Vaccine Related GBS/CIDP

[mudbear]

I really don't know how it comes on either, I had the flu shot and I think I got food poisoning also . about 4 weeks later I was going down hill fast within 2 weeks of that I was unable to move. then they said I had GBS but after two and a havf years later they say I have CIDP. I feel like last year I was stronger than I am now. It also seems that the IVIG treatments do not last as long. I was going 6 to 8 weeks in between treatments but now I get one around every 4 weeks. I tried to get disability but I am working so they said NO. I guess you have to stop working and lose everything before they will give it to you.

[cmulder]

Hi,

I had a tetanus shot and lst hepatitis B shot in Aug of 2004. Then I had the second Hep. B in Oct 04. I came down with this strange intestinal flue after Thanksgiving and then had symtoms of metallic taste, achy muscles in mid Dec. and then numbness/tingling in hands and feet and within 3 days of that I couldn't walk and was hospitalized. I think the vaccines were too much for my immune system. I am asthmatic and highly allergic to things and have been ever since I was a child. I wonder how many of the GBSers have had previous illnesses that compromised their immune system and then the shots just put us over the edge. I don't think it is one thing that gives you GBS but a combination of things that finally does your immune system in. I know my 2nd cousin thinks it was a Tetanus Shot that triggered his GBS which was 18 years ago and now he has CIPD.

Caroline
Michigan

[patricia]

My college freshman bound daughter received the menactra immunization last June '05. 31 days later she began to feel weakness in her legs which progressed to her arms and crept up to her chest and stopped there. We thought she had lyme disease and was on antibiotic. She seemed to improve after 3 weeks and we brought her to college. Within 5 days we had to pick her up and she missed her 1st semester of college. We spent the next several weeks going from doctor to doctor because the lyme test were all coming up negeative. When the announcement by the CDC and FDA came out on Sept. 30, 2005 of 5 teens coming down with GBS after receiving the menactra vaccination for meningitist, we felt we finally had a clue as to what was making her weak and unable to walk normally. Unfortunately the neurologist seemed to blow us off. This was now almost 3 months since she first became sick. Upon our insistance, he did perform the spinal tap, emg and nerve conductivity tests. They came up negative. We think that she had a mild case of GBS and because it was months later the tests did not come up positive. Several of her doctors said that it sounded like GBS but no one was willing to treat her or make a direct connection to the menactra vaccination. During her recovery, she experienced a lot of physical and emotional pain. We, her parents had to embrace the likelihood of GBS and help her recover. After months of celebrex, physical therapy, counseling and a lot of family support and prayer, she began college in January of '06. She is doing very well, but sometimes feels fatique and strange sensations, especially in her legs. If I had to do it over again, I would still have chosen the menactra vaccination because meningitis can be deadly. But the real problem is the lack of knowledge that the medical community has of GBS, especially those cases that are mild. It seems that they only recognize the 20% who need ventilators.

[Teresa Anne]

Here's a good one.

I had the flu shot once, after GBS

Tetanus is particularly prevalent in soil, especially soil to which manure has been added.

My Dad was a gardener.
My Dad developed lock jaw - fortunately my brother ralised that something was amiss and got him to a doctor, and all was well

I used to keep my tetanus injections up to date.

I had a load of manure delivered last year and I dug it into a garden bed.

I haven't had a tentanus injection is quite a few years and nor has my daughter, nor will we have it again as a precautionary measure.

My doctor told me, firstly, that his family do not have the flu shot,and

I am capable of fighting the flu, and
IF you get lockjaw, fight it then. (I know lockjaw is scary, but so are the 'just in case' vaccines.)

and that takes no account of the fact that last years (or this years?) flu shot was a waste of time.

I have not reacted to a vaccination
I did not get GBS following a vaccine

and I will not have a flu or teanus shot 'just in case'

Personally, I am more scared of cat scratches. I treat those. and garden scratches. with a good dollop of antiseptic.

[Gemcutter]

Originally Posted by Brandy

My husband Frank was one of so many to get GBS/CIDP from the "Flu Vaccine"

I know we have quite a few of our old members who developed GBS/CIDP from other vaccines too.

I was advised buy my neuro not to get any vaccines at all. Now the problem is what do i do if I step on something rusty and it punctures thru the skin. Do I get a tetnus shot even though I was told not to.

[Brandy]

Hi Gemcutter

Only you can make the choice of whether to vaccinate or not. This will be a hard decision.