All about Guillain-Barré syndrome: Readers' comments!

This page contains letters from visitors to the website. If you have a specific question about GBS you need an answer to, or have good advice to pass on, or comments - please share them here!

Thank you very very much for creating such an excellent site. I have spent most of my day today reading everything on offer. I was diagnosed with GBS - March this year (2002) and making a good recovery, I am very optimistic for the future.

I am in the process of writing my own account but my reputation for 'never using a sentence when a paragraph will do' is making it more like a book!!

Your site has lifted my confidence and inspired me. I took to the internet as a research tool after diagnosis but on reflection, did myself more harm than good. I really do wish that I had discovered your site earlier as it is factual, easy to digest and I like the logical navigation too.

I have designed a few commercial web sites myself and therefore really appreciate your hard work. Thanks once again for your effort - you have, in some small way contributed to my recovery!

Our 13 year old was afflicted with severe onset Miller Fisher (MF) variant rendering him completely paralyzed in 16 hours.
We are not entirely sure if Alex had MF since we did not let the hospital do a second lumbar puncture to confirm the diagnosis.

In addition to standard medical treatment, chiropractic cranio-sacral adjustments were started within the first 10 days and have continued at weekly intervals.
I am not discounting the IVIg or other therapies that helped keep our son alive while he healed. But, I do believe that there are adjuncts that can help the body heal.

He has recovered to about 95% of pre-onset condition within 90 days.
He is experiencing the typical post GB/MF nerve regeneration pain as the myelin recoats the nerve sheaths, and bouts of fatigue. He continues with the adjustments.
There is no data or any other test that can confirm what I know subjectively, these adjustments did a great deal of good in helping him heal. I would highly reccomend cranial-sacral adjutstments for GB and MF patients.
We pray for and work toward his full recovery. I hope this information is helpful.

Hello, my name is Melissa Morgan and I am 37 years old. When I was two months old I developed infectious polyneuritis after having my first baby shot.

Can infecious polyneuritis cause permanent nerve damage?
I have now been diagnosed with neurofibromatosis. Can the two be related?

My son has been diagnosed with GBS .. we had plasma treatment but it seems no much change or help for his neck and he need this brace to help support the head... do you have any info of alternative or additional treatment that can help to regain back the holding of the head. Also even that he got the use of hands back the legs are not responding... Thank you for your help.

My 35 year old daughter has recently been diagnosed with CIDP. She has received a series of IVIg for five days and after getting worse, given another three-day series of the same. She is now in a rehab center in Harrisburg, PA receiving OT and PT but is weak and can only walk with assistance using a walker.

Your information on GBS is very good, but is the recovery the same for CIDP victims?

Nancy Metzger [case history]
Project Assistant
Kleist Health Education Center
10.2002

I am a strong (but previously silent) supporter of the GBS encounter group. My only regret is that the NZ group was formed after my experience with MF. I am convinced that this would have assisted in the subsequent healing process.

It still is a concern of mine that there is a paucity of published articles or medical material relating to the MF variant.
Obviously this is partly due to the relative rarity of MF. Recent articles by medical specialists tend ( at least to me!) to be
dismissive of MF, in particular of the long term implications.

The main problem I experienced was there was no medical participation or contribution in the post hospital recuperation.
Simple things, like how much exercise should be undertaken and how long should the recuperation period be?

As a self employed accountant I felt strong pressure to recommence practice as soon as possible. No fees, no income!
In actual fact I commenced work far to early and this hindered my long term recovery and possibly explains why I still experience difficulty in communicating my encounter with MF.

Hope this helps. I stress I am a strong supporter of the GBS Support Group and those who are doing all the necessary administrative work.

I was diagnosed with GBS on 08-20-02 and discharged on 08-31-2002 and so have been recovering at home for 23 days.

I started with having a virus for a week and woke with a headache and double vision one day. I went to the emergency room on a saturday and they did a CAT scan, blood testing for diabetes and a lumbar puncture. They didn't see anything.
The following days I got numbness in my hands and feet. Then I became weak and walked like a rag doll til I got to see my Primary Care Physician on tuesday following the ER visit. That same day I saw a neurologist and was admitted to a teaching hospital (Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Hospital in New Hampshire, USA).

