Well I just got out of the hospital, and I can firmly say meningitis sucks. I had the viral type. I am fine now but I can't figure out how I got it. I don't know anyone else who had it. However I did have an anterior and posterior diskectomy spinal fusion with instrumentation of the T4-T12 on January 13 of this year. Maybe a possible cause? Anyhow I am very curious to lean how people get meningitis, so if you know please give me a reply.
Thanks,
Mark
swimfast989
05-02-2004, 09:18 AM
Well I just got out of the hospital, and I can firmly say meningitis sucks. I had the viral type. I am fine now but I can't figure out how I got it. I don't know anyone else who had it. However I did have an anterior and posterior diskectomy spinal fusion with instrumentation of the T4-T12 on January 13 of this year. Maybe a possible cause? Anyhow I am very curious to lean how people get meningitis, so if you know please give me a reply.
Thanks,
Mark
Were you sick at all before you got meningitis? Sometimes following a viral illness like measles or mumps you can get meningitis. But because of vaccinations, this is now rare. Chickenpox can lead to meningitis as well. Rarely, sinus infections can.
Some other causes are multiple sclerosis, strokes, leukemia, lead poisoning, certain medications, chemotherapy and reactions to vaccines.
To answer your question, it is possible to contract meningitis after a diskectomy. Meningitis, as I'm sure you already know, is an inflammation of the meninges which cover the brain and the spinal cord.
Just wondering, are you on any medications? And did you have any seizures while in the hospital?
Karla
05-02-2004, 05:01 PM
There are two types of menigitis. Viral and bacterial. To get it after a discectomy would be bacterial. My son had bacterial menigitis when he was a baby. The babysitter changed her sons diaper and didn't wash her hands then changed my sons diapper. She passed it on which then got into my sons spinal column and caused bacterial menigitis which then caused a brain abcess. He had a rare strain of it so it took over 3 weeks for them to find an antibiotic that worked to bring down his 107 temp. The drs said he would be blind and deaf from the high temp which he isn't. They said the brain abcess trama could cause epilepsy, celerable palsy, brain damage and that was if he lived. He was given 5% chance to live. We had signed consent forms to have the brain abcess removed to stop the convulsions and swelling. They did one more MRI right before they cut into the brain and the abcess had gone away on its own! He was in the hospital for a long time. He has turned out just fine tho.
worryworttx
05-04-2004, 09:29 AM
You never know where you can get it from. Back in 1989 in Texas there was a measals break out and they were advising women who were pregnant to get the shot, but I was almost ready to deliver so they said after I had the baby 6 weeks later I could get the shot...well, the only places in Texas to get the shot was a community center and being 20 years old, I took my 6 week old baby girl to this place and about a week later she was being rushed into the ICU of Texas Childrens Hospital. Now they said that I could have gotten it from the community center or more likely in the operating room when I had a C-Section from an infected worker...go figure. She had the viral kind, but it is very scarey and best of luck to you and your recovery. :wave:
californiasunflower
05-05-2004, 08:50 AM
I know someone whose wife had it and it was believed from mosquito. She was very, very ill; was hospitalized and recovered.
trev_rrt
05-09-2004, 06:48 PM
Well I just got out of the hospital, and I can firmly say meningitis sucks. I had the viral type. I am fine now but I can't figure out how I got it. I don't know anyone else who had it. However I did have an anterior and posterior diskectomy spinal fusion with instrumentation of the T4-T12 on January 13 of this year. Maybe a possible cause? Anyhow I am very curious to lean how people get meningitis, so if you know please give me a reply.
Thanks,
Mark
trev_rrt
05-09-2004, 06:54 PM
mark, my sisters both had meningitis. they both had their spleen removed in their early 20s and that is why they got meningitis. the spleen helps your immune system. If you would like more info go to www.meningitisangels.org they have a lot of info. and it is a wonderful site they also have a support group chat. i am attaching my sister sherrys and her web links her web pages tell her story. best of wishes to you i hope you have made a full recovery. the sad thing is that there is a vaccine against meningitis. the vaccine can prevent this dreaded illness.
