Ms Gillian Schutte

[gillyschutte]

I am 43 and live in South Africa. About 8 weeks ago I started having the following symptoms :-
My legs started feeling weak and feel as if they are constantly numb. I get pins and needls in my fingers, toes and at the top of my head. I wake up at night with either an arm or a leg totally numb. When I wake up dreaming in the morning everything in my dreams is about 10 sizes bigger than is normally the case. At night when I lie down my whole body trembles. It feels as if I am vibrating. I get most of my nausea at night and I also get the most terrible smell which seems to be coming from my own brain. Occasionally it feels as if some-one is sticking a needle through my eye.The more I move my head forward the more intense my headaches get. It feels as if my spinal cord is stretching like an ealstic band when I try to put my head forward. I have low earache in both my ears. My speech seems to be getting confused and I seem to be swopping letters in my words. 4 x weeks ago I was in hospital with Meningitis but the symptoms have continued as they were before. I also seem to be tipping my head to the one side. Can you please help me. I really need to know why this is happening to me. Up untill 8 weeks ago I was fine.  

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
Meningitis or inflammation of the meninges can be due to viral, bacterial, parasites and even non-infectious causes. The most common is viral meningitis, which you get when a virus enters the body through the nose or mouth and travels to the brain. The inflammation of the meninges may lead to abnormalities of the cranial nerves supplying the head and neck area. Visual symptoms and hearing loss may persist after an episode of meningitis. It is also possible that your present symptoms including weakness, loss of sensation, or abnormal movement or function of the part of the body supplied by the involved area in the brain is affected. A follow-up with your doctor will be very helpful to rule out any possible after effects of your previous meningitis. Take care always.

[gillyschutte]

Hi Rowena
As I mentioned I was sick after taking that swine flu injection for which the doctors gave me moxymax. I had completed the course by the weekend. For the life of me I don't know why but nausea seems to have set in with a vengeance. I actually thought I was starting to feel better but since the weekend I have hardly been able to eat a thing. No matter what I try to eat I am as sick as a dog afterwards. I can't even face drinking tea or coffee and am just drinking water. I tried to have a plain slice of bread with butter at lunch time but couldn't finish it because I already felt as if I wanted to start hurling half way through. My lunch is sitting on my desk at the moment and I can't even look at it becuse just the sight of the food is making me sick. My headaches seem to be picking up again as well.
When I went to see the doctor about the flu he did check my ears and yet I still have earache in my ears. How come I feel the pressure in my ears and yet they say that my ears are clear. It feels as if something is pressing on my eardrum resulting in the earache.
Is all this just side affects of the meningitis. What if the meningitis was just a side effect of something else ?

[Dr Santos]

Hi Gill,
How are you? Complications are avoided when sinusitis is managed properly by your doctor. However, due to the location of these sinuses, potential complications of sinusitis may include intracranial  loss of smell and taste, asthma, osteomyelitis, infection causing meningitis, abscess, collection of pus, inflammation of the eyelid,  aneurysms or infected blood clots in the intracranial cavity, which are potentially fatal. Were you able to have this recurrent sinusitis checked by your ENT?  BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene tests and regular pap smear may also help rule out the said malignancies. Take care and you may benefit from further evaluation of your recurrent sinusitis.  Take care and best regards.

[gillyschutte]

Hi
Thanks for keeping in touch. I do suffer alot with sinus. It gets so bad that even my teeth hurt. It feels as if every bone in my face is bruised. Is it possible for this sinus to spread to different parts of your head.What I mean by this is when I get ' swollen patches 'at the back / sides of my head  that create headache when I put my head down. Is is also possible for this sinus to ge ' septic ? ' If so maybe that would explain why I keep on getting this foul smell which seems to be coming from my own brain. Would it have been able to infect the meninges resulting in me getting the meningitis ?  How does a person control this sort of thing. I take a sinus tablet a day but that doesn't seem to prevent build up etc. In the past I have slept with hot water bottles under my head and over my face but I have found that the heat tends to aggravate the situation and not help. How do you stop your body from making sinus in the first place.
My mom had a breast removed a few years back, had chemo and everything seemed to be fine. It came back again, was treated with chemo and was fine again. Apparently now it has spread to her liver and they cannot operate.Because of her age now and the fact that she isnt very strong her blood counts are very low and so she often cannot have the chemo but nevertheless she seems to be doing ok. Although she is suffering with pain and nausea.
Her sisters had cervical cancer ( which I have had in the past ) stomach cancer and her father also died from liver cancer. It seems rife in my moms side of the family. How would I feel if I was getting any form of cancer. Are their any warning signs that I could watch out for ?

Thanks a million

Gill  

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How are you? It is good to hear that the MRI was scheduled in a month's time.At present, your headache may be attributed to the flu vaccine you had last week.  Rest, take ascorbic acid and drink plenty of fluids. Pain that tends to get worse when you bend forward and when you first wake up in the morning is usually associated with sinus headaches.  It also causes pain in the front of the head and face. This can be  due to inflammation in the sinus passages that lie behind the cheeks, nose, and eyes. I'm so  sorry to hear about your mother. Can you elaborate on the type of cancer present? If your doctor knows about this significant detail in your medical history, it is likely that part of the blood work done to rule this out will be included. Hang on and get well soon. Take care and hope to hear from you soon.

[gillyschutte]

Hi Rowena

As I am a single mom with only my salary I cannot afford Medical Aid. As a result I am a state patient. When I was in hospital 5 weeks ago with meningitis they did book me for a visit to the neurologist who I went to see last week. He in nturn has booked me for an MRI which is only on the 3 August. Unfortunately when you are a state patient these things happen and sometimes you even wait months before you see the next person. I am grateful the MRI is in a months time but this constant headache can be very tiresome.
Whe I was at the neurologist last week they gave me a swine flu injection which I wish I had never had as I am now as sick as a dog ! This is not helping to make my headache any better either.
Some days are better than other days. The pressure seems to be generally over the top section of my head at the moment. I have noticed that the movement of my head forward is the main trigger to all the pain. I can actually feel it pulling on my spine down the middle of my back.
The doctor that I saw last week never said anything to me so I still have no idea what could be causing this. I noticed from his hand writing that he had written Hermittes on my file.
My moms side of the family has all died from cancer. My mom currently only has 2 x months left according to her doctor. Will blood tests show up any kind of cancer as I filled about 15 x tubes of blood last week for them to send away to the lab.
The doctor did notice and commented on the fact that I seem to tip my head to the one side constantly. I have noticed how my head seems to pull to one side. It feels as if  oneside of my body is tighter than the other.  The pain is predominantly down the left side.
I would like to thank you for your responses and look forward to any bits of information.

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How are you?If the symptoms continued despite treatment, it is best that you inform your doctor about this and go for a follow-up evaluation. The ear pain can be checked by your ear doctor to rule out infection or ear pathology while your other symptoms - numbness, weakness and pins, needle sensation, confusion and speech problem can be examined by a neurologist.Your complete medical history and physical/neurological  examination will help. Take care and do keep us posted.