Can you get mono twice?

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

In June I was really sick for a good month and my best friend was diagnosed with mono and I had the same symptoms as her. My test however came out negative but her mom who is a nurse is pretty sure that I did indeed have mono.

Now my best guy friend is really sick as am I (but he is worse off than me) and it is similar to mono and what I had this summer.

Can you get mono twice?

 

[jamsmom]

I am not a doctor and I have not had mono. However, I do think you can get it more than once.

 

[momsal]

yES YOU CAN. dd HAS HAD IT ABOUT 5 TIMES!

 

[Miss Jasmine]

I had mono when I was in college. I never got sick from it but I did test positive and was put on restrictions by my doctor. As I understand it, once you have mono you carry it with you all the time and during times of say sever stress it can flare up once again. Other than that, I don't know what would happen if you came in contact with someone. I guess since it's already in your system you would not react to it????

Also, if you ever give blood you will have a strange antibody in it, and they can give that blood only to certain people.

We need Dr. Deb!

 

[powellrj]

I know when I had mono, it took several blood test before I finally got a positive. I also remember it took almost a year before I was feeling better, when my db had it, it took several years before he was back to normal, he was seeing several different drs. and was really quite sick for along time.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

Originally posted by Miss Jasmine
I had mono when I was in college. I never got sick from it but I did test positive and was put on restrictions by my doctor. As I understand it, once you have mono you carry it with you all the time and during times of say sever stress it can flare up once again. Other than that, I don't know what would happen if you came in contact with someone. I guess since it's already in your system you would not react to it????

Also, if you ever give blood you will have a strange antibody in it, and they can give that blood only to certain people.

We need Dr. Deb!

Severe stress hmmmm? Well then that could be it.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Taken from MSN.com:

What Increases Your Risk


Mono is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). You are at increased risk of developing mono if you:

Are between the ages of 15 and 24, especially if you are in close contact with many people. College students, nurses, and people in the military are most likely to get mono.
Have intimate contact with a person who has mono or an active EBV infection. (A brief kiss on the lips is not likely to spread EBV. The virus is spread when a person gets someone's infected saliva in his or her mouth.)
Exchange saliva by sharing drinking glasses, eating utensils, dishes, or a toothbrush with someone who has mono. A person does not have to have symptoms of mono to spread EBV.
Once you have been infected with EBV, the virus will stay in your body for the rest of your life, but you will not get mono again.

EBV is not spread by the airborne route. People can live in the same house with a person who has mono and never become infected with the virus.

 

[Jingle]

My daughter had mono. About a year later, she was having the same symptoms. Her doctor said she would not test her again because having had it once, she would test positive. I don't know if that's true, I'm just relaying what our Doctor told us.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

Well he is getting tested tomorrow we think...so we'll see what his test says and then see if I need to get tested again.

 

[always quiet]

My oldest DD, now 12, had mono when she was 4!! The best the doctor could figure was that she picked it up off a public water fountain. They had told me that for YEARS to come, when she was wore down or had any type of infection, where her immune system would already be stressed, she would show all the signs of mono without being contagious with it. She would always test positive for it. I think up til she was about 10, each and every winter, a basic cold would also show all the signs on mono!

So, no, you can not "catch" it twice, however, you can suffer from the symptoms more than once without any risk of spreading it to anyone.

Make sense??

 

[Boo'sMom]

Originally posted by always quiet
So, no, you can not "catch" it twice, however, you can suffer from the symptoms more than once without any risk of spreading it to anyone.

Make sense??

That's what I was told when I had it many moons ago in HS.

 

[damo]

You many not have really recovered completely from your first bout if it was just this summer.

Apparently there is a "strain" of mono going around right now that is not showing up on the tests but doctors are treating it a mono.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

I have a feeling that because I have been so stressed lately (and still am) and the fact that something was going around that that is why I am feeling like I did in June.
I of course don't know if i had mono but am pretty sure I did.
So we'll see what his test comes back like...basically his roomie had mono at the same time I did so either of us could have gotten him sick.

 

[Mskanga]

Best wishes for you Norah, I have never had mono but I heard is really nasty. {{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}} and hope you feel better soon.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

I am feeling better but my friend scott is still really sick
Health Services has told him he may have a strain of mono and he can't play football for a week because his liver is swollen. And it stinks because this weekend we have our first home game in a while.
He has to go back Friday if he is still sick.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

His mom and grandmother drove down and made him come with them so he is home now going to the doctor's. Hopefully he'll be back tomorrow with good news.

 

[Snowwark]

I'm glad you're feeling better, Norah! Sorry to hear about your friend Scott...bummer.

 

[fkj2]

I had mono at age 28. Probably felt lowly for at least a month before I had lymph nodes pop up on my neck. Even then, the first test was negative. At the end of the week, the test turned positive and my tonsils were covered in what looked like cottage cheese. It was awful.

I bet for the next 4 months, I suffered relapses. Had low Hemoglobin counts. Took close to a year before things really started to even out and I regained all the weight I had lost.

Mono isn't anything to fool with. There have been case reports of people having serious effects affecting the liver, spleen, brain, immune system.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

Originally posted by fkj2
I had mono at age 28. Probably felt lowly for at least a month before I had lymph nodes pop up on my neck. Even then, the first test was negative. At the end of the week, the test turned positive and my tonsils were covered in what looked like cottage cheese. It was awful.

I bet for the next 4 months, I suffered relapses. Had low Hemoglobin counts. Took close to a year before things really started to even out and I regained all the weight I had lost.

Mono isn't anything to fool with. There have been case reports of people having serious effects affecting the liver, spleen, brain, immune system.

I am so worried about him. I really hope it isnt really bad