I was in hospital 10 days in Sept. for meningitis also. Went home on IV therapy and readmitted three days later with gross hematuria. I too have ringing in my ears and head. Doctor said ears look fine and think it is side effect of disease. I also have short and long term memory loss. Think I'm going crazy. It's been over 2 months now. Doctor said give it more time.

I've had meningitis twice now, once in 06 and again this past November. I had bad memory loss the first time and even worse now. I honestly cant remember things from 2 seconds ago sometimes, also, and this gets embarassing, i cant remember words. I'll be talking and be like oh what is that word that means(for example) when you do something and you wish you wouldnt have, and someone says you mean regret and I say yes...regret. That happens all the time to me.

I was hospitalized for a week with viral meningitis at the very beginning of November and am still experiencing long and short term memory loss to the point where I am thinking one person is another person.

I can't remember very simple, every day common words, ask people the same question three, four, five times without remembering that I've asked them.

The other thing I've noticed is lack of concentration.

I just keep hoping this is "short term" (although at this point this is anything but short term to me, as it affects my every day life).

It's good to hear from others going through the same thing I am after having meningitis. I had really bad hallucinations while in the hospital. I thought it might have been reaction to antiviral IV's but doctors said it was infection. Did anyone else have hallucinations? Ringing in ears seems to be getting worse and I went to psychotherapist this week for evaluation of my mental status. I'm scared to drive out of town because I forget where I was heading. I am only 54 and have a fear that the memory loss will lead to other mental conditions.

Old_Scout: I've got all these. I still have slurred speech and episodes of altered consciousness. I first became ill in mid October 2008, and realised immediately that it was Meningitis. No Doctor would listen to me though, so I went through the whole thing without help. I eventually got some tests done privately by a Lab which confirmed I was right. Even now, my Dr doesn't want to know. I'm barely coming out of it now, 3 months down the line. I'm not sure if I'm clear of the infection [the Dr has refused to test me], so I'm again commissioning my own test.

I had meningitus at the age of ten but was miss diagnosed on several occassions, I very nearly died, but was lucky that my mum was so persistant. I was a very bright child and had always had a high IQ for my age. I am 19 now but since suffering meningitus my memory has severly suffered, I cant remember what Im doing or what I have done, I forget where Ive been or where I am going, Im now very clumsy and have alot of difficulty with co ordination and communication which are things that I excelled in in earlier years. I also have a very short concentration span and struggle processing information. Since contracting the disease I have developed a very unhealthy sleeping habit. I fall asleep at the drop of a hat no matter how long I have slept the previous night. I can literally sleep anywhere at anytime and am constantly tired. It is affecting my life in a very serious way. Does anyone know if this is a result of the meningitus too? I have been to the doctors but no one will listen.
Peaches x

I sat glued to the screen reading each of your stories! And now I know I am not crazy!I had meningitis April of 08 and it took them 2 weeks to diagnose me. I was in severe pain. Felt like my head was literally going to explode, 2 weeks of that and no diagnose. I have what I call brain fog you all call it short term memory loss. And yes I sleep a lot too. Also theres always that lil twinge of excruciating pain just in the back of my head to let me know the virus will be with me forever.

I was so relieved to read of other people experiencing similar difficulties. I had what they now think was viral meningitis in 2006-crippling head pains which put me on my knees, fever, then a bout of the most severe head pain and severe vertigo which put me in hospital.I am still experiencing difficulties such as vertigo, double vision, tinnitus, but more disturbingly, bouts of memory and/or concentration loss where I cannot even recall my niece's name. I am not 50 yet so I am very concerned! I am currently seeing a ENT specialist who feels it may be migrainous vertigo and I am in the process of trying medication to increase blood flow to the brain. I would be interested in other people's experience and any treatment that has worked for them?

Being sleepy and tired is to be expected. I need a nap every afternoon.

I came down with a severe case of viral meningitis on Dec 26th, 2008. Three months later I am still dealing with loud humming in my ears and my head is very sensitive to anything abrupt (quick head movement, steping off stairs hard etc). I also feel confused and memory does not see like it was prior to contracting it. Doctors tell me to just continue to give it time. I feel at times I am getting better and then out of the blue I feel like I have taken two steps back in my recovery. It usually takes 7-10 days for me to get back to where I was in my recovery. This is driving me crazy because I am in good health otherwise.

I have had meningitis four times in the last four years each time on the birthday of my deceased Mother who passed away 5 years ago of a brain anurism, weird. Each time I have been hospitalised and confirmed with a lumbar punch this last time it was confirmed that I had herpes simplex b virus in my spinal fluid, I thought that once I had a reason I would feel better but the label does not mean that they can fix it. They say that I have probably had the virus since I was a child. No explanation why I have never had it before my Mothers passing or why on her birthday. My mind is in a fog for about a month after each episide and my short term memory has been affected, I have a headache nearly every day just the severity changes, have had heaps of MRI's and cat scans but show nothing. I have come to the conclusion that I just have to live with it, I have two small chilren so falling in a heap is not an option.

