Reply To: Doctors in Seattle

When antidepressants are offerred to a patient, they are not intended as a solution to GBS, but as a treatment for depression. I was offerred antidepressants too, but I refused them. You don’t have to take anything you don’t want to.

Are you saying that you had no treatment at all for GBS? No IvIg? That would be the usual thing. But since you are three years out, and GBS peaks in eight weeks or less, presumably you have been recovering to some extent since then. Is that correct? Treatments for GBS are mostly given during the active phase, to lessen the effects of the disorder (IvIg or plasma exchange), and as support for ancillary problems (breathing difficulty and blood clots, for example). Once you are in the recovery phase, the main treatment is physical therapy. If you have nerve damage, there is nothing much to do besides wait for the nerves to heal to the extent they will.

Seattle is large enough that there ought to be several neurologists there with good experience with GBS. It isn’t necessary to be at a Center of Excellence — I had excellent care (for CIDP) at a hospital which was not so rated, and had neurologists who were well versed in the disorder.

As for working out, it is important to find the right level and not overdo it. Are you seeing a physical therapist or doing it on your own?