Yes, yes, and yes. Got it my last year of graduate school.

Symptoms started with swollen lymph nodes in my head and neck during my warm up. I'd go out for a ride and would hit the wall just after my warm up. No energy, splitting headache, swollen nodes. I'd have to stop and slog my way home. This happened for a few days so I went in to see my PCP. Mono wasn't her first thought, her money was on flu or a upper respiratory virus. She ordered the EBV test for completeness though. 3 days later get the diagnosis.

As for treatment, there isn't much you can do but rest and let your body heal. I wasn't allowed to ride or participate in any contact sports for 6-8 weeks because of the risk of spleen rupture. Enlarged spleen is a common symptom - I was no exception. Nothing traditionally contact about cycling, but crashing on a quiet country road and rupturing your spleen a long way from help could be life threatening. I never got the debilitating fatigue that some people experience. I felt pretty run down for 2-3 weeks and if I was too active during the day my lymph nodes would swell up and the headache would return. The fatigue wasn't bad enough to keep me in bed or anything though. Took the bus to work instead of riding, put in normal hours, just felt a more tired than usual. After about 4 weeks I starting riding the 2 miles to work again (against my doc's rec because my spleen was still enlarged, but I was getting stir crazy). In 6 weeks I was taking very short easy bike rides - 4-5 miles - a few times a week. after 10 weeks I was back to LSD riding and in 12 weeks I was back regular training again.

If you think you may have EBV - get in to talk to your Doc.

Yep... got it when I was 17. So weak for about a month I could hardly walk. Slept 20hrs a day. Was pretty much ok a year later.

Thanks guys. The test was positive along with adrenal fatigue, high cortisol at night. This season is probably *ucked. I'll look forward to mountain bike racing this winter along with CX.

Did you take any anti-viral meds? Did you do any weights?

My understanding is that anti-virals have not been shown to be terribly effective in treating EBV, but I may be wrong. Your doc should be able to help you decide if that type of treatment is appropriate for you.

As far as training, I would focus on listening to your body. I know as an athlete (and one that has probably put a lot of time in training for the meat of the season that is almost here) it is hard to stop all together. However, overdoing it now could add weeks to your recover in the long run. I stopped all training for 4 weeks, and slowly added cycling back in until 10-12 weeks when I was more or less back to normal.

Had it 4 times, a minimum of 5 months of "NOTHING" was all that cured it. One time took a year. Drugs do not work, just rest, sleep, some sun, good diet, and as much of a positive attitude you can muster. But knowing what to do is the most helpful thing. First time i had it i kept trying to come back too soon, and thus just delayed the recovery. You cannot fight this one, you have to lay down and accept it, and plan for the future, the far out future.

Really hard for folks like us, we are so used to getting injured or sick and just waiting days, or even a few weeks. To put things on a month or even year time scale, well that just goes against our sensibilities..And to know when to begin again, it is a feel and a targeted blood test for the DNA of the virus. The antibody test will be positive for a long time after the virus is in remission. Pay the few extra bucks and do it right, docs usually don't care about your situation and just do what they know or is convenient.

I must have just gotten lucky when I had it in college. Or as I like to look at it, my immune system just kicked its ass. I had a really bad sore throat and swollen lymph nodes. Finally went to Dr after 3 days and they did blood work to confirm. Gave me a steroid shot to help my throat and within a few hours I felt fine. I was back playing collegiate soccer in 2 weeks from diagnosis.

Curious - what are your symptoms?

---

Advocating for research & treatment for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).
http://www.meaction.net/about/what-is-me/

"Suck it up, Buttercup"
(me, to myself, every day)

Extreme fatigue was the major symptom. Muscle, joint inflammation and a rash in the inside of my left bicep also showed up at the beginning. My motivation for the sport plummeted also.

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

I got it once in college and after 7 years with it (so 7 years of no riding) going on large doses of Valtrex was what cleared my system of the virus.

Thanks for the info!

I must have just gotten lucky when I had it in college. Or as I like to look at it, my immune system just kicked its ass.//

What you had was mono, same virus but it is different from when you get it later in life after running yourself down. We all probably had it as youngsters, most the time not recognizing it. I think something like 95% of the population here has this virus. And you do not get rid of it, just goes into remission, so a ticking time bomb for just about everyone.

