New to the community. Memory Loss, Tiredness and Speech issues.. 2 years after Viral Meningitis. Is this common?

[KennyL92]

I'll start with some background first.. I first became unwell in September 2018 following a holiday to Tenerife, which we believe was a simple chest infection. Over the next couple of weeks I had courses of antibiotics where I seemed to get slightly better.

It wasn't until 3 weeks after I started with a severe headache and a fever, after a week off work and the pain increasing I went to the doctors where I was diagnosed with Sinusitis. The next day I woke up and within an hour of being up I'd lost my speech, hearing and balance.

Fast forward through all of the drama and a 4 day stint in hospital I was diagnosed with Viral Meningitis and discharged.

For me, this is where the my struggles begin. I was under the GP for about 6 months although the care and treatment I received was very limited, I'm not sure if this is normal but my impression was/is there was very little they could do.

I had 8 weeks off work in total and 7 months off alcohol, drinking 3-4 litres of water a day to help keep my brain hydrated.

I feel that over the last 2 years, I've been quite proactive in my recovery and have made sure to stay away/limit things which have a negative impact on my health.

My issue today is the three subject points.

Memory Loss - I often find myself in the middle of a task and forgetting what I'm doing, this can sometimes be quite funny but obviously is a big concern. I can find myself stood in front of the Kettle with a cup in hand and it takes me 10-15 seconds to remember what I had planned to do. This has happened to me hundreds of times over the last 2 years.

Tiredness - One of my early systems in the lead up to my diagnosis was extreme fatigue in the morning, this has improved considerably and now only happens on the odd occasion.

Speech - This is the one which upsets me the most. Losing my speech at the time was the scariest thing that had ever happened to me. For 6 months afterwards I stumbled on my words quite noticeably and regularly, this has improved but is still an issue. People don't notice when it happens as much but I do, I find myself tripping up over words almost every day now.

A little long winded potentially. I'd like to know if these are common amongthe community and if there is anything I can do to help improve my recover?

Thank you

[Bellesmom12]

Long story short....Lord, yes! I was so sharp before VM and now 2 years later still lose my words. I still have pain in my head when I think hard and my balance is still off. My visits to this site are evidence that I am still "off". Still improving...maybe. If my shakiness would go away it would be much more tolerable. God bless us all!

[KennyL92 in reply to Bellesmom12]

Thank you for that, glad to hear you're on the mend. I've not seen many people who have had issues with their speech as a result of VM so it is comforting the see I'm not the only one.

[Stace30]

Yep 5yrs on 🙋🏻‍♀️ & still the same 🤗

[Starbrite28]

It's been two years since I had VM and I have all the same issues as you. For a while they seemed to get better but now they feel worse again. I think it is definitely stress related. Both physical and mental stress can trigger a sort of relapse. My best advice is to just take it easy on yourself and things will improve. Good luck!