BM from Listeria

[Kotsa17]

Dear all,

It's Antony again.

Nothing has really changed. It's been 16 days now. No improvement at all. Thankfully her condition is stable. But is this normal?

Does anyone know anything about it?

They injected another dose of antibiotics yesterday during paracentesis. The infection isn't retreating. But she has no other complications, thank god.

If you have any experience or information, please let me know.

I'm really confused. I was afraid of many things but never expected it to be like that.

She's in the same condition since day one.

If you know something useful, please share.

Thank you in advance,

Antony

[StrawberryCream]

Hi Antony. It is positive that your girlfriends condition is stable and has not got any worse. But you still need to have patience because it is not unusual for the stay in hospital with BM to be even longer. I was in hospital for 6 weeks! Once the infection is eradicated by the antibiotics she will be discharged but will not be recovered. The recovery will be slow and take many months.

Very best wishes to you both

[Kotsa17 in reply to StrawberryCream]

Hey StrawberryCream,

Thanks for the reply.

I know about the recovery, and I can't wait to reach the recovery part, because I'm still terrified that the worst could happen.

But I've read so much about BM and S and I never found anything about this kind of behavior. It's really confusing, it's like the antibiotics are balancing the infection. It's not getting worse, but it's not getting better either.

That's why I'm asking.

She's getting weaker every day, and I'm starting to fear that the doctors might not be dealing with it properly.

[StrawberryCream in reply to Kotsa17]

You mention that yesterday she was injected with another dose of antibiotics during paracentesis. Is she not being given intravenous antibiotics several times a day as this is usual with BM? Also it has to be the correct antibiotics for her particular infection but I would think that is what they are doing because I seem to recall you said she was in France and their healthcare I thought was similar to the advanced healthcare we get here in the uk?! I also am thinking you said that you were here in the uk?? If so have you tried giving the Meningitis Now helpline a call because the have more knowledge about the different types of meningitis and probably about the specific antibiotic treatments required? Looking things up on the web is not always helpful because the info is not always from a reliable source, not accurate, very conflicting and impossible to know what is correct and is giving you the right info.

[Kotsa17 in reply to StrawberryCream]

She is being given IV antibiotics but they had to inject it directly during paracentesis to stop it from spreading.

I will give them a call tomorrow. I have no reason to believe that the doctors are not capable to handle it, other than that I see no improvement whatsoever.

[StrawberryCream in reply to Kotsa17]

Your deep love for your girlfriend is wonderful and that comes across so much in your expressed love in your concern and care for her. I am sorry that I am unable to reassure you other than to say it is still early days in the battle against the very nasty BM. If it was going to overwhelm her it probably would have done quite quickly because it is sudden and seriously life threatening often within hours. At least the treatment is keeping her stable.

[StrawberryCream]

Antony please do give the Meningitis Now helpline a ring - 0808 80 10388 9 a.m - 10 p.m X 365 days of the year. Or from this forum click on your user name on the top green bar, select messages and you can send a private message to MNClaireD if you prefer rather than to phone.

[Kotsa17 in reply to StrawberryCream]

Thank you very much StrawberryCream. I will do that.

[Sinnangowri]

Hi, my sister (46 yrs old) has been diagnosed with Listeria Meningitis and is the intensive care unit for the last 3 weeks going into the 4th week. 3 years ago she had a viral meningitis and now this. She has underlying autoimmune issues that complicates the issue. She had a temp and then a permanent shunt inserted into her head as fluids were building in her brain. She still remain heavily sedated as she seems to get twitches/ seizures when they tried reducing the sedation. Today she is going for tracheostomy as she is hooked onto a ventilator. The doctors tell us to take a day at a time and need to address one issue at a time. She is on antibodies to manage the listeria infections. How long is it going to take for her to improve her consious level. Anyone with listeria meningities before? I am very worried for my mum too. She is feeling desperate.