Posted by Questionmark on January 31, 2005, at 3:43:16
Alright, so the Epstein-Barr virus [that causes] mononucleosis is said to stay in your body for life once you are infected. But supposedly your immune system keeps it suppressed after you get over the illness. However, it can (i believe) "flare up" again later in life, depending on various factors.
i was first told i had mono (after a blood test) when i was 14 (24 now), and then i was found to have it again at 17 and like 21 or something. But for a long time i didn't know about the virus staying in your body for life and thought that i was just extremely unlucky because one rarely ever gets it more than once.
i still get sick quite a lot though, and since early January i have had the flu for a week, and then have cycled between having a very fatigue-inducing, sinus-filled, tonsils-and-lymph-nodes-of-neck-very-swollen soar throat (w/ cough sometimes) for around several days and getting & feeling better for around a week... like 4 or 5 times each! (Sorry for that disgusting run-on.) And NOW i am sick AGAIN!! i am so SICK of this (NOT a pun)!
So, but anyway, my questions... Is it possible that i am having a bout of less-than-severe mono again? After a person has mono and gets over it, what is the relative likelihood that s/he will get it again (i.e., that the virus will infect him/her enough to induce with illness again) in the future? Can one's immune system be suppressed frequently and/or for a long time after first getting mono-- and if so, is it possible that this is why i keep getting sick so often? (It has been ridiculously, infuriatingly, deathly cold beyond deathly cold for awhile here in PA, too, and i haven't been eating healthy at all in the past month-- or always getting nearly enough sleep-- but i still wonder if there's something freaking wrong with me lately!)
i would really appreciate any comments or responses to this. Thanks.
poster:Questionmark
thread:450456
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20050105/msgs/450456.html