Hello, I was diagnosed with mono a couple days ago after being in pain for a while. On Sunday my throat started to hurt extremely bad I can't eat, sleep, drink, nothing it hurts really bad and my neck is swollen. I can deal with the fever but when will the pain from my throat start to go away?

Are you taking prescribed medication for this? Have you been tested for strep throat? Mono does not make your throat hurt to the point of not being able to eat food. I had mono several times when I was in my teens and I don't remember my throat hurting like that! Go back to your doctor and have him do a strep test.

@Teddy:

I'm assuming that since you say you were "diagnosed" with mono, the epstein barr reading came back.

Mono varies in severity. Some people get fluish, and some people feel like they just ate a sea urchin.

As per your throat, ibuprofen for the pain, chloraseptic spray, cough drops, and gargle unflavored listerine. It'll suck, I know, but it'll get better eventually.

@Twinkie: how did you have mono more than once? I mean, it does happen... it's really rare... how many times have you had it?

Sneezy - I had mono every year from age 11 on up until I was about 20. It just kept coming back. Missed a lot of school. Stayed in bed most of my life (at least it felt like that). Each year though the symptoms would be less and less so that's one good thing. Then I just stopped getting ill every spring. They wanted to take my tonsils out but I was never well enough long enough for that to happen. Still have 'em to this day.

Did your doctor swab your throat? That's the strep test I took about 10 years ago to detect my strep throat. I was terribly weak and my throat felt like I could not swallow. My test came back twice as bad as my son's test did and he had strep as well. It also had an accompanying high fever and I was very weak. It took me about 9 months to get back to my former self again that's how bad my strep was.

Strep throat is the old "scarlet fever" of yesteryear. Scarlet fever can cause permanent heart damage - that's why I suggested you get tested for strep before any permanent damage is done. My scarlet fever was quite bad and had I let it go untreated I could have resulted in having permanent heart damage.

teddy143 : I just can't deal with this pain anymore, and my girlfriend can't either I'm scared to have her come around me because I don't want her to get it. Plus I need to get back to work. Do you know when the pain might start to go away??

Teddy - are you taking any antibiotics for this? YOu didn't say what you were prescribed for your mono.

Strep throat is the old "scarlet fever" of yesteryear. Scarlet fever can cause permanent heart damage - that's why I suggested you get tested for strep before any permanent damage is done. My scarlet fever was quite bad and had I let it go untreated I could have resulted in having permanent heart damage.

Actually, untreated strep can turn into scarlet fever.

I cannot be FULLY immunized. I am allergic to the shot Pertussis. Can that affect me from becoming an ER Nurse?