Mono recovery story collection!!

Hello! I Hope im typing in the correct area?

I would like to update on my condition.

I am almost 6 months in with this virus, and I want to share good news.

Each month beginning in March to now, i've noticed I've been feeling better and better. In April, I began to feel well enough to actually go outside and do errands, something I could not do AT ALL upon getting sick, so this was a good sign. Of course, I still had ocassional symptoms but nothing compared to before.

All the things i've done to help with recovery is to continue with eating healthy, making sure I slept enough, consumed water, taking vitamins, even making sure my stress levels were not high. In myself, I've noticed stress plays a large role in how i feel with the virus.. I wonder if you guys notice anything like that with you guys as well? Oh, and I've also done very light exercise like taking walks, and swimming (just floating around, sometimes did laps as well but without flipping due to nausea). I find that activity helps, I recommend this if your doctor allows you to.

Anyways, I noticed I felt better too after getting myself to talk with a therapist. At first I was very hesitant and unwilling to go, but one day I just decided to go for it.. and I'm glad I did. I learned I had developed depression, panic disorder / anxiety when I became sick with mono.

I've only seen my therapist 4 times, almost every weekend. Last visit, I was told i might not need to attend anymore since it seemed like I was getting better and better. I think this is a sign that mono is slowly going away, and that my mental health is becoming better as well due to attending therapy, and doing things that help myself like journaling, drawing, etc. ..

I am still recovering, but things have been getting better.

The journey seems to be long for many of us, but I will say this. Please do not give up! Things really do get better. Find what works for you and your lifestyle. See what works good for you and what doesnt for your recovery. Please take care and I feel for you all. I am praying for everyone's well being.

Hi all,

I hope my post gives some encouragement to anyone suffering with mono. I caught a severe case of mono mid Sept 2018 & have suffered from a vast range of symptoms - severe fatigue, drenching night sweats, cough, raised liver enzymes, spleen pain, stomach pain, bowel pain & an upset stomach, swollen glands, anxiety, sleepless nights, eye floaters, neck pain, nerve pain, nausea, missed periods, weight loss of 14lb. It has been absolute hell & the health anxiety it has caused made it so much worse. The good news is, I believe I have finally recovered! I have been feeling back to my previous self for a while now, put weight back on & the gland pain & tiredness which lingered have finally shifted.

Recovery does happen so I hope this reassures someone who needs it. There have been many times I have visited this forum for reassurance & it has helped me far more than any doctor.

My only advice is rest when you need to, drink plenty of water & eat food full of vitamins & iron.

Sending best wishes to all.

Gill x

Dear Everyone,

My name is Annalise!

I am a young athlete who specifically competes in athletics, which means we sprint around a track for fun 😃 I basically just wanted to know whether anyone ever did anything during their recovery that ever set you back a bit? For example, thinking your body was perhaps more capable of doing something then it was?

I am about 6 months into mine and have just been on holiday for a week. Before, I was slowly starting to build up doing more and more with my parents, like going on walks, doing shopping, going to bbq's and helping out!

I did not do any running or any sport (basically anything silly) during the holiday, but i did do long, gentle and very slow walking around almost every day. For example, walking in the airport, walking around historical buildings, or to get to the bus stop, walking in hotel, or walk down to the beach. I got in the sea (did not swim just stood around). One day I did go on a jet ski but that only involved sitting down.

The final day when we had to go to the airport going home, I was so tired (quite out of it) and quite drained mentally and physically, I had to sleep the entire following day. It took me about 2 days to feel relatively normal again. I feel that I will need to rest for a week before I do anything again. I am just concerned I have set my recovery way back and that I have now ruined my chances of fully recovering for being a fool and wanting to feel normal again for a bit. I am just hoping you might have had a similar experience?

I am not even thinking about athletics until I am 100% I just don't wanted to have impacted my chances of ever fully recovering!

Any words if wisdom would be great! 😦

Annalise X

Hi Guyz, thanks for your stories. They really do help !!! Let me contribute and share my story and progress to recovery. I am still not there yet but I see the light in the tunnel 😉 It was this Sep when I had first symptoms: moderate fever, extreme fatigue that knocked me down to bed for a week, sore throat, muscle aches (especially arms, and armpits pains), ankle aches, strange pain in my fingers/joints, pain in lymph nodes and night sweats - this one got me very worried. I got very depressed. Didn't know what was happening with me and my body, never felt like that. Luckily I didn't have problems with liver and spleen but had problem with my leg /walking and joints. I had tonsillectomy prior to mono and unfortunately I developed a combo mono + bacterial infection in my lungs - well that was just great !!! 😦 which caused chest pain and breathe problems. So on top of undiagnosed at that time mono had to take antibiotic. This was a nightmare 😦 My diagnosis came a month later after visiting different doctors and after tons of tests (which were all ok by the way, except the mono test).

