Positive update!!! 10 months
Hi mono friends - I want to first of all say that I see you, and I'm so sorry you're struggling with this awful awful virus. BUT I want to share some positivity and an update on my journey at 10 months. This sub helped me so much throughout my journey and there's no where near enough positivity here so wanted to share the good update.
I slowly slipped into mono 10 months ago - I was completely bedridden for three months (29f). Had to move into my parent's house to be looked after. I had everything from puffy eyes which lasted three months, throat caked in pus, fever, full body rash, couldn't stand up, swollen liver and spleen, numbness in legs, face and hands, extreme face tension, headaches, light sensitivity, sound sensitivity, extreme depression, GI issues, you name it, I had it.
The first month was the active virus, and the second and third month was convalescing - I couldn't move. I wasn't able to see friends or even have anyone over, as it would exhaust me too much and I'd be extremely fatigued for days after.
The fourth month I started trying to walk again and slowly building up strength to go about my day. I was also able to work a bit more (from home, desk job).
After the first four months, I steadily progressed by slowly SLOWLY building up my baseline. I was able to reintroduce Pilates once a week, walking 10k steps a day (slow) and generally was able to do more outings, see friends etc.
By six months I was slowly able to tolerate a wine every now and then without setting myself back, and do Pilates 3-ish times a week, walking every day too.
Now at 10 months, I wanted to pop in here to let you know that there is hope!!!! I still wake up every day scared about slipping into the virus, but with every week and month that passes, it's getting easier.
I still get very tired - especially around my period - and still experience headaches, brain fog, light sensitivity/eye floaters, neck tightness and some neural issues sometimes.
I'm definitely still rebuilding, but I'm 90-95% back to my regular programming, and want to share a positive story with you as I know how scary it can be at every stage in the journey.
As for things that helped me, acupuncture was the best thing that I tried that truly helped me. Getting to appointments was so hard, but I found that 48 hours after every treatment, the fatigue lifted significantly. I started acupuncture around week 8 so if you're in the acute phase and extremely fatigued, I really recommend it.
As far as supplements, I found L-Lysine helpful around week 4-8, and NAC very helpful from month 4 onwards.
It's definitely still a journey, and I'd love to hear from anyone around months 10-15 about how their energy / fatigue continued to lift in those months.
But on the whole, I'm able to live my life, see my friends, hang out with my boyfriend and family, exercise, travel interstate - I'm just more cautious about overdoing it.
Only positive vibes on this post please! Sending so much love your way - lots of books, good TV shows and you've got this - it does get easier I promise <3
One more thing - I found that reading too much Reddit sometimes made me feel worse, and my best days were the days I didn't check on here. So I recommend using it sparingly, read some positive stories, then try and avoid it for a few days/weeks. Those were my healthiest days!