My Teen Type 1 son (in honeymoon) just announced that his best girl buddy was diagnosed today with Mono. This is after spending the day with her yesterday and drinking out of the same water bottle. Incubation period is 30 days.
Can anyone give feedback on this? If he does get it what may come his way? What to watch for? Anyway to support the immune system? Any direction? Any advice?
What I have found out scouring the internet is that since the spleen may be affected, that steroids are often given which throws off the blood sugars. Fever may throw off the blood sugars. Perhaps the illness itself may move him out of honeymoon?
Just getting ready to respond to this nasty virus if it strikes!
Mono or EBV(Epstein Barr Virus) infections are very common, and for many it is asymptomatic.
It can cause any thing from low grade temps with a sore throat and swollen glands, to full on liver failure.
Steroids may be used but usually when the liver and spleen involvement are major and life threatening.
What typically happens is that if you become symptomatic then you will have a cyclic fever that is low in the morning but gets higher in the evening and then drops down overnight. This may last for several days as the hight of the evening spikes gets high. But it will eventually stop rising and return to normal.
While the fever is rising you feel like crap- just very wiped out and tired. When it breaks each night you may be drenched, but then beginning to feel a bit better.
Activity is not restricted per say, just a bit limited by how your feel. Contact sports are restricted if you have spleen enlargement as it may rupture with abdominal impact- so no football, karate, etc.
More than likely it will not be a problem other than needing to watch his numbers and contact his docs if he has symptoms. Do you have a sick day plan on how you adjust basal/bolus for illness?
Might be a good idea to review just incase.
Thanks for the reply. Since my son is in honeymoon we do not have a sick day planned. Long acting only at this time. Have yet to know where his numbers would go. He has a few small colds the last year, with no changes in numbers. Hence, this post.
With mono, because of the spleen/liver aggravation, I was assuming that it may put the Type 1 in an unhappy place.
The spleen/liver involvement is a bit over emphasized, the same thing can happen with a lot of viral illnesses. For a lot of T1s a viral illness may make their insulin requirements go up. It can cause a bit of insulin resistance. You may need to increase your basal stepwise to get top of his numbers.
I would talk to your endo and ask for recommendations. If he gets it and becomes symptomatic then you will need to watch for a rise in his numbers and wether he starts to spill ketones. Keeping him hydrated and eating can be a challenge if he gets the bad sore throat, but is important for BG control.
If he ends up needing antibiotics for strep throat on top of the mono- Not that uncommon then that can effect things as well.
Talk to your endo practice, and get their recommendations before he gets sick. That way you can have things on hand. Hopefully you will not need to use it this time but life happens and you will eventually.
