My DS (yes the one that didn't call his mother) just got back from London last week. He tells me that he was sick for at least 5 days at the jamboree and slept for up to 18hrs a day. He had already been in England for about a week before he got sick . He went to the Dr, they gave him antibiotics, tylenol and something for his sore throat. He said he was just miserable and felt awful. Mono was bought up then. Of course others said that many had "Jamboreeitis"... living in close quarters with 40,000 youth there is bound to be germs or cooties being spread. And with what I am getting from the other scouts is that there was some interaction with the girls.

OK ... fast forward, he is feeling better, but it has taken a week and he is still really sleepy, worn out, fatigued. Should I just take him in and get him checked out? Or just chalk it up to jet lag. I would of thought that would of worn off by now.

Not sure what to do!

**Update**
I took him today and sure enough he has mono. His lymph nodes are up all over his body, swollen glands and the stomach cramps. Lots of fluids and rest. No Cross Country practice, I am really happy about this as the 6:30 am practice is not appealing to me at all! He is mad that he couldn't go to a birthday party tonight though. Now they call it the kissing disease, hmmmm I guess he had fun at the World Jamboree in England. He must of decided to bring a little of the jamboree back with him.

Mono takes a long time to heal from. Couple that with the all that your son has done and seen and the jet lag---I wouldn't be too concerned.
Things that would indicate that he need further eval:
*elevated temperature
*difficulty swallowing and/or breathing (swollen throat and/or glands)

Of course, your the mom and if you THINK he needs to be checked then you should get him checked.

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Never hurts to get things checked out. My 23 yr old son just had his 4th doctor visit this morning. He's had a sore throat for 2-3 weeks and a mega swollen tonsil. The first doctor, our family practice, doc said it was a virus. It didn't go away and got worse so he went back several days later. Same thing. It got worse over the weekend and the on call people told him to go to the ER which he did. They took blood and put him on penicillan. Strep tests have been negative. Today he went to an ear, nose and throat specialist and he told him "I don't care what the tests say, you have strep" and he gave him a scrip for Augmenton (sp). He's only had one pill and it MIGHT be getting a tiny bit better. We will know in the am after his evening dose kicks in. The specialist told him to call in the am and if it's not working he may need that tonsil taken out PRONTO. Yikes. I hope not. If this new med works I may dispute the ER bill since he only has major medical insurance. It's ridiculous that it takes 4 visits to fix a swollen tonsil. That's a lot of money, pain and time wasted. Good luck!!!

I had mono and yes it takes weeks and maybe months to feel better. It just a simple blood test to find out. I do remember that every that it seemed like lymph node in my body was enlarged from mono.

Why would you dispute the ER bill? They treated him appropriately.
The treated him for an infection with Penicillin.
Strep can be cured w/ penicillin--augmenton is not the ONLY antibiotic used to treat strep! It's extremely common to start w/ a less potent antibiotic (good old fashioned penicillin) for strep so that teh strep bacteria does not become resistant to the higher potency antibiotics. The ER provided reasonable and necessary treatment to your son and you should not dispute the bill!

Why don't you dispute the bill w/ the family practice doctor as well--I mean after all they misdiagnosed him!

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

There isn't very much that the doctor can do for strep, anyway.

My dd had it last spring, and by the time you feel bad, you really aren't contagious. They tell you to just rest.

She got the blood work done because she needed to be able to call off school, but strep is really treated symptomatically.

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"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." --Matthew 5:9

Could be off my rocker here, but strep is usually taken care of with an antibiotic and you are told you are still contagious until you have taken the med. for 24 hours. Scarlet Fever can develop if the strep is a serious case. I've never been told for myself or any of my family to just let strep run its course.

**This is something I copied and pasted from another site**
Strep Throat

If your child is not treated for strep throat, he or she is most infectious when the symptoms are the most severe but could remain contagious for up to 21 days. Lack of treatment - or not finishing the prescribed course of antibiotics - also could put your child at risk for other health problems, such as rheumatic fever (which can cause permanent damage to the heart), scarlet fever, blood infections, or kidney disease.

Thinking about it! It seems if his tonsil is to the point of abcessing and needing it taken out as an emergency then someone dropped the ball along the way....... I understand all about drug resistancy. And the need to not treat a virus with antibiotics. But after three doctor vists AND an ER visit it seems like it should not have gotten to this point. Probably won't dispute the bills anyway but it doesn't seem like it should take four doctor visits to see that his tonsil/throat was really a mess. His glands were swollen, the tonsil was swollen almost to the center of this mouth with ***** spots, he couldn't open his jaw all the way, couldn't swallow very well-it doesn't seem to me that it would take a brain surgeon to see this is more than just a little sore throat and needs a strong antibiotic!

