Karen in CO Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 My dd has been sick for two weeks now. She started with a headache and was tired then quckly developed a high fever and sore throat. We took her to the ER on Christmast night and found she didn't have the flu or strep and were sent home with orders to rest and follow up with our doctor. Two days later, we visted our doctor and were given antibiotics which the doctor was certain wouldn't help, but he was being cautious. Her fever was down, but she was tired, had a sore throat and no appetite. Mono was his top theory. Last week, we went in for a monostat which came back negative, but he said it might be too early for a postive result and to let her rest and drink lots of fluids. She had no fever, no appetite, a sore throat and was tired. Now, it has been 14 days since she was last her normal self. She sleeps, she eats a few bites of soup, and she reads a little. She isn't my over-acheiving dd anymore. Her throat still hurts and looks swollen. We're supposed to go in Wednesday for some blood tests if she isn't better. Does this sound like it could be mono? Something else? Am I over-reacting and just need to let her rest? Push her to get up and do more? I'm worried. Is there something I could feed her or give her to help? What can I feed a child that barely eats and has a sore throat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 I got mono my freshman year of college. It was awful. I had the worst sore throat of my life. It felt like razor blades were cutting my throat. I didn't want to eat and could barely drink. I couldn't move. All I wanted to do was sleep. That phase lasted a couple of weeks. I started getting a little better and by then it was summer break. I went home and got a summer job, but I would come home from work and go right to bed. I only wanted to eat specific things. The extreme fatigue lasted all summer. I didn't even work on my school work. I had taken incompletes in 3 classes. I had to hustle to get it all done by the end of the next semester. So, yes, it could be mono. Although, I can't understand why a test would come back negative when she's already so sick. I'd feed her whatever she thinks she may want and let her rest as much as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted January 6, 2013 Author Share Posted January 6, 2013 The doctor said the rapid mono test that she took is most accurate after the second or third week, and we took it near the beginning of second week. One of the blood tests he's getting next week is a more-accurate mono test along with a white blood count. I had mono in high school. I don''t remember a sore throat although I do remember trying to eat soup, frequently and sleeping, lots of sleeping along with really bad pain from my spleen. My mom says I was sick for months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 I know you said her throat looks swollen, but are her glands swollen. I know the doctor told us to look for that with mono. Your description sounds a lot like my 12 yo and her recent illness. More than a month has passed and she's still tired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Your description sounds a lot like when I had mono in high school. I don't remember if I had a fever or not, though I'm guessing I did at some point, but the sore throat... ugh. Worst sore throat I've ever had. My throat was so swollen and sore I couldn't even swallow water, and I ended up in the hospital for several days because I was so dehydrated. You could pinch the skin on the back of my hand and it would just stay like that. (My mom should have brought me in several days before that, but *ahem* we won't talk about that.) They had to put me on a morphine drip with my fluids. The sore throat lasted for a couple weeks, and the fatigue even longer. At the worst of it, I could be sitting up and in the middle of a sentence, and wham, I'd just fall right asleep. So yeah, I'd say mono is a definite possibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted January 6, 2013 Author Share Posted January 6, 2013 I know you said her throat looks swollen, but are her glands swollen. I know the doctor told us to look for that with mono. Your description sounds a lot like my 12 yo and her recent illness. More than a month has passed and she's still tired. I checked for swollen glands but didn't find any - my ds used to have frequent swollen glands that would be the size of golf balls so maybe I'm looking for something too dramatic. Was your dd tested for mono? Her throat looked "meaty" the first week, then it looked like she had cottage cheese on her tonsils. Now it looks "bubbly" with red streaks. I had to look in younger dd's throat just to be reminded what a normal throat looks like. There are just so many viruses going around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 I checked for swollen glands but didn't find any - my ds used to have frequent swollen glands that would be the size of golf balls so maybe I'm looking for something too dramatic. Was your dd tested for mono? Her throat looked "meaty" the first week, then it looked like she had cottage cheese on her tonsils. Now it looks "bubbly" with red streaks. I had to look in younger dd's throat just to be reminded what a normal throat looks like. There are just so many viruses going around. Wow. Did you doctor see the cottage cheese tonsils? I've only seen one person with mono and they had cottage cheese tonsils. Dd did not have cottage cheese tonsils. Her tonsils didn't stand out but her throat was visibly swollen and you could hear the air rasping through it with each breath. It responded so well to the antibiotics that I thought