solid month of feeling wasted, but you recover slowly, I remember him to be very similar to myself, that's what scarred me at the time. We worked togehter and he was sick alot, and then just stopped showing up at work, I think it has alot to do with stress and he was the type that internalized things a lot andI think that's why it affected him so bad.

Good luck

May 18, 05 2:56 pm  · 
 · 

i have heard very similar stories. the doctor has told me that there is some debate about whether there is a form of chronic mono. it could be a different condition altogether. anyway, i'm feeling positive that this will be the last week of this...even though i don't expect normal levels of energy for a while. of course, that's the same thing i thought last week. the virus never leaves your system. that's how you get immunized to it, and i've read that you can have certain forms of relapses over the years! weird.

May 18, 05 3:01 pm  · 
 · 
Bryan Finoki

Jav, is it not getting any better? My friend in High School had this for months, but it was compounded by allergies and medications, he was really out of it for awhile. Definitely take it easy and ride it out, from what I saw it had the ability to persist when even remotely effected by other shit, so, look out brother and do what you gotta do in the meantime to kick it! Question: once it is in you, can you compeltely rid it form your system, or does it remain dormant and can it re-effect you later in life?

May 18, 05 3:01 pm  · 
 · 
larslarson

it's a virus....so therefore never leaves your system.

and javier...wtf are you doing running? you're crazy.
i thought i was stupid when i did an almost all nighter
a week or so after i was 'over' it for the most part.
of course i ended up just eventually falling asleep and
didn't wake up for eight hours or so...missing my
final review. (it was a summer studio post graduation
so it ended up being no big deal...)

i'd just say though that you should listen to your body
and just relax...i know it sucks but i think movin around
just prolongs things

May 18, 05 3:09 pm  · 
 · 

B... here's how it hit me... I first felt something weird in my throat, just like when you know you're getting any other cold. then i had a fever over the weekend...similar cold stuff... bit of a cough and the snuffleapolous... by monday i was feeling tired but other wise fine. thought i'd go back to work on tuesday... then i woke up on tuesday and i knew something was broken... like i just could feel my throat and stuff not right. that's when i went to the doctor.. oh and headaches too. the first mono test was negative, but apparently that happens a lot. had more tests done...doctor said you don't need antibiotics because they don't really do anything for mono... and since then it's just like some days are better than others. i sure feel much better now but doing anything really productive automatically makes me tired. the virus stays with you for life... whether or not it can cause any type of relapses better apparently is not agreed upon by doctors.

May 18, 05 3:09 pm  · 
 · 

lars... i know! i thought i was feeling fine, but a day or two after that i was fucked up again! three miles is like nothing for me, i rationalized.

May 18, 05 3:13 pm  · 
 · 
abracadabra

should we call somebody?

it will go away by itself from what i read from the internet doctor. thats the good news. get well soon..
stay put and write something for the new opinion post while you are camping at home..

May 18, 05 3:25 pm  · 
 · 

abra: thanks...but I am going to try to not think too hard and deep for now. If you don't see me here for a few hours. I'm resting. If you don't see me for days, call 911.

May 18, 05 3:29 pm  · 
 · 
TED

i have to admit that i have had somewhat similar symptoms, but as i clearly wash my hands before i post, i am certain i didnt get it on archinect or didnt spread it around.

i sense where mine is coming from is plants and growy stuff coming in bloom and mild alergies;[all those tree seed and new grass comming up] although you might never of been effected by it before, as you age it shows up. you might just try a bit of claridin -- it does work. stay off the antibiotics is right. alergies will pull you down and make you tired.

i dont take any drugs so i get through it other ways.

the second thing that i am growing more and more aware of is the role of ceratonin and how what you do to your body effects seratonin. ceratonin is a natural hormone and effects sleep, depression, etc. most anti-depressants increase levels of seratonin. 5-htp is a vitamin that promotes balance seratonin levels.

you reduce the levels of necessary seratonin by low-carb diets and lots of cafine [partly its true about 'comfort foods' being anti-depressants]. so green tea is the big remedy here.

and do yoga to stimulate your metabolism....we think that the big organs, heart and lungs and such are where the problems are. i am now convinced its the things like thyroids and lymph nodes that play a much more active role in our energy and day to day being. yoga, specifically certain poses will increase your metabolism and energy levels to such an extent you will never have to drink another starbucks again.

nameste

May 18, 05 4:21 pm  · 
 · 

I got some tea. thanks TED.

May 18, 05 7:58 pm  · 
 · 
trigirl

on hoping to restore some optimism for our ill friend: i contracted mono about two weeks before leaving for a one year arch study abroad program while an undergrad. naturally, i was worried that i may not recover in time to enjoy or even participate in the experience. however, i was fortunate to have the opportunity to do nearly NOTHING for those two weeks, which was the recommended treatment. i was still pretty exhausted for the first few weeks, but had no serious problems or relapses. i was probably pretty lucky and had a mild case, but mono doesn't have to be a complete knockout. bottom line: get rest, eat well, drink plenty of fluids and GET REST! i would think that doing office-type work might be okay, but it's still mentally exhausting and the frustration with being chronically tired can be emotionally draining as well. just listen to your body and be honest with yourself about your health.

May 20, 05 12:28 am  · 
 · 
alexisaviles

I been feeling awful lately went go the doc and said I was exposed to EVB what that means ?! 

Feb 14, 19 9:08 pm  · 
 · 
Non Sequitur

So, instead of asking your doctor, you decided to resurrect a 13y year old discussion in an architecture forum? It's mono you imbecile.

Feb 14, 19 11:54 pm  · 
 · 
poop876

Non, sometimes I wonder who the fuck do people survive in this world!

Feb 19, 19 8:34 am  · 
 · 
Non Sequitur

I too wonder about that.

Feb 19, 19 8:40 am  · 
 · 
alexisaviles

Not here to be cyber bully  the reason I came to this forum is to learn from others experiences  it's been 3 long months now feeling hopeless tired never felt this sick before  the doctor said I was exposed to the EVB  virus when she did some blood work the symptoms I have now are worse then what I had before it started with a cough and sore throat my doc prescribed me antibiotics because he though it was a throat infection I started feeling really tired one night watching a fight then at work my blood pressure went sky high and I felt like fainting I did research and it seems like now I have all the mono side effects like a enlarge spleen headaches dizziness it's very frustrating not being able to do daily life I stoped going to college and work can you guys give me some uplifting feed back what should I do at this point 

Feb 19, 19 11:07 am  · 
 · 
Non Sequitur

Don't look to internet architecture forums, specially 13y old discussions, for medical advice.

Feb 19, 19 11:10 am  · 
 · 
Bloopox

Yes go back to the doctor. You can't diagnose an enlarged spleen based on internet research. The presence of EBV doesn't even conclusively diagnose mono or any other specific illness - approximately 95% of the population has some levels of some type of EBV antibodies - it's one of the most common viruses in the world. Also high blood pressure doesn't ordinarily cause fainting - low blood pressure is more likely to do that - did you actually measure it at work that day? Either way you need a doctor, not google. Get more testing and in-person examination for your symptoms.

Feb 19, 19 2:02 pm  · 
 · 
Non Sequitur

Bloop, the latest Iphone update added a spleen enlargement detector app.

Feb 19, 19 2:06 pm  · 
 · 
alexisaviles

..

Feb 19, 19 12:50 pm  · 
 · 
Non Sequitur

Happy to help

Feb 19, 19 1:15 pm  · 
 · 

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