Chapter 17: Effexor XR, ADHD & Viral Meningitis

I have been on 37.5 mg of Effexor XR for 9 days and I feel the same.  This is a good thing!  I have not felt any side effects or withdrawal symptoms from lowering the dose of Luvox.  (Or at least not enough to notice.)  I will go up to 75 mg of Effexor XR tomorrow morning, and lower the dose of Luvox to 25 mg in the morning and 25 mg in the afternoon.  I am hopeful!

I think it was my last post I mentioned the new psychiatrist in my city that supports my trip to the Amen Clinic.  I think I told you how AWESOME he is.  :)  He discussed an interesting possibility with me.  I was diagnosed with ADHD from the results of my brain scans at the Amen Clinic.  I feel I have had ADHD for the past 2 1/2 years, but not my whole life.  My doctor was a teacher and researcher at a university before he recently went into private practice.  The research he was involved with indicated there is usually something that precipitates the onset of ADHD later in someone's life.

He asked me if I had a brain injury, or a major illness such as encephalitis or meningitis.  I said no, but then I said wait a minute, I may have had meningitis.  In February of 2003 I went in to the emergency room on a Friday night with a severe head and neck ache.  They gave me morphine in an IV for the pain and said it could be meningitis, but I didn't seem sick enough to warrant a spinal tap (lumbar puncture).

By Sunday morning the pain in my head and neck was excruciating; I had never felt anything like it before.  I may have passed out more than once as my husband drove me to the hospital.  I was in such bad shape I was admitted immediately into the emergency room, no waiting!  :)  The fluid in the spinal tap was negative for bacterial meningitis.  My white blood count was extremely high, but they couldn't find a specific cause of the infection.  I was given morphine through an IV that whole day and sent home Sunday night.  The possibility of viral meningitis was never mentioned.

The next four days I took a combination of prescription pain killers.  I could barely get out of bed and had no appetite because of nausea.  I could not tolerate any light and had to keep my room dimly lit.  By Wednesday of that week I could no longer tolerate the pain.  The pleading with my Higher Power changed in content from asking for help, to asking if this was the time for me to die.  I had never been so sick and I asked my Higher Power if death was going to be the outcome, "Could we do it now?"  If I had a choice I wanted to stay to finish raising my sons, but if that wasn't part of the plan I was ready to "move on".  I remember feeling surprised at how simple the decision was.

Thursday night as I went to sleep I was planning on asking my husband to admit me to the hospital the next morning. Friday morning I woke up slowly and realized the fever had broken and food sounded good.  I believed recovery was possible and I felt blessed.  Full recovery took another week.  Now I believe I had viral meningitis.  This inflammation in the membranes around my spinal cord and brain may have made me more vulnerable to ADHD.  Interesting!  Here are the symptoms and the differences in meningitis and encephalitis if you would like more information.  

Taken from:

http://www.ehow.com/facts_6186800_difference-between-meningitis-_amp_-encephalitis.html

Difference Between Meningitis & Encephalitis

By Anjus Chiedozie, eHow Contributing Writer

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Meningitis and encephalitis are two medical conditions that involve inflammation, thus the suffix "itis." Despite their similarities, meningitis and encephalitis are not quite the same.

Description

1. Meningitis is an inflammation of meninges, which are membranes that envelop the nervous system, particularly the brain and spinal cord. Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain itself.

 

Causes

2. Meningitis usually results from either viral or bacterial infection. Encephalitis is usually caused by viral infection.

 

Symptoms

3. Symptoms of meningitis and encephalitis include high fever, seizures and headache. Additional symptoms of meningitis include stiff neck, vomiting or nausea with the headache, and sensitivity to light. Encephalitis-specific symptoms include hallucinations, tremors and loss of consciousness.

 

Treatment

4. Bacterial meningitis is usually combated with intravenous antibiotics. People infected with viral meningitis or encephalitis usually require substantial fluid intake, over-the-counter pain medications and lots of rest for treatment.

 

Prevention

5. Bacterial meningitis can be prevented by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and avoiding instances that can put you in contact with bacteria. Viral meningitis and encephalitis can be avoided by immunization, and preventative measures include keeping away from major viral agents such as mosquitoes.

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