unhappy to reply

I really think a lot of people have emotional causes as one of or THE first diagnosis because this disease is so variable in manifestations and in testing. I was not told that it was a conversion disorder and my first neurologist believed me, but when she went off-service the “on service” neurologist told me that it was all in my head and discharged me from the hospital. This was very scarey because each day was bringing more and more of my nervous system shutting down and I am known as a pretty “down to earth” person. I still fume about this because he did this in front of residents and medical students with whom I interact at the hospital since I was admitted to the medical center where I work. People at work also think/thought that my symptoms were due to “burn-out” in my job because I worked so much. That is about the stupidist thing I have ever heard. I love my job and I love working and I have done everything possible to keep working despite this illness. People just do not understand. Neurologists, I think, try hard to find a explanation that makes sense based on anatomy of the brain and spinal cord. GBS is an antibody mediated process that can affect any part of the peripheral nervous system and it will not necessarily fit into a brain pattern, because it isn’t supposed to (DAH!). Believe in yourself. Believe in what you feel and stand firm. That being said, there would be a lot of advantages to this if this were mental–because it would not cause long term damage to the nerves. So it would not be all bad….
WithHope