How long does it take to recover from mono?

[Sinderelli]

We just found out today that DS8 has mono. He was really sick about a month ago, seemed to get better, and now has been running fever since Friday. We went back to the doctor today for the 3rd time and she sent us to an infectious disease dr., who immediately ran blood tests and diagnosed mono.

DS is in an extreme amount of pain- his throat is swollen, he has a pus membrane over his HUGE tonsils (gross, I know...sorry), and he's still running 101 degree fever. The fever is worrisome, as he has epilepsy with seizures triggered by fever.

He started taking prednisone today, and already his tonsils are smaller. He has missed 4 days of school- I don't know how he is going to catch up.

Anyone with experience?

 

[CEDmom]

One of my brothers had it and it took him about a month before he was completely recovered. I'd say you can count on your DS being out of school for several more days. At his age I wouldn't worry too much about him catching up. I bet his teacher would be happy to send home assignments though when he's feeling better but still not well enough to go back to school. I hope he's feeling better quickly.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

It takes forever!

I had mono at 17, and I was honestly not feeling back to normal for about 3 months.

The big thing is that he has to take it easy for a long time. No fall sports. Wait 'til spring.

Call the school counselor and see if you can work out some sort of plan that will require him to complete less work in all his subjects for the time that he's absent. Don't plan on sending him back for at least this week...and if he's not just jumping up and down to get back to school next week, I wouldn't make him go then either.

Mono can cause serious liver damage. Missing two weeks or more now is so much better than having to worry about finding a new liver!

 

[Sinderelli]

It takes forever!

I had mono at 17, and I was honestly not feeling back to normal for about 3 months.

The big thing is that he has to take it easy for a long time. No fall sports. Wait 'til spring.

Call the school counselor and see if you can work out some sort of plan that will require him to complete less work in all his subjects for the time that he's absent. Don't plan on sending him back for at least this week...and if he's not just jumping up and down to get back to school next week, I wouldn't make him go then either.

Mono can cause serious liver damage. Missing two weeks or more now is so much better than having to worry about finding a new liver!

Good idea on the schoolwork. I also teach at the school he attends, but I want them to accomodate him the way they would any other child, KWIM?

BTW, I am a little peeved that none of his doctors told me anyhting about the liver damage, and you are at least the 5th person to mention it to me. Why wouldn't they even mention it?

 

[DisneyPhD]

Well I had it when I was 14 and according to my mom my energy level was never the same after it. I was much more energetic before having it. It was during the summer, but I think it was about 2 weeks before I was able to return to normal activities.

Strangely enough my DH got it when we were 18 years old, a few months after we started dating. I don't know how, but I always suspect he somehow got it from me. Like I was a carrier after healing. This makes no sense what so ever, but that is still my gut feeling. He got to over Christmas. It was sucky 1st Christmas dating. He was able to go back to college when the break was over, so about 2 weeks again.

Best of luck to your DS, it can be a bear to get over.

 

[Sinderelli]

One other thing...they actually said this is a relapse of mono, as his bloodwork from the beginning of August showed that he had mono antibodies (is that right? I have no idea what I'm talking about)- therefore he did at some point have mono in the past.

 

[Mi3stooges]

On my 40th Birthday I had mono. Didn't know it for 2 weeks. There were 5 days of it that I do not remember!! Extremely weak...all I could do was shower every other day and it took all my strength. When I thought I was almost over the "flu" a few days later it felt like a recurance so I went to the Dr and she didn't really have an answer but did the blood work anyway and thats when I found out.

I had a mild case, so your sons recovery will be different. I've heard of younger ones being very sick, like 2 to 3 months, I was only about 2 months until I almost felt normal!!

I agree, no sports for a while. His body needs to recover!! Good luck!

 

[fraggle551]

i had mono 6 years ago for 10 weeks. i could not move. i did not get out of bed, could not eat, could not swallow. it was awful. it took every ounce of energy i had to get up and walk 10 feet to the bathroom. that then required a 2 hour nap after. i am so sorry your littly guy has to go through mono. hopefully he does not have nearly as bad a case as i did. even after those 10 weeks i was still extremely tired. it can take up to a year to completley regain all your strength back. hopefully he gets better soon and can be back to doing all the things 8 year old boys love; running around with their friends!!

 

[aprilgail2]

I had it for 3 months, then relapsed for another 2 months. It was terrible then but thinking back I am glad I am alive. My neighbors daughter had it and she hit fell and ruptured her sleen and died. I rememberthe Dr telling me to be careful because your spleen is very vulnerable when you have mono but I never thought back then I could die from it until that 14 year old girl died!

 

[mommasita]

I also had it at 17, but I think that age is worse, you think you know it all

That said, I think rest is key here, and vitamins. Pump up the VitaminC....I hope he feels better soon, and try to remember, just when he is itching to go out, do sports, whatever, don't let him, that is when you relapse.

 

[SharkyGoddess]

Depending on how well rested the person is, it could take a few weeks to a few months to recover. My Aunt had mono when she was younger and according to her doctors, her case was severe enough to cause her MS. I know a friend of mine had mono when we were teens and she was later diagnosed with Lupus. Her doctors also told her that mono was the cause.

I hope he feels better soon Poor kiddo!

 

[mommasita]

Depending on how well rested the person is, it could take a few weeks to a few months to recover. My Aunt had mono when she was younger and according to her doctors, her case was severe enough to cause her MS. I know a friend of mine had mono when we were teens and she was later diagnosed with Lupus. Her doctors also told her that mono was the cause.

I hope he feels better soon Poor kiddo!

That I never heard of, that mono causes Lupus...I was recently diagnosed with Lupus..OMG..I will be calling my Dr. tomorrow..

