vm, not bm

[susanson]

God, why does the second sentence for vm EVERYWHERE has to be 'not as serious as bm'

[Gnugoo]

I hear you! It is so irritating and demeaning. They are just Different - one is not more serious than the other except by the definition of the medical community who judge BM to be more serious because it kills and disables people more often than VM. They do not quantify “seriousness” in terms of the invisible harms that you continue to suffer long after discharge from hospital.

I’m sorry you are suffering, and can only suggest that you accept the need to rest and be calm whilst your brain and nervous system recovers.

Xx

[susanson in reply to Gnugoo]

thanks :*

[Jonad724]

I had near fatal VM 16 years ago and was discharged from hospital the day after almost dying because 'viral meningitis is never more serious than flu'. I was rushed back in three days with no discernible blood pressure and heart rate dropping through 27. One of the few things I remember is the ambulance technician saying to his colleague 'best put the lights and noise on Dave, we're losing him'. I was in A&E for about 10 hours and was then sent home because 'viral meningitis is never serious'. Cue 6 months off work and numerous battles with my GP to convince him that VM can sometimes be very serious and can sometimes kill. I don't think it's a competition between VM and BM, both are nasty things to have but it's the recognition from the medical community that VM can be as serious and takes a lot longer to get over with some people (Me included) being left with a number of after effects. BM is always serious, that's true but saying that it is always more serious than VM is a bit like saying having your leg amputated above the knee is worse than having it amputated just below.

I wrote a blog post on this site called 'Oh no it's angry dad' about how I felt after VM, if you want to have a look please just click on my profile and then click 'posts'.

Hang in there. All the best, Jonathan

[Amrita-A]

Hi,

I so agree! My own daughter told me that google says you get over VM in 8-10 days.

It takes away our credibility. Hopefully the truth will be made known sooner than later.

It is so awful that I live in fear of getting it again.

Good healing,

Amrita

[Sumikoa]

I find this is so frustrating I sadly think its still our culture but I do think its changing I guess because bm leads to consequences that are visible such as lost limbs, people presume that vm has done less damage. However, as a biomedical scientist and a genetitist, scientifically virus and bacteria can be equally damaging! Look at HIV for example - a virus! I think for a long time, medicine has been focussed on that what it can see straight off - mental health diseases for example have taken a long time to be recognised by the medical community. I think that is changing rapidly now, and hopefully with time we will see the same change with comments such as those