D19 finished up musical season this past weekend. She had a minor principle role along with being in the chorus so was at rehearsals every day, including Saturdays for the last 7 weeks. Went to break the set down on Sunday and came home with a burning sore throat, worse than any sore throat she has ever had (as she’s had strep throat on numerous occasions in the past). Took her to the Dr yesterday and they confirmed strep. But she is complaining of some serious fatigue. She is sleeping 12-14 hours/day, and still is just wiped out. Her lymph nodes are not swollen which I think is a little unusual for a case of strep, and I know that can also be one of the signs of mono, among other things.
I think, based on what I’ve read, it’s too early to have her tested, but what is the right time? Should I wait the 10 days for the the course of antibiotics to finish and if she isn’t better take her in then? Or is there something else I should be watching for?
" Took her to the Dr yesterday and they confirmed strep."
I am surprised they did not test for both! It was an SOP for college students at our pediatrician’s office (D was 18 at the time of her first winter break). It sounds like she just started her meds… Most likely the doctor will tell to wait 3 days to see if there is any improvement. Antibiotics do not show immediate magical effect. Call the office and ask your question. There are no silly questions when it comes to health.
Check back with the MD by tomorrow if her fever does not start to go down. No swollen lymph nodes is good. You usually see some positive changes after being on antibiotics after about 36 to 48 hours.
Sometimes Mono does come with another illness, when I was in college I had confirmed strep, and when they put me on antibiotics I had an allergic reaction, which they ended up pinning down to Mono,my son when he was little had pneumonia, then they found he had mono as well. I agree with others, give it another day or two and see if the antibiotics are doing anything, if she feels better. The other thing is, she could simply be exhausted from what she was doing and with the sickness, is even more taxes. If she doesn’t feel better, than call the doctor and get her in there to have her tested. The thing with mono is there is no cure for it, other than bedrest, since it is caused by a virus. I have found immune boosters like zinc and echinacea to help with it, but other than that rest and eating well is the only real treatment as far as I know.
My middle son gets Strep a lot. So much that we are seriously considering have his tonsils removed. Strep always wipes him out. It usually takes 3 - 4 days after the meds for him to really feel better. 12-14 hours or more of sleeping is not unusual for him when he first comes down with strep. I don’t know that I would be worried about mono at this point. I would wait at least 3 days for sure.
I’d give it a few more days. She may be tired from the combination of the strep and the strenuous schedule she was keeping for the past 7 weeks.
When my D had mono, she had really weird symptoms: swollen eyelids, congestion plus the sore throat, and swollen glands. They were different than what she exhibited when she had strep, but each case and each kid is different.
I’m hoping it’s not mono for your D. That is really rough.
My 32 year old son was just diagnosed with mono! He is a third year medical resident, so being tired is nothing new, but he was especially tired and had gained 20 pounds due to fluid. For him to go see a doctor is rare, so he really must have felt horrible to go.
My kids never had mono, so I was not aware of how bad it could get, especially as an adult. Have your daughter get tested and take care of herself.
When my D had mono she had of and on rashes in different parts of her face. Her lip would swell, then her eye etc. We were sure it was an allergy. Additionally, she was very tired all the time and sick with different ailments for the latter part of a year. One of her teachers suggested we have her tested for mono. The Dr. didn’t believe it was mono but did the test anyway. She tested positive and it was a full 8 weeks until she could participate in sports and regular activities. Unfortunately, other than rest, there was not much she could do to speed up recovery. The older a person is when they contract mono, the harder it tends to hit.
If your daughter does not test positive for mono you might want to do a test for Lyme disease. A friend of mine’s daughter had that and the symptoms were very similar to mono.
If you end up with chronic or long term mono, some folks have benefitted from an herbal supplement made in CA in an FDA approved lab, Equilbrant. Both D and H found it somewhat helpful, but it takes a lot of time and hydration and rest to recover.
Thanks everyone for their thoughts and suggestions. I’m going to wait it out a couple of days to see if the meds kick in and she rebounds a little. She has a full blown case of laryngitis now, not unexpected, but complicating things a bit. No pain meds for her throat now though, so that is a good sign
I had mono when I was a junior in college after getting over the flu - missed the almost 4 weeks after spring break - it was NOT fun! I’m hopeful this is just strep and she starts rebounding soon, but will keep a close eye on her the next few days and call the dr. if she doesn’t seem to be responding.
The Epstein Barr Virus is what causes mono, and it does stay in the body. Chronic Fatigue syndrome (which the schmuck doctors have finally decided is a real illness, and not ‘in the patient’s head’ has the same virus as its root), and it can flare up again. Most people get it once then never have the symptoms again, others can get it again full blown. There is no real cure for it, there are naturopathic physicians and integrated physicians who have come up with a regimen that seems to help, but in the end, it is rest and eating well that ends up being the ‘cure’.
My brother when he was in college had mono one summer, but ignored it (he was the chief engineer for the radio station, was doing other things as well) and by late fall was in really bad shape, they were worried about his liver and such, he ended up missing a semester at school because of it.
Thank you all for the responses - the meds kicked after about 48 hours. Honestly, she’s had strep before and this is the worse case I’ve seen in her. After she started feeling a little better Thursday evening, she still could not talk very well so I think she might have had a touch of laryngitis on top of the strep. Her voice continues to be a little raspy but getting better and her energy level is rising so we are over the hump. But we are continuing with the early bed, no after school activities, low key days for at least the next week just so I can make sure there is nothing else that can pop up.
So glad this came AFTER the show - her part had no understudy, don’t have a clue what they would have done!
Thanks again, so glad to have a parent support system for questions and concerns like this!