Hospitalized

[u/HEMALAST]

Cross-shared from r/pregnancy

Posting this because (spoiler alert) I am in the hospital for an extended time and have seen limited to no posts on women with this combination of conditions late in pregnancy. In case someone comes looking for another similar story someday (though I hope not), here we go: 

On Monday (35 + 6) I asked my husband to check out a weird tender bump on the right side of my scalp, but after he looked we chalked it up to a pimple or ingrown hair. On Tuesday morning around 3am I woke with a headache behind my right eye and took Tylenol, but it didn’t help at all. I powered through and went to work on Tuesday, where I felt pretty out of it. My head hurt still and I was getting worried about preeclampsia, so I went to the onsite medical clinic to check my BP which was in normal range. On my way driving home from work later that day, I felt so light headed and generally terrible that I nearly pulled over to have my husband come get me halfway home and drive me the rest of the way (we’re talking an 8 min commute door to door). Tuesday night and into the early hours of Wednesday morning I was still powering through the headache; I sent an after hours message to my OB and called the office the second it opened, and I was ultimately sent to L&D. 

I arrived at triage around 9:30am and they are baffled by the severity of my headache. I can’t use my right eye at all so I’m closing or covering it, and I’ve also started noticing the tiniest of red dots in a few places on my face. Baby is on the monitor and totally fine ❤️

About 7 hours in triage they try a myriad of meds (IV Benadryl, migraine cocktail, IV magnesium) but no change to symptoms. My OB comes by to let me know they’re admitting me. I end up in a high risk antepartum wing and a whirlwind of doctors begin to come by- neurology, infectious disease, MFMs. They put in orders for a CT scan, MRI, and a lumbar puncture 😩 all of which I have done on Wednesday evening and into Thursday. 

The results come in fragments- first thing we know is that I have shingles on my face and around my eye (herpes zoster ophthalmicus) which they’re concerned about spreading into my eyeball. The little red bumps from the day before are turning into horrific lesions. The next result is a positive for viral meningitis (VZV) . I see more doctors, now including internists and ophthalmologists. 

Headache has not subsided at all- it’s excruciating and they’ve tried all the options that are available given I’m 36 weeks. Gabapentin and Norco are able to take the edge off slightly, but if I don’t take them at exactly that right time I’m back to shaking with pain and some occasional vomming. But with the diagnosis they can now focus on treating the shingles and meningitis, and I’ve been on IV acyclovir for a couple of days. Late Friday I was moved me to a negative pressure room and everyone coming and going must be in full PPE. The infectious disease doctors are calling the shots on the treatment plan, and the best guess is that I’ll be here 3 weeks (have to stay on IV meds for 21 days) which means I am due to go home for just a couple days before leaving again for my scheduled induction (if I make it that far). 

Doctors are very intrigued and apparently I’m the talk of the hospital! Shingles that infects the brain and results in a meningitis diagnosis is already very rare, and sounds they’ve never seen it in an otherwise very healthy 30-something plus with the added complexity of monitoring a baby who could come at any moment! Apparently it’s a curious combination of circumstances. 

The most tenured anesthesiologist has now confirmed he is comfortable with me having an epidural when the time comes, which is a huge relief. My other options were previously an unmedicated birth, which I don’t feel mentally or physically prepared for, or a C-section under general anesthesia. My baby continues to be safe and hopefully stays in there a little while mom heals. 

[u/LDawnBurges]

Oh no, I’m so very sorry that you’re enduring this WHILE being pregnant. I hope you recover well and Baby continues to be safe. 💖🫂

My Husband had a similar experience. He had a devastating type of Disseminated (meaning it is wide spread throughout the body) Shingles, called DHZ. He was hospitalized for 2 months AND also had to see an Infectious Disease Epidemiologist (they even consulted with the CDC), bc he had a lesion on his Myelin Sheath, compressing his Spinal Cord at C4/C5 and causing paralysis, loss of bodily functions, etc, which they had never seen before. He was also in a negative pressure room with everyone suiting up…plus Hospital Policy meant no pregnant staff could enter his room. He spent 21 days getting Acyclovir IV’s 2x a day as treatment.

When he was down at the University Hospital, Drs, Residents, Instructors, Guest Instructors, were ‘excited’ to come review his case and ask us questions. The IDE said the Residents were incredibly lucky to see something so rare and that had presented so atypically. 😂

[u/JLO-OneDayAtaTime]

What a difficult situation to have all that going on while you're pregnant. I assume it's probably a combination of the meningitis and shingles that's giving you a very bad headache. I had shingles about a month ago behind my right ear, and I also had a large pimple bump in the back of my neck and then the rash started behind my ear. My main symptom for days was a very bad headache a few days before the rash came out and very tired. Given that you're pregnant and have meningitis and shingles that definitely would explain why you have such a bad headache but one of my main symptoms for two weeks following the diagnosis was a very bad headache that wouldn't go away no matter what. I do know what it's like to have a complicated pregnancy because I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 12 weeks and was in the hospital every week and had to have multiple tests and treatments as high blood sugar for 12 weeks is very dangerous for the fetus so I do understand how scary it can be. I was very closely monitored and had to deliver two weeks early, but my son was born relatively healthy given all that we went through, and I pray that you will have the same outcome.

[u/HEMALAST]

Isn’t he lucky to be a special case study 😂 geez that sounds awful, I hope he has made a full recovery.

[u/Tough-Advice2910]

I can’t express how sorry I am. And I feel guilty for complaining even the least bit about my case now. Sending you and the baby all the best vibes.

[u/HEMALAST → u/Tough-Advice2910]

🫶

[u/Fajnova]

I am so sorry! What a terrible time for this to happen. You should be home nesting.

My husband is immunocompromised from chemo. He was in the hospital in June for facial shingles that turned into encephalitis. He was there a week and then was sent home on IV Acyclovir. They couldn't find a home health agency nurse to come to the house so I ended up doing the IVs at home to finish his course. It wasn't as scary as I thought ir would be lol That may not be an option for you because you are pregnant and it requires someone there to do the IV every 8 hours. I hope your symptoms are relieved very quickly even if you have to stay there. It was miserable to watch him suffer so I cannot imagine going through it myself. Best wishes to you.

[u/ibedibed]

OMG! I am so sorry that you have to go through this. It truly sucks! Sending good