Ever since I had mono, I have not felt as good as I did before then. I'd never been that sick before.

I had the sore throat, extreme fatigue, a 3 week long migraine, some sort of icky, nasty discolored goo draining from my nose CONSTANTLY (if I laid down to sleep, I'd feel like I was drowning in it), I only slept an hour or two at a time. I had a fever that went above 104 for a few hours one day. The fever was the worst part. That's the only time in my life that I have ever been delirious from fever. My uncle had died right about the time I contracted mono. I think it was the stress of his death that might have lowered my immune system and allowed me to contract mono.

Because of the lack of sleep, when I started to get better from the mono, I would sleep for days. Once I went to get my paycheck that I hadnt picked up for a month one day...I picked it up, went and cashed it, walked out to my car, got in, fell asleep for about an hour...woke up, drove home, and slept for 30hrs.

I never, ever ever want to be that sick again. The tiredness and fatigue I had when I had mono, the MS fatigue hasnt even come close to being as bad as the mono fatigue yet!

My last day working before giving in to being sick with mono, was the day that our McD's store transferred to the new ownership (old owner died because his pharmacy screwed up and gave him the wrong medication. His wife didnt want to run the two stores they had alone, so she sold them both to the most evil McD's owner who ever existed)

I remember the new owner yelling at me to clean the breakroom, and to fix the broken table that was on the floor. (what am I? MacGyver??) I couldnt even lift the table, and he kept yelling at me. Finally the manager stepped in, and told me to do something else. I went up front and was bagging french fries when all of a sudden, I just burst into tears.

I went and hid behind the ice cream machine so customers wouldnt see me, but everyone in the grill area thought that I had just gone mad or something. I was standing there, and another one of the managers asked me what was wrong. I just stood there crying my eyes out and telling her that I had no idea why I was so tired. She decided to send me home, and wouldnt let me come back until I had a doctor's note.

Went to the doctor and the stupid physician's assistant (same moron who told me in 2006 that my numb leg was a sprain, and here, put some heat on it and it'll be better in a few days...moron!) diagnosed it as a sinus infection. I had told her that my aunt (a nurse) and told me that it was mononucleosis and to give me the monospot test. Of course I was ignored. I didnt know enough to insist or complain about it.

Went and picked up the antibiotics she Rx-ed and went home. Took the abx's and promptly had the well-known reaction to the antibiotics that people with mononucleosis get. (confirmed my aunt's diagnosis!)

Went back the next day, told the PA she was an idiot, the doctor came in, and said for them to do the monospot test, and I had an "I TOLD YOU SO!!" moment. (I really hate that PA) Apparently the mono was making me quite grumpy.

I really do believe that mononucleosis is probably one of the big triggers for MS. I'm sure there's probably at least a half dozen different triggers, but I do think that mono is one of the required ingredients for activating whatever body mechanism that sets off the immune system.

If I could turn my "medical bad luck" into good luck, I'd probably be able to win Powerball fairly often.