This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Welcome, Slug-
You are not alone. We've been talking alot about how the timing of mono and the Epstein Barr virus can affect future MS. EBV used to be seen as a benign childhood illness. When it is contracted as a teenager, the immune system reacts differently, and a teen develops mono. Some people later develop MS-Scientists/researchers are pursuing the connection
http://www.thisisms.com/ftopict-5993-ebv.html

Here's some more threads to read-
http://www.thisisms.com/ftopict-5992-ebv.html
http://www.thisisms.com/ftopict-5823-ebv.html

NHE is right, there's lots here to read up on-

Sorry about that nasty case of mono, Art. Sounds like it really took it out of you! My husband had it for a few weeks, was more like the flu,but the fatigue lasted longer. And now that's his major hurtle with his MS.
AC

I had Mono in Feb 2000. Went downhill from there. DX as probable MS in April 2003 and RRMS in April 2008.

I definitely believe there is a connection.

CF

I had mono at the age of 12. Was out of school for about 6 weeks. It's been years ago so I don't remember the details. Afterwards I got shingles (I already had chicken pox) when chicken pox was going around the school. I don't know if it was EBV. Will a simple blood test give the answer?

Marcia

Marcia,

A blood test can tell you that. It was a blood test that led to the Dr. basically telling me I had mono at some point in the past due to my really high EBV titer. I think, and I could be recalling incorrectly, that if you had mono, you have EBV running around.

I don't remember having mono, but two of my kids did. My EBV Nuclear Antigen came back "greater than 5". Doc made notes on the results- "past EBV infection".

I've been sort of curious about mono because the last few girls I've kissed have come down with mono not too long after the experience. I myself have never had mono, or it was so mild and brief that I didn't even notice it. I wonder if it's just coincidence or if I just carry the virus without ever evidencing the symptoms. The weirdest thing with me not having it is that mono has a two week incubation period, I think, and these girls would have either got it from me or given it to me.

The dr I saw at Duke Univeristy asked me if I ever had mono. I did when I was 16, and now, I have MS. He told me the two were related. However, I am on one of four great-granddaughters with MS as well.

Curious whether my fears are valid or if I'm just being ridiculous here.

My father has had MS for as long as I can remember. Maybe 15 years. I know my mom had mono when I was a baby, some 25 years ago. I've never had it.

The girl I'm currently dating had a bad bout with mono in highschool, about 8 years ago.

I'm curious whether I should be concerned with dating her, considering I have a family history of MS. Fearing she could pass the trigger to something I'm susceptible for.

Reasonable? Ridiculous? Most say I can't avoid the EBV, since 95% of the population seems to be walking around with it. I may already have it, even, and as a result be immune.

What do you guys think?

The girl you're dating can't infect you anymore with mono and I'm pretty sure she can't pass any trigger.

Happy New Year,
Sandrine

i wouldn't worry about your gal, but you can look at some pretty standard markers to see if you're sliding into the ms range - you can test your vitamin d3, your zinc, and your uric acid, there are 'typical' findings for ms with all of those. and a few other things too but just to get started ;)

I hate worrying about this. I've dated a few girls and left because they had mono in the past. This is the first one that I really want to give it a try with. I just wish I could quell my anxiety about it.

I keep thinking what if I don't have EBV. What if she could still pass it to me. What if my genetic background makes me susceptible to it.

My logical mind tells me that's so ridiculously far-fetched. I just can't erase the "what ifs".

My only comfort rests in the fact that supposedly 95% of the population has EBV, so how can I ever really avoid it? I'd have to live like a monk, and that ain't happening.

chud: the other day at work a manager was complaining of a cold allergy which made me go investigate... i ended up at zinc. i encountered a side link to mono. apparently contracting mono is also linked to low zinc. i remembered this manager saying she'd gotten mono not too long ago. then i ran into the links to autism. which her son has. then i ran across hypothyroidism. which she said her sister has. she asked what foods have zinc? red meat and some sea foods, mostly, i answered. we talked some about the links i'd found btw zinc and mono etc, and then she told me that she didn't eat red meat and that she and her sisters had been vegetarians for some years, and that her husband was the only one in the family that ate red meat, and he's the only one who's healthy. so hopefully she checks back in at some point to report whether there have been improvements!
and now here i am with ms, after 15 years of veganism, and documented lab tested zinc deficiency on my record, and published research is out there saying both male and female ms patients are lower in zinc, if not necessarily outright "deficient". i'd say, you could make sure your zinc level is in the "healthy control" range (ie not the deceptively titled 'normal' range) and put yourself a bit more at ease regarding both mono AND ms.

omg - i had to sign up for an account, just so i could answer this question. I have been thinking that there must be some sort of connection between the two and am really interested in this topic.

My story:

i had some vision problems, went to the doctor and had a battery of tests done. Mono (epstein barr) was negative at this point. Spent some time dickering around with eye tests, reflex tests, etc, to try to figure out what was wrong.

Everyone around me is sick - like, terribly sick - and I am fine.

Have some more vision problems, doctor schedules a spinal tap and runs the whole serious of tests again, comes back and says, "ah, i see you've had mono..." Now the mono test was positive.

After this "shocking" information an acquaintance confirms that during the time when everyone was sick, she had been diagnosed with mono and spent two weeks in bed.

i was later given all the tentative diagnosis of MS, but find it very odd that both of these things occured at the same time and like i said before, i was NEVER sick during the time between the negative and positive epstein barr test.