Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with mono

identify the mystery illness!

sardonicsmile — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:47:41 -0800

a week ago i started growing an ulcer (or canker sore) on the inside of my lip. i didn't think much of it, although it was growing quite large and white and i hadn't had one like that before. a week later i woke up very bone sore for no apparent reason, and while out and about.... ... i started feeling more tired and could feel the pressure on my head, especially when turning my neck too fast.

i slept in until midday the next day, which is unusual for me. although i could not detect a fever, i was feeling extremely cold on a 37°C day, and my limbs ached not unlike the flu. i also experienced sore throat, swollen gums, and large swollen bumps behind my teeth, though i have not gone out of my way to scratch the inside of my mouth.

the aching was alleviated with paracetamol, the tiredness has been a bit harder. i've slept in until 1pm on my day off, and had to go to sleep at 10pm on a work night. i haven't had the energy to get anything done at all. in the morning i just don't feel like i can cope with a day's work, though it seems to get better gradually as the day progresses, and at least i do most of my work in front of a computer.

i can barely eat due to the sores inside my mouth, though at least the sore throat has died down. but what worries me is that there has been more pressure on my lymph nodes, and this morning it felt like it was squashing my neck and jaw in. my tongue is whitish and spotty, but i've also seen this connected with thrush, and hell no, i don't think that's where this is going.

btw, i've scheduled a doctor's appointment tomorrow, but until then... i'm a bit worried it might be glandular fever, or what you guys commonly call mono. the swollen gums don't seem consistent with its symptoms though...

Indirect Mononucleosis Transmission?

howgenerica — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 06:43:45 -0800

My friend has mononucleosis. He shared a drink with a friend of mine who had mono several years ago. I later shared a fork with this latter friend. Is there a chance that I was exposed? Could my friend have been carrying the disease even if she can't contract again? I'm freaking out a little. In a couple weeks I'm going to start an intensive program that's 12 hours in the classroom a day for about a month, and the absolute last thing I need is to come down with mono. Ahh!

Left ear: melody. Right ear: harmony. More, please!

Sweetie Darling — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:11:13 -0800

Left ear: melody. Right ear: harmony. More, please! In an effort to increase my personal safety, I'm walking the dog in the morning with only one earbud in. It's been fun to shuffle through my iPod and get the occasional song where the music I hear in one ear is markedly different than what you hear when listening with the other ear. It seems to happen mostly with mid- to late-'60s songs - Mamas & Papas, CSN, Grateful Dead.

So as I walk, I wonder:
- Was that production style a trend specifically in that era? Did it have to do with the transition from mono to stereo? Why did people stop doing this?
- Can you give me any more examples of artists and/or songs that utilize this technique (any era, any style)? It's kind of fun to listen with one ear, then the other. I think I'm learning more about harmony, which is kind of cool.

Thanks!

You have cancer. Oh wait, it's just mono.

djpyk — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:42:43 -0800

They sad I probably had cancer. Turned out it was mono. Is this normal? In January of this year, I had a few strange symptoms--night sweats, extreme fatigue, flu-like symptoms without a runny nose, swollen lymph nodes. I ended up going to my universities health clinic, as I'm a graduate student. Anyways, it was a Friday, and I told the doctor my symptoms. I had a few tests taken (including a "quick" mono test, which apparently is horribly inaccurate), as well as an x-ray of my chest.

Well, the clinic doc took a look at everything and got really worried. The mono test was negative, and she didn't seem to see any problems with my throat. She consulted with another doctor, and sat me down. Basically laid it out to me: you either have lymphoma (bad), or sarcoid (pretty serious). I was to get a CT scan the next day, to make a better diagnosis and see if anything was spreading. I was blown away of course, but I had her call my parents and talk to them about the situation to make sure I or her wasn't crazy.

Anyways, I went in for the CT scan that Saturday, and she wanted to schedule a biopsy at a local ear nose and throat (ENT) clinic the coming Monday. After a traumatic weekend with some of that nasty CT scanning liquid, I went into the ENT. The doctor there sat me down and said plainly, "I don't do biopsy's based on other doctor's orders." He basically thought I was nuts, and a bit confused by the CT scan. He took a look at my throat and after about a minute declared, "Yup, mono, almost 100% sure of it." He also took a look at my CT scan "readings" and they all, of course, came up nearly clear, with just a few blotches where some of my lymph nodes were big. I ended up getting a "real" mono blood test, which, of course, came up positive for being a recent infection, and several months later I'm fine, but a bit poorer.

