Hi, my name is cheryl im writing this post as my daughter Alia whos 10 weeks old now, but at 17 days old i was told she had VM, i could'nt believe it, as id taken her to the Dr's 4 times and was told thare was nothing wrong with her, and they also told me first time mothers are allways like this thinkin there is something up with their newborn babies. So i thought ok i trust what they say. But back at home Alia was the same, she had a very high temp, cold hands and feet unusal cry, vomiting id said all this to the Dr's, so the next morning on christmas eve i took her back to the Dr's and they said exactly the samething that she was fine! I wasnt happy coming from the Dr's as a new there was something not right with my baby girl so i told myself if Alia was the same after christmas id take her back, but that night she got worse and worse for me so i rushed her to the hospital and after few hours i was told she had VM and i was lucky i took her in as she was very ill and she would'nt have made it till morning. But thank god she had some fight in her and came over the worse after 4 days on antibiotics! Then i was told alia was well enough to come home, i didnt get any after care of them and she's not been the same baby since bringing her home. As iv not been through this myself and i dont knw if she's still in pain after havin VM
Vm at 17 days old: Hi, my name is cheryl im... - Meningitis Now
Vm at 17 days old
Hi Cheryl
I am pleased that you have found this forum as hopefully you will get some helpful support, understanding, info etc.
I am so very sorry to hear that your beautiful baby girl contracted VM when she was only 17 days old. They say that Mum's know there babies best and usually know if something is up and different from the norm so even though you are a first mum you clearly knew something was not right and it is really sad and worrying that they did not listen to you. Thank goodness when you recognised that things were getting worse and worse you went straight to the hospital. What an enormous relief you must feel that you did take action and that your little one was treated and still had the strength in her to fight back and survive. Recovery does take time and it will take your daughter Alia a while longer to recover as she was very very poorly.
If you are in the UK (sorry I didn't think to check your profile before I started typing and if I do that now I will lose this message and have to start again) I would suggest you contact your HV for follow up checks. If they HV is concerned they will help you get your daughter reviewed by a doctor. Also I am wondering if you have checked out the Meningitis now website as there is lots of helpful info on there. Plus if you are worried, have any questions or just need an understanding person to talk to I would recommend that you ring the helpline. You have been through a very traumatic and extremely worrying time too.
Very best wishes to you and Alia. x
Hiya, it has been very traumatic not just for me but the whole family, iv got one tough little cookie she's been back yo the hospital since as the virous had gone to her stomach and she was'nt feeding and i was told it was colic but i new it was'nt....yes iv checked out the meningitis care they have been very helpfull they come over to have a chat with me they'v been great help! Iv got to wait till she's 18 weeks old for a follow up. Thank you so much for takin you'r time to read my post x
Yes you are so right that it is traumatic for everyone close to you. I wasn't sure as to who you had around you at the time but wasn't thinking it was only affecting you and Alia because you are so right it does affect both parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends etc etc. It will have been such a frightening time and often the full impact doesn't hit fully until your little one has come through the most serious life threatening recovery. I know that you will all still be trying to understand, make sense of your feelings and confusion etc. Only time will lessen the impact of what happened but it will always be with you but manageable.
Am so pleased that you did get to know about Meningitis Now and that you have had a visit from them.
Best wishes to all
Hi, sorry to hear you had to go through this ordeal. I have gone through the same with my daughter. She had VM from birth and after 7 trips to hospital and GP, finally a consultant ordered a lumbar puncture and she came up positive.
It's unbelievable that it took so long to be diagnosed, I was so angry as everyone kept on telling me all was fine. She was very sleepy, would not wake up for feeding all night and she arched her neck and squeezed her eyes when it was too bright.
She also had cold hands and feet and I could not wake her easily. She didn't have any temperature until she was 10 days old, which is when she was admitted to hospital.
Isabella took about 3 months to turn into a normal baby....she would just sleep all the time, she had her eyes open maybe 3-4 days in her first 3 months.
I Took her to the best infectuos disease pediatrician in London and he said it takes long time for convaleacence. It is not a linear process so some days your daughter will be better and some other she will be weak and sleepy again.
my daughter was lucky she did not have any lasting effects from VM...however her first Year of life was a heartache...always checking her developmental milestone were on time.
we insisted of having a hearing test done to her at around 2 months . That reassured us a little. They don't generally offer it for viral meningitis.
How do you know it was VM ? Did they do a lumbar culture? Did she have an ultrasound of her brain ?
if you have any questions, please let me know and I see if I can help you. I was so annoyed that I could not find any help or information about it.
My daughter is now 2 years old and the happiest toddler ever so hold on, I m sure your daughter will also get better and everything will look like a bad dream !
Love x
Hiya sorru for my late reply and im sorry to hear about you'r little girl, i think my daughter alia was born with VM as she was exactly how you'r daughter was. And i told my healthvisitor and midwive that there was something not right with her and they just said all newborns are like this! Im just so glad i did'nt listen to then and carried on goin back to the Dr's even though i was getting knw where with them. Yes the morning i took her to the hospital she was very ill and really really week and the doctor there had one look at her put her straight on antibiotics few hours after she had lumbar culture. The dr's there were fantastic but since the day i was aloud to bring her home i didnt get any aftercare atall, since then shes been back to hospital with really bad reflux and thrush in her mouth xx
Hi, Just a quick reply but wanted to say hi as my son's story sounds a little similar to yours, and i wanted to let you know you're not alone in the frustration at not being listened to by the medical professionals. My son had a rare viral meningitis at 6 days old, and it was only due to me keeping on insisting to the doctors and midwives i knew something was wrong, that he was in the neonatal unit when he stopped breathing and had seizures, otherwise he may well have passed away in the night. He's now 1 and doing well, with some mild developmental delays, and follow-up from physio, health visitor and awaiting more paediatrician followup soon after i requested it since his immunity has seemed really low this whole past year (he's recently been hospitalised with RSV bronchiolitis too). I definitely recommend trying to get hearing checked if you can. My son's was at 6 weeks old, because he'd been so poorly and had been ventilated. Thankfully his hearing was fine.
Do you know what virus your daughter had? My son's was Parecho virus. I hope she makes a full recovery, and please feel free to contact me if i can be of any help as someone further on in the post VM recovery.
Best wishes,
Julie
Hiya julie, im so sorry to hear about you'r son also im so happy that he was strong enough to fight it. Im still waiting to hear what virous she had! Alia's been back to hospital since aswell shes got really bad reflux. Im so glad i was told about healthinlocked its good to talk with someone who knws exactly what iv gone through xx
My baby also had severe reflux and ended up in hospital for two nights with it when he was 6 weeks old. In the end omeprazole really helped him and then when we weaned him he didn't need the medication anymore. It's tough having all these things to contend with on top of what you've already gone through, and the challenges of just having a baby. X
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