I have pretty good strength and stamina and only slight numbness in my hands and feet. I have pretty good mobility also. I experience some pain but I don't require any serious pain medicine for that. I use Tylenol for the pain when I can't bear it, and rest.

My major concern is that I still have a left facial droop and double vision. I haven't heard much about vision in the symptoms or recovery topics at websites.

I am due to see my neurologists on Oct. 2, 2002 for a monthly check up. I know that I was tested for many other illnesses and some I can tell you yes I have been tested for but I don't think that I was tested for West Nile Virus. I was tested for Lyme Disease. Wouldn't I have automatically been tested for the West Nile Virus as well? I read articles on WNV and the articles suggest that anyone with GBS should be tested.

Anyway, I guess that my vision is my greatest concern right now. I am married to a Physical Therapist and I have that personal insight on my muscle condition but the vision is my biggest hinderance.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) inflicted itself on me just over 9 years ago aged 53. It was apparently brought on by first contracting Encephalitis.

Whilst a ventilator wasn’t needed, it still meant hospital for 3 months and a further 12 months of part time physiotherapy. My recovery has allowed me to carry out 95% of my previous normal life style.

Because of nerve damage I never 100% recovered the use of my right leg and do not have my previous stamina. As a builder, this has restricted the work I can now do. I am unable to run and can have some difficulty in recovering if I trip, so I must be selective in where I am walking. Walking across planks and climbing buildings is now definitely out.

These restrictions forced me to start looking for non-drug assistance and to seek other forms of income that didn’t require the physical dexterity now lost. In this search, I have found something that I believe has gone towards solving my residual health and financial problems.... [Mr. Macpherson then continues with a mild sales pitch for Noni juice. Please note the appearance of his email here is not in any way an endorsement of this product - webmaster].

My husband, Mike is currently in Methodist hospital with this D*** syndrome (GBS)...It's currently 3:39A.M. Monday, I just returned from Methodist where they have just intubated my strong, healthy 47-year old husband and placed him on a respirator.

My family is currently living a nightmare. I had never heard of this disorder until Saturday when I took my husband to the emergency room because he could no longer use his left leg...he was dragging it and quckly losing use of his right one. We thought he had a pinched nerve...he has back problems and is an independant contractor/electrician, he does a lot of heavy lifting, roofing, etc...only, we were blind sided by this nightmare.

Only Wednesday, he was complaining of a backache (normal) and pain in his leg, but was walking, etc and even finished up a roofing job. By Thursday night I took him to our local ER cause his left leg was giving out on him..they did a Cat scan & X-ray and foung a missing disc and a fractured vertabrae, but no pinched nerve, so they gave him Vicoden for pain & sent him home. Late Friday night he was clearly worse, so I took him back, again, they ran a Cat scan...no change, again they sent him home even though by then he was so weak he had to use my mother's walker to support himself. I feel they should have kept him for observation since it was clearly NOT normal for a healthy, strong 47 year old man to lose the use of his legs within 48 hours when only days before he was roofing a house. As of 11:00 Saturday, my husband was unable to use his left leg at all and his right leg only a little..I took him to Peoria to a Methodist Medical center who immediately called in a neurologist and we had a diagnosis within 2 hours. Now, at 4:07 Monday morning he is heavily sedated, arms restrained (Because he's fighting the tube), but losing the use of his arms, intubated and on a ventilator....

It will get worse befor this D*** syndrome turns itself around...THEN he has to begin Rehabilition..

Only it's frightening to sit & wait...wondering how well he will respond to treatment....how long will the paralysis last...how long will he need a vent...ALL THE "WHAT IFs".....I tell you, this is a nightmare for the families of the victims....

May I venture a response to some of Konrad Tiburzy's questions below?