I had viral meningitis when I was 17. Once recovered I was always extremely tired and would almost fall asleep on the spot, especially if I sat down/rested. I had to keep on the go constantly to keep myself awake - I felt as though I was extremely sleep deprived and was very teary due to the tiredness. My mother thought this was 'teenage lethargy'. It was at it's worst when I reached 18-19, so much so my employers at the time were so worried they sent me for a series of blood tests, (nothing showed up.) It's only last night that I discovered, after hearing something on TV that one post-sympton is tiredness. Although my tiredness is no where near as bad as when I was younger, I class myself as a 'tired person', never feeling completely awake. I've had approximately 6 blood tests over the years (doctors have always put my tiredness down to anemia - 1st response they always have since I'm so pale). I've never been anaemic...I'm going to be 40 in June 2009 and wonder if last nights TV 'discovery' is the reason behind all these years of constant tiredness?

i am 23 and was diagnosed with viral meningitis last september. i thought i had the flu and lasted 4 days before being admitted to hospital, 6 months on and i am doing restricted duties at work and for shorter periods of time, i am constantly tired and have poor memory, sometimes i forget what i am talking about half way through a story. i become dis orientated when walking for periods of time almost as if a drunk feeling. also have heart problems from it and i am on beta blockers for rest of my life, also having to take anti depressents due to panic attacks and anxiety.

So none of us were warned about side effects sadly but does anyone know a solutions to the problems or possible way of regaining mental loss. My daughter has recently had Meningitis and said her memory and concentration is just not the same. A levels (bad timing) HELP

pod there is no way you can hurry the memory, i find that the harder i try to fight the loss the more angry i become with myself which has given me mild depression. hope this helps

Was hospitalized for 2 days until they confirmed my meningitis was viral. The strange thing is that I had red/purple spots on my body when I went in the hospital and they went away after antibiotics/antiviral IV meds. The spots are usually only associated with bacterial meningitis. Odd! This all happened about 2 months ago. Took me about 3 weeks to feel back to normal, but about a week ago, I started feeling bad again. Bad headaches (albeit, not as bad as they were when I went into the hospital), neck stiffness. Today, I had to leave work early because of what I thought was a migraine. 12 hours later, I'm beginning to feel a little better. Can't decide if I should go to the doctor. My insurance sucks and I've already racked up thousands of dollars in medical bills. Plus, I have not time off at work because of being out so long. Don't want to overreact, but don't want to underreact.

At last I feel like I'm not alone in this. I was diagnosed with viral meningitis in December 2008 after developing flu-like symptoms but with weird pressure sensations in my head and vision problems as well as light sensitivity. I developed tingling in my hands and feet and numbness in my face and then became sound sensitive displaying extreme startle response to simple sounds like a tap being turned on. It is now five months since I first became sick and I still have difficulty walking around - balance isn't the best and this terrible pressure is in my head every time I take a step (strange as it is typing on the key board also produces pressure feeling. I still twitch and startle with noise and mostion (driving or being a passenger is the strangest sensation). I also have difficulty oncentrating and remembering words. I have just started treatment with a naturapath as I desperately want to get back to normal. I feel relieved that I am not the only one experiencing side effects. I thought I was going mad or developing some othe neurological disorder. I am going to attempt a gradual return to work next week and hope I can cope. Good luck and thanks.

I have viral meningitis in 2007. Still have difficulty remembering events from years back. I am 38 now and not old enough in my opinion for this memory loss to be due to age. I was in the hospital for 5 days and suffered through 3 days prior due to misdiagnosis. As you all experienced the headache was spectacular. Simply blinding! Had me screaming into my pillow. Anyway, I made a decent recovery but some memories are just gone.

I have been looking for years for someone to tell me that my memory problems were not in my head. Diagnosed with bact. meningitis in 1988, viral meningitis in 1992, 1997, 2007, all 4 times being hospitalized. Last diagnosis was herpes simplex viral meningitis, which may have been all 4 times??
My short term and long term memory are a DAILY struggle for me, I struggle to remember what I did yesterday and memories from years past (child births, wedding, funeral, every day things) are gone. In my work if I do something over and over many times, I can usually keep it in memory. I know people from the past, names, phone numbers, addresses, but some stuff is just gone. I am so hard on myself...I hate being like this. I could never study to take a test, as that learning capability is gone. Thanks to all who wrote in, as it has helped me to know I am not alone.