Damn damn damn. What do I do now?

I went to the doctor today because a seeming throat infect of mine was raging out of control, despite her assurances it was just a little virus and would take care of itself. So I had a blood test and... I have mono!

I have no idea how this happened. Last person I shared a glass with was my 12 year old, healthy sister like 10 days ago. I haven't seen my boyfriend in 6 weeks. It's not so much the how that bothers me though.

Not only did my doctor say I can't play contact sports for 4-6 weeks (not exactly a huge problem for me), but she said I should basically stay on the couch the whole time. She told me I can't go to the gym either. So what do I do now?! I have 2 weeks left on my one month gym membership that are going to waste. And I feel like this is going to ruin my already slowing weight loss. And I start my freshman year of college in 3 weeks. This is the worst ever timing.

What should I do? I'm not even allowed to work out. :/  

You get healthy first. When you have Mono your liver can swell, and damaging your liver is certainly something you should avoid. You should also be feeling way too exhausted to even bother going to the gym--and you've probably lost your appetite, too. Unless you're like my husband, then you're stuck with your normal appetite, lol.

Also, mono has a roughly 30 day incubation period. It's quite possible your boyfriend had mono in the past, and had managed to pass it on to you when you last saw him. It's even possible he currently had it when he last saw you, as he may have still been in his incubation period (when you're most likely to spread it to others).

The good news is that once you're done with it, you're very, very unlikely to get it again (unless you catch the other strain of mono). You have to take it easy, because your body just isn't up to all of that activity. Mono does more than just make you feel tired, get a throat infection, and a fever, after all. It stays with you for weeks.

At least you won't be tempted to binge on food! When my friend had mono back in highschool, her appetite was so diminished that we pretty much had to force feed her, so I wouldn't worry a whole lot about putting on weight. Besides, you're going to be very lethargic for several of those weeks, so you won't even really want to exercise. Just worry about getting better and don't concern yourself with much else.

Also, does your gym have a refund policy? My dad's old gym has a refund policy about cancelling your membership early, which was nice when my dad injured his back a couple of years ago.

As for the college thing, the mono will be winding down when you get there, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Just tell your professors that you're still getting over mono and they should go easy on you for the week or so.

Good luck on your freshman year! Mine was a whole lot of fun [I'm starting my junior year in a week].

I had mono for months on end. Why? Because I was misdiagnosed while in college and continued to work out because I didn't know I was really ill. You definitely do want to take it easy. Otherwise, it will linger interminably.

If you have an experience anything like mine, you'll lose weight due to lack of appetite and shear exhaustion. Don't be concerned about anything other than just recovering!

Three years ago I had mono AND a sinus infection, yes, at the same time! Don't worry, I didn't feel too bad at all. Like, I felt ****, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that they took my blood and I absolutely tested positive for Mono I would have thought it was just a normal cold.

Just take it easy! Eat lots of chicken soup and vitamins : ]

Original Post by nefertiti:

Three years ago I had mono AND a sinus infection, yes, at the same time! Don't worry, I didn't feel too bad at all. Like, I felt ****, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that they took my blood and I absolutely tested positive for Mono I would have thought it was just a normal cold.

Just take it easy! Eat lots of chicken soup and vitamins : ]

As I understand it, mono generally doesn't feel like a cold for the simple fact that there is no way to medicate the sore throat. Absolutely nothing works, or that's what the doctors said to me. And it was definitely true for me, though it may not be for everyone. My sore throat was much worse than it is with a cold, too.

Mono also generally lasts far longer than a cold. And you tend to be a lot weaker for longer.

My appetite, however, was not affected at all. I didn't lose weight, and in fact, as I say, continued to work out hard at the gym until I was eventually diagnosed correctly and told to take it easy. I definitely felt exhausted, though. I just fought the exhaustion because I hate to miss my workout sessions. But that definitely kept me sick for much longer than most people with this illness are.

As for how the OP got it, eh. I have no idea how I got it, either. I did not have a significant other and never shared my glass, food, toothbrush, or pillow with anyone. Who knows? Maybe the kitchen staff didn't clean one of the glasses I used in the cafeteria thoroughly? Sometimes you just can't pinpoint how you got it.

A friend of mine continued lifting weights while he had mono a few years ago.  He actually lost 20 lbs as a result.  Not saying this is good, but I HIGHLY doubt ANYone would gain weight on mono.

Original Post by yountsmonster:

A friend of mine continued lifting weights while he had mono a few years ago. He actually lost 20 lbs as a result. Not saying this is good, but I HIGHLY doubt ANYone would gain weight on mono.

My husband did. He didn't lose his appetite at all, but he sure as hell couldn't really manage to get out of the bed EXCEPT to feed himself. The fact that he ate his normal amount of food (which, like any growing teenage boy, was a HELL OF A LOT OF FOOD), but did no where near as much activity, caused him to gain weight.

The OP only has to worry about weight gain if she hasn't subsequently lost her appetite. Even then, she's probably unlikely to gain weight. My hubby's just an anomaly sometimes. =)

Take care of yourself....I had Mono when I was a freshman in high school. I ended up in the hospital for 7 days and out of school for 3 months because of it. The Mono I had went to my liver and caused it to swell so much it almost ruptured. I will have to be careful of certain foods for the rest of my life because of it.

SO LISTEN TO THE DOCTOR..........

I got mono my third year in college, still not quite sure how I got it (there were a couple guys I kissed around then, and I shared food and drinks with everyone and no one else got it). Anyways, I ended up losing weight while sick, which really kickstarted the weight loss I accomplished during the rest of the school year -- after I got better of course. When I had mono I got a bad tonsil infection as well, so make sure you keep an eye on that and if your throat starts hurting really really bad and its hard to swallow get to the dr right away! Since you don't start school for three weeks, just take it real easy for those 3 weeks and you should be mostly better by the time school starts. If you're moving onto campus get lots of help moving your stuff cuz you may not feel totally up to that yet, but for general classes and stuff you should be ok.

Good luck!

Get healthy!  Like the first poster said...you can damage your liver by doing too much.  I had mono for about a month a few years ago, but the biggest problem for me was how tired I was.  My friend had it worse and ending up rupturing her spleen, so please be careful!  You should definitely call your gym though and I bet there is something they can do for you.  Mine will put the membership on hold for reasons like that and you can resume it at any time once you're well again.