One man gets 2 tainted shots, could have meningitis

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - As the number of people with fungal meningitis tied to a steroid injection grows, one Indiana man is waiting to find out if he’ll be the latest victim.

Joe Dippel received epidural shots at St Mary’s Surgicare in Evansville and that facility has already been linked to one confirmed case of meningitis.

Dippel hurt his back this summer, and suffered indescribable pain.

“It's probably the worst pain I've ever had. I couldn't sit, I couldn't stand, I couldn't walk, I couldn't bend over. It was just excruciating,” Dippel said.

Dippel needed relief from his back pain, so he got a steroid injection.

“I went in to St Mary's Surgicare. They gave me an epidural approximately 18th of July, it didn't seem to work. About three weeks later on August the 9th they gave me another one and that one got me out of bed. I was in bed for about five weeks,” Dippel said.

Now Dippel is facing another battle — both injections were part of the recall. He could have fungal meningitis. In order to find out, he had to get a spinal tap.

“They're not really sure about this fungus because they don't understand it as much as they should, so if these symptoms occur again I have to go back through the same procedure,” Dippel said..

Dr. Edward Kowlowitz treats patients with chronic pain at the Center for Pain Management in Indianapolis. He explained all injections into the spine have risks, but something like this recall is very rare.

“The FDA is probably getting more involved in regulating these things, although compounding pharmacies are not as regulated as the national drug manufacturers,” Kowlowitz said. “I think they needed a little bit more vigilance,”

Even with the risk of contracting meningitis, Dippel says he would probably do it all over again.

“Feeling the way I did then, I'm pretty sure I probably would have if I knew now, knew then what I know now,” says Dippel. “If I have that pain again I will have another epidural.”

Joe Dippel did get a spinal tap Sunday and he won't get those results back for a couple weeks. Even if his test comes back negative, he could still have symptoms again and he would need another spinal tap. There's a three month window during which symptoms of fungal meningitis could appear. Dippel will be in the clear Nov. 9.