you are both so right. now if I can apply this knowledge to my own life, it would be very beneficial.
instead I struggle with stubborness. and keep pushing myself.
take good care everyone.

I was also under tremendous stress almost continually for the 10 years prior to my illness. Divorce in 1995, youngest son traumatic brain injury 1997, father died 1998, difficult daughter moved in with me, started a new business, back surgery 1999, another back surgery 2000, sold a lifetime of things to move to Ireland, did not work out and had my heart broken, moved to FL., 2001, sold house in OK. 2002, started a new job and bought and renovated a house, 2003, gallbladder surgery and chest pains and got hit in the top of the head with a sheet of plywood with lingering neck pain, and my two older sons were diagnosed with MS, 2005, then suddenly struck down with this problem, 2005.
Looking at the stress my body was enduring, no wonder it gave up!!:eek:
Alice, I hope you keep tabs on how many had a back or spinal problem. I wonder if there might be a common thread there.
You do not know me yet, but I am cheering for you and watching your progress.
Sue

Hi, Beethoven. Probably the most common cause of hair loss and nail changes is stress. Typically the hair is lost more about 2-3 months after an illness or significant stress in ones life. I have heard that ridges from the bottom of the nail to the top of the nail are related to illness or a diet that has not been adequate. Interestingly, people get ridges across the nails because of severe stress or illness. A lot of the kids with cancer that I take care of have light colored lines that run across their nails at the time of diagnosis and the start of chemotherapy. These lines slowly grow out. I tell them that they are like the stress lines from winter in trees.

Autoimmune attack of hair is most frequently in patches not all over. A person can have autoimmune attack on the thyroid gland and this can cause diffuse hair loss–all over the head– and the hair will be coarser. Often people also have dry skin, weight gain, fatigue, a swollen neck at the thyroid, etc if there is a deficiency in thyroid hormone because of autoimmune attack.

WithHope for a cure of these diseases.

In my case, I do believe that very high stress levels, both at work and at home, contributed to my CIDP. Of course, I also wonder about those yearly flu shots I had leading up to symptoms. Or the celiac disease (another auto-immune condition) that developed a decade earlier. Who knows?

Carolyn,

The first time when I got GBS in college, I had a cold for 2 weeks and was probably run down.

The second time (last October), I think I can agree with you that it was activated by stress.

I have a follow-up vist with my neurologist in the next few weeks, so I’ll ask his opinion on that issue.

I have found it comforting to read the various posts on the site and “listen” to others who have gone through what I went through. You can try to explain it to others, but they cannot really relate.

BD18

I’m new at this, just found the site yesterday and signed up.

My CIDP started in May 2005. I am still healing and have discovered that stress is slowing the healing process down, so I’ve decided to just tune out things that bothered me before, and it works … most of the time. Hang in there!

Paul

I have a lot of stress in my life right now & it does affect how I feel. I am trying to deal with a mother-in-law who has severe dementia & really should be living in an Assisted Living place instead of an apartment. But my husband is an only child & prefers to do nearly everything for her to keep her in an apt. I deal with her 12-13 phone calls on a daily basis. I am also the only person who takes care of my 82 year old mother’s needs, as my two siblings don’t live nearby. We also help out our son who has spina bifida & lives in an apt. 4 blocks away from us. I take him grocery shopping (he is in a wheelchair), & I also do 95% of his wash & any cleaning that gets done in his apt.

How do I deal with all of this? By getting at least 10 hours of sleep a night. This helps me out tremendously, because without enough rest I am useless. If I can’t get the sleep on my own, I take half a Lortab at night to make sure I do sleep. Otherwise I am just too fatigued to help everyone out. How much I would like to retire down in Arizona or the Carribean, but we just have too many people here in MN who need us. Even getting away for a vacation (other than our summer cabin in the Voyageurs National Park), is difficult. But we are leaving in an hour to spend the weekend up there with our two sons. I just wish it were a warmer forecast for the weekend!

Yes, Stress Does Overwhelm Me And It’s More-so Now Because I Am In A Wheelchair And I Can Feel So Frustrated! We Can Get Up Against A Brick Wall! “i Can’t Do This Until I Can Do That And I Can’t Do That Unless I Can Do This”. I Think That’s Normal For People With Chronic Illnesses, But, So Far, I’ve Always Been Able To Bring My Stress And Frustration Under Control.

I believe stress can irritate gbs,cidp or any ailment for that matter. However, I do not believe it causes gbs. Autoimmune dis. are genetic and once you have one autoimmune, allergies, diabetes, gbs etc., you are more prone to get another in the LONG list of autoimmune dis. From info I have read, these are the conclusions I have made. Google autoimmune dis. and check out the list, it is unbelievable how many ailments are classified as autoimmune. But who really knows, it would definitely be better if we were all stress free though! DAwn:)

Hi Liz,

Yeah, sorry to hear that you cancelled your trip. I strongly believe that stress can cause all kinds of symptoms and I also believe it was too much stress that caused my GBS in the first place. I was diagnosed in August 2005 and the only thing that took my pain away was a narcotic called Dilauted. I haven’t had to take it for several months now but I do take Lyrica and it seems to be doing the job. I took Neurontin in the beginning but I believe the Lyrica works allot better, at least for me.

I wish you were feeling well enough to go on your trip. I’m sure it would relieve some of the stress your feeling.

Paula

Hi,

Liz, I would not think that stress would cause your feet to swell. I would be concerned about this especially if it is severe. Contact your physician about the swollen feet either your family pratice doctor or neurologist if you do not have a family pratice doctor.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

Pam K

Stress can cause a relapse or residual pain. When I had a relapse back in January I was told by more than one doctor that it was likely because of overdoing it at home walking. Now think about the pressure put on your body from stress and then think about the pressure from overdoing it. They are about one in the same. I strongly believe there is a connection. Take care.

Steven

I am conviced stress is a factor. The week before I came down with GBS was HELL week. I even had someone send me a newspaper story about the idiots you work with can kill you. A story about stress – a week later I’m in the hospital on life support.
Keep on keepin on.
AL