as you know i cannot "see" your throat and examine you over the internet and unfortunately your description is really not specific enough for me to even guess. a medical provider must see these things first-hand. a mono test taken early in the course of an illness may not be very accurate so your medical provider should consider doing an ebv titer (a very sensitive mono test) if the clinical findings warrant it. a z-pack is not the treatment of choic for strep so perhaps a repeat strep culture is indicated as well (not the rapid strep test) and while you are at it a cbc (complete blood count) would be helpful information. the vast majority of sore throats are viral but sometimes this virus is mono so this diagnosis needs to be revisited.
23 yr old non smoker w/ swollen enlarged tonsil hard to swallow but tests showed it isn't strep or mono so what is it? . i went to see a doctor today but his diagnosis (acute pharyngitis) does not feel right. about 3 wks ago i was diagnosed with strep throat. my lymph nodes were very swollen and tender to the touch. i had a fever throat was sore and there were white spots on my tonsils. no swab test. i was on antibiotics for 5 days (z-pak and prednisone) which helped. my sore throat came back over a week ago. i then noticed a little red bump on my left tonsil that got bigger and now my sore throat is worse! help!