Hi there,

Hope your wife is feeling better by now. It is not well understood,
which can be frustrating. I think the best bet is to go with a
headache specialist - like the Michigan Headache Institute or Chicago
Headache Instititue or the one in New York. All these are reputable
as far as I know.

That's all I have time for at the moment.

Cheers,
Laura

--- In PostmeningitisHeadache@yahoogroups.com, jericho190@... wrote:
>
> Hi Steve.  I am so very sorry to hear of your wife's illness, and I
also understand your frustrations.
>  
> Three years ago, I was diagnosed with viral meningitis at an ER,
given a prescription for pain meds, and released.  i collapsed at the
pharmacy, and was taken to another hospital, where I was hospitalized
for a week.  Since that time, I have suffered residual headaches. 
Yes, it is a long time, but I can say at least that I have not had to
visit the hospital for the headaches in over a year, so they are
lessened in intensity. 
>  
> I have tried numerous "migraine" meds, none of which had any
success.  I am wary of over use of narcotics, so have kept use of
them to a minimum.  At this point, my greatest success has been a
combination of Lyrica, Cymbalta, and a small dose of beta-blockers
(Propanolol).  For the most part, this daily regimen keeps the
migraines and lesser headaches at bay.  For breakthrough
headaches/migraines, I have some hydrocodone, and also keep steriods
in case I can catch the pain early and use the steriods to avoid the
onset.  Though I have recently been diagnosed with a severely
deficient immune system, apparently the result of the meningitis, I
try to eat well and stay as healthy as possible with light regular
exercise, and plenty of rest.
>  
> My best wishes to you and your wife.  My husband has been by my
side throughout this whole frustrating ordeal, and though it is very
difficult for him, he has been my best support.  He often deals with
the feelings of frustration and helplessness, as he can't do anything
to "fix" me, though he doesn't know how much just his support and
presence helps.  Many people don't realize how difficult the after-
effects of meningitis can be, and since the individual doesn't "look"
sick, they just can't have anything wrong.
>  
> Best wishes,
> Laurel
>
> --- On Sun, 8/10/08, Steve Beck <Solj4life@...> wrote:
>
> From: Steve Beck <Solj4life@...>
> Subject: RE: [PostmeningitisHeadache] Re: Wife recently diagnosed
with viral meningitis experiencing severe headaches
> To: postmeningitisheadache@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Sunday, August 10, 2008, 1:59 PM
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Thank you so much for the prompt reply and info.  Knowing that my
wife, Erin, is not the only one is somewhat
relieving.   Unfortunately, Erin's doctors did not warn us of
possible reocurring headaches.  In fact, when we went back to the
same hospital that diagnosed her with the viral menginitis 2
weeks later for strikingly similar symptons, the doctors (an ER
doctor and a neurologist) told us it was rare for such symptoms to
reoccur!  Thus, we were very worried when it happened.  After the
second headache early this morning, I decided to do some research on
my own and thankfully found some info and this group.  To top it all
off, we are in Destin, FL on vacation (which the doctor said would be
okay to go on).
>  
> We plan on finding a neurologist or headache specialist back in St.
Louis when we get home later in the week.  Erin is resting now.  The
headache went from a 9 to 3 on a 10-point scale.  One thing that
worries me is that her temperature climbs into the 99 point
somethings a few hours into the headache.  Her temp as since
stabilized.  This episode was almost identical to the last.  Erin
also experiences vomiting with her headaches.  Finally, so far the
headaches have only occurrerd during the middle of the night after
she went to sleep.  She wakes up with the pain, vomits about 30 mins
in, and has the headache for about 8-12hrs. 
>  
> Any more info will be much appreciated, such as any drug that was
helpful to you or doctors' contact info that are familiar with such
headaches.  It seems as though the doctors at the hospital she went
to have no idea, which makes me very nervous. 
>  
> Thanks again!!
>  
> Steve
>
>
>
> To: PostmeningitisHeada che@yahoogroups. com
> From: lbstadler@hotmail. com
> Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:08:22 +0000
> Subject: [PostmeningitisHead ache] Re: Wife recently diagnosed with
viral meningitis experiencing severe headaches
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi,
>
> Sorry to hear about your wife's illness. I had viral meningitis in
June
> 2004 and suffer from chronic head pain. It does change in intensity
and
> character - it is considered mixed type (tension with migraine-
> features)...
>
> Anyway, you can find all the info that I was abele to dig up under
the
> files section:
> http://health. groups.yahoo. com/group/ PostmeningitisHe
adache/files/
>
> Hope you find some info that is useful.
>
> One of the most important things I have learned is to find balance
in
> my every day life with stress reduction and other pain managemnet
> techniques (balancing activity with rest). I cannot stress this
enough!
> Daily relaxation, exercise, diet -- it all has an affect. It may
not
> take the pain or headaches away, but it does have influence on how
> severe and how often attacks can occur.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Best,
> Laura
>
> --- In PostmeningitisHeada che@yahoogroups. com, "stevenbeck_ 710"
> <Solj4life@ ..> wrote:
> >
> > Hello, all. My wife was diagnosed with viral meningitis about 3
> weeks
> > ago. Since then, she has had 2 very severe headaches, each
occurring
> > about 7 days apart. The first occurred about 10 days after she
was
> > released from the hospital where she was treated for the
meningitis.
> > We went back to the ER and they just gave her a steroid taper and
> some
> > pain meds. The second about 7 days after that. The headaches
> > accompanied with vomiting.
> >
> > I feel helpless in not knowing what to do. After some research on
> the
> > web I realized that post-meningitis headaches are not that
uncommon.
> > Any feedback will be much appreciated. Thank you.
> >
>
>
>
>
>
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