Was this GBS? (long)

Sorry for the long post, but this question has been bothering me for some time.

In the summer of 2005 I was diagnosed with GBS, however, after reading about GBS, I’ve been having doubts about the diagnosis. I’m interested to get some other opinions because I would like to know what really happened. I’ll start by saying that I’m completely back to normal.

I’m male and I was 27 at the time. It was a hot month in the summer and I was working really hard to get ready for a move. I was lifting and moving things up and down stairs no stop at the time. At the same time I came down with a cold that had flu like symptoms (mostly fever and aching muscles). Stupidly, I pushed on with the move and didn’t rest much. Within a week of this cold I started to notice pain in my legs, arms and hands. I put it down to the cold and over working on the move (lots of walking, bending over and grasping heavy things). The pain was the worst at night. After a few days I was having trouble getting up and down stairs and grasping objects (like opening bottles). My trouble was partly from weakness and partly from pain. It was exactly the same kind of deep pain you get a day or two after too much physical activity.

At this point I saw my GP and he told me to take some OTC pain relievers and call him if it got any worse. By the next day it got so bad that I couldn’t do every day activities. It was almost impossible for me to get out of bed and I could hardly stand. I didn’t have the grasping power to even put on socks. I called my GP again and he told me to go to the emergency room. At this point my hands were too weak, stiff, and sore to do anything useful (just holding a phone was difficult). I was able to walk into the emergency room (an improvement from the night before). He met me at the emergency room and said he had talked to a neurologist at a near by hospital. After moving me to the other hospital I saw the neurologist that my GP had talked to. He examined me and said he suspected GBS.

Next they started testing me for everything under the sun. Apparently diagnosing GBS is more of a process of elimination than a simple test. They did a spinal tap to rule out an infection (it was negative). They also did lots of blood work. The first night I was at the hospital, they started me on IVIg and gave me Tylenol for the pain. I was very sore, weak, and stiff that night, but I had improved a lot by the morning. It was enough of an improvement that I was starting to regret going to the emergency room.

They moved me to intensive care for the next 4 or 5 nights. After they moved me I was able to get out of bed and walk around enough to get to the bathroom and take care of other basic needs. They also let me use the Internet on a PC down the hall. My arms and legs were still very weak, but I could do basic things. At no time did I need help bathing, eating, or using the bathroom. I asked if they were sure it was a neurological problem and not a muscular problem. The doctor did mention that one of my blood tests showed some muscle damage, but that he was sure I had GBS. He did a nerve conduction test which he said was inconclusive. I steadily improved over the next 4 or 5 days I was there. I was still very weak and sore, but getting better quickly. I used my laptop a lot, but it was uncomfortable to type, particularly with my arms bent.

When they discharged me (after about 5 nights) I was able to walk out on my own carrying by own bags. I was still weak and aching, but much better. I drove myself back to the hospital (about an hour) for the 1 week follow-up exam. By that time I was about 75% normal. I still got tired easily, but I could do most of my normal routine. The main thing I noticed was that my arms and legs tended to get uncomfortable easily if they stayed still too long, or if I lay with pressure on them for too long. This gradually went away over the next month or two. I went on my vacation (that had to be rescheduled) exactly a month after getting out. By that time I was about 95% normal. I did plenty of walking and didn’t notice any problems. I’d say I was back to 100.00% after 8-10 weeks and I haven’t experienced anything unusual since then. If you could erase my memory of that month I wouldn’t suspect anything had happened to me.

Now that you know what happened, I’d like to hear your opinions.

Here’s what is giving me some doubts:

I was diagnosed by my GP and the neurologist basically over the phone. The first time the neurologist saw me, he said they suspected GBS. He said the symptoms weren’t classic, but that it was close enough and they would treat it as GBS unless something else was found. Nothing else was found, so they continued the GBS treatment.

At no time did I have any numbness, or odd sensations, it was stiffness/weakness and pain that bothered me. I felt like I had run 10 marathons the week before.

While the pain and weakness was by far the worst in my hands and lower legs, it did not start at the tips and progress up my arms and legs.

I never had any weakness, or pain outside my arms and legs. I never had any trouble breathing, or speaking.

My symptoms started while I still had the cold and it only took a few days to get to its worst. It seems that with GBS there’s typically several weeks between the triggering illness and the onset of symptoms. Also, the symptoms normally happen more gradually.

My recovery seemed much faster than most of the stories I’ve read about here and I have no residual problems (not that I’m complaining).