I have mono. I have the absolute worst sore throat I've ever had. It is a grayish color, and is covered with ugly, white abcesses. I hate swallowing. I cringe every time. When will it stop?! I've suffered with this for five days now.

MAKE SURE YOU GET A SECOND OPINION

Don't always take the medical diagnosis of one doctor like you primary physician. I was initially diagnosed for Mono after blood tests.

Note for Mono: If it is mono, take prednisone and at least 600mg ibuprofen once a day with lots of fluid and get lots of sleep and rest because you will probably feel super tired.

HOWEVER, as I mentioned earlier about the second opinion, it could turn out not to be Mono as in my case.

My severe throat pain was because of peritonsillar abscess on the left side of my throat. Nearly all of the symptoms are very similar to Mono or strep throat.

Make sure you mention this to the doctor and ask them to do a CT scan of your throat to confirm. This is very dangerous as the abscess starts to swell over time with the same initial symptoms of Mono or STREP throat and can make breathing difficult.

The procedure to remove this is relatively simple and takes 5 minutes. I am sharing my story because after two weeks of endless suffering of not being able to sleep and swallow water, food, or my own saliva, I was rediagnosed and had the abscess removed and the pain disappeared IMMEDIATELY.

Make sure you ask your doctor about abscess if your throat pain lingers for more than a week.

oh dear god i'm not alone. this is the worst sore throat i've ever had. it hurts just sitting here typing this. and everytime i swallow i fear the pain before it even happens. im trying to spit as much as possible so i dont have to swallow, but now the pain is spreading into my ears and it all hurts so bad. last night was the worst night i've ever had. i fell asleep until about 1 am. i woke up on the couch in darkness. i was going to the doctor at 9:45 so i was counting down the hours. i swear to you i fell asleep for no more than ten minutes at a time. i would no sooner fall asleep, then have to swallow so i would be woken up to excruciating pain. then back to bed and wake up in about 10 minutes. it was awful. i got some predisone and gargling numbing gel from the doctor today but i just know it's going to be another rough night. reading this it really helped to know im not alone. i dont wish this upon anyone. sigh. feel better all...

milk and chocolate stings my throt. and i have had mono for about 3 weeks now the first week i had fevers and swolen glands and the second week i started to get a sore throt. the end of the 2nd week ive been crying every day because it hurts sooo bad and i feel like ripping my throt out and stomping on it. the doctor did give me some numing throt stuff you gargle and it dosent seem to get far enough down and i still hurts just as much. having mono is a living hell. i just want to kill myself. and im really scared.

Ughh. It feels nice to know i'm not the only one going through this hell. I wake up every morning and cry because I dont want to get up and face the unbelievable pain and phlem crud in my swollen throat, but I dont want to say in bed either because my throat gets dry when I sleep because my head is so plugged up that I have to breathe through my mouth. I literally feel like Im dying and I need this to stop. It's been about a week. I want my life back.

My doctor never mentioned anything about steroids, and I'm a little scared to ask. I don't know if they'll help because I feel like this stupid sickness is endless. I've been resting and trying to drink but that hurts to bad to manage most of the time. THe things I've found that provide the best relief are using a cooling gel on sore muscles and my throat and neck and then resting on a heating pad. Popsicles help for a minute or two. I've found I can manage to eat raisins.

I hope y'all feel better soon. This is terrible.

For me it started out almost two weeks ago as a minor sore throat on my left side. The next day when I awoke I could barely swallow and noticed a whitish build up on my swollen left tonsil. I immediately went to my family doctor where he performed a strep test. It came up negative. He told me that it could be mono or a virus. He told me chloraseptic spray and advil will help me with pain, but other than that I had to just deal with it.

The next day after going through a whole bottle of chloraseptic spray, a pack of Cepacol sore throat lozenges, and 3 Advil liquid gels every three hours I called my doctor again. He called the pharmacy for me and prescribed me Hydrocodone/APAP - 5/500MG (Vicodin) and Azithromycin (Z pak) antibiotics. I could take 1 vicodin every 4 hours and the antibiotics was a 5 day process and stays in the body for 10 days. The Vicodon helped with the pain somewhat. It doesn't really take the pain away, but makes you "high" so you don't think about the pain. After another day or two I noticed the pain was decreasing as well as the swelling. I figured the antibiotics must have done the trick. (the swelling did not dissapear completely, there was and still is a "lump" on my left tonsil, but the soreness went and most of the swelling and white discharge).

