I’m back!! After a long couple of weeks I am able to think again. On Saturday, March 26th I developed a horrible headache that seemed very different to me. I had been under a lot of stress that week so I figured stress headache. Right? Everyone’s had those a time or two in their life. As the week went on I started to develop some more symptoms that were kind of worrying me, but I’m pretty hard headed. Not to mention I work in a hospital so it really takes a lot for me to go to the doctor. At this point I was having trouble staying awake, was very nauseous and I had no energy. The headache was now so bad that I couldn’t bend my neck towards the ground or from side to side without horrible pain. I’m not one to call in to work so I stuck it out. By the end of the work day on Wednesday, Marsh 30th I was in pretty bad pain. I thought what the heck I’ll see if I can get into the doctor tomorrow since I’m off work. My doctor is pretty hard to get into so I thought for sure I wasn’t going to get in to see him, and I’m not a PA (physician assistant) fan. Luckily he had a cancelation the next day at 9:45, so I left work about 30 minutes early and went to bed as soon as I got home. I slept from 5pm that evening until 2 am Thursday morning. When I woke up I was face down on my pillow and could barely pick my head up off of the pillow. I really wanted to go to the emergency room at this point because I knew something was wrong, but once again I’m hard headed and knew that if I could go back to sleep I had an appointment with the doctor when I woke.
Now I’m on day 6 of the worst headache ever and I made to the doctor. As I’m explaining my symptoms to my doctor he instantly says you need an LP (lumbar puncture) and a CT (CAT scan). I started crying! Maybe because I was physically drained and sick, but more than anything I didn’t want anyone sticking a needle in my spine (LP). Working in a hospital and seeing many LP’s you just never know how it’s going to go. I asked if there were any other options before we went to this, but he informed me that he would be a bad doctor if he didn’t order this test to be done. This procedure needed to be performed at the hospital, so I headed to the ER.
After many tests and an LP it was confirmed that I had viral meningitis, which is exactly what my doctor thought. The positive note to this test was that it wasn’t bacterial meningitis, which can be deadly. The negative news was that I just had all these test ran and was poked in my spine to be told that it can’t be treated. They were nice enough to send me home with some pain medication and something for the nausea.
The big question I’ve been asked through all of this is how did you get viral meningitis? Well I’m not exactly sure. It’s just a virus like any other virus you can pick up. It’s just like getting a virus and having the flu. I did do some reading on viral meningitis that helped me understand what exactly I had. If you are interested in information on meningitis you can find information on the CDC’s website.
So…….after 2 long weeks I feel like a new person. I would like to thank everyone for all their kind words and prayers. I’m so glad I feel good again!
Now I’m on day 6 of the worst headache ever and I made to the doctor. As I’m explaining my symptoms to my doctor he instantly says you need an LP (lumbar puncture) and a CT (CAT scan). I started crying! Maybe because I was physically drained and sick, but more than anything I didn’t want anyone sticking a needle in my spine (LP). Working in a hospital and seeing many LP’s you just never know how it’s going to go. I asked if there were any other options before we went to this, but he informed me that he would be a bad doctor if he didn’t order this test to be done. This procedure needed to be performed at the hospital, so I headed to the ER.
After many tests and an LP it was confirmed that I had viral meningitis, which is exactly what my doctor thought. The positive note to this test was that it wasn’t bacterial meningitis, which can be deadly. The negative news was that I just had all these test ran and was poked in my spine to be told that it can’t be treated. They were nice enough to send me home with some pain medication and something for the nausea.
The big question I’ve been asked through all of this is how did you get viral meningitis? Well I’m not exactly sure. It’s just a virus like any other virus you can pick up. It’s just like getting a virus and having the flu. I did do some reading on viral meningitis that helped me understand what exactly I had. If you are interested in information on meningitis you can find information on the CDC’s website.
So…….after 2 long weeks I feel like a new person. I would like to thank everyone for all their kind words and prayers. I’m so glad I feel good again!
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