slugo,

he is doing too much & must rest lying down more often. it is helpful to us if you ask a ques only in one thread. thx. take care. be well.

gene gbs 8-99
in numbers there is strength

Dear Slugo:

I raced bicycles competitively and played volleyball prior to GBS. After GBS I regained all my strength back but had enough issues that I had to give up sports. The things your son will have to deal with are:

Loss of hand to eye coordination. It seems to me that I am always a split second too slow to react. My brain tells my muscles to move, but the muscles have a slight delay before they get going at full speed and full strength.

Loss of fast-twitch muscle fiber. It seems that the nerves controlling fast twitch muscle fiber which is responsible for endurance activities is more greatly affected by GBS than slow twitch muscle fiber, which controls heavy lifting.

Fatigue. After GBS, I had very little endurance. I would bonk more quickly and it took longer to recover. If I had a volleyball match on a Saturday morning, I’d be wiped out until around Sunday at noon. If you are in a sport that has strenuous practices five times a week, then special accomodations are going to need to be made.

With that said, endurance training does help people who have had GBS. It actually lessens the overall burden of fatigue.

It still is possible to be involved in athletics, but it is harder and you may need to manage expectations.

Lee

My son had GBS when he had just turned 16. He was in the hospital for a week – unable to walk and his face was paralyzed. Also his blood pressure went sky high.

Four months of physical therapy…. and a lot of determination not to use a walker in public… GBS onset was June of 2006 and by November of 2006 he was able to start basketball practice at nearly full strength with the blessings of his neurologist and physical therapist.

He is now in the middle of his senior year of high school – he is the top scorer on his undefeated varsity basketball team – entertaining offers to play college basketball and baseball.

So yes, it definitely can be done!
Good luck to you and your son.

I am almost 2 years post to the day, and I am playing my guitar (which I picked up for the first time since I was 10) I work out, lift light weights, work full time, am raising 2 kids. I am blessed to be able to be almost 100%. My neuro says I have made a miraculous recovery. I say your son will be fine playing h.s. sports, he just may need to rest after games/practice a bit more.

Hi Slugo,

My fiancee had a very severe case of GBS three years ago, at the age of 37, that almost took his life. At age 40, he has gotten back into strenuous exercising and coaches high school wrestling. It makes him very fatigued and he’s always in a lot of pain, but I can’t seem to convince him that he shouldn’t be doing so much. I’ve had to learn to stop nagging him because I figure it’s better to support him so that he’ll come to me and be honest with me when he’s hurt and needs me. I know you specifically mentioned high school and college, but how many 40-year-old men do you know who are in otherwise excellent physical condition, very muscular, who can wrestle around with teenage boys who weigh 100 lbs. more than they do? My fiancee is pretty amazing, especially considering he has axonal damage from the waist down and a left-foot drop.

Best wishes to your son!

Shannon

Hi Shannon,
Does your husband still have any treatments of IVIG or does he still require any physical therapy? I was diagnose April 07 and it nearly devistated me too. Have a hard time with stairs, hell even walking I bounce like a drunk. Balance is difficult and stamina just isn’t there. What has he found to be most helpful? I’m in Chicago also, just recently spoke with a mother of an 11 year old who is out in DownersGrove. The conversation was very helpful to me. More power to your husband.
Peace,
Dexter

Does his fatigue last more than a day or so? Do you notice a change in his walking pattern or anything significant that seems like a bit of a set back? If he is tired and sore but can keep up with his lifestyle, I don’t think I would worry about it much. If it maybe hits him a bit harder but you don’t see it adversely effecting him in the long run, I also would not worry. He may be a bit more wiped due to the GBS but this also may be totally normal fatigue from working out and being a growing boy!

I know that we all will always worry a bit after something like GBS. I would just monitor him and let him do what he loves!

I know there are many people with GBS and Transverse Myelitis that go back to playing competitive sports.

Best of luck to you!

hi slugo,
if you do a search for high school sports, college sports or maybe even just sports you may find some old posting. I know some of the teenagers have gone on to play and actualy there was a great video on youtube about a high school football player that was stricken with gbs in 07 and it showed him on the sideline in a wheelchair and then moved onto 08 and showed him playing in the game..I will try to find that nad post it.

Good luck

I was diagnosed with GBS in early March 07. I was in the hospital for 3 weeks, after 3 more weeks of therapy I went on to play rugby for my high school team.

Fatigue definitely affected me and I was never up to my full athleticism. Playing rugby is no tough sport though (requires a lot of endurance).

good for you for going back to something you enjoy. I’m sure it is difficult but sometimes we just have to prove to ourselves that we can do it..

good luck and keep up the good work