How does mono affect Federer?

April 3, 2008 9:21 PM

I'm a Roger Federer fan, and looking for insight into how mono could be affecting Roger's game. and how his continuing to play may affect him. He apparently had mono in January, says he is over it, but just lost his fourth tournament in a row, and uncharacteristically. I have a theory, but no expertise. and most of the commentary on the web seems idiotic to me. Realizing that very little information is public, it seems plausible to me that he is mostly better, but at his level of play (generally fantastic, record-breaking, etc) mostly is just not enough.

I think that a small residual effect makes the difference, especially in the later rounds of the tournament. It's that tiny edge of difference between good and great. And what are the consequences of his continuing to train and play?
He's 26, no injuries before, as far as I know, and from comments in one article. was horrified at the idea of stopping playing for 6 or 12 months, which other players have done with mono. So I'm imagining that he just refuses to rest. and worrying. I'm wanting him to be taking excellent care of himself. Does anyone have informed opinion on what he's doing?? Can the docs tell what's going on?

posted by judybxxx to sports, hobbies, & recreation (9 comments total)

I know nothing about this player or uh, whatever sport this is, but I'm going to guess that he's a player who needs to be in the game to prove something, get a contract, renew a contract, make money, hold a position, whatever and is pushing himself to return before he is recovered. Either that or he's a serious Type A personality.

I say this because the idea of "had mono in January" makes me laugh. Granted, at 21 I had what is officially The Worst Case of Mono Ever, but I slept 23 hours a day. I'd wake up every 12 hours and quite literally crawl to the toilet to pee because I was too exhausted to walk. I couldn't stand. I would have starved to death if the deli on the corner didn't deliver two meals a day to me through my bedroom window. For three months. It was six months before I could return to work, and nine before I could work a full eight hours. After which I would go home and sleep for the next 14.

12 months for a full recovery for an athlete sounds right to me. I saw a lot of specialists and slept in a lot of waiting rooms and in no way does this sound like "best care" to me. I was told the only cure was rest. Which, you know, wasn't really a problem.

As long as that year was, I actually really pushed myself to return to work. I have lasting impairment to my liver function as a result of that illness, and while I'm sure there isn't a cause and effect there, I wish in retrospect I had taken even more time to recover.

So what I guess I'm saying is that the effects in his abilities may not be so residual at this point, and it may take him a long time to get back up to speed. This study showed that impairments of "memory, attention, motor skills and visual functions" were measurable in both in people with mono and people recently recovered from it. I would not be at all surprised were that an issue in his current abilities, especially as the game wears on.

Mono sucks.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:45 PM on April 3, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

um...Roger Federer, considered to be possibly the best tennis player ever. Definitely doesn't need money, contracts, or anything but To Achieve. He revealed in March that he had been diagnosed with mono, and that he had probably had it since December, but at no point did he stop playing.

I'd say it's quite possible that he is not at his peak still, but that if there were any serious reason to stop playing he would have - he's not some dumb teenager, he's generally considered quite a sensible person, and he is surrounded with competent medical professionals and has access to whatever specialist anyone might feel he needs.
posted by jacalata at 10:27 PM on April 3, 2008

No No Darling! I Had the Official Worst Case of Mono Ever... was in the emergency room... my lymph nodes swelled up and were closing off my throat and were as hard as rocks. I could NOT swallow and it was one of the most painful experiences of my life. I had to take a series of steriods to reduce the swelling. The doc in the ER that day is still one of my heroes for giving me pain killers that finally allowed me to get the rest my body was begging for. And though my hard core symptoms didn't keep me off my feet quite as long as you I feel I am still suffering from my bout with Mononucleosis...alright you might win the award for worst case ever but I am close second :)

anyway to answer the question I totally agree with DarlingBrl, Mono DOES suck and you don't have mono like you have the flu. it sticks with you for a long long time. I was worn out and just so damn tired even when i didn't feel ill I didn't feel like doing anything but lay around and sleep. to this day I don't like for the back of my neck to be touched very hard because the nodes back there are tender. or at least they are in my mind :)

And while this is turning into a vivid account of MY experience with mono I do know it affects people with a wide range of severity (some people don't know they are sick) but would bet it is having some detrimental side effects to his game. I know my doctor asked me if I played any contact or rough sports because even when I was feeling better mono was still at work inside me. One of the symptoms is an enlarged spleen which, again depending on the severity, can easily rupture with relatively little impact or even none at all. I know tennis isn't considered a contact sport but there is opportunity for falls etc... if he isn't suffering from the fatigue maybe he is aware of this and it is affecting him mentally and he is just not "all in the game"
posted by fogonlittlecatfeet at 10:47 PM on April 3, 2008

I was a long term mono sufferer, and I have to say, it affects everyone differently. I have friends who were back to school after a week with no lasting effects. Me? I almost died a few times, and many of my major organs were affected. I lost 25 pounds and most of my hair. I suffered through several life-threatening secondary infections.

Mono affects everyone differently.
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 10:56 PM on April 3, 2008

OK, freshwater_pr0n wins.
posted by DarlingBri at 11:17 PM on April 3, 2008

Anecdotal evidence: my high school track coach was reputed to have been very good in his youth, i.e. olympic-level good, and he had to quit because he got mono, tried to train through his mono or went back to training to soon, and contracted liver damage. And he's not an idiot -- he was just very driven, as all first-class athletes are.
posted by creasy boy at 2:54 AM on April 4, 2008

That's my concern, creasy boy. But I guess it is time to let it go, hope his medical advisers are good. From the reports, his playing yesterday was not as poor as the previous matches where he lost, so maybe this is just how he gets back into the game? I sure hope so - he has been a thing of joy and beauty to watch. Of course he is driven, and he loves being Number One, possibly greatest ever, etc. How else could he do what he's done?
posted by judybxxx at 7:43 AM on April 4, 2008

Actually, now I think of it, if he is/was affected, and I'm sure he was, it's possible that the best way back is to start playing again. And the likely result is what we've been seeing? Looks ok with lesser opponents, and can't go the distance with better ones? I want to believe the docs are monitoring him, and avoiding long term damage,. Can they do that? That's really my question. Does anyone know?
posted by judybxxx at 7:58 AM on April 4, 2008

I seem to recall a speed skater, during one of the winter Olympics, say that she had been diagnosed with mono and she didn't know she had it for several months. Definitely varying degrees of mono.

I was told no snowboarding for several months because my spleen could rupture if I fell. Even after you feel better, apparently your speen is still enlarged for a while. So I wonder if he'd be in a lot of danger from being hit by a 120+ MPH tennis ball.
posted by peep at 8:24 AM on April 4, 2008