You need to treat strep with antibiotics. Maybe your dd didn't have strep. You treat a virus symptomatically not something bacterial.

IF the bloodwork was coming back "normal" or at the very least not indicating an infection, there really isn't anything the ER can do. I just don't understand WHY you would dispute the ER bill, but not your family Drs. They misdiagnosed him and provided NO TREATMENT. At least the ER provided some sort of treatment!

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

PS The blood work was not "normal". His white count was quite elevated.

Augmentin is Penicillan!!!! They are the SAME antibiotic!! I know because I am allergic to penicillan and it goes by about 30 different names. I'm also guessing here that the rapid strep was what was negative. It usually takes a while for the other tests to come back.

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So, his WBC was elevated? and the strep test came back negative?
what else do you expect the ER Doc to do? The dr. prescribed an antibiotic. That's more than your regular doctor did....

Did you want the ER to admit him and do an emergency tonsillectomy? Oh wait....it could have been a sinus infection (yes, a very serious sinus infection can make the tonsils/throat swell, lymphnodes to swell and the gunk drain from the sinuses will drain onto the tonsils causing them to look really gross). So, Yes, I'm still harping on the fact that your son went to the ER and you have the AUDACITY to even suggest that you would dispute the charges because you don't think they diagnosed your son correctly! And HOW can you think the ER should be able to better diagnos when your family doctor couldn't get the diagnosis correct!??


and 9 times out of 10--if you call the "on-call" people, they will tell you if you feel like you need immediate care you should go to the ER. That doesn't mean that the condition is necessary an emergency, but the "on-call" people can not and will not diagnose over the phone. They certainly will not treat over the phone.

Augementin is a synthesized type of penicillin, where as penicillin is "natural". But, yes, people who are typically allergic to penicillin will exhibit allergic type symptoms when taking augementin.

Strep is NEVER left to heal on it's on. The possible complications are generally very serious and possibly life-threatening!

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

Man, you people are really jumping on my case!!! You are all trying to tell me that FOUR visits is what it takes to get something right??? I may change family practice docs anyway. I know my son is not going back there. It's NOT a sinus infection. It never was. I'm not stupid people. I was married to a pharmacologist. I know all about viruses, bacteria, drug resistancy etc.... I am not a doctor, HOWEVER, I do know when something is not right. His throat was a mess. He told me today that the ER doctor was NOT going to prescribe anything but he said he would if my son WANTED him to. So he said yes, he would like to try something. Good thing he at least started on penicillin. That might have helped keep it from getting an abcess. Also, penicillin and Augmentin are in the same family but are DIFFERENT. They are not one and the same. Their makeup is a little different hence it is ANOTHER antiobotic in the antiobotic arsenal. I guess all you folks out there don't mind going to doctor after doctor to get some results but I don't like it. Maybe you can afford it but he can't. I know docs are human and I have great respect for them but FOUR visits to get the job done for a tonsil infection?????? The on call person was actually a nursing service that the hospital has, that's who he talked to when they said go to the ER. I KNOW nothing can be diagnosed over the phone. I'm willing to bet that Marilynk has someone working in the medical field...... Also Marilyn, I don't expect an ER doc to ask the PATIENT if he WANTS an antibiotic!!!!!! The AUDACITY!!!!

You'd be wrong...I worked in the medical field. I currently do not...
Of course I don't think 4 visits is "ok", but I also have issue with you and/or your son not being more proactive with his health. It shouldn't have taken 2 visits to the dr, and one visit to the ER to find out what was wrong. If you KNEW something was wrong why didn't YOU insist that he get better care?

Having worked in an ER, myself, I can honestly say that sometimes a Dr. will ask the patient what they think they need. It's something the drs. use to assess their patients. You'd be amazed at what some patients say they want/need.
By the way...your story keeps getting different twists and turns to suit your argument. You said in an earlier post that his tonsil was already abscessed. You never mentioned any other symptoms (like a rash, running fever, headache, body aches., etc) Your family doctor SHOULD have cultured the throat and that can take 6 to 24 hrs. You're upset that your son is sick and you seem to want to blame that on someone. Truth be told, your FAMILY doctor was not aggressive in treating this. It's his fault that it got to the point that it did. Don't blame it on the ER--especially is you weren't present in the ER to witness what exactly was said and/or transpired btwn your son and the doctor. I really think you're upset that he's sick, I think you feel bad that you didn't do more to get him better care--most of us mothers have that guilt reaction.