If you have any tips or tricks to get this thing in submission Im all ears. Im 43 never recall having Mono but was diagnosed with ReActivated EBV. Im in week 7 1/2. Not fun.

Henry-

You probably have already read mine and other recommendations, but it is pretty simple really. You do "NO" workouts, get plenty of sunshine, and sleep as much as you can. You can do normal daily activities, but just dont do things that run you down. Eat good, take vitamins, and the number 1 thing to combat this thing, patience. Remember every time you go and do something like a workout, you could be wiping out days or weeks of recovery. For me I would wait at least 4 months before testing my body, and super slow and paying attention to my energy levels. If they dont seem right for the efforts, then back for another month or two.

You are lucky in that they can actually test for the actual virus now, just not antibodies, so use that tool also to plan your comeback. But dont drag it out. I met a guy once who has had it for 25 years, he is even writhing a book about it. I asked him how long he had taken off to combat it, and he looked at me puzzled, never was his answer. He just trains a few days, then sleeps like a bear for a few more, rinse and repeat for 25 years. Of course I told him that was no way to live, and gave him my history of getting this several times, and beating it into submission each time to be free of it...Never saw him again, hope he took my advice...He had just resigned himself to the fact that he would just have it forever, and likely will if he doesn't just stop one day..

Thank you for the advice and congrats to conquering this thing. I will get there one step at a time.

Hi, I got diagnosed with mono back at the end of August this year, at age 40. Had a great year leading up, raced really well in an Ironman at the end of June, started feeling crappy later in July and then by early/mid August really started feeling off before finally thinking I had strep throat and heading to the doctor. I had basically shut down all training a week or so before I got tested since I had been feeling awful, and then obviously totally shut it down after that. Slept a lot, got lots of rest. I started doing some REALLY easy stuff, like running 20-30 minutes, in early October once I started feeling a bit better, and kept things very light for quite a while. Sometime in November or December I started feeling much more like my normal self but still kept things easy, although probably more just because of the time of year.

Jumped back into training 100% about 6 weeks ago and honestly, I've felt great. Feeling just about as good and strong as ever. Like others have said here, REST. And when you think you are feeling better, rest a little more and start back in easy to make sure you actually waited long enough. Your body will remember how to train when it is rested and ready. Hang in there.

Very much like mono. Rest and let the body recover. I researched supplements and took things like olive seed extract and the super-lysine combo pill. Anything that is thought to support the immune system. It may not be *FDA verified but I am confident that it helped me recover after digging a bigger hole trying to train through it. Do your research. Good luck.

I feel your misery. 60 year old male. I thought I had a cold Mid November and by late December finally got tested. EPV. I'm up to two 30 min easy jogs per week. Last week I ran 3 miles twice and rode the bike easy for 45 min on Saturday. Most frustrating thing I have ever experienced. Almost 3 months now where I'm still not 100%. Mentally I need to do something but physically I know I need to keep it easy.

Always have a little drainage, seems like my ears have been ringing since November, periodic headaches, and I never feel 100%.

On Sunday it was 70 in Colorado and I took my son to a private motocross track to ride. I couldn't resist and rode two 15 min motos. Probably not the smartest thing but it felt good to get some sun and sweat.

Im seeing a specialist now. You need to shut it down 100% until you are "clear" on the Early Antigen. This is found in the 4 panel spot test. A great deal of athletes go through this... It takes time. Looks like it last 3-12month then can even go in and out after 12 months if you dont take care of it. Most importantly is to find out what compromised your system for it to come up. Maybe a secondary infection?

In my case it was decades of extremely high training loads, very low body weight and a compromised immune system.

The best thing for me was to absolutely listen to my doctor and inform my coach so that he could adjust training accordingly once I was in a place where I was medically safe to resume activities. I think so many athletes destroy themselves in the early stages of this and dig a hole so deep they can't get out of it. Then once it is identified they don't listen to medical advice.

I've been there and I've come out the other end and eventually surpassed my previous fitness. Working with a specialist is the right course of action.