I was recently taken to A&E with severe head pain, a dislike of bright light and a stiff neck. Not to mention feeling nauseous. A CT scan was performed on my head to check to see what was going on. The wait for the result felt like forever.
It eventually came back OK. The A&E medical team already had a plan in place for me to have a lumbar puncture of the spine to take a sample of fluid to check that I had not had a bleed on the spinal cord and brain. I was frightened to hear those words and it was awful to take in.
I was admitted to a ward to be kept an eye on. The lumbar puncture was taken on the Saturday morning and results come back later on that afternoon, there was no bleed to the brain or spinal cord which was a massive relief. When I asked the doctor what the cause of this head pain is, he looked round and said there's a chance you have viral meningitis. My face and jaw dropped at the word meningitis as I associated that with having the dreaded rash. He replied by telling me you don't necessarily have to have all the symptoms such as the rash. I was in complete shock.
Even though viral meningitis is mild I still couldn't take in the fact that I had meningitis. But very lucky to not have a different type. I want to spread awareness of the signs and to know your own body when something doesn't feel right.
Even though I had viral meningitis it's an awful awful feeling and illness to have. It's so scary too as the head pain is awful, the whole lumbar puncture and after effects too is something else and really knocks you sideways.
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Please know the signs, and don't ever doubt yourself. Get medical help urgently.