15 December 2007

So turning 40 really sucks.

I have spent the last three weeks fighting Mononucleosis. The problem, is that until a week ago, we didn't know that. Between visits to the doctor's office and the ER, it took several procedures to eliminate all of the other possibilities, that included Leukemia, Meningitis, and some other long named virus that could put our unborn baby a risk. Oh yeah, and one of my first lab cultures got contaminated first thing, so they though I may have had a staph infection as well, bring on the antibiotics. The good news is that all I have is Mono. That's all that I ever had. I was presenting classic Flu-like symptoms, except that my fevers had been going on for more than ten days and they were getting worse, in the 102-103F range. The only way to rule out Meningitis, is with a spinal tap. I don't ever want another one. It took two different people five tries to finally get it. The average person requires a 3 1/2 " needle for a spinal tap. They had to get a longer one for me. I had eight chest x-rays, four sinus x-rays, and a CT scan. Even when I left the hospital on Monday night, Mono wasn't guaranteed, it was the only thing left. The University of Michigan is probably the best possible place to be for something like this, but it is a learning institution, and I really hate being a guinea pig.

Update: What I really have is Mono's evil twin: Cytomegalovirus. Just like Mono, only named different. It turns out that I was exposed at some point to mono, but not CMV, and CMV is what I really have. The same syptoms, the same treatment, the same duration, they are even from the same group of virus': Epstein-Barr.

5 comments:

Francis Ho said...

I hope that you'll get better soon. All the best and take care.

Ron said...

Ouch!!

Get well soon ...

Anonymous said...

Hi Richard,

Stop that morbid moaning, It is not as if you are going to slump dead in the cockpit by mononucleosis.
Paddle.
Paddle.
And paddle.
Warmest regards,

Richard said...

I have started to feel much better. I am still tired all the time, but the really high fevers have stopped, and I am looking forward to spending time with my family for the holidays.

Silbs said...

CMV? Hmmm. I used to only see that in my post op heart patients. Thing is, you're getting better.