Weak immune system after VM

[Curlskit]

Hi. I was rushed to hospital in January this year for a suspected stroke. Id been having horrendous headaches for a couple of weeks prior to this. When it hospital they done ct scans and a mri and it confirmed I hadn't had a stroke so they put it down to a panic attack!!!

I left hospital feeling really ill, my eyesight was blurry. I went to the Dr who said I had anxiety and gave me pills. I didn't believe it was anxiety so I took myself to the optician who said I had flame hemmorages on both eyes. She rushed me back to hospital where I stayed for 5 nights. They done a lumbar puncture and confirmed my csf pressure was a bit higher and I had some white blood cells in the count. I saw a neurologist who said he's pretty certain I had Viral meningitis.

I still suffered with daily headaches and didn't start to feel myself until about August time. I still get lightheaded and dizzy at times for no apparent reason.

2 weeks ago I came down with a stomach bug I think, but I haven't been able to eat anything, I have nausea so bad, upset stomach and no appetite whatsoever.

I was wondering if anyone else found they caught bugs/viruses alot worse since having VM? And does it take you longer to recover from them than normal statistics?

I find I over think every thing now when it comes to my health.

[Kitsismimi1]

Hi, I’m so sorry to hear of the ordeal you have been through..

I wanted to reply to you as I had the same experience with illness after having VM.

I am almost 19 months post my VM (April 2018)

I came down with my first illness 1 year later, a cold and bronchitis.(April 2019)

It took me 3 weeks to clear it and a lot of extra rest.

So, my experience is that yes, our immune system after having something so violent as VM, takes an enormous hit..

I believe that our bodies really struggle to recover after VM and it takes a lot out of us!

So, when another virus comes along, the common cold, stomach virus, it takes a lot longer than it did to recover than life previous to the VM.

But we do recover and we do get stronger!

It just takes a long time..

A Doctor told me something that has stayed with me.. he said that a viral attack as severe as VM completely drains you, depletes you... adrenal glands, etc..

We need to do ALL that we can do to strengthen our immune system and help

our body and immune system get strong again.

I had a very extensive blood test done to check all of my levels of magnesium, vitamin B, C, D,,and several others..

My levels on some were so low, my Doctor put me on Prescription grade supplements.

And they have helped immensely!!!

The VM wipes your body out SO badly, that’s it’s literally starving to death for these essential nutrients.

My legs and arms used to be so weak and hurt so badly.. it was because my vitamin B’s were horrifically low as well as my Magnesium and Iron.

Within 2 weeks of beginning my supplements, I noticed a HUGE difference!!

I cannot stress enough how vital all of this is to our recovery!

I also take high amounts of Vitamin C, D, Zinc, Iron, daily. Also a daily prescription grade probiotic.

Very good quality Fish oil is also very important in helping to heal the brain.

Choose really healthy foods to eat each day. Healthy foods are like medicine as well.

We cannot control so many things, how long our recovery will take, picking up a cold or other virus while out shopping, but we can control what we put in our bodies and giving it the necessary supplements to strengthen it and overcome illnesses.

Best of luck to you in your recovery and healing..

Give your body the vital nutrients it needs and it will really, really help you!

Take good care..

[Gwatters in reply to Kitsismimi1]

Thanks for this advice. I'm struggling so will give this a go.

[Curlskit in reply to Kitsismimi1]

Thank you so much for your reply. I'm almost 3 weeks now of this illness and I've had enough. I asked a Dr is it possible that my immune system is weak due to the VM and she said no as I'm recovered.! But that was just one Dr. My body took a massive hit and I worry constantly now over every little thing. X

[Donnyj01]

Hi

My 9 yr old had to have brain surgery a year again and 3 months later became really ill with VM (confirmed by lumbar puncture)

Now if she is Ill it takes her a lot longer then normal to recover and she suffers terrible with migraines . It has also effected her hearing, in that she is very sensitive to loud noise and gets very anxious about it and how she’s feeling -

Drs have told us that it can take months even years for your body and brain to adjust properly after meningitis inc. VM -

I hope this helps to confirm that your not alone and hope you feel better soon x

[Curlskit in reply to Donnyj01]

Hi. I'm sorry to hear your 9 year old has had to go through all that, poor little babe!

Thank you for your reply though, I saw a different Dr on Wednesday and he said that he thinks I just have a viral illness and that it's taking me longer to fight it off. I asked him if he thought its because of the VM and he said yes, he said it can take a year for the body to recover from it as it took a massive hit and I was very poorly with it.

It was nice to have a Dr that actually agreed that VM is not just the flu! He's still sent me off for blood tests and stool tests just to make sure nothing else is going on as it been 3 weeks but he said he's pretty certain I'm just getting over a viral infection.

X