Curious about everyone's symptoms ..anyone else anxious?
Posted , 8 users are following.
I've always suffered from anxiety but since having mono...holy cow. I feel worse anxiety than I have ever felt.
My story starts when the last weekend of Nov turned into the first weekend of Dec. That Sunday I think was dec 1. I felt so sick like a virus, fever, chills, skin hurt, head hurt and I felt exhausted, nauseas and couldnt eat. The next day I felt sort of better, no fever, but that's when I started being tired and achey, having a headache, and my eyelids swelled up horribly for over a week and my throat began feeling sharp pains like I was swallowing glass. It was so uncomfortable. About 9 days later my husband, twin 14 mo th olds and I moved to a new house and the following day I came down with the flu, worst I ever had it. High fever, aches, chills, sweats and cold spells. I was better about 5 days later but have been exhausted and not myself since the whole thing began. Between dec 1 and 10th I went to urgent care twice and they did strep tests that were negative. Then dec 21 I went to the ER and did test positive for strep. Did antibiotics and the bad soreness went away but I was left still with the stabbing pain like swallowing glass, so I went back and they just prescribed more antibiotics. It was around this time I started having awful sleep problems. Nightmares, sweats, waking up every hour, not being able to fall asleep or stay asleep. January 5th I couldnt take the anxiety of this sore throat and tiredness so I went to an urgent care, explained it all to the physician assistant and he immediately said "I'm doing the rapid test for mono on you, this really sounds like it" and it was positive. My extended blood work showed my organs were all fine, blood counts all fine, I had one positive mono marker than he said means either recent or past infection and coupled with the monospot he said it was either recent or a reactivation of a past mono infection. The ebna was negative so he thinks being at 5 weeks the titer for early acute infection had already gone down, and the ebna which arises usually after 6 weeks, hadnt gone up yet and in 10 to 20% of people who get epstein barr mono, that one never elevates. He basically said dont over exert myself, I'm going to feel run down for a while and try to rest and get fluids while the virus finishes its course. I had so many other symptoms that werent explained by the dr so I have been panicking and convinced myself I have a worse illness which has set off my already horribly anxious mind. I was sleeping better but the last few days I've had the nightmares, sweats and insomnia again. Overnight I get the most intense dry mouth, I wake up and it feels like cotton stuffed in my mouth. I feel anxious all day which makes me feel nauseas so I've lost a bunch of weight. I don't feel hungry until I'm like starving. I dont have the energy to work out and I used to live at the gym. I just feel very down, kind of depressed and sad and not like myself. I've started going to yoga to try some mind body healing and I cant believe how sore my muscles get ....I never used to be like that. I've started B12 and calcium pills. I contacted a therapist where I start next week, to help me deal with the emotional symptoms I've been having. Has anyone had these issues?! Howcome internet searches just say mono is swollen glands and a fever and sore throat for 2 months and you're really tired. Why arent these longer lasting symptoms explained? I cant believe how many others I've read on here have gotten the various sleep disturbances, sweats, insomnia and nightmares. I am sick of thinking something else is wrong i keep having to tell myself no, you have mono, you tested positive for mono you KNOW this is all just from mono. I feel so very alone in this...
0 likes, 7 replies
lori93950 jenna26081
Posted
oh its all a nightmare! im going into month 10 and my world has become very small i too get bad anxiety when i drive more than a few miles from home.
the sleep will get better as you get better!
make sure you rest and rest and dont over exert yourself sure that must be hard with children but its the only way to get better .
it does take a while to recover so you need to get your head around this ...which is hard for all of us as normally you get sick and then get better within weeks .
Dodge81 jenna26081
Posted
The symptoms you had at the beginning are exactly the same as mine. I had swollen eyes and the worse sore throat I the world. This is just the acute stage of the virus which does normally last a month. The next stage is the fatigue. Now when o first read that I just thought I was going to be tired And I could rest more. I was so wrong. It litterally attacks your whole body including your brain. The anxiety and depression is intense....something I've never suffered with before...not even mildly. The good news is does ease away gradually. The bad news is this can linger arou nd for a long time, so you really need to look after yourself. Physical exercise should be restricted. Yoga might good for you at some point, but I don't think I could of done it. I'm 10 months in now and I'm just about getting my energy back. I've been going to work the last 5 month's on a phased return, but it's been so hard. My main symptoms now are headache and sometimes feel a little spaced out....but I'm managing so much better. The time frame for recovery is different for everyone, but the key to recovery is to be patient And rest when you can. I've sadly fallen out with a good friend and lost my girlfriend because of this virus, but my work have been great with me along with my family. One main thing to remember is you will get better, a few people post on here who have had it years ago and they have fully recovered.