I felt better. I started hanging out with friends again went swimming, hiking, etc. But then after three days of relief I noticed some minor swelling this time on the right tonsil. Just like the first attack, the next day I could barely swallow and this time it was worse. I went back to my family doctor and this time he is doing blood work to check for mono. I feel that the pain is more severe than before (was able to talk and cough before, only swallowing caused pain), but with this second attack it hurts to talk, cough, and it hurts when I'm not doing anything.

This time doctor refilled my Vicodin and gave me Lidocaine gel to numb the back of my throat (this stuff is nasty). Later that night my throat got so bad I was about to go to the ER. It was more than halfway swollen shut my uvula was not able to hang in it's normal position and was making me gag. My mom called the family doctor (who was on call) only this time it was the other doctor who I had not yet spoken with. He was a little more aggressive with it and knowing my mom better than first doctor, told her to give me four of her Prednisone (she uses it for arthritis) and two the next morning. I didn't really notice any change in swelling after taking this, but I got through the night and was able to sleep. I am still waiting for my results on the blood work.

One thing to help others out there dealing with this very intense pain, don't assume that it is just strep throat and antibiotics that will do the trick. I thought this and ended up with a second attack. If you can get pain killers this does help a lot with coping with the pain, but it doesn't completely take it away. And if it gets worse to where your throat is almost closed and you don't have Prednisone (steroids) then go to the ER and they will most likely drain the absess which I hear is the ultimate treatment.

-Kris McWilliams

I hear several people recommending steroids like prednisone as a "miracle cure" for mono, but please don't be rash. My dad is a doctor and although I've tested positive for mono (with periodic fever, EXTREMELY sore throat for 4 days now, and creepy white ricotta cheese-like stuff on my swollen tonsils) he won't let me take it. It works for some people, but there are a lot of potentially hazardous side effects to steroids that you should know about.

I'm not trying to scare anyone who has mono and has taken it, just don't be ignorant. It's not a miracle cure for everyone. We all want to get better in a snap, but there is a reason a lot of the doctors mentioned didn't prescribe steroids to the people on here who have/had mono. Mono sucks but it will go away eventually. If it's the worst pain you ever experience, then your life afterwards should be a breeze.

And PS - Please don't start feeling suicidal like that one guy who sounded emo. YOU know who I mean...

Get well soon Everyone and thanks for sharing info!

comrades i am a 37 years old Colonel and i never knew i can get sick of mono well i have some advices for you comrades,well first my throat hurts like i have eaten an offense granade well cas i got a larger pain tolerance then most people out there i can take the pain but some things are usefull to try like taking a wet towel and wraping it around your neck it may be uncomfortable but it is worth it also only medication im taking is sinacilin,Ibuprofen is only good for the high temperature bolive me people i have been,shot,cut,blown up and run over i know pain that crap ibuprofen will not help you in any way except with your fever also it is bad for the liver and since mono is a liver infection i advise you to use it sparingly.

Colonel Iliya Gromov serbian army.

