Reply To: Excessive Physical Exertion Takes a Toll

Hi Jen, Prednisone IS a treatment for GBS/CIDP, so yes, you had some treatment. Corticosteroids treat inflammation (from myelin damage) and reduce the autoimmune system response (fewer bad antibodies produced). Since taking it was at the beginning of your infection, it may have very well contained some of the more serious affects of the disease.

Trauma to the body (the flu, an injury, shingles, anything else that gets the auto-immune system to take action, like a fungal infection from mushroom spores) can trigger our systems to produce antibodies to rid us of the invaders. Those of us that have had GBS/CIDP have an auto-immune system that knows how to produce antibodies that can attack “self”.

While you may be waiting for definitive treatment definitions from your doctors, I suggest you begin taking Alpha Lipoic Acid. ALA is an over the counter “vitamin”. Not all ALA is alike and the one I take is here:
https://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-6120-now-foods-alpha-lipoic-acid-600-mg-120-vegetarian-capsules

ALA dosage should be 1200MG – 1800MG per day to be effective. ALA was the subject of a CIDP Clinical trial started in 2015 and being conducted by the University of Oregon. I haven’t heard the results.

When I had a rare fungal infection requiring neurosurgery to remove it, I was seeing an infectious disease specialist. The drug I had to take was extremely expensive and the only reason my Insurance company paid for most of it was because my fungal infection was life threatening.

If you continue to feel that the exposure to spores and other agents (toxins) may have compromised your health, you should seek out an Infectious Disease specialist near you. They know how to test for toxin exposure. The one that came recommended to me was:
http://health.usnews.com/doctors/linda-morton-516585

Hope this info helps.