my husband was diagnosed early August this year with TB Meningitis

[Xolisa]

my husband was diagnosed early August this year with TB Meningitis, he is still suffering from confusion as well as mobility issues... He has days where he is lucid and walking almost normally and we struggle with his appetite... How can I help him with his recovery? It's beginning to affect our 3 year old son

[Valorrian]

I had meningitis about two years ago. I'm not so much confused but I do have slower processing and it's hard for me to remember things. I have balancing issues and get dizzy. I also lost my hearing due to meningitis. I have issues with my appetite too. I lack energy and get headaches. My therapist told me I'm not taking in enough calories to sustain my body. He said that if I eat more I will feel better and the headaches may go away completely. If your husband doesn't want to eat solid food perhaps you can get protein powder and make smoothies for him. I am adding those into my diet as it will increase my calorie intake.

I would be patient with him. Meningitis is a serious illness, he might have side affects for years to come, some might never go away. It hasn't even been two whole months yet. Give it some time. What you can do is support him, be understanding and be patient.

I'm sorry it's affecting your son and you. I'm sure if your husband could hurry up and get better he would. I will keep you in my prayers.

[Sanjayw]

Hi Xolisa,

Sorry to hear. My wife suffered a lot due to TB meningitis for last 8 months. She is still on medication which will last for another year. She was on the verge on losing sight, permanant paraylisis. Only by Gods grace she is recovering well. I can totally understand what it is to go through this. For your husband its still a very early stage. I just hope that it was diagonised before any serious damage. You have to be patient and along with TB medication have special focus on diet. Is drug sensitivity test done yet? Is TB resistant to any of the drug? You/your doctors need to find this on top priority as it takes 6 to 8 weeks for the test results. Doctors will treat him with right medication however Diet is something doctors never focus on but it plays very important role in recovery of any disease. Ensure your husband is taking a lot of Vitamin C Vitamin A and E. Three supplement tablets of Vit C daily won't do any harm. Green leafy vegetables daily is a must in diet. These are all immunity building techniques you can search on internet based on your food preferences and are very very important in fighting TBM.

TBM is directly related to fluctuating immunity. Fluctuating immunity is different from low immunity. Low immunity is due to illness (fever etc). But immunity may fluctuate due to mental stress, physical stress or depression. This is exactly where tuberculosis bacteria finds an opportunity to attack your brain and spine.

Therefore along with TB medication it is very important to build immunity strong and maintain it. This will help to get a faster recovery and also to reduce the side effects of TB medication. You must already be aware that TB medication itself is toxic and may have other side effects.

Confusion could be a side effect of steroids your husband is having. I do not know your husbands level of streoid but my wife was on very high dose of dexamethasone for 6 months and she also displayed signs of confusion. Not able to make simple decisions, saying contradictory statements moment after moment. But these were gone once steroid dose was reduced.

I pray that your husband comes out of it soon and without much pain to the family. Just stay strong and understand that TB is a very nasty bacteria not easy to defeat. So prepare yourself in a positive way that it may take months to get everything back on track. God be with you and your family.