"Americans and British seem to distinguish between GBS and CIDP. What's the difference and where is the practical point of it?"
GBS is sometimes known as AIDP (Acute Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy). The worst degree of weakness is usually reached within 4 weeks and certainly by 6 weeks. Many or even most GBS patients recover completely or regain most of their previous condition after a few months. As an example, GBS affects about one person in some 40,000 per year. Between 1,000 and 1,500 persons are affected in the UK a year.

The distinction between GBS and CIDP is an international neurological one, far from confined to Americans and British! CIDP - Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Poly(radiculo)neuropathy - is now regarded as a related but rarer chronic disorder. It may be active for several years, if not for life. The symptoms come on more slowly than with GBS, usually over more than 8 weeks at least, and in some cases over a great many months or even years.
Because the disorder is less acute it is often difficult to diagnose and patients are mistakenly told that they have MS or are anxious or depressed. Even where GBS is known, CIDP may never have been heard of.
It affects between 120-150 a year in the UK (about 10% of GBS).

The 2 main types are Chronic relapsing and Chronic progressive. In the relapsing form - some 80% of CIDP cases - progress is made to a point where treatment is required, the patient then improves for a time, then plateaus and relapses again. The cycle may go on for years.
The progressive form covers a small number who do not respond to treatment.

CIDP treatments include steroids as the first choice of treatment, in addition to the plasma exchange (PE), Immunoglobulin infusions (IVIG), Immuno suppressants (e.g. Azathioprine) treatments used for GBS. An international controlled set of trials showed that steroids are beneficial to many CIDP patients. Another set of trials, including in the UK and the Netherlands demonstrated that steroids are of no benefit in treating GBS.

My name is Sue and I am a nurse at a Rehab Hospital. I took care of a little girl with GBS and I feel she is a miracle. She came to us in the fall and just had some weakness in her lower extremities but this progressed over the next few weeks that she was sent to the hospital, trached and vent dependent.

When she returned to us in late Jan, she could only nod her head yes or no, her eyes half opened all the time and on the vent.

She received IVIG treatments and one day after a treatment she returned and her eyes were wide open, by the afternoon she could move her thumb on her right hand. She progressed daily it seemed.

After 2 more months she could eat, walk , talk and was decanulated and went home with her wonderful family. It was like a miracle unfolding in front of your eyes. She returns frequently to see us and is now a cheerleader and does cheers for us when she is there.

Hi Sharon,
Thank you for the email. Nothing new has come with my brother. He currently lives in a nursing home facility about 9 hours from me. My family and I will continue to pray for his healing. Several if not all of the doctors he has come in contact with say there isn't anything they can do. But we will still pray.

Yes, the doctors still believe that it is GBS. The acute/severe type.
He has so much organ failure it is a miracle that he is still alive. He originally went in to the ER thinking he was having a diabetic attack of some sort. He walked in but never walked out. He had multi-organ failure. Did kidney dialysis and the filter got clogged causing the fluid they pumped in him to be stuck in him for a while (hours if I remember correctly). That night the Dr. gave him a 5% chance of making it through the night.

9 years later, he's moved from facility to facility. At one point, he was in physical therapy--doing so good. It really looked like the road to recovery. But with Medicare/Medicaid things got complicated. Also, being on a ventilator, most places would rather not take him. Some of the places he has been in, have been nightmares. They have stolen from him, been ugly to him, even have dropped him and broke his hip once.

He has suffered with a terrible, terrible bed sore. His legs and arms are so thin and frail. Yet his feet are so swollen they look as if they could pop at anytime. He has so many different surgeries that his poor body looks like a road map.
My mother has taken care of him for so long that it is even taking its toll on her. We really don't know what else to do. Except pray. A lot.

To be honest, I don't think I could write his whole case history. When he got sick in 1993, I graduated from high school that same year. About a year after, my parents moved him to another facility in Baton Rouge which was about 5 hours from where we lived. As bad as it sounds, I wasn't around as much as they were and not right in the middle of it all. I often feel guilty for not being right by his side- then and now. Especially since he and I have always been extremely close.

