I am writing this on behalf of my husband, he is 39 and for the 11 years that we have been together he has NEVER been sick----he's had allergies and an occasional 24 hr. stomach thing, but never a real cold/sore throat that lasts most people anywhere from 1-3 weeks. 10 weeks ago he had the pollups removed from his nasal passages, he did incur and was treated for an infection in that area. 4 weeks ago we went on vacation in Florida for 10 days, while there he came down with an ear infection & (so we were told at the hospital) an abcess on his throat---it was to the point that if he turned his head to the left it cut off his windpipe, so he was admitted for the night and was given 4 bags of steriods and an antibiotic drip. He was asked at the time if he'd ever had the mumps, which he'd had when he was a young child, so they basically ruled that out. My husband is a businessman, he and his family own several businesses and he has always handled his stresses pretty well, he is also on the local school board and the president of his investment club. We have 3 young children, animals, vehicles, ATV's, motorcycles, boats, a camp on the lake----everything adds up to stress if you ask me.

Currently, 4 weeks after his hospitalization, he is having sinus type headaches almost daily, extreme diahhrea (for the past 48 hours) sore throat & basically just feels like crap. His dr. here in Maine did the blood test for mono & we were told on Friday that he was within normal limits, but I'm still leaning towards mono since he's just never been sick like this, especially for this long of a period of time. We are leaving for a cruise in 11 days I want to do my best to get him healthy before we leave, does anyone have any comments or suggestions to throw my way----he swears if we were leaving today that he wouldn't go, he just feels that sick (although, he's still working and going to the gym---he really doesn't know how to be sick!). I'm trying to keep his stresses at home at a minimum & really trying to keep him down, resting, that is, but any informantion right now would be a blessing. Thanks in advance for your help!!

H-

Luvmymc,

Mono wouldn't be too high on my index of suspicion. There is a specific test for mono that doesn't always work during the first week of the illness, but your husband has been sick for a while. Also, mono is rare in people over age 24.

It's reassuring to hear that your husband's blood work was normal. People with mono usually have elevated white cell counts and specific abnormalities in the maturity of certain blood cells.

It sounds like your husband's weight has been stable, he's not having fevers or night sweats (i.e. soaking the sheets), or demonstrating other signs of a systemic infection.

Maybe it would be best for your husband to go see an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist (ENT) to discuss his problems. Perhaps he has an abnormality in the drainage of his sinuses or something else that is trapping bacteria in his upper respiratory tract.

Take care,
Mats.