4 weeks ago my husband was diagnosed with viral meningitis. He is a very active guy and has always taken such good care of himself, he is an avid runner and just started competing in triathlons. We have a 19 month old beautiful baby girl and he is afraid of how much time he is going to miss out on due to the pain he is constantly in.
His symptoms started with numbness and tingling that started in his foot and traveled up his body and ended with a headache...4 days later the numbness was back and in 10 minutes he couldn't speak, by the time we got to the ER the headache was so extreme and he couldn't touch his chin to his neck. After a spinal tap is was confirmed...meningitis. 2 days later we knew it wasn't bacterial and we were released. 4 days after that was a rush to the ER after a very scary seizure. Another spinal tap...viral meningitis! He ended up in ICU and has no memory of the seizure or the entire day for that matter. All MRI, EEG, EKG, CT scans, blood, etc..tests are coming back normal...I told the doctor if one more person tells me he is normal I'm going to punch them in the face This is anything BUT normal!
He is still suffering from debilitating headaches, neck stiffness, and muscle/joint pain. The headaches are constant, but at times he gets that numbness and tingling that travels from his foot to his face which is always followed by extreme headaches that causes him to vomit from the pain. We have seen a Neurologist who is treating him with anti-seizure meds and migraine medicine, but we will see another one on Monday for a second opinion.
He does have good days, but they are always followed by horrible headaches, and terrible pain. I search the internet day and night for information, success stories, treatments, ideas...anything. This can't be our life forever can it? I'd also like to ask how do you know the difference between the virus and the "after-effects"? How do you know when this thing has left his body? This has been the most confusing, frustrating thing I've ever dealt with and I can't believe there isn't more medical information on this horrible illness.
I've read some of your stories and any encouraging words, ideas, info, anything would be greatly appreciated. We've already decided once he gets better we're going to run, race, anything to raise awareness and hopefully help people who suffer from this! Thanks for your time!