she may have developed a secondary bacterial infection. The ped swabbed her for strep twice because her throat looked so bad, but it was negative both times. She got the antibiotics for a monster ear infection. She never got tested for mono. I might get her tested for mono again if I were you. You could also ask them if they could swab her throat and send it out for a culture. We had an episode once with another dd who had a throat infection that was not viral and not strep. She ended up in the ER with a suspected peritonsillar abscess and was on a morphine, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic drip. Once we got those antibiotics in her, she turned around VERY quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 She needs a blood draw to be sure. Mono symptoms can present a thousand different ways in a thousand different patients. Some people never even know they have it, other people are sure they're at death's door. Only a blood draw can tell you for sure. If she does have it, make sure her doctor checks for spleen enlargement. A ruptured spleen is not a complication you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somo_chickenlady Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 She needs a blood draw to be sure. Mono symptoms can present a thousand different ways in a thousand different patients. Some people never even know they have it, other people are sure they're at death's door. Only a blood draw can tell you for sure. If she does have it, make sure her doctor checks for spleen enlargement. A ruptured spleen is not a complication you want. I went to the doctor for what I thought was strep throat, which I have had numerous times, and she did a mono test and it was positive. I had no other symptoms other than a sore throat, which went away in a couple days. I would have never known I had mono b/c I felt fine otherwise. OP - I hope your daughter feels better soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 I had mono in 3rd grade and it was a pretty classic case: horrible sore throat, very lethargic (just walking to the bathroom made me need a nap!), and enlarged spleen. I had to go to the doctor every week for blood tests to see when my white blood cell count had returned to normal range. I was out of school for a month and could only go for half days for the next month. My cousin, however, got mono in high school. She had been more lethargic than usual for a year, but other than that she didn't have any of the classic mono symptoms. She finally went to a new gyno for a recurring ye@st infection. The gyno wanted her to have a mono check. Sure enough my cousin had mono the entire time, but it was presenting itself as a yeast infection. So mono can show up a lot of different ways for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 We went to the pediatrician last night for dd's fatigue. She said mono can present in a million different ways and added the test to the blood work. I hope Karen's dd is doing better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 My dd is doing better - somewhat. She is getting out of bed everyday which is a nice change. Her throat still hurts, she's still very tired, and she still doesn't have much appetite. We're going in for bloodwork before she has to go back to school next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted January 15, 2013 Author Share Posted January 15, 2013 The mono blood test came back positive. The rapid mono test had been negative, but the full blood test was positive. She is doing better now. Her appetite is starting to return, and she smiled again. It has been a month since she first fell asleep in the car and then started to run a fever. Thanks for your advice and support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 I'm glad you got an explanation that might help you find some peace and that it looks like she's turning a corner before she goes back to school. Wishing you all the best and a quick recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancer67 Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 She needs a blood draw to be sure. Mono symptoms can present a thousand different ways in a thousand different patients. Some people never even know they have it, other people are sure they're at death's door. Only a blood draw can tell you for sure. If she does have it, make sure her doctor checks for spleen enlargement. A ruptured spleen is not a complication you want. :iagree: My daughter had mono, and test in office was negative. You have to get a blood draw, and it will actually show a graph of where you are at in your illness as well if it is positive. And with Mono, you can feel fine and then have a relapse. Not everyone gets a very bad sore throat either. My daughter had a slight sore throat, fever but very, very tired.No enlarged spleen. Lasted two months, but she would feel better and it would come back. my youngest had it, she had the really bad sore throat. And enlarged spleen. But hers only lasted a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Yes, be careful for relapse! I had it in highschool, and I was anxious to get back to school so I wouldn't have to take an incomplete in a couple of classes. I made up my work and made it to the end of the semester (somehow), but I completely crashed when school ended. I slept for days and days... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 No idea if this is common, but when I had mono at age 12 I could not swallow anything. No water, food, anything. All I remember was not being able to swallow, sore throat and fatigue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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