So my (open ended) questions: Was this normal procedure? Does mono get misdiagnosed for cancer often in people of my age (early 20s)? Should I contact the health center to let them know that one of their doctor's is a bit of a sketchball? Do people trust health clinics like this (I am much much more cynical of them nowadays, for obvious reasons)?

I ask this because yes, I do have health insurance, but I'm a pretty poor graduate student. My family helped me out since after coverage, all of this ended up being around $10000 before insurance, and $2000 out-of-pocket (all I have to say is... CT scans are mighty expensive, ENT checkups are comparatively cheap).

I also ask this because I forwarded my file during the "you have cancer" weekend to my friend's doctor-dad, and he took a look and noticed that the tests suggested that there was a very small chance I had lymphoma whatsoever. Also, the wary nature of the ENT doctor made me wonder that the clinic doc was... wildly misdiagnosing me. I also have no (that me or my father/mother knows of) history of lymphoma or even cancer within my family, which would seemingly improve my odds against having cancer.

Thoughts? Similar experiences? I've taken a few months off from it all, since I was a bit frustrated by the whole experience. But recently I'm thinking of seeking some sort of closure... The clinic doctor did call me the following week after everything to apologize profusely, but also tried to justify her position at the same time (annoying to hear that of course).

Anyways, (very) long post... thanks for reading!

This scarlet fever isn't making my toys Real.

bonobo — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:45:38 -0800

YANMD: What other illnesses could be mistaken for scarlet fever? Bonus question: If you've had scarlatina, what was it like? Brief timeline:

Sunday P.M. = fatigued
Monday A.M. = fatigued + nauseous + achy joints
Monday P.M. = all of the above + fever + vomiting + awoke from a nap with a few random itchy red bumps on my waist and leg
Tuesday A.M. = fever + more bumps + call to my doctor's office for an appointment
Tuesday P.M. = Diagnosis of scarlatina + a prescription for an antibiotic.

Problem(s)? While my throat does appear stripy & raw, it hasn't been sore like strep throat. The doctor (new partner in my GP's office) didn't take any blood tests or swab my throat. She stated that this strep is a different strain and wouldn't show up in the culture. My tongue doesn't have the classic "strawberry" appearance of scarlet fever (although it does have a white film), my skin isn't red in blotches--just pustules appearing here, there, and everywhere, and my lymph nodes aren't swollen.

She did state that scarlatina is a childhood disease and that adults rarely get it. Since I run a community computer lab in the evenings, she thought I might have picked it up from one of the kids that visit.

Now, I'm still running a temperature and even more pustules are appearing. I'm itching like mad and feel worse than before, despite the antibiotic. I took some more Benadryl and will try to sleep without clawing myself apart. If I'm still running a temp in the morning, I will schedule another visit.

Basically, I'm curious if anyone here has had scarlatina and if it was anything like this. What the hell else could it be? My first thought was chicken pox, but I already had a (mild) dose sixteen years ago.

Thanks.

What can I do with mono?

bukharin — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:18:52 -0800

I have mononucleosis and I live by myself in New York. The first two days were agony, but six days later I feel great. When can I ride my bicycle again? Is it okay to have a beer? If I feel good, can I go for a long walk or dance to music? What about just hauling myself on the subway and getting groceries? If somebody elbows me, will my spleen rupture? How careful do I need to be? I'm not tired at all, do I still have to sleep all the time?

How does mono affect Federer?

judybxxx — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:21:43 -0800

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?

Database application freelancer seeking programming language advice

mrbloo — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 02:34:51 -0800

I'm planning on starting a database freelancing business. I understand a lot of people prefer Microsoft Access or FileMaker. With the current evolving trend of applications going on the web and add to that my somewhat good experience with PHP, HTML, Javascript and CSS I'm seeking a cross platform efficient application environment. This is why I believe Access and FileMaker are not an option, I'm also more experienced with high level languages than I am with Access or FileMaker. I am currently looking into alternatives. I have been looking at different frameworks and toolkits. These are generally what I have come up with;

- PHP-GTK (Required GTK+ and PHP)
- Python (With wxPython/pyGTK)
- Perl (Perl/Tk)

All those options and similar and require a toolkit and or an interpreter to be installed on the system to work. I'm looking for a cleaner (and possibly compiled or packaged) applications. So I came across other tools such as;

- Mozilla Gecko (XULRunner)
- Adobe Air

Those seem like the most viable options, however, it would be best if the code was compiled, since each of these applications require a lot of virtual memory. Lastly, I came across boo and mono. I like the idea a lot, however there is still the issue of writing and compiling boo code. I only got introduced to boo yesterday.