My dad really doesn't have much hope anymore. He feels that it is realistic that there is no cure. My Mom has often been told that maybe somewhere somehow research can be done and a cure found. My dad tells her that people are insinuating that she isn't doing all that she can--which is not true. My Mom would give her own life if she knew that it would heal him.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Webmaster: Dear Kon, thank you for both your emails and for the news about CSFF. You are right, it is very difficult to find information on the treatment - I have created a page, 'Focus on CSFF' with the info and links on it that I have. If you, or anybody else, has information they would like to share, please email!
Yes, there are many long-term CIDP patients, check the Case Histories section for them (Anna, Milt, etc.). As for your other questions - can anybody help Konrad, please?

Do you know about "liquorphereses"? In English the method is called "CerebroSpinal Fluid Filtration" (CSFF), and involves filtering the CSF in the hope of getting any disturbing foreign agents in it out and reducing or stopping the malfaisance of demyelinisation.

The UK support group couldn't give me any answers to my inquiries and Professor Hughes (US) is difficult to reach. The bibliographical informations via NINDS, Bethesda, MY, USA, refer only to German trials (Wollinsky et al, Ulm) which are not convincing enough. I couldn´t receive others.

Pall Company is scheduled to introduce the pump and filter for csff at the General Hospital of Hamburg-Harburg around April 20th.

My brother was diagnosed w/Guillen Barre 9 years ago.. He is paralyzed from the neck down. He does have feeling both in his arms and legs. He is also on a ventilator. Is there ANYTHING we can do for him? Deep down I know the answer to this but I came across this website and thought I'd write.

It has been a long, long haul for him--and I grieve for him daily. He's only 27 years old. It's been really hard for me to watch my hero fall. Didn't know if maybe there was someone or something that could help. God has kept him here this long, it must be for a reason.

Our GBS Support group .. tell me that you would like to talk to someone about GBS and pregnancy.
I had GBS 17 years ago, I was one day pregnant when I got GBS. I didn't have a severe case what I had was pins and needles starting in my feet and hands and two weeks later I was admitted to hospital, because by then I couldn't walk, my numbness was up to my waist and up the full length of my arms across my neck, in my mouth but it didn't thankfully go to my lungs so I didn't have to go on a respirator. They just kept an eye on me, I felt they didn't really know much about it back then.
I was in hospital for two and a half weeks, after that my mother lived with us for 3-4 months, during which time I had physio everyday. When I had James I had a good 14 hours labour which was a lot better than my first child, I had a normal delivery with no complications. He was a bonnie 9lb baby. I had Karitane Nurse help me for 3 months and then I could manage on my own.
I hope that I have been of some help, I am only to happy to talk to you, if you have any queries and think I can help please just e-mail me.

Anna Matthews [case history]
Greymouth, N.Z.

I have a question about G-B.
Can the symptoms be continuously mild over a extended period of time and a patient be undiagnosed with G-B even after seeing a neuro Dr.? Thanks.

Please feel free to publish my story on your website.
I think anything that points out that people can ultimately recover from GBS is worthwhile. This is a frustrating condition that could probably be easily controlled with a bit of research. How to impel the research community to spend the funds is the problem.

Webmaster: Ray's case history is very inspiring. Thank you, Ray, and I can only agree with your comment - any suggestions, anybody?

Dear Peter,
I am the mother of a daughter who was diagnosed as having GBS 7 months ago. Caroline was only 8 months old at the time.

She was completely paralysed from the hips down. We were given the diagnosis the day after she was admitted, and Caroline began treatment with Immunoglobulin by IV immediately.
She received 3 treatments and the syndrome receded rapidly. We were admitted for 10 days in all, and by the last day she had begun moving her legs a little again.

Now, 7 months later, she can crawl, stand up supported by furniture or people, and walk using a walker or holding our hands. I don't feel that she has been in pain since being discharged, but the soles of her feet seem to be sensitive.

It is very tough on parents to experience that their child is paralysed. Rehabilitation has also been hard, of course, as it is impossible to tell a little child to do this or that exercise. We have of course been to physiotherapy with her, and to hydrotherapy. But she began crawling about 2 months ago, and since then her motor skills have improved rapidly.
She is now 15 months old and does not really lag behind other children of her age in that regard. She climbs the ladder to the slide every day, and that in itself strengthens her little legs.

