Medical Experts

Hi Rex: I do not have enough information to be able to comment. Please answer the following: 1. How old are you? 2. When did you have GBS? 3. How severe was your weakness; i.e., were you able to walk? If you were unable to walk how long were you bed-bound. 4. Is the swelling only when you are upright; i.e., is it still there when you get up in the morning? Gareth

Hi Nicole: According to the GBS Foundation International recommendations the only situation in which vaccination should be avoided is if the GBS was unequivocally triggered by a vaccination. In that case that specific vaccine, but not others, should be avoided. There is an equivocal recommendation that vaccines should be avoided for the 1st year following the acute event but that is really only if there has been poor recovery. The risk of having GBS following any vaccination is almost always outweighed by the risk of the infections against which you are being vaccinated. You should discuss this with your GP. Many vaccines carry a warning in their product information about their use in patients that have ever had GBS but that is a recommendation driven by fear of litigation rather than data.

Hi Lucy: I passed on your question to Suzie Mudge who is a physio and a member of the Medical Advisory Board who is an expert on rehabilitation and muscle fatigue. Here is her answer.

Our muscles are made up of thousands of motor units (motor unit = motor nerve and muscle fibres that it supplies). Following GBS, you might recruit fewer motor units (depending on the amount of recovery you’ve had). You can often compensate by increasing the size and efficiency of the motor units that are working. But this leads them to be more at risk of overworking, which can lead to muscle &/or central fatigue. So sorry for being so technical but the short answer is that even though you make a good motor recovery, you are likely to experience more fatigue than previously.

Having had GBS has no implications for subsequent pregnancy. There is no effect on the ability to get pregnant, no increased risk of miscarriage or premature birth, no effect on labour and delivery and no effect on the foetus or the newborn baby. There is no contraindication to any medications that might be prescribed during pregnancy. Nor is there any increased risk of GBS relapse and there is no contraindication to any recommended vaccination.

While the benefits of vaccination, in the great majority of cases, far outweigh any risk there are exceptions. You history sounds complex with a host of autoimmune diseases. You have also been diagnosed with GBS but the occurrence of a relapse makes me doubt that diagnosis. Relapses in GBS are exceedingly rare and it is possible that you have a relapsing form of CIDP. Unfortunately, you are getting conflicting advice; one medical team recommending vaccination and your GP advising against it. I regret that it is not appropriate for me to comment on an individual case, particularly one so complex. You need to try to get your GP and the medical team managing your pregnancy on to the same page with regard to vaccination advice. Sorry to be of so little help.