please help

Hi,

6 months ago, out of nowwhere, I started to feel the worse type of pain in both of my legs below the knee. I lost control of my bladder and bowels. My husband took me the hospital immeadiately and when I got there I couldn't walk. This all happened within the span of a couple of hours. After, MRI'S, CAT SCANS, SPINAL TAP, EMG STUDIES. I was diagnoised with GBS. I have no feelings from the waist down. I'm currently able to walk unsteady however when I go outside I have to use 2 canes. My strenght is slowly returning however I want to know when the nerves will come back..Not knowing when I have to use the bathroom or not being able to be intimate with my husband due to lack of feelings is very frustrating. I'm not even sure if I have been diagnoised correctly. Please help me. I want to be normal again. I have a small baby and I cant even lift her up and walk with her due to this illness. Can I have surgery to repair the nerves?

[Christopher R Newey, DO]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with a doctor.

Without the ability to examine and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of the symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

I cannot determine if you are diagnosed correctly or not. However, I can discuss Guillain Barre (GBS) with you.

GBS is a type of polyneuropathy (i.e., multiple nerve injury) that can result from an infectious source. One such source has been described in campylobacter infections, which is a GI infection. GBS usually presents with numbness/sensory changes beginning in the feet and progressing upwards, much like what you describe. The major feature is weakness that is symmetric. There are variants to GBS, such as a pure sensory form. GBS can be diagnosed, after three weeks of symptom onset, with an EMG/NCS and initially with a procedure called a lumbar puncture (aka spinal tap). Without treatment, your body will begin to “heal” itself over 1-6 months post infection. After two years, there is usually none, if any, improvement. Treatment options initially may include IVIG or plasmapheresis.

If you have not done so, you should follow up with a neurologist to monitor you as well as provide the appropriate treatment.  

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.