p.s.
excuse the typos

its so comforting to read that other people have the same exact problem as me. it started about 5 days ago with a sore throat and headache. i took a nap and woke up feeling amazing. i felt great all day and then about 9 oclock or so i felt pretty crappy. i went to sleep and woke up the next morning in horrible pain. my tonsils were swollen really bad on the right side and i could even see the swelling im my throat. right away i knew i had to do something about this sore throat because i was already crying and in pain every minute. (people dont understand how much you actually have to swallow until you can barely stand to.) so i head to he minute clinic and of course i am positive for mono. i have had mono since June and it was now November 25. negative for strep and they woman tells me there is really nothing she can do. my diet has consisted of cough drops, gurgling salt water, honey water, and other wonderful things of that genre.
day 2
thanksgiving day, the whole family arrives and i feel just terrible. im starting to get really tired, mostly because i woke up at 530 that morning bawling and hysterical in pain from the sore throat. i knew i had to calm down but the pain is just horrendous. all day im miserable and cant even eat dinner with the fam. i had half a roll and two bites of mashed potatoes. it was really a sad sad day.
day 3
woke up at about 130 and again bawled for an hour and tried everything humanly possible, this is when i realized that if i plug my ears whilst swallowing, the pain decreases a little bit. ( i was desperate for anything) my stomach was beginning to hurt from all the advil and cough drops along with not eating much. this is also when i discovered that hot chocolate is a god send. i drank three glasses happily and my throat was relieved for the best 15 minutes in 3 days.
day 4
i finally go to a real doctor who says i should make an appointment with a tonsil specialist, because its most likely that i need my tonsils taken out and that its not just mono. she gives me a prescription for tylenol with codine. i was so thrilled for some drugs! i get home and take one right away and it actually works. i take a two hour nap and wake up. i throw up everywhere and cant even stand up because of the medicine. what ever you do, do not take tylenol with codine, worst mistake ever.
day 5
i woke up feeling a little better, and i believe that it will eventually just disipate. has anyone else just had their excrutiating sore throat go away outta no where?

I thought i was alone with this terribleness, and i feel bad saying it, but it makes me feel better to know i'm not the only one.

About a month ago i started feeling sick, had a fever of 102.8 and a cough along with body ahces and just tiredness. I went to Olin (school health facitility) and was diagnosed with Swine flu (h1n1). I was confined to my room for a week, lost all appetite and would pass out if stood for long periods of time. A week later I was better.

A week after this, I woke up with puffy eyelids so big that i couldn't see through them. Also felt tired and just out of it. Doc said that it was upper respiratory infection and my immune system was just weak after swine. Prescribed some eye drops and went back. Three days later, as my eyes were getting better, I began to feel tired and had trouble making it through tailgate, the game and then going out after. I stayed in. Started getting night sweats, extreme fatigue and pounding head and neckaches that would last throughout the day. This continued until the tuesday before thanksgiving, i finally made another doctors appt. He tested me for strep and a blood test for mono. I went home that night and got a call. Mono was positive.

Wednesday morning woke up and layed around not doing much. Lost all appetite but forced myself to eat moms homemade spaghetti (normally my favorite).

Thursday headaches start to go away but loss of appetite and fatigue increasess immensly. Madem myself get up and ready for thanksgiving with the family. Couldn't eat it. I've been dreaming of thanksgiving dinner for a month.. SO DEPRESSING!!!! Took nap at grandmas and went home to sleep.

Friday- so the sore throat begins. Very mild, and only on the left side. Drank lots of tea hoping to out do it.Made it to the movie store and grocery for a christmas candle ha.

Saturday- Wake up sore throat is worse. Make myself go to dad's side thanksgiving, it was great to see everyone, but i couldn't eat yet agian. I wanted to ccrry.

Sunday- Sore throat excruciating. Can't i just get better? I don't leave the couch all day. Every night has been one to two showers to help with the night sweats.. which are NOT getting better!

Monday- sore throat is terrible, . lay around all morning. haven't returned to school. Ice cream has chocolote in it which actually burns even worse. Moms friend said to try chewing on a bitesized piece of honeycomb. We bought plate of it at the mill. Looked disgusting but i did it and chewed. The honey went to the back of my throat. Helped alot.

Tuesday- i cant talk. I cant eat. I cant drink. I want to sleep until this is over. I've tried so hard to be positive. Somebody please just tell me i'll be healthy again soon. I'm having trouble being optimistic. Im lame yeah i know people have it worse of.. i'm just not used to this. I was runnint twice a day, eathing s great and doing well in school. Now i'm at home watching ice age three and trying not to cry.

Hope you all get better soon. Sorry this is so long.. just wanted to get it out there.

ps. neck and lower face extremly swollen from lymph nodes. i have a necklace of them!!
is there anything to do about this?