I know this is the Parents Forum but I feel that I would get a better response here than in the general college discussion forum. I am 17, by the way. Over the weekend, out of the blue I was feeling incredibly fatigued and experienced chills. This has continued for the last 4 days. I have been taking Tylenol, and when it kicks in I feel a bit better, but when it’s not working I feel terrible.
To give you an idea of what these chills are like, I was lying in bed in a hoodie, with two blankets on, and the space heater set on max, and I was still feeling cold. I live in a very warm town, and even when I go out in 70 degree weather I feel cold. I tried going to school on Monday but just could not focus and get through it. Luckily, these next couple days are pretty light, school workload-wise. My heartbeat is very fast, and I was very concerned.
I went to the doctor yesterday, and he said I didn’t have a fever. However, when he exited the room for a minute, I looked down at my arms and noticed these red spots that I had never seen before. I showed them to him and he said that it could be just a new cold virus that has been passing around, and said that I should be fine within the next couple days. This rash is not itchy, but it is pretty embarrassing and annoying. It’s pretty much on my whole body (thighs, arms, stomach, back). I also noticed yesterday that there are these bumps inside my mouth and my lips look pretty puffy, and in general my mouth just feels weird.
Sorry for such a long post, but I was just wondering if any of you have had experience with something like this before? If so, did it take a long time for it to pass? This really sucks, and I didn’t really expect to be lying in bed when my college decision comes out.
Pure mom opinion - go back to the doctor if you have any concerns whatsoever- but there is a ton of stuff going around right now. A few nights ago I could barely drag myself off the couch. Got into bed and had the chills pretty bad. I’m usually hot so this was unusual. The next day I was weak but felt a little better. Took me a day or two to feel normal.
With the blotches you may need a 2nd opinion.
My son had severe conjunctivitis this first semester in the dorms. His eyes basically swelled shut. He ended up getting cipro eye drops at the dr.
sounds like you may have mono
did you get measles vaccine when you were young?
you need to go to a 24 hr clinic and have your condition and those bumps evaluated asap.
GO TO THE DR TODAY AND ASK HIM TO TEST YOU FOR MONO.DONT TAKE “NO” FOR AN ANSWER.
you seem to be exhibiting many of its symptoms
“After a day or two, these additional symptoms of mono may occur:
A measles-like skin rash anywhere on the face or body;
Tiny red spots or bruise-like areas inside the mouth, especially on the roof of the mouth
Call Your Doctor About Mononucleosis if:
You develop a rash consisting of many tiny red spots (called petechiae), which could be a sign of a low platelet count or other serious illness such as meningitis.”
One thing I learned when I was still a practicing pediatrician is that I was very bad at diagnosing rashes over the phone. Nothing compensates for being able to see the rash and evaluate the symptoms in context. I agree that you should return to the doctor and ask for a mono test because that could signal something that may last a lot longer than
a random virus that is going around and it would be a good idea for the doctor to reevaluate the rash as well as the rest of your symptoms.
When I was a sophomore in college I got mono during exam week and I had the exact type of rash you’re describing. When I arrived at the doctor’s office I didn’t have it but while I sat there waiting in the exam room it started to appear. I watched it pop out all over my arms and legs and then watched it disappear about 30 minutes later. It was bizarre.
Your other symptoms do sound a lot like mono, too. You should go back and insist on a mono test. Hope you feel better soon.
Thank you all for your replies. I just called my mom, who is a doctor, and asked her if she thinks I have any of the conditions named above. She individually refuted every claim, LOL. Like I said, I did go to the doctor yesterday, with the rash, and he said it should get better in about a week or so. Should I still insist my mom to have me rechecked at her workplace?
Even though your mom is a doctor I would go back to a doctor in person. It is really difficult for anyone to diagnose you over the phone. It could be serious. It could be nothing but I am concerned about a fever that lasts for 4 days. Most of the time when my kids had viral infections the fever went away pretty quickly.
I agree with the other - go back to the doctor. There have been two times in my life that I had a bad feeling about what a doctor said in dismissing my concerns. The first time I ended up in the hospital with a kidney infection. The second time I had an abscess on my tonsils that was really bad. If I had INSISTED on attention sooner, it would have been much better.
Sounds like OP is still in high school not college per few other posts. Has your mom looked at you and your rash herself in person? DO you live together?
@doschicos@Proudpatriot I am a senior in HS and live with my family, yes. My mom has seen it in person. My mom also said that it is not mono because that entails swollen throat glands and throat pain, difficulty swallowing, etc. I haven’t had any of those.
Also @doschicos , the reason I posted here was just to see if other people have experienced the same sort of situation. I’ve been cooped up at home for the past three days, waiting for my ED decision, so I figured “why not.”
For what it is worth, I was experiencing similar symptoms last week for almost the entire week, I was fatigued, and I kept feeling chilled even though I usually am the person who kicks the covers off at night because I am warm. I was running a low grade fever (like 1-1.5 degrees) if any at all, I also was aching as well. There are a lot of viral infections going around, that is for sure. I still haven’t fully recovered, it is slowly improving each day.
Mono doesn’t always present with swollen glands. My daughter who is a grown-up had a low-grade fever and total exhaustion for about a week when she was a junior in high school, no rash. Just total fatigue, no appetite. She recovered and then when she was home on break freshman year she got sick with fever , exhaustion and sore throat before going back for second semester. Her doctor, stlll her pediatrician, did bloodwork as she suspected mono and when she called she said that it wasn’t mono because her bloodwork showed she already had mono but the bad news is that once you have had mono, your immune system is a bit compromised and so when you do get colds, sore throats, you generally are a bit sicker and more susceptible. As an adult she does get run-down a lot because of her work schedule, commute and so on so she really knows when she needs to rest and knock it out.
Hopefully you didn’t develop an allergy to Tylenol. My younger d had a rash from head to toe after a week on Amoxicillin when she was about 12.
Agree that mono isn’t always the same for everyone. A simple blood test that is covered by most insurers can reveal whether you have active mono or not. It is worth getting, just to have things cleared up and in case this lingers. Mono is quite contagious.
He ended up getting cipro eye drops at the dr.