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No sore throat - positive for Mono ?

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cold sores
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swollen lymph nodes and sore throat
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D19
August 19th, 2009
Hello, I've been an avid browser of these forums but finally decided to post my own experience. I'm 19 years old and noticed some bumps near my groin area about two and a half months ago. I found out they were my lymph nodes, which weren't particularly swollen or tender but it was the first time I noticed them there. Since then, I had a Staph infection about a month ago which I resolved with Sulfameth, but my lymph nodes continued to stay slightly visible as bumps. I started to develop some symptoms including an almost constant tight rib cage-like feeling (which I associated with cigarettes so I cut down to only one a day, if that), constant fatigue, headaches, and heart palpitations. I started to worry and looked up my symptoms online, to of course find a lot of lymphoma and cancer articles. I felt around my body in worry and noticed, under the skin, I can feel my neck lymph nodes as well under my jawline and on the sides of my neck, and my groin lymph nodes seem slightly more tender.
I went to the doctors who told me this could all be related to a) anxiety and b) the staph infection I was fighting off previously. So I was put on buspar, but continued to have the symptoms. I became an internet-fiend and looked up every symptom and possible diagnosis and really had a few scares, also in the middle of all of this I became slightly depressed about worrying about my health as well as having to end a year long relationship for unrelated reasons with my girlfriend.
This last time I went into the doctors, after having blood work done, I was told that my White Blood cell count was normal but that I tested positive for Mono. This was a relief, but strange to me because I had no sore throat and never recognized a fever. I wish my worry would have stopped here, but I read online that some tests can give false positives, and one reason why is lymphoma. Great, reason to worry again.

My question is, is it common to be diagnosed with Mono without a sore throat and potentially no fever? I've had noticable symptoms for about a month, month and a half, but no sore throat. He also mentioned something about levels in my thyroid but the doc was certain this was mono, even after I asked if the test was accurate and he answered yes, as two blood tests verified this.
I either want some peace of mind to know this'll go away soon, or want to know if I should get a biopsy of my lymph nodes. Again, they're not large or swollen really, but I can feel them when I press into my skin and the groin ones are the most present. I'm a 6'2" male that's fairly skinny so my doctor said it's not uncommon to recognize where certain lymph nodes are.
Please, if you have any information that might help or have/are currently experiencing something similar let me know! I'd love to alleviate this worry.

I will also add, I know for sure the IgM and monospot tests were used, can't remember if there were any others. I was told that I still have the antigens in my body but that I'm at the latter portion of my infection.

Thank you and sorry for the long post.

- David
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grolsch15
replied August 19th, 2009
I feel ya Dave. I first started having symptoms in April. I had no sore throat or fever, or none of the other typcal mono symptoms. Just a strange feeling in my head, like I was high and a tightness in my chest. Initially I was given medication for anxiety. I'm became (and still am, to some degree) obsessed with finding out what was wrong with me. Along the way I developed discomfort in my groin area and neck--swollen or irritated lymph nodes. The doctor originally told me this was a sign of an STD or lymphoma. A monospot test came back positive, and that was a relief. However, it's been 5 months now of feeling shitty and I haven't improved. I beginning to think my monospot was a false-positive. I've read extensively that monospot are widely inaccurate. lately, my groin area has been really sore and also my testicles to some degree. I'm concerned I might have HIV (the the possibility of this is slight) or lymphoma. I went back to the doctor who ran a blood test and said my white cells look good and that I'm still recovering from the mono infection. Not sure if I believe it or not, but I guess I don't have a choice. I really wish I knew what was going on with me for certain. If you want to talk more you can send me a private message or just post on here.
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grolsch15
replied August 19th, 2009
Oh, and I also had a staph infection (MRSA), but it was also a few years ago, so I'm not sure if it relevant.
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D19
replied August 19th, 2009
Sounds like we have very similar symptoms grolsch, are you in the California area by any chance? Maybe something came through the area - which could indeed be mono but my paranoid mind keeps questioning if that's the right diagnosis. My doctor never suggested lymphoma as a result and I asked him about it, he told me that lymphoma usually affects lymph nodes separately, not bilaterally and that my mono test was certain. Still, from what I've read and posted above I am concerned about the false-positive, and it seems like we're in the same boat. I thought about HIV as well but my chances are slim, and I'm getting tested this week to try and rule that out. Also my doctor said that my white blood cell count is normal (as you say yours is) and said that lymphoma would show an increase (not sure of the actual measurement but it said 5 - 11 is normal) in the count.
My groin area has been more tender recently too, at first I thought maybe the staph lingered in my lymph nodes or something but the doctor doubted this.