this is her story and web links for more info
My sister sherry is my inspiration. She has determination, courage and tremendous will power. Sherry has been sick for a long time. Sherry became ill in her early 20’s. Sherry and her identical twin have lupus, and antiphospholipid antibodies. They have both had numerous miscarriages, both had their spleen removed in the early 20’s, both have lupus, both had idiopathic thrombocytopenia, both have had blood clots in their legs and both have had meningitis. Sherry suffered 9 miscarriages prior to the birth of her last son Jacob. Jacob is now 4 years old. She was bedridden for 6 of those months and had to give herself heparin shots the whole nine months of pregnancy. Sherrys true nightmare began on july 8,2003. she had a severe headache and went to the emergency room. She was admitted to st. vincents hospital with bacterial meningitis. Sherry was in a vegetative coma by the second night. The neurologists didn’t expect her to make it the first 24 hours. They told us she had severe brain damage from the swelling. They suggested nursing home placement and told us she wasn’t a candidate for rehabilitation. Sherry remained in a vegetative coma for 3 months. She was paralyzed, comatose, had a tracheostomy tube, a feeding tube, and on the respirator and was completely unresponsive. Our family was by her side 24 hours a day seven days a week. We did a lot of praying and began searching for a miracle. Sherry was a stay at home mom of two boys and a wife of 15 years. Sherrys life revolved around her family and we believed that god didn’t give her Jacob (after all she went through ) for us to raise. We knew the doctors had done everything possible, but just couldn’t give up. We discovered hyperbaric treatments had helped others with brain injuries similar to sherrys. We decided to give them a try , because we felt we had nothing to lose. We found out that these treatments aren’t FDA approved , which meant her insurance wouldn’t cover the expense for the treatments or for her transportation. We didn’t let that stop us we began our quest to raise money to pay for her treatments which cost 200.00 each. We have held benefit dinners, numerous raffles, photography sessions, yard sales, been on the Christian radio station telling her story, and we had some local churches donate money for her treatments. This has been a long emotional journey for our family. We are all exhausted but thank god we don’t have much time to think about that. I drive from Georgia to florida 2 & 3 times a week to take her to hyperbaric treatments, and to the gym to exercise her. The only thing I wish is that I could take some of her pain away. I can see the pain on her face when she tries to walk on the parallel bars but she want quit. When my day ends and I start my journey home she always smiles and whispers I love you and it gives me the determination and energy to continue the fight. We have struggled with the insurance company from the very beginning. We demanded she be placed in a rehabilitation center and she was denied. They told us there wasn’t anything there to rehabilitate and that she would never tolerate the rehab program because she was still comatose. They decided we weren’t taking no for an answer and brooks rehab center in jax florida decided to give her a 10 day trial sherry remained at brooks for over 3 months, every week we had to plead with the insurance and show progress to buy her another week. Upon her discharge we were given the option of 60 days of outpatient therapy or we could take her to brooks outpatient rehab day center and they would pay for therapy until …… but the stipulation was that a family member had to stay with her from 9-3 Monday – Thursday , because sherry wasn’t unable to speak and transfer herself from wheelchair to toilet or to table. we chose the day program and we all rearranged our schedule so someone would be available four days a week and again she was denied brooks said their program was to intense for her to tolerate, we had no choice but to go to the 60 day outpatient. When that ran out I signed her up for something called independent exercise through brooks outpatient gym. The therapists sees sherrys determination and they all love her. the physical therapist always gives us pointers and always cheer sherry on in the background. This only cost 15.00 per month and sherry has access to all of the handicap gym equipment. I still drive from Georgia to florida 2 & 3 times a week taking her to the gym and to hyperbaric treatments. God has truly blessed us we have raised enough money to purchase a used handicap van and pay for the 62 hyperbaric treatments sherry has gotten to date.. Sherry has made tremendous progress but still has a long way to go. Sherry is now able to walk with moderate assistance, she understands everything you tell her, she can laugh out loud, she can whisper I love you, she can hug and kiss her two boys, she can sign her name, she can let you know if she needs to use the restroom, she can stand while holding on, her tracheostomy has been removed, she is no longer on the respirator, and she loves to read. she still has a feeding tube but we are in hopes that it will be removed soon. Please pray for my sister complete recovery and that god will continue to show us the right path. I am attaching a link to sherrys web pages for more info. Thank you
Ann Jowers a loving sister of Sherry Manning
Hey guys, sorry for the late reply. Thanks for all the information you provided. I have made a full recovery and am very thankful I had viral and not bacterial meningitis.
I'm sorry to hear about your sister trev, but it sounds like Sherry is really starting to turn things around. I believe that anything is possible and people are rewarded for hard work.
I have a story you can pass on to Sherry. On November 17, 1991, a football player named Mike Utley of the Detroit Lions suffered severe brain and spinal cord injuries during a game. When Mike came around he was paralyzed. The doctors told him that he would likely never walk again and need someone to take care of him the rest of his life. Well, stubborn old Mike was not going to take no for an answer, he was determined to walk again. Slowly, after years of rehabilitation, Mike regained control of his body. Today Mike Utley is able to walk and is nearly 100% self sufficient.
