I have dealt with this mono like illness for 7 months. Fatigue not happy hurting all over especially chest and headaches no cough fever. Started as high heart rate and blood pressure with a few days of diahrrea abd a slightly sore throat. Lightheadedness like im going to pass out unbalanced feeling shortness of breath stomach pain. The list goes on and on but the worst thing is feeling like i cant breath. Like i can not get enough oxygen into my body without effort. Breathing is subconscious and i should not hace to try to breath and i should not hurt in my chest for 7 months and the doctors say my heart and lungs are clear and fine. It makes no sense. Does anyone have any ideas on what to do. I can not miss anymore work i will lose everything i have. I have had many tests done they say everything is normal. Also i can not hardly do anything at work because i feel terrible. Such a troubling situation for me and my new wife. I feel like i am going to die and i can not do anything about it but sit here. There has to be more to this situation than mono i do not see many people saying they could not breath for 7 months shortness of breath was one of my first symptoms of whatever is going on.
have you tried any anti-anxiety meds? It’s just a thought. I went through something similar with the breathing…not mono…and i had no idea it was anxiety related. If you haven’t already it might be worth a try just to see if it helps then at least you can rule it out.
I have been told i have anxiety and depression from this but heck if i know. I never had it before and i dont like taking medication especially something that is habit forming. That stuff scares me.
yes you are right to feel that way about it. However, I have some just for emergencies. For me, I can take one and the chest tightness/air hunger goes away in about 15-20 minutes and then I’m good. It rarely happens anymore. I probably take less than 10 pills in a whole year.
What kind did you take my pharmasist friend said that she and her husband took i the balspar
I feel you Josh. I remember going through a very similar scenario about ten years ago now. I hope you find peace in the tests that have been done. That and the fact that they have come back negative.
Ativan
Yeah i think maybe i have developed health anxiety from this. It all started when i got gassed at work by some bad gases and i freaked out then i became sick after that about two weeks later but my lungs and all are fine from x rays and ct scans. I guess maybe i should deal with the anxiety better i got a great life and a great wife who loves me getting an awesome job jun 11th we have a home and a sweet little cat sitting in my lap at the moment i just need to calm down more and enjoy what i can. I know i was sick for sure those three months but maybe the anxiety is exasperating any lingering symptoms now. It is and has been scary and i have no reason to be so scared. Maybe it is the fact this is my first time ever being for real sick and it scared me more. I know i can be better and will be better. I just need to enjoy what i am blessed with and trust God to bless our new marriage and life together.
I can see how it being the first time being very sick can play a role in heightening your fears and anxiety. Trust in your results Josh. It sounds from your previous posts that the experts have been quite thorough with you. I hope you find peace. Enjoy your wife and family my dude.
im a severe asthmatic but have noticed I need my puffer a lot more often than before all this started but as you know I haven’t been diagnosed with mono yet
Hi Josh,
i had mono last summer, but it has had a lasting effect on my mental health! this breathing thing might be related to that. i’ve been going through a tough time lately too because my silly mono anxiety brain decided to fixate on my breathing for some reason and has been in that state since march! if you think about it too much you start trying to take deep breaths when you’re body doesnt need it which in turn actually does make you feel out of breath! I’m not sure if that’s exactly the issue with you but if you think it is, you just have to tell yourself it is a weird anxiety thing and that voice of anxiety in your head is NOT your real voice and is NOT the voice of reason. excercising also helps take your mind off of it and regulates your breathing 
i hope this helps and if it is nothing more than a mental problem i know you can get over it. i am on my way to doing that myself
Well i ran for ten minutes and wasnt crazy out of breath. That is the first time i have done something strenuous in months but when i came inside after i got a shower i now feel like i can not breath. It is so weird. My chest feels funny also it usually hurts but now just is a tingling feeling. If it is all anxiety that would be great that nothing is wrong but i hear it is hard to beat.
Hi Josh,
I used to have the shortness of breath feeling, actually it was more like it was hard to take a deep breath, I also used to yawn a lot. This did not go away until about the one year point. I could barley walk a block without having to lay down. Mono is a very long journey, but I did recover.
Yeah thats me like i can walk outside move some plants in the sun and walk back inside and be out of breath. Sometimes i can be out there an hour and not get it. It is confusing to me and scary though like i said my heart and lungs are said to be clear and fine. I have always been in great shape so i never had that kind of feeling unless i was doing some very strenuous workouts which at that point you know why you are breathing so hard. The only different for me is not that i can not take a deep breath but it seems like i am breathing harder for no reason and of course the more you think about it the worse it gets.
does anyone get chest/back pain when taking a deep breath? I have been experiencing this for weeks on my left side only.
Yes for sure i have had it since the beginning chest pain back pain both left side and i always worry it is my heart. Doesnt feel good with the shortness of breath combined.
hi Josh,sorry to hear youre feeling so awful, mono is such a horrible virus and causes so many prolonged symptoms both physically and mentally. i also suffered from shortness of breath as one of my first symptoms, so much so that sometimes i just couldnt talk because it would leave me gasping for breath. I am currently 21 months in and am happy to say that i am close to 100% again, however it did take me a long time to feel well again with several week long relapses along the way. to be honest i didnt start feeling semi well until 11months, and even then i was only just functional again- mono is a long haul. i had never before had anxiety before but have since learnt that my breathlessness was probably caused by anxiety. the virus attacks your nervous system so causes you to be super stressed out for no reason. i got in a habit of retracing my thoughts after becoming breathless, to determine what may have caused me to get anxious. most of the time they were thoughts that at any other time would have just been nothing, but in my over stressed state i became anxious about the most trivial things- thinking about grocery shopping, thinking about where to park my car at a new venue, etc. It took me a while to figure out that my “usual” thoughts were causing me unnecessary stress, and this symptom did hang around a long time. I have only recently noticed that i no longer get anxious over silly things. i also didnt like the idea of taking tablets but must admit the anxiety was probably the most difficult symptoms of this while experience. Stay positive and wishing you all the best for a speedy recovery. things will get better, but its important to rest and look after yourself as much as possible.
Thank you for the kind words i have just been forcing it to go away as i quit my old job to get a newer easier one but make less money to start with recently in the past year bought a house got married and i just dont wanna lose it all. It is a definite fear of mine i have to push through to keep everything i worked for and love. Just a stressful time i guess. God will get me through this i know it but it is hard to be patient.
Hi Josh,
I can really feel your pain coming across in the message you write, I just hope and pray for your healing and for a real breakthrough soon. I know you have been suffering, turning to God and asking for help and healing in Jesus’ name is the thing which I rely on more than anything when at terribly low ebbs. I’m also struggling badly at the moment, have been hit with a terrible headache which has been so intense for over a week and just don’t know what to do other than just to pray to God and ask for His help and trust Him.
I still believe that God is going to heal you Josh, please hang in there and remember it’s a time factor, it’s very painful to go through I know but truly as time goes on and as you reach that second year, I believe things will be in a better place for you - it was 10 month before I really seen a big change and step forward, so hang in there, there is hope today and you will get there. God is good.
Craig
sorry to hear things are so tough at the moment Josh, i am sure God is watching over you as you go through this difficult time and that He will help you get through it. Something i learnt through my experience was that without my health, i didnt really have much. please remember to take care of yourself as best you can.