My mono experience - hope for those just diagnosed

I just wanted to share my experience with glandular fever to give hope to those that have just been diagnosed and are worried, especially by seeing the plight of others and worried the same will happen to them.

Remember the majority of posts about illnesses on forums are by those that are having worrying experiences and they want some help and advice. We don’t hear from those whose experiences are more positive because they don’t need to post, so it’s hard to estimate what percentage of people have positive vs negative experiences with any illness or medication.

I became sick with glandular fever in 2014. The lead up to it my life had been somewhat unhealthy - I was drinking maybe a bit too much, had periods of stress etc. So I may my already have been in my healthiest state.

I had what felt like the very early stages of a cold, without it becoming a cold for some time (on and off for about a month). I didn’t have a stuffy nose, it was just this off feeling I associate internally with getting a cold right before I do. 

I then had a massage and immediately after had a Low grade fever that didn’t go away. I felt ‘ok’, I just had this constant fever. A week or so later I went to the Dr and they said it was probably a bladder infection but ran a blood test just incase and put me on antibiotics.

After a few days ok the antibiotics I started to throw up constantly. I don’t think my fever had reduced either (it wasn’t a full on fever, just slightly high). So I went back to the dr to ask for the antibiotics to be changed because they were making me sick. Once I was there the Dr looked through ththe results of my blood test and said there seemed to be something very wrong with my liver. I asked what and they said it must be some kind of hepatitis. So they took me off the antibiotics and told me not to take any medication and to do further tests immediately.

After a few weeks of testing they realised it was glandular fever (mono). At that point I still had a low grade fever, and my throat glands had started to hurt a bit and get more swollen. 

Over the period of about a week at that point my throat glands became extremely painful, it hurt to make even the smallest swallowing movement. The worst pain lasted maybe 1-3 days. So the worst period was relatively short. In general the swollen glands and pain was there I think between 1-2 weeks. I could only take limited pain killers and wasn’t sleeping well. 

Meantime my liver tests got worse for a few weeks, to the point where my eyes were slightly jaundiced. But then seemed to slowly improve.

I was advised to rest totally so I did. For a month I only stayed in bed. I hardly got out, not because I felt I couldn’t but because I didn’t want to cause extra stress to the body. Luckily I was living at home so my mum made me meals and brought them to me. I’d stay in my bed watching films and tv series on my laptop. I had a good appetite luckily still, and made sure I had healthy greens such as kale with every meal and often drank coconut water. 

As I said above the absolute worst period of pain last only a few days. I’d say the build up to that pain was also a few days (of the glands slowly getting bigger and more painful). Then after that those bad few days the pain slowly got better again over the space of a week or so. But even though I started to feel better I still stayed in bed and slept as much as possible.

My fever was still stay. It stayed slightly elevated for maybe a month then started to go down. I generally felt very sleepy. So would sleep whenever I felt tired. 

The next symptom to come was also the last one to go which was night sweats. That came I think after all of the throat pains. And was persistent, every night.

In total I stayed off work and stayed in bed for maybe 1.5 months, maybe 2. By that point I did feel much better. At about the 1 or 1.5 month mark I started going out a bit, shopping etc and felt a little dazed / out of it when I was out but generally ok otherwise. Still making sure I ate well.

I went back there o work at about the 2 month mark. And the fatigue and night sweats at that point still persisted. I’d be very very tired at points during work, almost falling asleep, but it wasn’t unbearable. 

That fatigue at work last maybe 2ish weeks. The night sweats continued for a few more weeks than that. 

At that point my liver levels were back to normal and had no fever etc.

So that was my experi nice which wasn’t that long and it wasn’t that bad and made a full recovery. I’d say to anyone who had been diagnosed to start resting asap. That includes not moving around. Don’t expel any energy to let your body fight it the best it can. 

If you’re at the point where you can’t eat or drink anything because of the throat pain then suck on ice cubes and sip coconut water, soup (cold) as well if you can.

If you don’t live with someone who can cook for you then just limit what you do daily in any way possible. Order food or groceries. 

Foods I’d recom nd are adding leafy greens to every meal and eating raw garlic. If you can’t take the raw garlic on its own then put it in honey. 

Eat a balanced diet that includes all kinds of foods - meat/protein, vegetables, fruits, pasta, rice. I’m very big on food health but in this substance I didn’t undergo any particular diet or alternative health plans because there are no certain titles with those diets. I felt it was such a serious condition I had, I had to follow the medical advice that had been studied. Which was a good balanced diet. 

Supplements I’d recommend are a very high b vitamin complex. That’s what the dr prescribed for me, which I was surprised about because they don’t seem to believe in vitamin supplements. That was the only supplement I took throughout. Ahough when I started to feel better (after 1.5ish month) I started to take milk thistle supplements to improve liver function. And took that for a long time afterwards.

I’d say only start taking supplements such as milk thistle during your recovery, which is when you start to feel better. Other amazing supplements that I vouch for good general health to help ward off diseases or flares up of inflammation of any kind are : 

Olive leaf complex - really great to take to help kill of viruses and bacteria in the body

Asheagandha - helps to fight off diseases, improves mood and helps the body handle stress, ie improving hormone function and adrenal gland function

Systemic enzymes - such as WobenzymN. These specifically target inflammation in the body,  and making it hard for any diseases to penetrate your healthy cells

This last year I had a bad cold and some of the symptoms from my glandular fever returned. Which was the extreme exhaustion and the night sweats. I’ve had a stressful year so maybe my health hasn’t been the best. I wasn’t sure if my glandular fever was slightly resurfacing due to this cold I’d caught, or if my adrenal glands were just unbalanced which caused those symptoms (which maybe why they also occurred during glandular fever). But I really felt like taking the supplements mentioned above helped me over time. The bad cold I had lasted a few weeks. I was still able to work but at the end of the cold i was finding it hard to stay awake at work and that lasted for about a few weeks or a month. And the night sweats started up during that time and they remained on and off for a few months. 

They key is to make sure your body is healthy enough to cope with any stress. A positive mind is also important. They’re both connected

Good luck and much love to everyone reading this. You will recover in time. The body is very resilient, as is the mind! 

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