We hope that she gets through this without lasting damage, but the fact that she has come such a long way is in itself a great relief!

I don't know if you can use my experiences in any way, as I can't really describe how Caroline has been, in words. But I would like to tell you that the syndrome can recede very rapidly, which is a very positive thing!
Get well soon, I will be following your progress her :-)

Dear Peter,
You will recover fully. The majority of GBS patients recover fully it's the initial attack that's a bummer. Five years since my episode and I'm feeling fit as a fiddle.

A short history on my case: After eating under cooked chicken I came down with stomach like flu symptoms, ten days later on Jan 2, l997 I experienced burning, tingling , numbness and terrible pain in both hands and feet.
Taken to the hospital and 12 days later was diagnosed with GBS.

Received two (5 bags per treatment) treatments of IVIG one week apart. I received IVIG because the Doctors thought I could not withstand plasmapheresis.
By this time I was paralyzed from my toes to my diaphragm and from my fingers to my shoulders. All they could do was to treat my symptoms and keep me alive.

Fed by intravenous and a belly tube for 11 weeks, kept on a ventilator for 5 1/2 weeks. After 17 weeks left the hospital for home as a quadriplegic, we put a hospital bed in the den. At this point in my recovery I could not transfer from the bed or sit in bed without assistance, I would fall to one side.

Since then it has been a steady recovery with many plateaus when nothing seems to improve. I had propriception symptoms as well. During therapy when they would get me up to walk I had to look at each foot, I could not remember the location of each foot. I first noticed this in about the 9th week, it lasted for about 6 months, slowly improving during this time. By October I was able to take my first unassisted steps.
During my entire episode with GBS I could always feel hot , cold, pain ,light touch etc. Today 5 years from the onset, I’m functional - feed, dress myself, take care of my bathroom needs (that took two years), drive the car, tire easily (that may be due to age), walk like a duck (lack of proper balance and a bit of foot drop), playing golf at least once (sometimes twice) a week with two other GBS survivors, they are also in great shape, work out at the gym two or three times a week, a retired life that is normal.

Underwent surgery in July 2000 to repair a Aortic Abdominal Aneurysm that was found while in hosp during my GBS stay. Again underwent surgery in March 2001 to remove two growths from my left lung (a good reason not to smoke).

Much of my recovery is due to prayers, a faith in god, a loving wife that would not let me give up, support of family, friends, determination, and people in the GBS support groups, who understand and are willing to give of themselves to help others. God bless,

P.S. Would like to get together with other GBSer’s who live in the vicinity of S.W. Florida USA.

Hi Peter,
Presumably you're under treatment by now. It is very important that you undergo plasmaphoresis ASAP - it's a kind of dialysis-like process that cleans your blood.
I am a GBS patient, who got sick 1st March 2001. I was diagnosed and began treatment very rapidly at the Danish National Hospital, and so I recovered pretty fast. In December I began working again (I'm a teacher), only 7 hours a week though, as I still have some pain and tire easily.
Do write to me if you have any questions I can help with.

Hi Peter,
I know it is scary when you don't know of anyone who is okay after having GBS. I spent a lot of time reading case histories etc.

I got GBS on 5 December 2000. I lost control of both feet at the same time and fell right on my kneecaps. I got up and went to work. By the time I was coming home, I couldn't walk the 15 minutes home. I went to the hospital but they just xrayed my knees.

I didn't find out it was GBS until 20 December 2000. It was too late for any treatments at that point.
I did get strong ibuprofen painkillers though, and a lot of blood tests and an nerve conduction test. I was almost hospitalized but decided to go home and stayed at home (by myself). I had lost the ability to walk and drive by this point. The paralysis wasn't complete (I could move my feet some, but there was no sensation from the ankles down). I could use a walker with a lot of effort. I managed to cook food with great difficulty and slept a lot. The weakest that I got was one night a little over a month after the start of GBS when I had to fight to roll over in bed. By the next morning, I could roll over again.