I'm very reluctant about getting into Java, C, C++, or C# simply because of the complexity of it compared to the languages above. However, if you have another opinion please feel free to share. I'm open to ideas and criticism.

I'm confused as to what would be my best option here for a cross platform programming language and framework/toolkit (GUI) for creating portable database (and possible Point of Sale) applications for my town's local small businesses. What would you recommend?

Programing exercises for the weak?

blackout — Tue, 22 May 2007 18:20:26 -0800

Somewhat of a budding programing looking for programing exercises. I'm kind of middle ground between not knowing anything and what you might call a novice. So really I know just enough to be dangerous and have ideas too big for my skills. What are some good exercises (mostly thinking C# [mono] here) that will help me develop into at least a novice? More after the break. I've developed a few applications for myself in the past. All in Visual Basic 6 and they were nothing too great but also nothing to scoff at either (a time clock where the users would clock in/out with a RFID tag read though a RFID reader connected via USB with the information being stored in a database, a custom slide show screen saver with a built in pong clock clone for a home made digital picture fame, as well as some odd programs here and there).
I'd like to start working with C# [via mono]. I'm very famillar with the C style syntax so that's not a problem. I work with PHP a fair bit. I've also read many many books on C, C++, and C# but the problem was I just read them I never did anything in them. I understand the basics of OOP (an object is both data and functions) but I'd like to really understand it.
So I'm looking for exercises that will keep me interested yet at the same time not start with a simple hello world application nor expect me to understand OOP totally or even some of the more advanced C#. I know the best exercises are the programs you yourself need to fit some problem but right now I don't have any of those.
Also please keep in mind that even though I have a windows 2000 box with a copy of C# 2005 express edition on it. I'd like to do all this with the cross platform version mono. I know that shouldn't be too much of a problem but I thought I should point it out.
Also I don't know if I made it sound like I've never worked with C# before, I have and have made a few simple, simple programs the biggest one would copy the mp3 files that are downloaded via Pandora rename them with the artist and track title and copy them to a directory of my choice.

I've got mono. What now?

buriednexttoyou — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 18:34:32 -0800

MononucleosisFilter: I just got diagnosed with mono. My doctor says I will be pretty much incapacitated for the next three weeks or so. I have a few questions that the doc didn't really satisfy, and I thought I'd see if some Mefites could share their experience... Forgive my poor writing in this post, the fever is melting my brain a bit. Here are my questions:

1. I have a very low-stress (read: easy) job, which I think I would be able to perform even in my current fatigued state. I don't want to infect my coworkers, especially my germaphobic boss who has been known to regularly saturate her office with lysol spray. The doc says there's no reason to quarantine myself, but really, how infectious am I? Should I go back to work and try to quell the fears of the people around me, or should I just stay home?

2. Coach me on fighting this thing. Specifically what do you recommend I should eat and drink? There are no prescriptions for mono, but what medicines can I take to help the symptoms?

3. What am I gonna do for the next three weeks while I'm vegetating on the couch? I'm thinking a "Planet of the Apes" movie marathon. Got any ideas to keep this illness from completely wasting nearly a month of my life?

How can I record speech in stereo?

featherboa — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 04:53:32 -0800

Oh, how I wish I could record in stereo, but as things stand, it's looking like it's going to have to be a mono-podcast. Help me get into both channels. So, I'd like to start podcasting, and I've been experimenting this week, but at the moment I can only seem to record in mono (coming through the left channel).

I'm using an old Peavey dynamic mic from my days as a singer, which has an XLR cable to 6.3mm jack, which in turn is plugged into a 6.3mm to 3.5mm converter, that goes into an iMic which is stuck in the USB port of my iBook G4 (OS 10.3.9). I've tried Garageband and Audacity, but nothing gets recorded in the right channel. Even though I've told it to record in stereo.

Is it something in my set-up that's causing the problem, and are there any get-arounds? Is there some way I could copy what's in the left to the right to give the impression of stereo sound? Would it work better if I went through my amp and then to the imic's phono input?

I'm not that technically skilled and I've only ever used Audacity to trim recordings down, so this is a bit beyond my capabilities, but I want to learn!

