viral meningitis

[cazcat]

Hi-
i was diagnosed with viral meningitis by a doctor who told me that it was not necessary to get a lumbar puncture & that I would be better in 10-15 days, that it was important for me not to take any kind of pain medication and that I contracted meningitis because "it's for people who think too much". Well 15 days went past, 15 weeks went past, 15 months went past & i just got sicker & sicker - consulted with all sorts of docs and ended up having to go on disability for the past 5 years. I now have severe sleep apnea, rhumatoid arthritis, spinal stenosis, arachnoiditis, chronic pain and allodynia (NONE of which I had ever experienced before - aside from the run of the mill stuff, nothing out of the ordinary medically speaking). I still suffer from extreme fatigue and now struggle with attention and concentration (a real bummer as I have board exams to write). My question is - is this typical for viral meningitis? what happened to the 10-15 days (the only answer I could get from my doc - who is needless to say, no longer my doc- was "some people take longer than others"). I'm frustrated because every doc I see says "what's wrong?", I tell them & then they say - it couldn't have been meningitis - but then what happened? Why, 5 years later do I struggle to get up everyday, rely completely on meds to stay awake, experience attention & concentration problems, sleep problems and significant pain - & how did I end up with arthritis & spinal stenosis. I realize it's hard to say without a complete history, but any direction or suggestions on where to look further would be greatly appreciated as i often feel that doctors think i'm faking as apparently viral meningitis doesn't have these kinds of sequelae. Any feedback would be appreciated (ps. did get checked for lymes - no, but mono was positive at some stage).
Thank you,
C