Can any long term side-affects appear after suffering from viral encephalitis?

OMG this is the first time I have read about someone also having the problem speaking with people...I often can't put my thoughts together AND I have the issue where my mind just goes blank!!! Literally blank! I am also CHRONICALLY fatigued..when I get tired I HAVE to sleep right now! And I don't have any recall on my own as fare as my memories go, but once someone brings something up I can recall bits

I am now sixty and contracted mild (ha!!) VE twenty-five years ago as an adult. It is so therapeutic to read these reports from people all suffering similar long term effects. This morning I went shopping for a new camera having done all my homework and knowing precisely which model I wanted but camehome with a completely different one, hence my looking up this site. Recurrent fatigue, memory loss and concentration problems are ongoing issues. Before VE I used to read difficult research papers but afterwards found ( and still find) that I just cannot recall what I have just read from one paragraph to the next and have to constantly reread what I have just read. Same with reading books, watching sport, movies and plays. I had a high profile job and had to constantly hide these cognitive problems from colleagues which becomes mentally taxing. Like another sufferer here, my sense of direction, even around local streets, is woeful to the point of embarrassment. How good to read someone having the same problems. Another long term problem has been eyes watering when I get tired which can be embarrassing to appear to be crying in front of people. Do others have this? Over the years I have developed strategies to hide my shortcomings so nobody really knows the inner struggle, and the sense of grief for the lost highly intelligent person that I know I once was. It is a daily awareness and on the occasions when I admit my forgetfulness it is not helped by wellmeaning people saying "Don't worry, we're all getting a bit forgetful at our age".
Good to get these things off my chest to people who understand, sometimes you just want to share the frustration and there is a limit to how often you can moan to your poor spouse who can be supportive but not fully understand. Hope this is helpful to others.

Hi Sophie, I can truly empathize with you as you described everything I went through at age 5. I was also in a coma for three weeks. I have suffered from severe depression, anxiety and now migraines. I believe everything I am going through is a long term effects of encephalitis. The Drs told my parents if I lived through the night, I would be a vegetable. I too was a miracle. 6 months after having encephalitis my Father was killed in a boat accident. My Mother kind of lost it after that. I just lost her from colon cancer 4 years ago this month, she died in my arms❤️. I have been on disability since 2001 for panic attacks and depression. I would like to know so much more about the long term effects. Melissa Haney Missouri USA

I am 41 and had encephalitis at age 5. Have suffered from panic disorder, severe depression and now migraines. I have been told also that I have over active reflexes. You are not alone. Melissa

Dr Giron. I was dx with viral encephalitis from MRI admitted to the hospital I cannot seem to regain full prior myself memory issues some hearing etc will it last forever ? I am frustrated cannot get answers how did I contract it?

Can't believe that I stumbled upon this. I am a 57 year old male. When I was 13 years old I had measles encephalitis. Evidently I had complained of a severe headache prior to my mom finding me one morning with my eyes rolled back in my head and my body covered in measles. (No I was not vaccinated). She says that she ran to call an ambulance, but when she got back to me I was in the bathroom. Somehow I guess I had come out of it enough to go to use the bathroom. She then said I laid back down but really was not very coherent. My father stopped the ambulance with a phone call, and took me to see the doctor immediately. The doctor had me rushed to the hospital just a few blocks away. For a few days I'm told that I laid in bed and talked completely out of my head. Then one day I let out a scream went into convulsions and then lapsed into a coma for approximately two weeks. When I came out of it I had a tracheotomy and had no idea where I was or why I was there. Took months for me to get my legs under me again. My parents bought me a bike and I rode about 1500 miles during the course of the following summer in order to get my strength back. From that point on as I went into my sophomore year of high school and beyond, I have suffered immensely with headaches, confusion, and an inability to comprehend what I read. Like other people I have never been fully vetted after this illness. I did poorly in high school. It was usually blamed on me not trying hard enough. (Very unfair to say the least). When I went to work I ended up doing maintenance work. I'm actually good with my hands, but I cannot grasp technical jargon. My brain simply is overwhelmed very quickly. Now I am retired. I have had bouts with depression and anxiety since I was in my teens. I take Wellbutrin and Lexapro to address these issues. I have a good life and a good wife and wonderful sons and I am blessed to live in a nice house. But reading everyone's stories I understand now why I simply could not compete with my classmates. Physically I was plenty Tough Enough and strong enough. But I could never keep up in the classroom, and even now I hear people Snicker sometimes when I'm talking. I'm fairly clever so I can usually pass it off as just being a clown. But the reality is I don't like being a clown. I never knew what was going on from assignment to assignment comma and I really have no idea what's being talked about when I sit in church or attend one of my sons parent teacher conferences. My wife does all the thinking thank God. Belittling is part of what you endure when you cannot process quick enough for the likes of many people. Confusion and anger are always close by. Now that I'm older and now that I take medication, I'm much more accepting of my limitations and of others who don't understand. I used to lash out at people who would ridicule and make fun of me. They simply did not understand that they were talking to someone with a disability due to an illness, and a short fuse.... with plenty of ability to physically challenge them if I needed to. I believe all of this a result of the encephalitis.

