Medical related question...

[Jenny]

Okay so I told myself I wouldn't web-md myself this time, or google myself to AIDs or leukemia or death this time.  And I'd ask my parents, but they're away til Friday and I don't really want them freaking out while they're away. Plus, last time they were away i called them and told them I thought I had a tumor in my neck (really just turned out to be mono. swollen lymhnodes) and they had to come home early.
not doing that again.

in any case, since mono (which i had very badly for 3 months) i've been super lethargic. I went to the doctor and they tested me for diabetes and liver disease and a bunch of other things that I wasn't really listening to.  They diagnosed me with some post-viral idiopathic kidney disease that's not serious. It just f's up my sodium level and my blood pressure. In any case, they gave me some pills that ended up just being like speed and i took them for two days and had horrible heart palpitations. this was like 2 weeks ago. So i went off them, and for the next week my heart would hurt occassionally, but i thought it was just in response to going on then comign off the medicine. In retrospect, I should've just stayed on them, but both my parents are doctors and told me it'd be better to go off. Whatever.
Anyway, now I feel better. But i keep getting these bruises all over my body in places that I don't really have physical contact with. ANd I'm not generally easily susceptible to bruising. I have them on my stomach, on my arms, my shoulders and back, my feet and my knees and they're big and dark and tehy stay for a really long time.
I've also been tired and blacking out occasionally.

My first suspicion is anemia... has anyone been anemic? Is anyone anemic?

I mean, I'm probably fine. I just have a tendency to freak out.

stuff like this everywhere:


and yes, i know that's a BRUISE, but it's really deep and red.

[Penny Lane]

anemia is the first thing that comes to mind..if you start to get other symptoms (joint pain, rash---) the only other thing i can think of is lupus --(NOT to freak you out, it's probably not! but i had a friend in college that would bruise easily and was diagnosed w/this)  i think most of the time bruising relates to platelet counts in some way or another. this probably didn't help. good luck to you.

[colleen]

You could be deficient in vitamin c (especially if your gums are also bleeding). Take a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement. A supplement of alfalfa orally will supply minerals and vitamin k, needed for healing. It's really important to take acidophilus every day, especially after having Mono/Epstein-Barr virus in order to replace "friendly" bacteria in your system. That should also help with the fatigue. Eat lots of raw foods. Good luck and I hope you feel better! :)

[Jenny]

thanks both you.
and my joints have been achey, i REALLY hope that lupus isn't in the question. i'm sure it'd be much more extreme if it was. plus no rashes or swelling.
yikes.
I'll figure it out, i'm sure i'm just overreacting.
might have to go to the doctor next week.

[tomEisenbraun]

Also about mono recovery, are you eating yogurt? Get some damn yogurt. One of those big tubs. I know they say it helps fight yeast infections, and it really does a good deal to help your stomach stay on track. Shit, why am I posting about yogurt? Probably a response to acidolphus. Anyways, yogurt probably won't fix anything, but it'd at least be worth it to eat some every day, as it helps your stomach get back on track after you've been taking stuff that's knocked both the good and bad bacteria out. Bacteria's essential shit, and yogurt really helps culture it back in a good way for you.

[whothrewthecake]

after i had mono, the only thing to get me back on track was a daily multivitamin and acidophilus. every single day. i did that for months but noticed a huge difference in my energy level.

[Jenny]

word. i'm gonna pick up some vitamins (and maybe some yogurt.) soon. i've been meaning to do that. i mean, i got diagnosed in early march, and i still feel sick and sleepy. that's not irght.

thanks everyone.
jenny

[tomEisenbraun]

do you have days that floor you and days that don't?

My lady picked up some serious mono this April, too. This week, she had a couple days that just knocked her the hell down. Mono doesn't go away easy, especially if you hard time with it in the first place. Paige sort of kicked its ass--I don't know what makes it different from one person to the next. It went away quickly enough, but she has days where it shows up to say "Hey!"

I don't really know why, I guess it's just a pretty hardy motherfucker in the realm of viruses.

[Jenny]

it's an ASSSSSHOLEEEE!!!
I dont' know how my boy didn't get it, or maybe he did, and we're just passing it back and forth to eachother forever.

wait.

that'd suck.

uh oh.


in any case, it's gone now, and now i'm left with a bunch of post-viral BS. my immune system is probably just weak and blah blah blah. i'll take some vitamins and i'l get better.
but i'm sure i'm anemic. (i gave in - fuck you, webmd symptom checker)

[tomEisenbraun]

I had to stiffarm my lady's computer away from to keep her off the WebMD.

It really is a total horse's ass. I'm pretty sure I had it, but then again, I constantly burn to midnight oil and you can only do school so long like that without totally crashing and burning, so who knows. It never wiped me out like it did her, though. Maybe guys are a little less susceptible to it?

[Jenny]

Perhaps! Some people don't show symptoms, or get it to a lesser extent. So maybe he could be a carrier. On a positive note, I just read you can only get it once. Good good good!

That's a relief. GOODBYEEEE EPPSTEIN-BARRR VIRUSSSSSS!!!!! SUCK IT, JERK!!

[tomEisenbraun]

Oh I thought you knew that!

You get it once and it sticks with you for the rest of your life. It's not gonna freak out on you forever, but it sticks with ya, for sure. Which is why it takes so damn long to shake it: your body has to figure out what the hell to do with it and kick it's ass into submission. You'll be kickin in no time. Just gotta keep the rest of yourself while you're beatin' the shit out of the mono.

GO TO HELL EPSTEIN-BARR!!!

[megalicious]

mono sucks. i got it my senior year of high school and almost missed prom and graduation b/c i was so sick.

you've just got to make sure you're eating right and taking care of yourself. just go at a slow pace for a while before resuming your normal activities.

hope you get feeling better soon, jenny!