Second Opinion :)

My friend the pediatric endochronoligist called today . . . it was very sweet of her. I'd e-mailed to tell her about my most recent set of test results, but hadn't expected a reply this week because she's busy getting ready for her sister's wedding.

Anyway, she agreed with my doctor that none of the results other than the positive mono result were significant. It's so nice to have a doctor friend who is willing to explain this stuff to me. :)

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The small amount of protein and crystals could be from something as simple as dehydration, and is quite minor. The levels I had were low enough that I don't really need to worry about them in relation to kidney function, although of course that's something we're always keeping an eye on because of the family history.

The vitamin D, she said would probably be about the same in anybody living in this part of the country at this time of year. She did say it was a good idea to continue taking the cod-liver oil and eating foods high in D, especially since that seemed to improve my energy levels when I started doing it. She said that a lot of people with borderline low levels do feel better when they start supplementing D.

As for the mono, it's not really possible at this point to know whether I have the chronic form or a more recent infection. Since I've seen a significant decline in energy levels, an increase of other symptoms, and some new symptoms in the past few months, it does seem likely that I may have just recently contracted it.

She did warn me not to expect an increase in energy levels any time soon, especially since otherwise healthy people can take months to recover, and I'm the one who takes weeks to recover from a minor cold that everyone else was over in days. Of course, there's nothing to do for it other than lost of rest and fluids. Rest and not overdoing it is going to continue to be important for me.

Mono is not horribly contagious through casual contact, but can be contagious for up to a year even in a normally healthy person. So, especially if I'm around immune-compromised people like my mom and FIL, I need to make sure to wash hands frequently and wear a mask if I'm coughing.

Not that there's much danger of exposing anyone outside our immediate family and home group right now anyway, since I don't really have the energy to do anything or go anywhere. Just getting out of bed tires me out.

At least I figured out how to prop up the laptop so I can use it while lying on the couch. It's not too uncomfortable as long as I turn the lights on the screen really low. So maybe you'll see a little more blogging since I'm lying around so much these days.