<p>My son had mono about a year ago, recovered, and went back to his active life. For about 2 months after his speedy recovery he was exhausted and after school would collapse in weakness and fatigue. Although he got better from this he is still suffering from fatigue. After a day at school he comes home and takes a nap. He says that he is so tired he must sleep. Even when he sleeps 8 or 9 hours at night he takes a nap during the day. His concentration and grades are good, he is an athlete and can play competitively, but he seems to sleep an abnormal amount. He never gets sick, so his immune system must be ok. He has gotten a clean bill of health from his doctor, but this constant fatigue is taking a toll on his life. Anyone have any similar experience with this?</p>
<p>Had bad case mono as a kid....don't remember being tired that long. Has he been checked for lyme? Sorry ......but this was my first thought and believe me, I'm no Dr.</p>
<p>Not with my DD. She seems fully recovered (had mono bad April of last year.) The only lingering problem is that her tonsils get inflamed and swell at the least provocation - colds, etc. Has your son been checked for thyroid levels??</p>
<p>I had mono in high school, and it took a while to fully recover...but this seems abnormal. I'd say it's test time at the doctor's.</p>
<p>I expected my S to have a long period of fatigue after his mono last spring. He came home from school a week early, taking incompletes in 2 exams due to the mono. He rested a LOT at home for a couple of weeks. However, he did not have extended serious fatigue, to my surprise.</p>
<p>I only have this one experience to go on. And I have heard that there are different intensities of mono cases. So I assume my S had a "mild" case, based on the rather quick full recovery.</p>
<p>Maybe your son just had a more severe case, with longer after-effects? Of maybe others are correct that your S should be checked/tested.</p>
<p>Soccermom2 - I would agree with the others - having had mono once - he is prone to having it again - or....... there certainly could be other causes for his extremem fatigue - low thyroid - chronic fatigue syndrome - anemia - lymes, etc...... it certainly bears more follow up - maybe even from a different doc. I hope you find some answers</p>
<p>I would definitely get the thyroid checked.
Mono can lead to thyroid problems, or subclinical thyroidism, which can cause chronic fatigue.</p>
<p>My daughter had mono and it developed into chronic fatigue caused by hypothyroidism and other issues. She didn't eat right (she was a vegan), and she didn't sleep right throwing off her sleep cycle. She was not diagnosed properly for a year. She has had chronic fatigue now for 2 years. She is much better now, but it does take a toll on a person's quality of life. After 2 years, she still isn't back to where she was.</p>
<p>Plus it is scary, not understanding what is happening, what the causes are and the lack of recovery.</p>
<p>Soccermom2, good luck to you and your son.</p>
<p>If you live near SF, I have a doctor recommendation for you.</p>
<p>I had mono last year, and then had a relapse about a month later. I was told by my doctor if I didn't take it easy the second time, I could have the symptoms (mainly tiredness) for up to a year. Perhaps he just didn't rest enough and wasn't truly recovered the first time around.</p>
<p>what about anemia....did they check that...</p>
<p>also he may not be "sleeping" that could be the problem...there could be a sleep disorder and he doesn't know what a good nights sleep is...</p>
<p>also, allergies can cause sleep problems</p>
<p>he needs a full work-up</p>
<p>what about his diet- caffiene, etc, that can mess up sleep</p>
<p>i would look at diet, if there is a sleep disorder, anemia and thyroid and such</p>
<p>Depending on how old he is, needing 9-10 hours of sleep every day isn't that weird. </p>
<p>Of course, you probably know him well enough to know what is and isn't normal for him.</p>
<p>Medical concern? See a doctor. That's their job.</p>
<p>It was stories like this that initially led physicians to believe that EBV (the virus that causes mono) was also the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome. Although that has mostly been disproved, a significant minority of mono patients experience prolonged fatigue. I agree with coranged and others however that he should see his doctor to rule out treatable causes of fatigue.</p>
<p>Thank you for your suggestions. My son had a complete medical workup last year and they found nothing abnormal. I will have it done again and make sure they check for thyroid function, anemia, lyme, etc. Last year his doctor told him that there was no medical reason for his fatigue; that he should have recovered. His sleep and eating habits aren't the best, but it is hard to get him to improve them. I think that he is falling into the minority of patients who have unexplained lingering fatigue after mono. I don't know what to do about it, which is why I posted. But I appreciate all the responses and will go back to the doctor. Thank your for your offer to recommend a physician dstark but we are in the NY area.</p>
<p>My daughter had severe case of mono several years ago that was accompanied by PROFOUND fatigue - at times slept 20 hours a day. She was in late grade school at the time and missed nearly the entire first quarter of school. She would attend school when she could, leave when she needed to. In time the acute phase subsided, but she was still tired. My husband is a physician, we took her to several other physicians, and all they could say was that she had a "chronic fatigue type illness" (CFIDS is not usually a diagnosis given to children). She followed a pattern of strict sleep and an extremely healthy diet, and we felt like she started to come out of the forest after about four or five months. We still saw the effects of it over the next four years. During this time, she played soccer, went to school, etc., but could not tolerate any change in her routine. There were no sleepovers, no staying up late, no junk diet. It has been something her life has had to revolve around for much of the past nine years. Mono can often be a trigger for the development of CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome), as can many other things. There is alot of good information out right now. Not saying this is what your son has, but could be an explanation. Check out <a href="http://www.cfids.org%5B/url%5D">www.cfids.org</a>.</p>
<p>P.S. Google Michelle Akers (my daughter's soccer hero) and Laura Hillenbrand (author of Seabiscuit) - both suffer from Chronic Fatigue.</p>
<p>So MidwestParent, after 9 years, she is still not back to normal?</p>
<p>Dstark - I sent you a p.m. - :)</p>
<p>Soccermom2, another strong possibilty of fatigue is too much soy in the diet. For my daughter, when she cut out the soy, she felt better.</p>
<p>I know others have had similar findings. There are some stories on the internet about this.</p>
<p>If your son is a vegan, vegetarian, a large soy eater, I would google soy and chronic fatigue and take what you read seriously.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Soccermom,</p>
<p>Despite other posters, I would consider this pretty normal. I had mono freshman year of high school and I'm a senior now and STILL haven't recovered. I did exactly what your son did, too, in that I would get a pretty decent night of sleep yet still take long naps after school because I was so physically exhausted. It sounds like he is coping with it pretty well, so I wouldn't worry about an emergency trip to the doctor's. Next time he gets a physical or goes in, you could mention it -- but I guarantee that they are going to tell you it is fairly typical. Mono is one of those sicknesses that you never fully recover from -- it "stays" with you your entire life. Gradually, your son will be regain his former energy and be 100% fine. But until then, let him get his sleep (even if it does seem abnormal).</p>
<p>Edit:
Even if he didn't have a "severe" case of mono, he could still be easily fatigued. In retrospect, I would say I had a fairly mild case compared to others. I was out of school for week, and went half-ways for only another 2-3 days. I've heard of people of being out for a month and a half due to mono, though. Even though my case wasn't as "serious," I still was affected by the sleepiness. If you have never had mono, it can be a difficult feeling to describe. Every day activities are difficult because your body can't muster up the energy, even if it's a simple task. Sleeping is the best way to recover, imo.</p>
<p>Thank you for your response, MidwestParent. It sounds like you are describing what is happening to my son. I have been thinking that cleaning up my son's diet (a lot of junk food) and trying to get a 17 year old boy who stays up late with homework during the week and with friends on the weekend on a better schedule is the way to go. I will also eliminate sleepovers as you did. It won't be easy but I will have to lay down the law. He is complaining about the fatigue and wants to get better so maybe he will cooperate.</p>