I learned to walk again very slowly as muscles reconnected. My "walk" would change every day. I started walking around my apartment and tried to increase the distance a little bit each week, then when I got better at it, I increased it every day. I then went outside and worked up to going around the block. When I could walk for 20 minutes without stopping, I started driving short distances (5-10 min drive). I built that up and now can drive for over an hour at a stretch.

It turns out I was also very low on vitamin B12 and thyroid hormone. I take thyroid pills daily and get B12 shots once a month and feel very good now. I went back to work on April 11, 2001. I used a cane at this point and took a cab to train station. I started out doing 4 hours per day and added 1 hour to the workday each week until I was up to 8 hour days again. I started walking home with a cane the second week. I would use the cane to get to work and then leave it in my office until I went home.
By June (7 months after getting GBS) I gave up the cane entirely.

Now, a little over a year after getting GBS, I walk over a mile and a half to the train 3 times a week (same work schedule as before). Sometimes, I walk from office to train also instead of the subway. That's a little over an hour of walking in one day.

I don't have all of the sensation in my feet yet, but they are still improving. My feet are very sensitive and a little painful but I hope they will return to normal someday. I actually went up a ladder today and stood on a step stool to paint some walls also.

Now you know of at least one person who is okay and pretty much normal after GBS.
I look completely normal and do 98% of the things I did before. My balance is a little off and I am not quite as coordinated since I am not getting all the information from my feet yet but I manage with what I have.

Just wanted to thank you again for all the information. My son Nicholas came home last week, the military is letting him rest for one month. He said all his numbness has gone away except for one finger, but he gets very tired. He does not pick up his one year old son because he is afraid he might drop him or trip. He looks good has not lost any muscle mass that I can tell but he has always been thin. He says his back hurts from the spinal tap. I am just
glad the military let him stay in and that he is getting better.

----------------

I contracted GBS in Sept. '96, and then in 1998-2000 after a number of relapses and treatments I was finally diagnosed with CIDP, although my neurologist still believes that the first attack was in fact GBS. So I guess you could say I'm fairly familiar with both conditions.

I am now in my 7th month of my first pregnancy, and whilst I'm not really sure what to expect, neither are my neurologist or obstetrician. So at the moment we're playing a bit of a waiting game.
Generally though, pregnancy is believed to be safe, and has been so far, but trouble could occur with the dramatic hormone changes shortly after delivery.
If I can help any more, please contact me I'll be glad to do anything I can.

Liz
Melbourne

Help!!
I am a 38 year old man who has just been told he most probably has GBS.
It all started with pins and needles in my right foot, and then after a while, my foot began to tingle and feel increasingly uncomfortable. After a couple of days, my left foot began tingling too, and then my left hand and then of course my right hand.

I had contacted my own physician, who took blood samples. I was to get the reply on Friday, but already on Thursday, I began to lose control over the right side of my face. I could not close my eye or eat or smile on that side of my face. So I called the physician and asked whether the blood samples had been processed and what the reply was, to which I was told there were no abnormal findings. When I described my symptoms, he decided to have me hospitalised immediately.

An ambulance took me to Glostrup hospital (in Denmark), where I was examined by a neurologist, who suspected it might be GBS. One CAT scanning and a lumbar puncture later, I was told I had GBS. I hate hospitals, so I discharged myself and am now at home, beginning to lose control over the left side of my face as well. This was probably not a good move, as I understand I am probably going to have to spend some time at the hospital anyway. Nobody there could give me any information on the syndrome, so I checked online for information on Guillain-Barré and found this website.

I am VERY nervous about how this is going to end. I've already begun getting depressed over the prognosis: how serious is my attack going to be, will I be paralysed, will I need a ventilator, what about my financial situation and all the other issues that one thinks about when one finds out that the course of the syndrome varies from patient to patient, and is therefore highly unpredictable.

I am writing to you to ask you or anybody else who reads this if you know any other cases in which the syndrome began the same way. I don't know what else to do. As someone else wrote on this page, why has nobody written in to say that things do work out and that life does not screech to a halt after GBS?

