Does anyone know the usual recovery period ... - Meningitis Now

Meningitis Now

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Does anyone know the usual recovery period for someone after Viral Meningitis at age of 43?

HoneysGranny profile image
18 Replies

I am 43 and caught VM from my 15 yr old daughter, she had it quite bad but has bounced back to near enough normal after 3 weeks ( thank god). I came out in the symptoms the day after her headache started. We were both in bed with 38c+ temps and terrible headache and flu like aches and pains. I got so bad i had to get a taxi to my doctors ( no one would come out and NHS Direct just recommended me to go to them) by this point i could hardly see with the pain. I then started to be violently sick and could hardly stand up. She sent me straight to hospital and there i was kept in and had a brain scan, blood tests & a Lumbar Puncture which showed Viral Meningitis. I was able to come home after a couple of days ( they did say i can stay in but if i felt i could recover better in my own bed i was ok to go) and spent about in total 10 days in bed. Now i know its just the after effects the weakness and depression has nearly all gone now but i still have this pounding/beating/pulsating in my brain/ears/head? It seems louder now than it was when i had the pain with it at the start. Its worse after i have done something and especially when i am at rest or lying down. I just wondered if anyone else has experienced this type of thing? No painkillers work, and it seems more pressure pounding rather than pain. I just want to be back to normal and i am usually fit and well :(

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HoneysGranny
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18 Replies
Jonad724 profile image
Jonad724

Speaking as a 10 year post attack VM survivor unfortunately there really isn't a usual recovery period I'm afraid, at any age from my experience and those who I know. Although I'm not sure I don't think viral meningitis is contagious but I could be wrong, mine was caused by a virus I already had in my system (chickenpox which I had when I was 31). I had VM at 39 and all I wanted to do was to get back to normal although now I realise that I just had to change what my perception of normal actually is.

Anyway the after effects can be short term and quickly overcome (as your daughter discovered) or they can last some time or in my case ever since I had the attack. It is a bit of a lottery I'm afraid but the key thing in my experience is to rest if you're body is telling you to. You may discover that doctors (GP's especially) really know very little about VM and so its well worth taking the Meningitis Trust leaflet on the subject with you if you go and see your doctor as it wlll help. If you're on Facebook search for the 'I had viral meningitis group' as you can share your experiences there with others who have been through what you are experiencing now and those of us that have been through a long time post the VM attack.

I'm sorry I'm not more positive on the subject of recovery but unfortunately really the best way to recover is to rest, listen to your body, try relaxation therapy (Paul McKenna: Relaxation is very good) which tends to ease the headaches & pressure and be patient I'm afraid. All the very best. J

HoneysGranny profile image
HoneysGranny

I am this morning going back to my docs for a check up after it and they are very good plus seem to be very clued up on VM ( thank god). I know it is possible to catch it as i came out in the symptoms the day after my daughter. Both of us had the headaches, high temps ( laurens was 39c) violently sick and so ill could not get out of bed. Lauren though started to pick up ( slowly) though i got much worse and ended up in hospital and then they diagnosed it. My daughter had a throat infection about 3 wks before so not sure if that was it and then somehow she passe the VM to me? I hope my doc this morning can explain about this heartbeat in my head as it is very annoying and nothing seems too sort it. I will try to relax but its hard with all this noise haha. Thanks so much for the advise and i have joined that group & rang Meningitis Trust ( who were and are brill)

Tiga profile image
Tiga

you asked brain/ears/head? It seems louder now .... I think after VM you become like a bat, and everything seems louder, this I feel the brain has been rebooted, like a new born child in time this will pass, my left ear feels like there is a pea stuck into it, now I just learn to live with it, like a mole on the neck, not harming you, just a pain in the butt, the problem with VM everything you you have will seem 10 times more, this is fear, we live with fear it will come back,

when I am at rest or lying down have you tried putting to house bricks at the end of you bed, so it is raised, sounds loopy, but it works

painkillers if taken too much will infact give you more pain, ice packs and ice sticks (get form £1) shop will help, too many drugs and the body goes on over load.

cut of sugar foods, and e#anything that raises blood, i.e. meaning when you eat something and it makes you feel hot this is a sign not to eat it, luck would have it chocolate makes me that way, so have to cut it down, gutted by this LOL

jaysea profile image
jaysea

I am 42 and I had VM 8 months ago, and the pulsating and full / blocked feeling in my ears still occurs every now and then. It seems to happen sometimes when I am stressed or I stand up from sitting. It never happened prior to VM. Prior to VM I was never seasick or dizzy even when I've been out in very choppy water in the ocean. I am much more sensitive to being dizzy now. I rode a simple 'kiddie' ride recently at a fair, one that I would have ridden over and over in the past. I felt horrible within 30 seconds of the ride starting - thought I would throw up. My 7 year old wanted to ride again but daddy has sworn off fair rides now..