I was able to write a book a few years ago titled 'Pishers of Men'. It helped me process things in my life including the encephalitis. I actually ended up completing College when I was an adult. But my degree could not help me in the job place because there is simply no way that I can absorb the operations and the comings and goings of any organization or company. I just cannot do it. Finally, my ears ring since age 13, and my neck grinds when i get headaches... since my bouts w encephalitis

P.S. I'm replying to my own post as i inadvertently forgot to state the following:

My name is Mike... originally from Elmhurst IL, now a resident of Goodyear AZ.

Sophie,
As I read about your encephalitis tragedy it reminded me of my daughters. She was 5 at the time. She is now 19. She suffers from so many memory problems. She is angry bc she cannot get a job anywhere bc she can't remember how to count money or sometimes what the value is of some coins. She to was a miracle. We are catholic and prayed to a priest in New Orleans, LA , Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos. She has the best memory of going to heaven with him n Jesus and Jesus telling her she would get better. As far as remembering anything else she doesn't. She was also hospitalized, March 13, 2001, around Easter time.

Dear Mike,
Could you please contact me. And, could you talk to my 19 you daughter who had encephalitis when she was 5. She is having so many problems like you did. Her name is Mallary Laroux. My name is DeAnna Ebarb. We live in Zwolle,LA.

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We are also on facebook. My name there is Deanna- Kevin Ebarb, Mallarys is Mal Laroux. She needs some type of encouragement and to know she is not going thru something nobody else hasn't
Thank you
Deanna Ebarb

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I too developed viral encephalitis from a mosquito bite. West Nile Virus in 2003. I have had symptoms off and on since that time but have noticed that they are becoming more frequent. I get terrible headaches, my speech becomes confused, I have difficulty learning and my short term memory is almost non-existent. Nobody believes me when I tell them that I am still suffering. Glad I found this site.

Hi I am 39 years old I had encephalitis when I was 16, was completely paralysed down my left side, could not do anything. Had to learn how to walk feed myself do everything again. Today I have been left with servere migraine headaches very bad anxiety weakness down my whole left side walk with a limp get very nervous and very strange feelings in my head. Sometimes I think I'm going to die with the feelings I experience in my head even today. It's very scary I wish it would all just go away.

Can anyone help me? My child was diagnosed encephalitis on the 14 June 2016 after us thinking that she had recovered from this and 87 days later in hosiptal she was readmitted to hospital with numerous convalstions and doctor thinks its back, is this possible or did they miss something?

Hi sweetie my name is Cathy and I also had " E ". I was 11 yrs old.I nearly died as well,was in a coma for 10 day's . I would love to talk with you some time when you get a chance if you would like.

Hi Cathy how are you doing. Please tell me how did this change your life or did it come back to normal. How old are you now?
I am in south Africa where are you from