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

Well, like I posted earlier, it doesn't hurt to take him in and see what they say. Good luck!

1. You worked in the medical field. So I was sort of on target! You are part of your family! lol
2. My son and I were pro-active. The first time he went he came home and was told to take Ibuprofen which he did. Several days later when it wasn't better I looked down his throat and there was white stuff on his uveula (sp). He called the doctors offce and they said keep taking ibuprofen. I then called back and said are you sure this shouldn't be looked at so they said to come on out. He did and they quick tested for strep again and it was negative. They did do two tests, both negative.
3. I believe you mentioned it could be sinus. He had no other symptoms. It was definitely a throat/tonsil problem.
4. He's 23. My friend is mega impressed that any young man would do as much as he did do in getting this taken care of. You know how men can me.....lol
5. I don't feel guilty because I'm a good mom. He's an adult. He was the one to call the on call hospital line and followed up with what he was told and went to the ER. I'm not one of those moms that rushes their kids to the doctor for any old thing. I am very good with knowing what's not right with my kids. When my 16 yr old was a toddler and had a string of ear infections my peditrician was amazed at how well I knew when he had one because he never presented with the usual symptoms.
6. When he still wasn't getting better after about 4 days on penicillin I suggested he go to the ear/nose/throat specialist in town. So he called and made an appt.
7. If you want to blame him for letting it get this bad then you are free to do that. However, I think he did all the right things. Twice at the family doc, calling the on call service, going to the ER and then to a specialist. Geez, all for a sore throat!!! And a 23 year old male no less!
8. If I said his tonsil was abcessed then I wrote it incorrectly. What I thought I was trying to convey was that the specialist said it was almost to the point of being abcessed and then they would have wanted to do an emergency tonsillectomy. He told him if it wasn't starting to get better in 24 hours they may have to have it removed.
9. I'm most upset that he has had to go through all of this. He's a strapping young, healthy man but he's been pretty miserable for the last several weeks.
10. I'm curious as to how more proactive my son should have been???? Following the family prac docs, doing what the ER and on call people said to do, etc... What the heck would you have had him do? His own tonsillectomy????? Enroll in med school?? Keep going back to the first doctors? Call the surgeon general? I think he did a fantastic job.
11. We certainly aren't going to agree on this. I feel we did our best. I feel the med establishment missed some calls on this. They are the experts, not the patient. I was just venting which this board is supposed to let you do. I wasn't insulting anyone by name, just reporting our bad experiences.
12. Get off my case!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks!

Heeelllloooo...I am sneaking back in here. I am taking him tomorrow to get a blood test as his teacher told me today that there have been a couple of kids in his class come down with mono this summer... Ok sneaking out again!

Good luck with that test!!!! Sorry it got so off topic!!!

I hope you find out something conclusive. The unknown is the difficult part most of the time.
My 12 yr old DD had mono in 1st grade. AWFUL!!
Thinking of you and sending positive vibes!!
***~~***~~***~~***~~***~~***

Sorry... I meant mono and typed strep! Strep is, of course, treated with antibiotics... but mono isn't.

Mono you pretty much have to just wait out.

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"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." --Matthew 5:9

They did give him some antibiotics to help with the swollen throat and the secondary symptoms. He said that it should help, but you are right to get over Mono, you just have to wait it out.

If it makes you feel any better, mono is contagious and can be caught by drinking after someone who has it. He didn't have to kiss anyone to get it.

Sorry to hear about this! At least you got a DX. It makes me smile that in that video you posted one of the other boys was talking about how cool it was that other countries have GIRLS in scouts! LOL (with all those kids in such close quarter, hard telling how he got it!)

(I got it in High School from a drinking fountain..and I am sticking to that story....even though the guy I was dating got it too..same drinking fountain I am sure)


Hope your son has a quick recovery!

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Well I am sure the sign he carried around saying "Free hugs and Kisses" didn't help! I know he had a "girlfriend" there. He said that she had been sick too!

Ok, I think the moderator said this has gotten off topic, yet you still felt compelled to post this???? This is what Private Messaging is for. And, for the record, since I'm posting anyway.....I agree with MarilynK, WHY dispute the charge??? Your son received the billed service, right??? Sorry he doesn't have proper insurance to pay for this, but, is that the doctor or hospital's fault??? If you feel he received faulty health care, I believe that is what they have malpractice laws for. Sometimes it does take several visits to a doctor to get the correct diagnosis. That topic would be a whole nother thread, so please don't reply, as I won't respond to your response, so as to keep this thread from going even FURTHER off topic.

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