Mono Forum

[Anonymous User]

I can out myself if this isn't meant to be anonymous, but I figured better safe than sorry.

I was felled by a nasty throat illness this weekend, but my rapid strep test came back negative. The NP says that if the throat culture for strep doesn't come back positive tomorrow I should come back and do a mono test, and she seemed pretty concerned that if it's not strep it may be that. Has anyone had mono during OCI??? Even though I know it's not likely I'm envisioning nightmare scenarios of my spleen bursting in the middle of an interview... Hopefully I just have strep anyway, but, thoughts?

[Anonymous User]

I had mono during finals last semester. It was ugly, and I could barely function. I had high fever and severe vomitting. But, the course of the illness can vary, so maybe it won't be so bad for you.

[keg411]

I've had nasty sore throats that aren't strep -- they're just general throat infections and a regular round of antibiotics cleared it. And yes, my lymph nodes swelled up like crazy at the time.

I wouldn't worry that you have mono yet. Additionally, a friend of mine had strep AND mono a few years back, so it's not like having strep means you don't have mono.

[nealric]

I've had mono before, but not during OCI. From my understanding, the illness can vary quite a bit.

For me, the course basically went like this:

Day 3 from onset of sore throat: Was able to do a strenuous 20-mile mountain bike ride
Day 5: ended up in the hospital with dehydration (couldn't swallow water)- that's when I got the diagnosis.
Day 7: felt crappy, but was basically functional
Days 8-14 or so: didn't do much
Day 20: was back to 100%

I'm pretty sure I could have put on a good face for OCI on Day 7 if I had to, but certainly not on day 5. The spleen bursting thing is pretty rare. If your mono is that bad, you won't be showing up to OCI in the first place.

[desertlaw]

I mean, unless you're at a T14 and have grades in the top 10%, firms have plenty of other candidates to choose from that they can interview now. They probably won't wait around for you to get better (again, unless you have stellar credentials). So I would try to rest now but push through. Just don't make out with anyone that interviews you. Keep that mono to yourself.

[Anonymous User]

I once had an interview while I had mono, and it was awful and I didn't get the position. People's experiences vary substantially, but the best you can do is get as much rest as you can. Even if you think you are getting better, continue to stay home. I found that if I pushed myself out of the house when I started to feel semi-decent, it came back with even greater vengeance.