I think that the presence of the previous infection, even if now it is passed, leads to the immune system inflammatory response in the meninges becoming 'overactive'. This is how I feel it - in my ears. Others may feel it some other way or not at all. It is mostly a nuisance though. The vestibular tubes in the ear control perception of orientation and dizzyness - so I think any minor / temporary swelling in there can throw off hearing or balance..

diannal profile image
diannal

Has any one who has had the misfortune of contracting VM ever used CRANIAL MASSAGE?

If so, please note it on this site.......the pros and cons.

Thank you.

OlamanaMartel profile image
OlamanaMartel in reply to diannal

I also follow it up with acupuncture , and ask them to work on endocrine and nervous system as that is what was blown apart with maninigitis !

IRHONDA profile image
IRHONDA in reply to diannal

yes I did , and it was very relaxing and enjoyable ... but I had to travel 2hrs to have it ... I did also here after you have had meningitis you must never have manipulation ever again from a chiropractor so be careful with that ... and I also was told you can't catch v.m. it is in your boday laying dorment after a bout of chicken pox ect herpes .... and about the recovery time its different for everyone as there isn't just one type of v.m. as my specialist told me the last time I had it in 2014 I have had it 4 times in total , and just got over a minny bout of it, but as I was saying the neurologist told me I had the one that actually can kill you, if you don't get to the hospital very quickly, he did more tests than any other doctor has done on me. but it does take me around a year after a dose of the full blown v.m. so take everything slow and never push yourself your body will tell you what you can do ... its actually effected my eyes I can't take the sun or very bright light since getting it, theres a few things that you can put on your list of how it effects you ... you become aware of them. who ever gets their first dose and is reading this , goodluck and just take every day as a day sooner to your return to good health as it will come just 7/10 days so not for ever ... the medication helps so much though ... also try your best to keep your immune system healthy for sure and don't get depressed keep your spirits up this all is necessary my neurologist told me if I could write a prescription for those two things it would help not to get it again....

RestisBest profile image
RestisBest

Only cons from me. After just 1 session, I could feel a huge relief , from the daily foggy head aches. I've had about 5-6 sessions now. I feel so much better than when I started. It's inportant to drink alot of water after the session and during the week. You will feel a bit tired after a session, and some times your feel it on the worked area.

My cranial therapist has been working on the back of my head and neck.

You have nothing to loose to have one session. My advice is do research, for finding a cranial therapist who has alot of experience. I used Google for the area I live in, and compared the therapests experience / training, I pay about £55 for a session.

Tupshaw profile image
Tupshaw in reply to RestisBest

Hello. Just curious you said they they were working on the back of your head and neck. Did you have a lot of pressure in the back of your head and neck? And did you ever get pains in different parts of your head?

RestisBest profile image
RestisBest in reply to Tupshaw

Yes different headaches in head I called them!!

It's hard to remember it now. But I recall it helped the foggy head ache straight away. And the theripest worked to make the meninges less stiff ( more elastic ) at the back of the head, the forehead and sides. Which was where all the heaviness/ pressure was.

google.dk/url?sa=t&source=w...

Maybe it was the effected area's that made it feel like pressure or they were head aches/stiffness it's hard to remember. But it was something that I found extremely difficult to live with.

I was really at my wits end, but after the first treatment I found hope and strength again.

I have just returned for treatment after 1.5 ish months. As the neck is a bit restricted moving down and backwards. It's the meninges that need work on. At the base of the neck and also lower down the spin, towards the back.

Does this answer your question And have you yourself started treatment?

IRHONDA profile image
IRHONDA in reply to RestisBest

funny the lady that did mine said I didn't need to have another session for around 2 weeks after it, and that was only if I thought I needed it...

Tupshaw profile image
Tupshaw

Yes it does. I forgot to ask but did you feel off balance? And with the head pressure did it just feel wierd? I just feel lost.

OlamanaMartel profile image
OlamanaMartel

Well I’m 63 and I had v/m a year ago sept. I feel I still have not recovered and now feel I have Mollarets, that drs, even know even less about than v/m or bacterial. So research till I’m even more exhausted. I’m on one med that has helped with the continual headache and an antiviral that I intend will do it’s work and kick it’s but before it kicks my butt!

Keep-The-Faith profile image
Keep-The-Faith in reply to OlamanaMartel

Are you in the states & would you mind sharing which meds? I'm 67 w/ vm & still mostly in bed. Awful illness. Thx

OlamanaMartel profile image
OlamanaMartel

I was in a week and a half hydrating and on antibiotics, sounds they let u go home way to soon. Drink lots of water and see if that helps.

Rowi profile image
Rowi

Someone on this site ("Does anyone know of a good doctor...") just said 2-3 years. That seems about right for those who experience after effects.

IRHONDA profile image
IRHONDA in reply to Rowi

ive had it 4 times full blown hospital 7/10 days and it takes around a year to get back to yourself, baby yourself don't over do ... keep your immune system healthy .... take care

Lola0902 profile image
Lola0902

Hi I’m now exactly 12 months down the line with VM/Scepsis/ Pneumonia/ COVID & I’m still a mess . Take your time, sleep & rest when you can, you will need to.

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