Best regards,
Peter von der Fehr [case history]

Webmaster: Peter, don't give up! I know somebody who has a normal, almost pain-free life. This person suffers from a great deal of exhaustion and requires plasmapheresis every few weeks, but otherwise leads a normal life. Unfortunately he does not want to share his experiences, so I am unable to give you details.
To the rest of you - please share your stories!! The case histories are among the most read in the website, and they give so many people hope and support. Besides this, they improve the speed of diagnosis and quality of help medical personnel can offer GBS patients.

Thank you so much for taking the time to give me this information, I really appreciate it. My son is coming home Tuesday for a month of rest, when I have more information, I will let you know his situation or what the military did for him.

My co-worker and friend's son who is 19 and just joined the military
developed G-B suddenly late last week. He and his platoon (?) had been in the desert on training and a member got a sort throat. Upon return or just before they gave EVERYONE a Penicillin injection.

A few days latter he was down with no use of his hand/forearms and feet and legs. The military is claiming the Penicillin shot did not cause the G-B, but the symptoms started about 5-7 days after. He says that right after the shot he started not feeling well and he went to his quarters. He rested and then started to clean his room and he had a reaction to the dust and made it hard to breath and he was dizzy too. But these symptoms passed within a day.

Apparently, several of his mates also had mild reactions to the shot and/or the living quarters. But none of them have been hospitalized. Their reactions were the same, dizziness, breathing problems and nausea. They passed within a day or so.

He has been sent to a hospital and they did a spinal tap and he is getting injections in his stomach to keep him from having seizures. They are suppose to do a blood cleaning (?) soon. The military Docs won't tell him anything. His wife has gone down to him in TX. We are hoping she'll get the info on what is going on since she is much more forceful and determined then he.

Of course, he had all the military introduction shots back in early July. But he got no reaction at that time.
His mom is frantic because of all the things she read about G-B and because his symptoms moved so fast. The military won't tell her anything or her son. The just treat him. It is scaring the living daylights out of both of them. Nick is only 19 and has a wife and child.

Penny's questions are:
- Is the G-B from any of the shots?
- What is this blood cleaning about and the shots to keep him from having seizures?
- Why did they do a spinal tap?
- What causes the G-B?
- What are the cures?
- Can he recover fully?
- What are the after effects? He went in healthy and is now really really sick! He can't walk, can't hold anything.
- Is he even safe at a military hospital? Is there any Dr in the USA that is really up on G-B?
- His older brother is joing the military too, what are the chances of this happening to him?

Well, thanks for listening. God bless..... We thank you very much for your hard work and kindness.
Sincerely,
Yvonne Rivera and Penny Ritch
11.2001

It seems that my wife has actually the GB-Syndrom. According the doctors it is very rare that a woman who is pregnant has this syndrome. Because of the doctors don't tell me a lot of the chances for my wife I try to ask you.
Please write back and tell me more about the GB-Syndrom.

Regards,
Marcel Süess [case history]
11.2001, Switzerland

Webmaster: GBS + Pregnancy at the same time is very rare, and there is very little information on the subject. A special "pregnancy+GBS" page is being made, anybody with information on the subject is welcome to write in!

I would like to know exactly what this syndrome is and if it affects any physical functions.
I came across this syndrome in my profession. I am a nurse in the US military and one of my assigned tasks is to review the records of newly arriving soldiers to ensure that they are fit for duty. I ran across this particular one and I had no idea what it was. My Doctor said that he wasn't worried about it but just for my knowledge I wanted to know more.

Webmaster answered directly - referred Sgt. Milligan to English-language websites on GBS, and translated some information to get Sgt. Milligan started off. Parts of the website have now been translated to English.

I'm extremely pleased and thankful reading your comprehensive information on gbs without knowledge of the Danish language. Is your information translated into German/English/ French or Spanish?
A gbs (CIDP) patient for 21/2 years by now, (Allgemeines Krankenhaus Harburg),