UPDATE NOW ANEMIC: 8 year old DS1 with mono, experiences?

[gcc2k]

DS1 has all the signs of mono, though the ped won't be able to officially diagnose with a blood test until Monday. Strep test was negative. He has huge, white tonsils, 102-103 fever we are keeping down with tylenol and ibuprofen, no appetite, but gags on his own tonsils and "vomits " in the middle of the night. This is day 4. The doc said the fever could last up to a week, but he could go back to school once he's fever free. (Fortunately we only have 1 more week until spring break.) Ped said generally kids weather it better than teens and adults, so I'm hoping he won't experience the weeks of fatigue.

Tell me your experiences with your DCs and mono.




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UPDATE:
Good news is that DS1 doesn't have mono according to his bloodwork this morning.

However he is pretty anemic. He has a hereditary form of hemolytic anemia (hereditary spherocytosis) that generally doesn't affect day to day life, but with a long febrile illness, it can put him into a hemolytic crisis. His hemoglobin is 8.7 so we had to call his hematologist to see if she thinks a transfusion is in order. Ugh.

His fever has broken and he is in decent spirits, just understandably droopy.

[NCGrandma]

Not what you want to hear, but at about that age, DGD1 had (confirmed) mono, and was out of school for weeks because of extreme fatigue etc. I don’t remember other details (duration of fever etc) but I saw her when she was several weeks into it, and she was still like a limp dishrag.

The one positive thing about being sick for that long: until then, she wasn’t interested in reading but after all those weeks without energy to do anything else, she became an avid reader!

Hope you have a different experience, even if it is mono.

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[JBaxter]

My how 24 hr old had mono at 10. He was tired BUT then had the next year of recurrent strep & horrible sore throats. He ended up with his tonsils out the next year. His tonsils were huge and never went back to pre mono size. Just keep a watch.

[megs4413]

my brother had mono when he was 8. He was out of school for six weeks.

[gcc2k]

Not what you want to hear, but at about that age, DGD1 had (confirmed) mono, and was out of school for weeks because of extreme fatigue etc. I don’t remember other details (duration of fever etc) but I saw her when she was several weeks into it, and she was still like a limp dishrag.

The one positive thing about being sick for that long: until then, she wasn’t interested in reading but after all those weeks without energy to do anything else, she became an avid reader!

Hope you have a different experience, even if it is mono.

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I saw a similar post you made a few years ago when I was searching through old mono threads. I was hoping your DGD1's experience was not the norm. But so far that doesn't appear to be the case!

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[gcc2k]

My how 24 hr old had mono at 10. He was tired BUT then had the next year of recurrent strep & horrible sore throats. He ended up with his tonsils out the next year. His tonsils were huge and never went back to pre mono size. Just keep a watch.

My DS1 has already had strep a few times and seems to have larger than normal tonsils anyway. Thanks for the advice because this is a valid concern I hadn't thought of.

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[KpbS]

I had it twice as a kid—6th and 9th. I missed 3-4 weeks of school each time. . It was absolutely exhausting. Even when I thought I had energy, I would be sapped of energy moments later. Strep and mono often present together. Hoping your DC tests negative for mono. Did he have enlarged lymph nodes or spleen? Big, big hugs.

[Liziz]

I've had it twice -- once was around your DC's age (can't remember exactly, but it was before I was in 4th grade). I had a miserable fever and horrible sore throat for about a week, and then I was more or less fine. I think I missed a week of school, and that's it. For me, the worst part was the ban on running/crazy activity (due to the enlarged spleen) -- that ban lasted much longer than my fatigue. I was also diagnosed with mono in college, and had a similar experience -- likely the most sick I have ever felt, but only for about a week -- and then I was mildly less energetic for another few weeks.

I know I got lucky both times with mild responses to it, but just wanted to give you some hope that sometimes it's not so debilitating!

[Melaine]

I would seek an alternative practitioner along with your medical doc. There are things you can do holistically that will help shorten the duration of the symptoms. I hope it's short and mild!

[mmsmom]

My BFF had it when we were teens and she missed over a month of school. When she did come back she started with 1/2 days. I would suggest talking to the school nurse and his teachers now to come up with a plan for missed work. There is a point when he may qualify to have a teacher come to him if he is in public school. I had mono as an adult a few years ago. The first thing I did was call my BFF to apologize for not understanding how horrible she felt all those years ago. It was truly debilitating... I could not do anything for 2 weeks but recovered quickly after that.

I hope it ends up not being mono.