I would like to thank you for a very well done website.
Please find attached my personal story with surviving GBS.
Please sign it as anonymous.
"Symptoms of the Guillan-Barre syndrome started appearing
on September 4th of 2005, I thought my muscles were just
aching because of the kick-boxing and rock-climbing I had
done that previous week.
I bypassed going to a Doctor, thinking that it's just a
sports injury and headed directly to see a physiotherapist.
I attended 4 sessions of physiotherapy over a course of
2 weeks. My legs were still weak and I was having difficulty
walking (especially with a laptop bag on my shoulder). My
hands started getting weaker as well (I couldn't spray deodorant
with one hand or even open a bottle of water). I was not
even able to go on my tip-toes, felt very weak and overall
fatigued. These symptoms were getting worse and worse as
the days passed.
I finally decided to see a pediatrician on September 22nd
of 2005 and after doing his check-up, he advised me that
I should seek special attention at a hospital. The fastest
way for me to see someone was to go through the emergency
at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.
After waiting there for 5 hours, I was finally seen by two
doctors. I took a urine test and a blood test and they said
that I should see a Neurologist first thing the next morning.
After seeing the Neurologist, he asked me to schedule an
EMG test which would help us identify exactly what I had.
Finally, EMG test was taken and the neurologist made sure
I got special attention. The next morning I started plasma-pheresis
treatments, which made the difference in the world. After
my second treatment I was feeling some improvement and continued
my treatments until I finished the 7 which my neurologist
had requested.
Today, I am still improving and have realized that all
it takes is a lot of motivation, positive attitude and patience.
The harder you work on getting better, the faster you will.
I was blessed by having my family, friends and colleagues
around me and supporting me. I cannot thank them enough
for all the love I got from them which was the most important
factor in my recovery.
I would describe GBS in phases:
Phase 1: Tingling and weakness in legs, spreading to arms,
becoming overall fatigue and can spread to lungs and almost
complete paralysis.
Phase 2: Start treatments as soon as possible, rest a lot
and stack up on DVDs, TV series and books (you will need
them).
Phase 3: Recovering and getting stronger. Use stress balls
to get your strength back in your hands and to help build
up endurance. Get on a stationary bike and start exercising
everyday, slow and easy to build on endurance, muscles and
overall strength of your legs. Also, start doing some very
light weights with multiple reps. Of course, eat healthy
too!
Phase 4: Get better, be happy, and feel proud and thank
God for your health.
The more you work on yourself, the faster you will recover.
I hope this helps many others who are going through GBS;
it sure helps to know that the rule with GBS is that even
the most severe cases usually recover."
Signed: Anonymous
(name known to Editor)
2005
