Meningitis

B

Brittany T

New member
I have developed some cold-like symptoms over the past week or so. I often do have allergies, but this week have a cough and today was coughing up some mucus and have a lot of burning in my throat. I'm taking cold medicine, so I don't feel all that bad. However, I also have a sore neck. I realize that neck pain is a symptom of meningitis, and want to be SURE that this isn't a possibility....

I do NOT have a fever. My temperature is 100% normal at 98.6 degrees. I checked my temperature before taking any medication which may alter my temperature. My neck pain started first, before the cough happened. It's been hurting for about a week without good reason. I might have slept funny or it might be a delayed soreness from a workout though... one day, I could barely move it to the left and could not move my chin down my chest. Moving it upwards and to the right was a little easier. It's getting much better now and only a little bit sore.

If I don't have a temperature and my neck is improving, I shouldn't have to worry about meningitis, right? I would think both of these would only get WORSE. I really don't think I have it, but a few people mentioned it so I just want to be sure! I am in an all-day training for the remainder of the week from 8-5, so doctor-wise, I would have to visit an urgent care center in the evening. I'd like to avoid this if possible since I don't feel too bad. I would think that something as bad as meningitis would be getting worse faster... I have had the vaccine, but that was about 5 years ago.
 
It sounds like you over did your workout. It often takes up to a week for those muscles to recover from a hard workout. I can't even begin to think that it would be Meningitis. You would be feeling a lot worse than just a cold with it. I think you are just fighting allergies and a bad workout personally.
 
Thank you for your reply and reassurance. I think the same thing. I feel like at the worst I could have bronchitis, which I had a few months or so ago and wasn't a bad case. I'm resting a lot this week since I'm pretty tired! Can't miss work unfortunately, so I'm just trying to keep to myself and not get too close to others.
 
I actually had meningitis last year, and the symptoms were very pronounced...the neck pain and stiffness was undeniable, and a fever, horrible headache and extreme sensitivity to light. I could not move my neck at all, or open my eyes...It required 5 days in the hospital to get over the headache!

Good luck to you
 
Thank you for sharing your experience! This is definitely not what I have. It's been almost two weeks that I've been sick now, but still no fever, so it's definitely just an annoying cold or possibly bronchitis. I started with the sore neck, which I think was just a coincidence. It was pretty painful on the first day, as I could not move my neck more than an inch or so to the left or downwards. The pain from my neck moved into my back. It's still there, but it's manageable. Seems to be unrelated to being sick, so I probably strained or pulled a muscle in some odd way or another. I started with an annoying cough, then got a lot of chest congestion and mucus that I was coughing up. Now the congestion seems to be mostly in my nose and sinuses. I still have mucus in some of my coughs, but some coughs are dry now, so it's improving.

I've been taking medicine to help with the mucus and sinus spray as well. My sore throat only lasted for about two days, so it was probably from sleeping with my mouth open. My energy level has been better, so I can tell I'm improving. My balance is very off and I feel stuffy in the head because my ears are very stopped up. They were stopped up last week, cleared finally over the weekend, but became stopped up again. In addition to being sick, there is a ton of pollen and oak outside, so I know that isn't helping. I think it's just a mixture of being sick and allergies, but nothing severe at all! Just an annoying thing that seems to linger around... hopefully it will go away soon :) I have pain that is different from anything I've experienced in my sinuses on my right hand side. It was a very odd, uncomfortable feeling. I don't feel it constantly, but I feel pressure constantly. I am not sure if I possibly just blew my nose too hard or could be a possible sinus infection. I'll keep an eye on it... if things don't keep improving, then I'll see a doctor soon!
 
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