new neurological symptoms from mono after covid
Posted , 4 users are following.
hey guys!
Im 18 years old and have always been in good health. i got mono initially in september 2021 when I was 17. i had swollen lymph nodes, some spleen pain, and some bad headaches. nothing really too bad honestly, never had a sore throat and by december I felt fine.
well, in january i caught covid with very mild symptoms. the only thing wrong was dry sinuses and my eyes hurt for a few days. I felt fine again after a couple of weeks and was back to normal.
that is until february 1st, a week after recovering, all my mono symptoms came back with a VENGEANCE. the beginning of february is honestly a blur because I had the worst migraines of my life coupled with the worst health anxiety of my life. super weird neck pains and frequent acid reflux. I ended up in the ER on february 28th and my heart rate was so high (160s) they were pretty concerned. but every test came back normal.
march 14 I finally get an appointment with my new GP and she's very concerned with all these symptoms. (neck/thyroid area pain, petechiae, abdominal pain localized in several different places, high heart rate, localized headache on the back of my head, super painful stinging in armpits) they test me for like a million different things and I get an abdominal and neck ultrasound as well. everything is fine. I ended up in the er AGAIN a few weeks later for severe abdominal pain, chest pains, and very high heart rate (I felt like I couldn't even breath). I had another appointment with my GP the next day and I got prescribed an anti depressant which has honestly totally changed the game for me. I went from having crippling panic attacks all night crying my eyes out convinced I was dying young to... honestly feeling closer to normal than I have since this whole mess started. So I am very grateful that's working well for me. I also started taking vitamins and supplements and those might be contributing to recovery, im not sure.
So, as of today I'm around 2 full months into mono: the sequel, brought to you by covid. I noticed neurological symptoms starting maybe 3 weeks into my relapse and it feels like they are only progressing! I began experiencing pains that align with the symptoms of occipital neuralgia. (this actually started very very mildly in december but this relapse worsened it significantly) It feels like all over my body there are large bruises but no marks, sometimes lasting an hour to a few days. also tingling and prickly feelings in various places. (worse in my fingers and toes) sometimes i get a burning sensation in my spine. a couple times in the past week I have felt very very itchy. but then I just feel pain instead of itchiness! sometimes i feel sore around my joints and if I bend my leg a certain way maybe I'll feel a jolt. for the past few days, sometimes if I smile i can feel my face doing these tiny little twitches. my arms can be twitchy too. if i hold my hands out, my ring fingers and pinkies are totally shaky and spazz out. the past few days I feel pain behind my eyes, especially when I move them around. Also ever since this started, almost every night I wake up with either a hand or leg asleep and very cold. I'll have to move it around to wake it up so I can go back to sleep.
eWhile my new antidepressant is helping a ton with my anxiety, I still can't help but be concerned. I'm trying to see a neurologist and I'm getting an mri soon to hopefully rule out any of the scarier things this could be. One of the doctors at the ER said not to be too concerned since i just had mono and covid back to back and i could have some weird symptoms for a while. These weird neurological things are pretty much my main lingering symptom now. Temperature sensitivity is back to normal, resting heart rate back to a normal 85, and I don't really feel fatigued at all? I do still have the mild petechiae though. It's just this weird nerve stuff. it's never debilitating, I'm just worried it will get worse and be bad. Has anyone had luck recovering from a similar situation? Will my nerves heal with time? (I know most recovered people won't want to come back to mono forum but hey its worth a shot) thanks for reading!
0 likes, 3 replies
andrea54232 isabella56992
Posted
Hi,
Reading your post is like looking in a mirror. I am a young woman with no medical issues/history.
I was given a zpack for suspected strep in Dec 2021 when I tested negative for Covid, and started having weird and crazy symptoms that took me in and out of the ER with high heart rate/chest pain, crippling anxiety, and most definitely that doom and gloom feeling like I was going to die. I’ve had so many different doctor say different things like costochondritis, Gerd, anxiety, pericarditis. But all bloodwork and tests come back normal- chest/neck CT, full spine x-rays, chest x-ray, multiple ECGs, echocardiogram, cardiac blood panel, strep test, inflammatory markers, etc. I have been on prednisone, lexapro, omeprazole, colchicine, nasal spray, and ibuprofen. I was never given a viral panel to confirm mono but have swollen submandibular glands, sore red throat, neck pain under jaw, scalp pain, dizziness/vertigo, shortness of breath, tightness in chest, postnasal drip, general fatigue, sensitivity to heat, thick neck feeling at the back base of my neck, awful migraine with vomiting, loss of appetite and weight loss (15lb in 3 months), numbness in arms and legs at night and cold at night.
I may have also contracted covid in early Feb 2022 as well as it has been going through my office in waves since December. A new doctor suggested long haulers covid though I never has a confirmed infection, but all symptoms fit. I took a course about long haulers and it mentioned covid may reactivate dormant viruses (like mono) that can contribute to long haulers covid. I am not taking any prescribed meds anymore (as I couldn't sort out if they were truly helping or giving me more aide effects). I'm trying to keep on the vitamins/protein supplement my PCP recommended, eat a low inflammatory diet, and stay very hydrated. My energy has improved, HR at rest is now 51 vs high 80s in Jan, BP is 102/60. I feel less anxiety and no longer have the cardiac symptoms like I did. I do still have occasional scalp pain/nausea/cold and numbness at night/shortness of breath/rib pain/postnasal drip. I will see my PCP this week for a follow up.
I will say I am 2 months post possible covid infection with possible reactivation of mono (as all of my throat/pain/fatigue fit) and feeling better and am hopeful that the neurological symptoms will subside. Like you say, they are not debilitating, but they are there present and cause anxiety. I took a long weekend off work last month and felt like that gave me a good energy boost as well.
jay53414 andrea54232
Posted
I also stopped taking the meds because i felt like they were masking my symptoms and giving me false hope that I was improving. Did you go through any withdrawal symptoms as well when you stopped. Sorry this is happening to you. Wish you a speedy recovery.
Jay
laurajade7 isabella56992
Posted
Hi, our Mono symptoms sound really similar. i had the racing heart but this was occasionally and still happens at random. i fist got mono last June with all the neuro symptoms you have explained and i get them all over, they seem to move around my body and decide what limb or muscle to focus on. i had an MRI to rule out MS and this was negative. since mono started i recovered after three months but the twitching never went but managed to go back to work as energy returned more and i felt i wasnt going to be beaten by this. However i have just gone through a awful flare up again and it was like starting from scratch again. i had horendous sore throat and nasty cough and i had the huge surge of anxiety and panic again thinking i was dying because apparantly you cant get mono twice (im not conviced). so this time i am definately not overdoing it. i must admit since resting more i feel the twitching has settled down and the more i try to not worry about it. some of mine are visible and some are not. im awaiting on nerology but my GP doesn't seem too worried. But like you say this has caused me the most anxiety and still does now, sone days easier to cope than others but honestly take it easy and sleep when you need to, rest is the key apparently.
take care x