# Mononucleosis: Long term effects?



## Hurricane Matthew (Nov 9, 2012)

A couple of years ago, in my first year of college, there was a mass outbreak of mononucleosis in one of my classes. So many people came down with it that the teacher had to create an emergency online curriculum so that those of us who contracted the virus wouldn't fall behind and wouldn't have to drop the course. I was one of those who became infected... and it was one of the worst periods of time in my life. I was always exhausted ((sleeping 18+ hours a day)), my body ached all over and any tiny bit of movement caused my spleen horrible amounts of pain for MONTHS ((a constant feeling of chronic pain, as if I was being stabbed every time I moved at all)). I had to drop out of a majority of my classes since there was just no way I could keep coming to class. The pain and the fatigue was terrible; the worst illness I've ever contracted, definitely. It was living hell and it made my mild depression levels into something a lot more severe.

I've since "recovered"... the pain is gone and I've been able to have energy again, but sometimes I think I never actually recovered fully. Yeah, it's a virus so it stays in your body forever, but I know my body isn't the same as it was before the infection. Before mono, I was a very energetic and healthy person, almost never missing school for illness-related reasons, and I slept the usual 8 hours of sleep per night. After mono... I can barely function with anything less than 10 hours of sleep, though I often need 12 hours or so, in order to prevent myself from being a zombie. I've also noticed my immunity to common colds/flus is nonexistent now. Once I returned to college, I was coming down with a new cold almost on a weekly basis and I was miserable. Oftentimes, I would get something bad enough to prevent me from going to my college campus, so I was missing a lot of class due to illness, despite almost never missing class before I had mono. The biggest relief when school breaks came ended up being the fact that I felt so much healthier without catching colds constantly. But any moderately-crowded area will make me catch a cold/flu... I've noticed that if I go to a mall or a movie theater, I'll come down with something soon after being around people. This happens even though I've become an absolute germophobe x.x My fatigue also never fully went away, even after several years. Before, I was able to take on a full schedule of classes and do just fine with good grades, but after, I had a difficult time keeping up with even two classes ((and not necessarily demanding ones, either)). A day at school + the commute was enough to wipe out all of my energy, so I had to reserve all my studying/assignments time for weekends since during the weekdays, I was too exhausted to do them. I never felt so exhausted over so little before and it became frustrating extremely fast. The constant fatigue... the constant colds/flus... and the slow pacing through my education... then not getting particularly great grades anymore... my depression kept getting worse and worse.

I eventually had to drop out since I was getting too depressed to even get out of bed anymore or to eat. I just couldn't take it anymore.

I've been dropped out for some time now... trying to "recover" from mono with everything I can think of, but my energy levels won't go up at all and I still can't go into moderately crowded places without getting sick ((it's been four years or so since I had mono...)). I eat a very balanced diet and keep a strict exercise schedule, but it hasn't helped much. I still end up needing 10-12 hours of sleep a night and I'm not sure in what areas of physical health I still have to improve on x.x Being sick whenever I go into enclosed spaces with people also concerns me... I haven't been to a mall or a movie theater since temporarily dropping out of college, which sucks since I used to love seeing movies on the big screen. I don't want to go to stores, either.

Another issue I've had is after mono, I've had a LOT more instances of heart palpitations and strange heartbeat and breathing problems. One such situation was bad enough I spent all night with it, then went to the emergency room the following morning since it wasn't going away. Most don't last that long, but I never had those when I was younger. I've been to the doctor a few times for it, also one where I randomly passed out while standing, but my exams come back inconclusive. My doctor said I am in perfect health and all my numbers are exactly as they should be. The only thing that is slightly abnormal is apparently I am somewhat anaemic, but not enough so to need medication or treatment for it. 

When I mention mono possibly being the cause for all this, I'm met with a lot of skepticism, but I was not this fatigued and unhealthy before I had mono. I was so much more capable of everything in my life back then than I am now. How can mono NOT be related?! I've also brought this up with a close friend of mine who is at a medical school and she has asked one of her teachers there about mono for me. She said that this aspect of mononucleosis isn't studied that well so there aren't any good answers for me at this time. However, she did say damages to the spleen, in theory, have bad long-term effects since it controls your lymph nodes and autonomic nervous system, which would fit the symptoms I've had since being infected. My mom is particularly worried that mono has done damage to me that I won't recover from and all of my family members don't think I'm the same now as I was before. My brother thinks mono ruined my life as I am obviously more unhealthy and less energetic than before, despite my lifestyle choices being actually really good ((no smoking, alcohol or drugs here; I don't even touch junk food)).

But I don't want it to ruin my life since I'm still so young with a lot of future to work with. Even now, I still get random, brief pains in my spleen, though not as long or as severe as the initial infection.

Has anyone else here on PerC experienced a severe bout of mono and felt like you never truly recovered? Outside of the classmates I had at the time of the outbreak, I never met anyone else who had come down with a severe case of mono and I never got to know my classmates so I have no idea where they are now with their health. If others would like to share their experiences with mono, I'd be very appreciative. This health issue has been a constant battle, even years after it started, and I'm not sure what I should do anymore. If anyone has a good article about it, do share. I haven't been able to find much on this.

Thanks for reading.

Sorry it's long... I didn't want to leave out anything that might be important.


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## Flipit (Nov 13, 2009)

Matthew Nisshoku said:


> <Removed for simplicity>


You mention that you have a balanced diet. Have you considered food sensitivity?
Have you considered stress?

I'm asking this because two years ago, I crashed hard health-wise. I used to run or go to the gym about 3 times a week, managed everything well and had a very positive outlook on life. Suddenly, one symptom after another struck me. Fatigue, muscle pains, nausea, vertigo, excessive sweating, numbness in my fingers and feet, poor mood. I stopped exercising, because it started making me feel sick, I socialized less because I had no energy.

I went through dozens of medical tests and went to several different kinds of doctors, but nothing explained my sickness and "you're just making it up" was suggested indirectly. One test was certain, though, and that was the one testing for mono. The doctor could conclude that I either had or had had mono at some point in my life - just not at which time.

At this point I slept even more in hope of recovery, but nothing really happened for half a year. It wasn't until I stopped eating gluten and dairy and generally ate more healthy that I noticed a difference. I felt much better in a couple of months (recovery from gluten sensitivities take long). I started provoking and felt worse almost immediately. Today I'm on a gluten and dairy free diet and have been so for about a year. I've recovered from most of the symptoms - not all. While I don't have a confirmed diagnosis of gluten sensitivity, I have a very strong suspicion.

I cannot pinpoint the sole cause of my health issues, but I believe it's a combination of several things, although gluten being the primary cause. Stress is probably a strong factor as well, and the symptoms of stress are self-reinforcing if they aren't handled by the root. I'm not referring to stress as a loose term in which people just feel they have no time - I'm referring to the physical state in which the symptoms emerge subconsciously.


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