Keith2525 jenna26081
Posted
All those are very normal symptoms, rest as much as possible.. binge watch some tv and drink lots of water.. everyone on here would most likely say that they wished the wouldve done better at calming down and resting at the start of this virus. Its a tough thing to do but very necessary. I started feeling better after about a month then decided to go on a golf trip for a week and now its been 6 months of paying for it. Please dont make the mistake of rushing back into over doing it. The anxiety is very normal, ive never had anxiety and i was thinking i needed to check into a mental hospital the first month cause everything seemed so different and scary to me.. the anxiety is now 99% gone but my full body fatigue is still affecting me everyday
craig07920 Keith2525
Posted
Definitely wise advice Keith - absolutely a (totally understandable) mistakes that most of us make is to try to push through in the early stages of mono, when you don't realise how much this virus requires proper rest and respect (not just the hear say type we sometimes talk about!!).
Remember Keith you will get through this and get better - for me after 6 months I was in a similar position to you and still feeling very down, fragile and fatigued. But a few months further down the line things really started to improve, and God willing you won't have to go through anything as intense as this first few months which were in my experience BY FAR the worst.
Hang in there Keith and everyone, Dodge, Lori, Jen and Jenna - recovery and better times are ahead and there is light at the end of the tunnel with this thing (even though I know that may be hard to see right now), and that's coming from me as someone who felt at one stage that my body resilience and ability to cope with normal activities and stresses would never return again - but it did with time, the body has amazing powers of recovery.
Craig
jenna26081
Posted
Wow thanks for your responses everyone. Our stories all seem very similar. I never got the super exhaustion, besides the week I had the flu I have continued going to work 4 days a week. I own my own little salon suite so i control my schedule and if I have a slow or non booked day i block it off. But with the twins I have never gotten to nap or rest or anything and the horrible sleep issues arent helping, I definitely feel tired which I never used to. Before I got this virus I was go go go, gym all the time, cooking, baking, running to stores. I was in amazing shape from all the working out. I'm starting to look like a skeleton. I am looking forward to feeling better soon
jen83382 jenna26081
Posted
Your story is very similar to mine. I started not so bad, just a low grade fever and a tad tired. Then I plummeted quickly, and still took them 1 month ti diagnose me. I'm almost at month 7 and it's been a roller coaster. I truly wont know how I will feel until I wake up. I typically always have swollen eyes first thing in the morning along with so many other crazy symptoms. I have also had horrible anxiety and still do at times. it's just hard to believe this virus does so many strange things to the body, and for so long.
I agree with the others, do not push yourself. I feel like it might not have been so bad if I had been diagnosed sooner and had proper time to rest.
craig07920 jenna26081
Posted
Hi Jenna,
Going through mono was one of the worst experiences of my life, so I really do empathise and want to just reassure you that it most likely is the mono and nothing else causing this - the symptoms and experience of this virus can be so intense and awful it often tricks you into thinking 'surely all this can't be from mono' and starting to worry about other things. I was the same Jenna, was so worried something else was wrong and didn't know why things weren't improving after a few months - but it really did just take extended time to get better and you will too.
You've done all the right things by getting blood tests and seeing doctors etc, although it's frustrating please do take it as encouraging that your blood tests are showing normal, that is often the case with mono. I was the same too, my doctor said things will get better within 6-8 weeks but in reality it did take a good bit longer, but with God's help only managed to get there as I know I was so down and weary I couldn't have done it myself.
It is awful the anxiety and worry of it all Jenna, and it is understandable given the rough time you've been through this last few months by the sounds of it. It really affected my mental health too and if you can talk to someone you trust, a close friend or family member, or a therapist, it can help and it did help me Jenna, as dealing with all the emotions and fears and worries of this alone is just so hard and scary. I was lucky to have good friends and family who were supportive, but I know many people are very dismissive and not understanding because this virus is invisible in that you look okay outwardly and can often be seen up and about doing things and people just assume that you're okay - if only they knew how this awful virus makes you feel.
I think the extended recovery time is due to the post viral effects, this is such a nasty virus that your body just seems to take an extended period to get back on its feet and recovery fully - but remember Jenna you will get there and even if it takes a little time to be 100% or as near as again, it will come and you will get that breakthrough. Definitely worth trying a good strong multi-vitamin and a B100 complex per day, these really can help your immune system cope a bit better. Alternative therapies like Bowen Therapy have also been helping for various aches and pains and ailments too.
Thinking about you and remember message any time - hang in there Jenna.
Craig