Meningitis stinks!

So, about a month ago I came down with viral meningitis. It stinks! Actually, I came down with an unknown virus that lead to viral meningitis with the added bonus of urinary retention. It started on a Wednesday. I ached all over, but not so bad as to stop me from working or anything. It was like the flu, only I didn't have any head or chest problems; no drainage or coughing or anything like that. Thursday was worse, and Friday I went to Urgent Care. Or was it Saturday? They prescribed an antibiotic and sent me home. The next day I went to the Emergency Room. Same result, but with the added warning that if I developed a headache I should return. On Tuesday, April 17th, I got the worst headache I've ever felt. It was BAD! Back to Urgent Care. I hurt so bad I could barely focus enough to answer the doctor's questions. After examining me he asked if there was someone who could drive me to the ER, or if he should call an ambulance, because I was definitely not going home. Mandi drove me to the hospital.

Once in the ER, I was examined again. This time they suspected meningitis and gave me a spinal tap. I was told that it was probably viral meningitis because if it was bacterial, I'd be dead. They couldn't, however, give a positive diagnosis, so they checked me into a private room, hooked me up with some Morphine and started running tests. Over the next couple of days I was tested for Syphilis, HIV, Herpes, Rickets, Lime Disease, and those are just the ones I know about. I'm sure there were more.

At some point it became apparent that I couldn't urinate. This presented an interesting new wrinkle to my case. I soon had my own medical team working on me: an internal medicine specialist, a urologist, a neurologist, and an infectious disease specialist. The official diagnosis: an unknown virus led to viral meningitis complicated by urinary retention. It turned out that urinary retention, although extremely rare, is a possible complication of viral meningitis. (I was told that there have only been ten cases written about in medical journals.)

Meanwhile, I didn't eat the entire week, and drinking was something I was increasingly reluctant to do given the fact that any time my bladder filled I had to be straight cathetered. It was more than unpleasant. I was surviving on whatever they pumped into my veins through the IV. When eventually I did try to eat, I threw up. I went an entire week without food. At the height of my illness food was something I didn't even want to think about, which for me is weird, because when I'm sick I usually eat like a horse. I'm definitely a 'feed a cold' kind of guy. (I'm also normally a 'feed a fever' kind of guy.) By the time I went home from the hospital I'd lost about 15 pounds. I looked good, I just felt lousy.

Anyhow, I checked out of the hospital the Sunday after I checked in. I had managed to keep down half a cheeseburger from the cafeteria, and I was capable of administering my own catheter as necessary, which was about every 8 hours. I had been subjected to more antibiotics than I can account for (they were constant in my IV), steroids, Morphine and Hydrocodone. My headache was all but gone, and although I was still feeling poorly, it may have had more to do with my treatment than with my illness.

Once home, I was still basically an invalid for another week. All I did was sit on the couch and sleep. How sick was I? For the first four days in the hospital I didn't even have the strength to watch television. I didn't read, I didn't do anything. I just laid in bed and tried not to die. For several days I couldn't even keep my eyes open to hold a conversation because I had developed a sensitivity to light. For the first two weeks out of the hospital I had trouble digesting food because the antibiotics had killed off every bacteria in my body. Even now, nearly a month later, I still have bruises from the IV needles on my left hand and right arm. They're nearly gone, but still definitely there.

And that's the story of my bout with viral meningitis. I seriously recommend avoiding it, if you ever get the chance...