I was diagnosed with VM 8weeks ago, and hospitalised for 10 days, the strain was herpes/shingles virus, IV drips for whole 10 days and then a course of oral tablets for 2 weeks. After 4 weeks I returned to work on reduced hours, however after 3 weeks I was re-admitted to hospital with the same symptoms as before only this time my neck was stiffer and had sensitivity to light. All tests came back negative, and was sent home with painkillers. I still have severe headaches and a stiff neck and cronic daytime fatigue, as well as hot flushes both day and night, is this normal? has anyone else had reoccuring symptoms? How long does go on far? I find the whole illness very frustrating as I have good days and bad days. How long have people been off work?
I think recovery times vary enormously. I never did return to work- seems highly unlikely I ever will. 8 weeks is'nt long in the scheme of things, all I would say is try to be patient. You will get better, it'll just take time.
Thanks for vote of confidence jeejaw, sorry to hear you never got back to work, do you have similar symptoms? I find it a very frustrating illness, start to feel a bit human so do normal things then get the headache and the fatigue and back to square one!
Frustrating is definitely one word for it- I can think of a few others! From what I read and hear almost anything can be a symptom of meningitis. When I left hospital my speech, vision, balance, hand-eye co-ordination were all over the place. I could'nt concentrate on anything and was as weak as a kitten. Other than the speech (which never has returned) all these things resolved themselves quite quickly- to about 95% anyway. Every case seems to differ greatly, all I say again is hang in there, take one day at a time and you will (slowly) get to where you want to be.
Hi Helen
I'm recovering from VM and Shingles in the eye and have just spent 14 days in hospital on IV and in isolation and this is my first week out. What I have learnt is that you cannot get stressed or tired, you have to sleep a lot and eat the right foods. I have given up caffeine, dairy and alcohol and sleep every afternoon. I eat salad and fruit only and drink loads of fresh juices. As I understand it, the symptoms can come back if you are run down and exhausted. You may want to ask for more time off work. I work for myself but have to do a few hours in the morning before the head pain comes. You should take it easy please.