Hello.

Thank you for the reply. My wife is feeling much better. She has
had a few headaches since the last post but they were nothing like
the first 3 or 4 she had the 2 weeks following her meningitis
diagnosis. She was referred to a neurologist by her primary
physician. The neuro recently had her get an MRI, which came back
normal. The neuro expects the headaches to go away. He said that
Erin's body was still fighting off the meningitis and that sometimes
the meningitis fights back. It seems as though we might be one of
the lucky ones in that the headaches are getting way less severe in
pain and less frequent!!! I am crossing my fingers. I hope more is
found out about them and that others can find a some sort of solution.

What really bothers me is that the doctors who diagnosed the
meningitis did not warn us that the initial symptoms might flare up
for a week or 2. In fact, upon the second hospital visit the doctors
said it was weird for such to happen. Just knowing that there was a
possibility of a flare up would have made us, and especially my wife,
not so anxious and panicky when it happened. That is all for now.

Steve and Erin

--- In PostmeningitisHeadache@yahoogroups.com, "cph72"
<lbstadler@...> wrote:
>
> 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.
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Get more from your digital life. Find out how.
> >
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