Mono and Melatonin

SpecialK — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 14:17:12 -0800

Is there any printed studies or evidence that having had mononucleosis or a similar infectious disease could permantly affect a person's melatonin production? I've had serious insomnia for a few years, ever since I had mono. My doctor and I were talking about it yesterday, and he said to try Melatonin supplements before we discussed actual chemical sleeping pills. I took one last night, and within an hour, the weight of 3 years of sleep deprevation was pressing down on me. (I didn't actually get that much sleep, though, because I panicked and fought the sleep ... but that's an entirely different post.)

Today, even though I didn't sleep that much, I feel so much better -- a level of groundedness and focus that I haven't felt in years. I haven't changed anything else, so it's got to have been the Melatonin. Yes, I'll be in touch with my doctor about it after I've collected more personal evidence (I have a follow-up appointment scheduled already), but in the meantime...

Have any studies been done linking an infectious, mono-like disease, or Mono itself, and a lack of ability to sleep afterwards? Or a change in biochemsitry?

Compiling a .NET program with Mono

puffin — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 11:02:32 -0800

Is it possible to compile a .NET program in Linux using Mono? Slug has always been my favorite blog posting client for Windows. Now that I have just about fully migrated to Ubuntu, I've been looking for a new client and failed to find any that I compare to Slug in terms of simplicity and functionality (editing of entries, multiple categories/tags selection, minimalism).

According to the Slug home page the program is written in C#. I remember I had to install .NET to get it to work on Windows. Running Slug under Wine doesn't work because (predictably) I can't successfully install .NET.

The Slug install comes with the source code, and there is .NET alternative for Linux, Mono which claims that it "provides the necessary software to develop and run .NET client and server applications on Linux." Does this mean I might be able to compile Slug from source using Mono, and then run Slug natively in Linux?

If so, how would I go about doing it? The install comes with a lot of what I assume are source files (AssemblyInfo.cs, Form1.cs, BlogRpc.cs, Slug.csproj, etc.) and I am not sure what to do with them. The only things I have compiled in the past are my own Java programs in an elementary programming class and tarballs that come with some kind of install script (usually ./configure, make, makeinstall).

Can anyone point me in the right direction, or should I give up now as someone with little-to-no programming knowledge (and none at all of .NET or C#)?

Stereo to mono?

LordSludge — Wed, 06 Jul 2005 12:47:57 -0800

Seeking a freeware MS Windows Media Player plug-in to play stereo mp3s as mono. I very often listen to mp3s using only one ear-bud headphone, but I only get one channel, left or right. Is there a free plug-in that will play my stereo mp3s as mono? If I can't find a software solution, I'll just get hardware 1/8" plug adapter, just curious...

Mono Development, especially on Windows

namespan — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 11:35:22 -0800

Anyone here doing Mono Development on Windows? Or other platforms? What's your development environment? General advice for learning the platform? I'm interested in learning C# and to some extent .NET, and I have an idea for an application. It needs to deploy on both Mac OS X and Windows, and while I could go the Java direction, I'm really intruiged by Mono.

I don't want to host the development on Linux, though -- since my target platforms are Windows and OS X, it makes sense to do the development on one or the other (or both).

However -- it looks like the MonoDevelop IDE is really only up to speed on Linux. Is there another IDE? Or... how's development just using text-editors and the command line tools?

And finally, any advice on just picking up Mono in general?

Mono on OS X

alan — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 15:59:41 -0800

I want to monkey about with Mono on OS X. I've found a few installation tutorials via google, but was wondering if anyone here had a preferred set of instructions they use (before I go and break my computer).

Minidiscs and recorders

b1tr0t — Tue, 16 Nov 2004 12:50:35 -0800

Does anyone make an expandable, portable stereo digital music recorder? Several hard-disk MP3 players now support voice recording in mono. Korg has a cool little four-track recorder that unfortunately uses SmartMedia (128MB limit). This would be for a musician who likes to record every gig, but can't afford to hire a professional to mic every instrument. At the moment, he uses a consumer-grade minidisc recorder and a high quality stereo mic.

iPod with Hearing Aid

luriete — Wed, 20 Oct 2004 11:03:21 -0800

My father is thinking about buying an iPod. One problem though is that he has a hearing aid in one ear (90% hearing loss in one ear due to a childhood ear infection), and he'd like in-ear 'phones, like those that come with the ipod, with independent volume control - so he can turn one ear off, and shunt the stereo > mono when he has the hearing aid in, and turn one way up when he has the hearing aid out. Any ideas?