 

[SandiH]

i had mono 6 years ago for 10 weeks. i could not move. i did not get out of bed, could not eat, could not swallow. it was awful. it took every ounce of energy i had to get up and walk 10 feet to the bathroom. that then required a 2 hour nap after. i am so sorry your littly guy has to go through mono. hopefully he does not have nearly as bad a case as i did. even after those 10 weeks i was still extremely tired. it can take up to a year to completley regain all your strength back. hopefully he gets better soon and can be back to doing all the things 8 year old boys love; running around with their friends!!

This sounds like my FIRST (and yes I said first) bout with mono. I couldn't even walk to the bathroom. I slept almost all day. It was a good month before I could do anything. It was right before 8th grade. It hurt to walk the block to school, etc. No sports all year - I didn't have the energy. I ended up having it again 2 more times 3.5 to 4 years apart. Each bout was a little less severe but it's nothing to mess around with if he's having a hard time. School work can be sent home. He's 8, he'll catch up. Make sure he has time to recover. Some people are only out a few days or a week and they are fine, others take a long time to recover.

 

[MareQ]

At least a week for the throat - a month - or more - for the fatigue and to feel "normal" again.

Keep him as hydrated as you can - and drugged with Motrin/tylenol. You have to battle the pain as best as you can so you can get fluids in him because swallowing ANYTHING is horrible. (Sorry TMI but I couldn't even swallow my own spit)

Get those pedialyte pops - he will need something cold and not clingy (No ice cream etc) Just stick with that and gatoraid, regular ice pops etc. And make sure he gets PLENTY of rest.

As for school - call them! They're used to dealing with stuff like this. Your son could be out for another 2 weeks or longer before he's cleared to go back.

 

[SharkyGoddess]

Well I had it when I was 14 and according to my mom my energy level was never the same after it. I was much more energetic before having it. It was during the summer, but I think it was about 2 weeks before I was able to return to normal activities.

Strangely enough my DH got it when we were 18 years old, a few months after we started dating. I don't know how, but I always suspect he somehow got it from me. Like I was a carrier after healing. This makes no sense what so ever, but that is still my gut feeling. He got to over Christmas. It was sucky 1st Christmas dating. He was able to go back to college when the break was over, so about 2 weeks again.

Best of luck to your DS, it can be a bear to get over.

I was thinking I had read somewhere that people are carriers of the mono virus and came across this.

***Mononucleosis typically occurs the first time a person is infected with Epstein-Barr virus. Once a person is infected, the virus remains alive in the body for the rest of his or her life. After the initial infection, it rarely produces any kind of illness, but it can be transmitted to others. The initial infection with Epstein-Barr virus does not always cause mononucleosis. It often causes only a mild illness, like a cold, or no illness at all. Epstein-Barr virus permanently infects more than 90% of the people on Earth, but it causes mononucleosis only in a small minority of them. In developed nations, such as the United States, mononucleosis most often develops between the ages of 15 and 25, although it can occur at any age.***

 

[SamIAm21]

I would give him four to six weeks for the initial recovery time. I would consider having that pus sack on his tonsils drained. It's pretty easy and not as painful as it sounds. It's a simple syringe and aspiration. At this point, it couldn't hurt any worse than he does right now. Those infections on the tonsil can return with relapses, but less often return if drained to begin with.

If you can get him to drink those Ensure type drinks, go for it! The more nutrition he can get in the small amount of whatever he's taking in, the better.

Also, be prepared for a couple years of relapses. They will not be to the current degree of exhaustion or pain, but he will relapse, especially if he runs himself down or becomes emotionally overwraught (which boys don't tend to do really).

I got it when I was 14 and it was probably the worst two months of my life. Like others said, I was never really the same energy wise and got tired out really easily. My cousin also got it and she ended up with chronic exhaustion, it's a syndrome, but I can't remember the name.

I remember thinking if I had to go to the bathroom, I started having to make the attempt to get to the bathroom at least 10 to 15 minutes before I really had to go. It took that long to walk about 20 feet. Honestly. It was awful! Mono is by far the "sickest" I've ever been.

I really "feel" for any youngster going through this awful condition. I'll keep him in my thoughts and send out some pixie dust!!

Poor kid!

 

[SharkyGoddess]

That I never heard of, that mono causes Lupus...I was recently diagnosed with Lupus..OMG..I will be calling my Dr. tomorrow..

Bless your heart! Lupus is terrible from what I understand.

 

[SamIAm21]

Mono is an autoimmune condition that can attack your liver and that's why it is similar to MS and Lupus, both of which are autoimmune diseases, but attack different areas of the body. Not to scare the original poster, but another common by product of mono is rheumatic fever, which can permanently damage the joints in your body. I think this is something that happened more in the past before the higher level of medical care we have now. Back when people had poor nutrition or poor recuperation conditions.

Mono is nothing to mess with at all and it's not just "another" childhood ailment. It's something you need to be very careful with for years to come. I blame mono on my ability to sleep 12 to 14 hours at a time without waking and its been 30 years since I had it. I still need a great deal more sleep than most people I know.

And I totally remember not even being able to swallow my own spit too!

 

[preshi]

I was out of my freshman year of high school for 3 weeks and didn't recover for 6 months. Still have tonsil problems.

 

[golfgal]

The school districts here have homebound tutors for cases like this. If a child has to miss more then a week of school they can request a homebound teacher. These are licensed teachers that come into your home and bring in the classroom lessons and go over them with your child. I did this when I was a new teacher, mostly pregnant high school girls but I had one girl that "had" chronic fatigue syndrome (in quotes because her chronic fatigue seemed to disappear on Friday and Saturday night and mysteriously reappear on Monday morning but that is another story).