So back to the recovery story: First breakthrough came when I switched my thinking from worrying all the time mode to recovery mode. I started focusing on things I like (hobbies and plans, watching my favorite series on Netflix 😉 I got prescribed some supplements vit C, B complex, which helped me in bringing my energy back. Night sweats stopped recently. I still feel 85-90% ok with some ups and downs, but I would say it is managable. When I am tired or angry at something then I feel worse - mono is simply not letting forget about itself.... But I have moments that I feel completely ok. Also after some activities which I overdo then the symptoms are back.... But in general have to say I feel much better now also thanks to this forum I was able to calm down. I am optimistic this recovery curve will continue and it will be same as before. I go for a walks as much as can and try some more healthy food for the start. This mono thing definitely made me stronger and more appreciating every moment of life. Please share more stories and don't worry !

Hi guys,

I'm glad I found this thread, because recently I've been pretty worried about my recovery. I don't know if you guys are still active on this discussion page but I'm having a hard time understanding the recovery of this virus. I got mono in late October and I didn't even have severe symptoms such as swollen lymph nodes, strep, or enlarged spleen. But its now almost mid December and this fatigue and brain fog is still bothering me. I can barely make it through a full day of class (I'm a college student btw) without crashing as soon as I get home. In the morning, I wake up tired and feel kind of spaced out. I know its a long process, but did you guys feel like this a month and half in? I believe I have been getting slightly better but my recovery might of been prolonged from the fact that I've been dealing with school and stuff, I might need to take an easier course load next quarter. But if there are any people that have gone through what I am going through now, how did you deal with it or take your mind off of it? What supplements did you take to feel better? And how long until you felt normal again? I really appreciate any type of guidance, thx!

Hello,

I have been battling with this mono for 14 months.The major symptoms have subsided but I always feel drained and my blood work doesn't seem to want to go back to normal. I am afraid to be intimate because I am afraid it is still active in my body. My doctor says that once you have it, it will always show up positive in your blood work. I don't believe that, but I know it stays dormant in your body once you have had it.When I first got it, I had a fever for 8 days, night sweats, heads for 1 month, extreme fatigue, nausea, missed my period for 5 months, lost 20 pounds, extreme anxiety and depression, muscle pain and swollen glands, which I still have 14 months after my diagnosis. I do feel better for the most part, but My blood work still looks the same, my glands are still swollen, i feel tired alot and am getting head aches like crazy again. I hope I can shake this off. Has anyone had anything similar to this, lasting this long?

I was just diagnosed with mono so still in my anxiety stage...BUT my boyfriend (who I got it from) is now about 5 weeks since onset of symptoms and he feels basically 90% healthy - just a little tired sometimes. He only felt really sick for about a week. Sometimes the recovery is quick and the illness is mild! Hoping my experience is similar.

Hi everyone. I don't know if anyone is responding to this forum anymore. I've read through alot of it. It's been two weeks since getting my blood work done - which resulted in a recent/past infection of mono. I started feeling bad Feb 20, 2020. My symptoms were really bad tension headache for 3 straight days. Nothing relieved the headache. And I rarely get headaches. Then the headache slightly lingered for the next week. I'm a massage therapist and was working during all of this. I had moments when I couldn't work and then big chunks where I could. The fatigue came on slowly. I'd feel some fatigue after work, but then I could go on a 5 mile hike and feel fine. I didn't understand what was happening. I finally decided to go see the doctor. I thought I was feeling this way because of the steroids I had for an ant sting a few days before the headache. When my results came back for a past infection of mono I was floored. I was like, I've never had mono. I was never sick. But maybe the headaches were my sickness? I don't understand how far in the past the results are talking about. It's all so confusing.

Regardless, here I am about 4 weeks later after the headaches. I now just feel fatigue after activities. I've stopped working for a little over a week now and mainly just lay on my couch. Being still helps me the most. Although getting up to fix dinner or something feels good too. But I can only do so much of that. When are was trying to work through all this my fatigue became very extreme at times. It was a scary kind of fatigue where I thought my heart would just stop beating. I've been trying to avoid that at all costs. It scares me alot.

Yesterday I went on a 20 minute walk. I've read that you need to do gentle activities in order to not become deconditioned. So, the walk felt good. It was nice to use my legs. And most of the day I felt good until the evening after I ate. I felt the shakiness in my body, mainly my legs, start up again. And my throat and nose even feel tight or there's pressure. I'm not sure what that is. But it scares me. I wouldn't say it's extreme fatigue, but it felt like my nervous system was affected. That's how my fatigue manifests is that I feel shaky at the core. I don't know if it's my nervous system or muscle exhaustion or both.

So, my question is, do I try to walk instead of just lying down all day for days in a row? Eventhough I can feel bad later? I know on the internet it says to rest, but what does that look like? What did ya'll do? I don't want to prolong my fatigue and weakness because I rested too much. And I don't want to prolong my fatigue and weakness because I did too much. I don't understand this and don't know the best course of action to take.

Thanks for your help. And I'm sorry that all of ya'll had to experience this as well.