my son 16. he will be perfectly normal for weeks, then BAM sore throat, fever, swollen lymphnodes, sometimes a cough too, i give him high doses of vitamin c and he is better in a couple of days. then a few weeks or couple of months go by and then it comes again. anyone else have cycles like this? It’s been a year now. did it do something to his immune system? Thank You! I am so worried
hi
i am 40 got sick at 39
so, adults sometimes dont have throat issues (fingers crossed)
my symptoms have been a novels worth
so many come and gone
remain then loop around again
i have yet to see a symptom free day
but at 1 yr am getting better hours closer together than ever before
im inching my way back to health
ugh
muscle issues
back
tired
head stuff
achy
tough to function
but am better than four mos ago
progress is slow
its great hes 100% even if he slides back
you can relapse for two yrs sometimes after this event
all are different
its scary
scary & scary
we need a cure here…
i would keep him on high dose vitC always
not just when he relapses
im sure it will go dormant at some point
thats the key…
hopefully this helps
prayers to all and me too
I got it at 20 and it was the same for me for the first 6 months. my dr at the time said this can happen for up to 18 months as that’s when the virus still replicates inside your throat.
thank you starr. this is such a comfort to me that this happens to others. i hate that others go through this though. sometimes i think as a mom, its worse on me bc i worry and he really doesn’t. i have enoigh of my own health anxiety . i don’t need to add him to my list. lol I am glad you are getting better!
thank you for sharing that. you have no idea how much better that makes me feel. his doctor hasn’t been as helpful. That’s why i love these boards.
Hi Chris,
So sorry to hear your son has been through such an awful time with mono. I truly believe he will recover and it’s not that his immune system has been affected or anything, often this virus just takes an extended time and it can go through that kind of zig-zag cycle like a little progress and then backwards and it can be so frustrating - that is so common with this virus.
But my experience was the Year 2 was a year of hope and recovery, where I felt free and liberated again thanks to God’s healing, as opposed to the horrors of that first year - so hang in there, so much hoping and praying you son feels better soon - thinking about you and remember there is hope and there is recovery even after this length of time - the vast majority of people still unwell after a year still go on to make full recoveries. But of course always wise to keep checking in with the doc and hoping they can offer some good and reassuring support / advice / help.
Craig
thank you Craig! this is so frustrating. i don’t know why the docs just act like oh it only lasts a couple of months…must be another virus. or no you cant get it twice.
Hey Chris,
Oh I know, I was so frustrated so that doctors seem to dismiss this virus as some minor ailment, and if it doesn’t get better within a few months they start to act as though that’s not normal, when it most definitely is normal for many many people going through this virus.
Hoping that your son is coping during this terrible time, he is young and I still believe his body will fight back with God’s help and that he has many many health and happy times ahead as a young man - and he is going to be so much stronger as a person for having went through this experience and so much more grateful for his health when it returns - and it will, I trust God with that!
Craig
So sorry to hear your son is going through this, and I totally understand your concerns. My doctor also said it would only last a couple of months. Now it´s been on and off 17 months. I was sent to specialist for testing at 12 months because of onging lowgrade fever every day, but all tests came out ok, boodwork, ct scan - nothing! Specialist says it can weaken immune system for a while, so that´s probably what is going on with a lot of us. Hope your son gets over it soon, and your worries can ease. I was told a couple of months and had no idea, what was wrong with me, since it went on so long. Honestly I still sometimes have my doubts! But this last specialist said that he believed my immune system had been weakened by the virus. I expect to get completly well.
I’ve been to numerous doctors through this hard time and only a few of them actually recognize mono as something other than a 2 week long sore throat.
You can get a lot of confusing answers if you keep visiting the doctors for the symptoms. It’s the recurrence of the virus in the first year + post viral fatigue that really brings out these weird symptoms and unusual course of disease and as it’s still a self limiting illness most of the time it’s not really well researched, post viral fatigue and the recurrence of symptoms.
It’s fact though that for 1 and a half years the virus is actually inside your throat and even years later it can start reactivating there if your immune system is compromised. For some people it doesn’t cause any symptoms after 2 weeks, for the less fortunate it’s recurrent sore throats etc for about a year or even longer.
thank you malene. One thing that bothers me is he has a cough that comes and goes with it. and i know that isn’t common with mono. Dr thinks allergies. But, it makes sense if his immune system has been weakened he is getting colds more easily which would cause the coughing. idk. This time around it is the cough and as far as i know he hasn’t had a fever with it. His lymphnode that usually pops up isn’t there. He says he is fine, but was coughing his head off when he woke up this morning. It started with the sore throat and stuffy nose. I think I asked on here a while back about coughing and i don’t think anyone said they had it.
Thank you. That is very reassuring.. How long did you suffer with it? were you ever 100% during that time?
The sore throat was a come and go thing from february till about august.
I’d say I’m at about 60% now 7 months later compared to my previous self. But the sore throat is gone. I also had strep throat multiple times during those months and all kinds of upper respiratory infections. I’d feel relatively good for 2-3 weeks and then something always happened. I still have body aches and stuff but they’re getting less severe.
okay. so there are a lot of symptoms that my son may not be telling me about. he may think they are related to working out or something. He got mono this time last year. so it has been a year. sometimes when its been so long i will think whew! thats over. thank you for sharing so much.p very worried mom here
I didn’t have a cough, but makes sense your thoughts about the weakened immune system. I also never had swollen lymph nodes, but I had the ongoing low-grade fever, which others don’t have. I’ve read about so many symptoms on this site, it seems like the virus reeks havoc on the entire system and it takes a long time to heal the immune system afterwards.
But of course don’t attribute everything to ebv, and if strange bothersome symptoms persist, talk to your sons doctor and have some testing done.
Good luck!
thank you!
Hang in there Baconman, you will get back to 100% - truly you will. I thought at one stage I never would. Only with God’s help did I get there, and truly grateful for that. 60% after 7 months sounds not far off where I was, perhaps a little less than that for me at that stage, but things will improve - there’s more improvements to come for you!
Craig
I know it’s hard 2chr but try to encourage your son not to focus too much on symptoms of other people as it can really start to get into your mind and can be such a horrible thing. Remember everyone’s experience of this is very unique and personal to them - some symptoms that one person is really bothered with is something that another person often has no trouble with - it’s so strange and this virus can affect so many people in so many ways.
Craig
So true Malene about this virus causing so much havoc in so many ways! It is good to see posts from you, there are certain people on the forum when I see their name against a post that I want to read and listen because I know they are good people and speak a lot of sense - you are most definitely one! Hoping you are doing well at the moment and thinking of you!
Craig
thank you craig