Immune system Post GBS

    • Hedley LaMarr
      March 8, 2020 at 6:13 pm

      Fact: GBS patients had immune systems that failed them when they contracted GBS.

      Treatment: 1. IVIG drip treatment 2. Plasmapheresis

      Post Recovery Question: Has our immune system been permanently compromised? Or is it restored?

    • Jim-LA
      March 8, 2020 at 8:25 pm

      I don’t think everyone would answer in the same way. Once our immune system knows how to make antibodies that can attack “self” a recurrence is possible. What the triggers may be varies between people and is not well understood. For those that received treatment right away when they first got GBS, the likelihood of a recurrence may be less.

    • Hedley LaMarr
      March 9, 2020 at 9:32 pm

      I guess what I was asking is whether or not our post GBS immune system is strong enough to push back against infections or viruses. But I believe a blood test may reveal that fact. I’ll have to ask my doctor. It may be the white cell count or lymphocytes. Maybe a CD 4 test, the one they use with HIV patients to measure their immune system. Buy thanks for the answer.

    • Jim-LA
      March 9, 2020 at 11:30 pm

      If one is taking Immunosuppressants (such as: Prednisone, CellCept, Imuran, etc.) the autoimmune system is suppressed or shut down and won’t be able to respond well against foreign antigens. Foreign antigens originate from outside the body. Examples include parts of or substances produced by viruses or microorganisms (such as bacteria and protozoa), as well as substances that may cause some type of infection.

    • Tyler Fritz
      April 2, 2020 at 3:09 pm

      Yeah I always thought of my self of having a strong immune system. I never really got sick much. I was diagnosed with GBS in 2012. My case was severe. I was on a vent for 40 days and spent 3 months in the hospital. But to this day I would still say my immune system is very strong. I still don’t get sick very often.

    • jon swanson
      April 7, 2020 at 1:54 pm

      Thanks Tyler, you made me optimistic, curious if you are over 40?

    • buckthorn
      April 23, 2020 at 1:37 pm

      MDs and other experts: please correct me if I’m off-base on any of this. But I can’t help but think that it’s not always simply a matter of “strong” versus “weak” immune systems. In layman’s terms, those of us who contracted GBS have immune systems that got “tricked” (for lack of a better term) into treating our own nervous system as a foreign invader after an infection or vaccine triggered an immune response. I’m reminded of the more recent articles about how cytokine storms — where immune systems sort of went into high gear and did not stop — might have killed so many young people in the 1919 flu pandemic, and could be playing a role in the current pandemic as well. But, as @Jim-LA pointed out, these immune system reactions are not well-understood.