### What Is (Guillain-Barre Syndrome) GBS?
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare neurological disorder in which the body’s immune system is triggered in a way in which it attacks part of the peripheral nervous system (the network of nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord).
Today, the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program recognizes a causal connection between the flu shot and GBS if the symptoms of GBS started between 3 and 42 days after the administration of a flu shot.
GBS can range from a very mild case with brief weakness to nearly devastating paralysis, leaving the person unable to walk, balance or breathe independently. The rehabilitation for GBS is intense and severe, and after recovery, some people will continue to have some degree of weakness. If you or a loved one believe you have suffered GBS, please contact our Guillain-Barré Syndrome vaccine injury lawyers today.
### What Are the Symptoms of GBS?
The most typical and classic symptoms in people with GBS start with numbness, tingling and weakness in their feet, legs, hands and arms. Usually these symptoms will start in the lower extremities and rapidly move up the body. In other occasions (particularly the Miller Fisher variant of GBS), these same symptoms of numbness, tingling and weakness will start in the arms and hands and move south down the body. A comprehensive list of signs and symptoms of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) may include:
- Prickling, pins and needles sensations in your fingers, toes, ankles or wrists;
- Weakness in your legs that spreads to your upper body;
- Unsteady walking or inability to walk or climb stairs;
- Difficulty with eye or facial movements, including speaking, chewing or swallowing;
Severe pain that may feel achy or cramp-like and may be worse at night;
- Difficulty with bladder control or bowel function;
- Rapid heart rate;
- Low or high blood pressure;
- Difficulty breathing;
- Individuals with GBS usually experience the peak of their weakness within two to four weeks after their symptoms first begin.
### How Does GBS Manifest?
The acute progression of limb weakness, often with sensory and cranial nerve involvement 1–2 weeks after immune stimulation, proceeds to its peak clinical deficit in 2–4 weeks. When patients present with rapidly progressive paralysis, the diagnosis of Guillain-Barré syndrome needs to be made as soon as possible.
Symptoms peak within 4 weeks, followed by a recovery period that can last months or years, as the immune response decays and the peripheral nerve undergoes an endogenous repair process.
(source: HJ Willison. Guillain-Barre Syndrome. The Lancet. 2016. 388:10045. Pp. 717-727).
### What Causes GBS?
Guillain-Barré syndrome is the most common and most severe acute paralytic neuropathy, with about 100,000 people developing the disorder every year worldwide. GBS can be preceded by infections, by viral and bacterial, or by vaccination. Cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome have been linked to recent influenza vaccines.
### Have you developed GBS after a vaccine? Find out if you qualify for compensation
If you have developed GBS after a vaccine, our licensed vaccine injury attorney David Carney can review your case for free and see if your injury qualifies for compensation. Request a callback below by filling in a few details about your case and our vaccine injury team will reach out to you within the hour.
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