mononucleosis?

[velveeta]

Hmmm. I am considering getting tested for mono. I actually have all the symptoms. At the moment, I am 35.5 weeks, and I wonder whether there is any value in knowing whether or not I have it. I am seeing my MW tomorrow, so I will ask her, too.

Has any of you ever had mono in pregnancy? Looking back, I believe I had it with my last child. It peaked at about 34-36 weeks, and resolved after the birth.

Right now, I am taking 2000 mg of vitamin C, quercetin, bromelein, and strong probiotics. I don't know what else I could do. Ideas?

[FloridaBorn]

Well, I've had mono before... but thankfully not while I've been pregnant! My symptoms were loss of appetite, tiredness, night sweats, and an incredibly enlarged spleen. What are your symptoms??

I pretty much used Dr. Google and diagnosed myself, but eventually went to a walk-in clinic and had a blood test to confirm it. The worst of it lasted about a week when I dragged around the house and felt like a zombie, all in all I was better in about a month.

Mono is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, but you can't get mono again after you get it; it's like Chicken Pox. You *can* however get chronic fatigue, and symptoms like that after contracting mono if you're not taking care of yourself.

I self-treated with lots of vitamins, particularly milk thistle to help build my liver back up, spirulina protein shakes, and green drinks like wheat grass.

[jsh7809]

Sorry to hear that! I had mono when I was 16 (I'm 31 now) and throughout this pregnancy have felt more like I have mono again than ever before... none of the symptoms except for a deep, bone-tired fatigue throughout my first and now 3rd trimesters. I assume you have the more tangible swollen glands, fever, and sore throat, in which case I would definitely get checked out. Back then, I pushed myself past my limit and ended up collapsing into bed and basically sleeping for a week - after which time I felt much, much better!
But, seriously, pregnancy has made me feel much the same at times - and I swear if I didn't know better I'd think I had mono again! I can't imagine dealing with these fatigued hormones as well as a real illness, I hope you have the chance to sleep and recover quickly. Sounds like you're doing all of the right immune boosters to help, but I would want confirmation so that you can be sure you're not spreading it to others if you do have it, and also so that you can mentally give yourself as much rest and recovery time as you need. n I believe they had me on antibiotics at the time, not sure how helpful that would be but it could be good to have a sympathetic midwife watching to make sure you're doing everything you can to get better asap.