I'm going to try to get a second doctor's opinion and when I get some more blood work done in September, I'll be curious as to see if Mono is the diagnosis for me. Like I'm sure you are, I'm truly hoping it is Mono so I'll stop layering my thoughts with stacks of worry and doubt, so I'll be sure to post if I find out any more info about my condition, it might help you with yours as well.

Also, this may provide a little peace of mind:

"Some kids have atypical or unusual cases of mono, such as just have an enlarged gland and no sore throat or fever, or just having a sore throat, or just having a fever, which makes thinking about mono important when your child has one or more symptoms of mono that just doesn't go away."

I don't know if we're considered kids but this was some relief to read.

Thank you for the posts!
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grolsch15
replied August 19th, 2009
Yes, I'm living in California. I'm a college student in Northern Calfornia. I have been in contact with about 4 people in this forum who have similar symtoms as us. Two of them are still feeling poorly, and the other two no longer reply to posts (I take that as either a sign that they got better, or they got a lot worse). The two who are still unwell are right around the 5 to 6 month mark, which is about a month ahead of me. I've really been angry lately because I've done everything I can to get better (I quiet smoking, been resting a tone and eating super healthy, but just can't seem to get over the hill). My most recent doctor told me to start going to bed early and getting up early and warned be of the dangers of long-term mono turning in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. This is all so strange because I've been healthy all my life. In some ways I feel like I should stop using this forum and others to self-diagnose, but I really feel like the doctors are missing something. I'm also really worried about this upcoming swine flu season. My immune system is so shot that I feel like if I got the flu it would for sure do me in. I hope you feel better soon, man.
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D19
replied August 20th, 2009
I'm in Northern California as well, though I go to school in Southern/Central California and believe I may have picked it up there. I was talking to a friend I go to college with and curiously asked him if he remembered me being sick at all in the last few weeks of school (as I couldn't remember) and he said yeah, he remembers me having a bad cough and sore throat. That was a relief! I started remembering how many lozenges I was taking a day and how I had uncontrollable coughs in class sometimes. I don't know if the same applies to you, but that was roughly two and a half months ago if not more than that, and I've read online that mono can last much longer than that. My brother had mono around my age too, and said he had very similar symptoms as I did and only had a cold-like sore throat. If anyone you frequently saw in the past three months or so is reachable, you should ask them if they can remember you being sick if possible. Mono and anxiety is a good mix for brain fogging so it might be hard for you to remember if you did or not.

So that was a little relief to hear about, however through curious searching I could feel my collarbone lymph nodes and some of mine are palpable, so that was kind of worrisome. I read that those are effected by Mono as well so I guess not much to worry about.

Good job on being able to quit smoking! I'm sure your immune system will thank you and I'm getting close to doing the same. Been taking a good amount of vitamins and good nutrition so hopefully everything is going alright. I hope you feel better soon, too! Some sun in the morning has been brightening my day (no pun intended) and make sure you're getting outside a bit, when I was confined to my house both anxiety and depression kicked in every once in a while. Also, if you're going through nicotine withdrawal at the same time of having mono it will probably make you feel even more fatigued, so hang in there!
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ilikescales
replied August 20th, 2009
grolsch15- we're having very similar experiences. I started only feeling kind of high and disoriented for a few weeks, proceeded to having muscle twitching, soreness, etc. and still feeling out of it. My neck hurt and I had trouble sleeping and a week or so later I started a developing a terrible sore throat which prompted me to see a doctor. Tests came back positive for mono and strep. My sore throat was short-lived and related to the strep so I haven't had many of the classic mono symptoms either (sore throat, fever)

I've been dealing with this since the beginning of June/end of May so that puts me at the the 3-month mark with little to no improvement. My doctor also warned me that I might have a chronic epstein-barr infection...

I'm 19/male
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D19
replied August 23rd, 2009
So I just received my blood work in the mail, and to my surprise I actually did NOT test positive for the Monospot test. I tested positive, however, for high EBV IgM levels and IgG levels. My IgG levels are much higher than the IgM levels, does this mean that I maybe don't have Mono however I still have a lingering Epstein-Barr Virus? I read that as EBV is leaving the system, IgM levels decrease back to normal and IgG remains fairly high. My symptoms have been present for a few months, so should I get a biopsy since I tested negative for Mono?
Again, my doctor seemed sure that I was recovering from a Mono infection, should I get another opinion or are the EBV IgM/IgG tests accurate?

Thank you for your time in reading this, any light on this situation would be appreciated!
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D19
replied September 28th, 2009
I thought I'd post a follow-up if anyone else is experiencing symptoms like mine, I'm over my mono infection and feeling a lot better now. I've realized I worried far too much about my symptoms paralleling cancer/chronic symptoms so if anyone else is doing the same, chances are Mono is your diagnosis.

Thank you for the help guys.
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