Spinal Meningitis anyone?

B

brother_razia

New member
When I was two years old I suffered from a bacterial infection of the brain and spine. Fortunately, I recovered but my mother has said that I have never been the same ever since. I am 33 years old now. I do know that at that time, there was little that could be done for those who are stricken with this type of meningitis, and I was fortunate to survive with little or no permanent brain damage. This is where in my question lies. I question the fact that I came out of that illness completely unscathed. I have suffered with extreme anxiety, depression and nervousness my whole life contrary to my other siblings. I feel like maybe the illness did some damage to certain parts of my brain, but my hearing and speech are not impaired like most of the other people who have survived this illness. Fortunately, medical breakthroughs have now come up with a vaccine for this illness, but whose to say if it safe?
I would like to know if there is anyone out there who has suffered from this illness, and if so, what was the short and long term outcome? Did you suffer any lasting effects that could be attributed to spinal meningitis?
 
in what way does your mom feel you were never the same? if YOU feel okay,then there probabaly isn't anything really major going on. you have to also consider your age when this occured,2? at the age of two,there are alot of things that change in children(the "terrible twos"?). could it be that just from what your mom has been TELLING you all these years,that that is why you actually "feel" the way you do now? we are all very different from our siblings for alot of different reasons. and some of it does have to do with what we personally experienced while growing up,even as young as two years old. it all makes or creates certain perceptions that others don't have,you know what i mean? i have only one sibling,a sister and we are as different as night and day. but we were also treated very differently by our mom too.

there are MANY people out there who suffer from periods of anxiety(its a stressful world we live in) but as far as something actually being 'wrong' with you,only you really know what you feel ya know? if you feel like there is no impairments of issues then you are more than likely as "normal" as anyone else. it certainly has not helped you at all having a mom who keeps telling you things that just create some sort of doubts about you or your abilitys. unless there has been some major issue going on with you,i think you are probably okay,just feeling doubtful becasue of what you have been told,it sounds like maybe too much? while i am sure that experience did have an effect on you,was it actually a bad or good effect? what EXACTLY has your mom told you about how you were never the same,did she define that for you?

if it would ease your mind,you could follow up with a neurologist or neurophyscologist.the neuropsyc docs can evaluate you and your cognitive functions due to some sort of brain injury or impairment. this type of doc specializes in this. just a thought if you really do have any solid doubts there. but that,like i said,is really up to you. the thing you have to remember here too is if they almost lost you at age two,you were more than likely also treated very differently by your parents as compared to your sibliings too ya know? hope this helped some. FB
 
Interesting. I had the same thing at age 6. I was in a coma for a while. The Dr. told my mom I was going to die. Obviously I don't remember much before age 6. Without going into extreme detail though, if I look at my childhood and my actions none of it seems like a childhood of a normal kid.
You said "have suffered with extreme anxiety, depression and nervousness my whole life contrary to my other siblings." I have too and no other sybling has, but that doesn't mean it's an effect does it?
 
I suffered from meningoencephalitis when I was 26 y/o and 26 weeks pregnant with my twin daughters. I almost died, as well. According to all the docs, I am fine and my daughters were born at 35 weeks and 5 days, no NICU time and have had no health problems other than typical childhood stuff. They are 2 1/2 now. Because of all the drama and excitement in my life at the time (2 new babies and a toddler to tow) I didn't notice anything specific wrong with me. I knew my 'mind' felt different in general, but figured it was due to having 2 babies at once-SEVERE MOMMY BRAIN!!! LOL! Flash Forward to now, almost 3 years after my illness, and I am very aware of my problems. I have short term memory loss above and beyond any 'mommy brain' that I've ever known. I've talked to other moms, and they say that once their kids began sleeping at night, their mentality returned to normal. Mine has not. And I have wonderful children, low stress, no major life issues to trouble me...I am blessed beyond measure. I have no reason to have 'mommy brain' or any other 'stress brain.' I feel like my memory issues are residual from my illness and I fear that I'll never be the same. It's so bad that sometimes I find myself in an area of the hospital where I work and have to literally stand and wait for my brain to 'catch up' so I know where to go next or how to get back to my office. I feel like one of my Alzheimer's patients! I don't feel like I'm a threat to my children or my patients, because it usually comes back to me within a few seconds. There are times when my kids do something super cute and I try SO hard to make a mental note of it so I can remember and tell my husband or parents later, but it doesn't work. I lose it within seconds. I will remember later on that I was supposed to have rememebered something...but have no clue what it is. I've started blogging because of this so I can keep my memories on paper. I am so worried that it's getting worse instead of better and I hope that's not possible. I wonder if I should see a neurologist just in case. Any opinions? If I'd always been kind of flakey or absent minded, it'd be different, but I was always the one who could remember all the lyrics after hearing a song once and memorize everyone's phone numbers after dialing them one time. I used to know all my patients by name, and now I'm lucky if I remember to go see them when consulted. I have talked to the OT at work to see if she can give me some cognitive exercises, but she hasn't yet.
 
wow you sure went theu alot just to birth some babies didn't you. i would seek out what i told the original poster in this thread? a neuropsycologist would be able to test you and really see just where you are at with this. my youngest son suffered a brain bleed and double skull fracture a few years back and did suffer some level of cognative impairment(his decision making process?). this doc would be able to tell you if things are or are not actually "normal' with what you have been experiencing(any acutal impairments or delays in the thinking process?). it could also be something totally unreleated to what you are connecting this to as well,ya know what i mean?

certain things could be unbalanced within our bodies that can create all kinds of strange and bizzarre symptoms. i would get a full physical and then see about at least getting tested. it really is the only way you are going to actually know anything for certain. i would most definitely speak with the OT you know and see if she can help you with some testing. at least a very basic eval,you know what i mean? that testing can reveal alot in and of itself. hopefully things are not what you think or there is a simple reason for this. good luck and please let me know what you find out,K? FB
 
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