At what point should I see a doctor? Please help

Hi all,

I think I am in the early stages of GBS, but I’m confused as to what point I should go to the doctor. I still have my reflexes and can walk, although it’s getting more challenging going up stairs, etc. It’s also becoming challenging to sleep, because my legs feel like they have “willy worms” in them. From reading the other posts, it sounds like if you go see a doctor too early, they dismiss you, and they only take you seriously if you can’t walk or have lost your reflexes. I’ve also heard that if they do a lumbar puncture or the nerve conduction studies too early, then they’ll come back negative and you can’t be diagnosed and won’t be treated. So, it sounds to me like damage has to be done before they will take you seriously and treat you. Does that seem accurate?

Here is my story and questions follow: I came down with a really bad sinus/respiratory infection, and was only able to take a few of the anitbiotics they prescribed me (they made me sick), so I tried to fight the bacterial infection on my own. I had the illness for a month, and was still sick when I went in to see my doctor to get my bloodwork done (I have the autoimmune disease Hashimoto’s which has led to hypothyroidism). She said that although I still had remnants of the sinus/respiratory infection (cough, ear infection, etc.) I wasn’t running fever and she wanted me to get the H1N1 vaccination, because my autoimmune disease and age (25, female) put me at higher risk of dying from the flu. So, I got the vaccination on Jan. 25th. Big mistake.

I began experiencing extreme fatigue, nausea, migraine, fever, body aches, and started going into coughing spells to the point I had difficulty breathing. I battled this for a week, but got better except for the fatigue which I initially blamed on the stress of breaking up with my boyfriend the week before. [B]A week after the vaccination, I began feeling very slight tingling in the toes on my right foot. [/B]My legs began to have deep aches (like I had exercised too much) and were very sore and heavy. The fatigue was the worst part, though. After that, the tingling spread to the other foot, and then my right hand. The right side is more affected than the left. I have the symptoms equally in both feet/legs, but my right arm/hand is much worse than my left hand/arm.

I’ve gotten clumsy — dropping items, unable to write, nearly losing my balance, etc. I spend most of my day with a heating pad in bed or on the couch. My legs feel like they’re vibrating, I have electrical “shocks” in my abdomen, I’ve lost my appetite, I have severe low back pain, and my shoulders/neck are hurting as well.

BUT, I am still fully able to walk…in fact, if anyone saw me walking they wouldn’t even know anything was wrong. So, [B]should I wait until it gets worse to see a doctor so they’ll take me seriously[/B]? I am on day 8 of my symptoms.

These are my questions:

*The “severity” of the symptoms seem to come and go. One moment my legs are bothering me the most, the next my right hand is almost completely useless and becomes the bigger problem, and the next my back is in agony.

*[B]In the beginning stages, do GBS symptoms come & go? [/B]Yesterday, my right arm/hand was almost completely useless. I couldn’t feed myself with it, brush my teeth, etc. but, today, it’s doing better. It seems to get better if I rest it, but worse if I try to use it.

*A hot bath seems to temporarily help reduce the symptoms.[B] Is that normal[/B]?

*[B]Do you lose your reflexes in the beginning stages of GBS or is it only later?[/B]Should I have lost my reflexes by day 8 of symptoms?

*[B]My right hand/fingers become mottled[/B] (red with white spots, and goes completely cold). Is that part of GBS?

*A lot of you have mentioned that your feet/hands FEEL cold, but [B]are they actually cold to the touch or do they just feel that way[/B]? My hands/fingers are actually ice cold when other people touch them.

*[B]Does any one know of a good neurologist who has experience with GBS near the Atlanta, GA area?[/B]

*[B]Has anyone had neuropathy BEFORE they got GBS?[/B] I had neuropathy in my right arm/hand from when I was younger that had healed quite a bit (but not completely), and I’m wondering if that’s why the GBS is attacking there the worst, because that was my weakest nerve point before onset.

I tried to get in to see a doctor today, but my internist is booked, so they put me with a nurse practitioner, and said she could give me a referral to a neurologist. I’m getting really scared…every night I go to bed and hope I’ll be better in the morning, but I’m not.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all SO much!

Blessings,
Ashton