Hey guys, a bit of background info:
22 year old male, living in Melbourne, Australia. Fairly fit & healthy, training 6 days a week with a good diet. My dads sister (my aunt) has MS.
- I was at work one day talking to someone, and out of nowhere I started to get blurry vision, which lasted for about half an hour to 45 minutes. This was at age 19.
- A few months ago I started to get some numbness in my cheeks after work one night, which lasted for maybe an hour. It then happened again a few days later.
- On the 22nd of August this year, I started to get some numbness and tingling from my waist down (including my genital area). I had been sitting at the computer for a while, so I thought they had just fallen asleep (This was at 12pm). I went about my day, going to the gym to train my upperbody at about 2pm. Half an hour into my workout, my legs became noticebly weaker and the pins and needles had gotten more severe. I was able to drive myself back home, but once I arrived I had to hold onto my car to get around to the front veranda, and hold onto the rail to get up the stairs. My parents then took me to an after hours clinic (most GP's are normally closed this time on a Saturday).
Once we arrived at the clinic, I was too weak to even stand and support my own weight. My dad had to lift me out of the car, holding me underneath my shoulders, and sort of guide me into the office. This was about 4pm. We wait for the doctor, about 30-40mins and he sees me. Again, I was not able to walk into the office on my own. He does some reflex tests etc and writes a referral for the nearest emergency department. At this point I'm extremely scared, and my legs are starting to develop a burning pain whenever something comes into contact with them.
We arrive there, I get admitted into a bed, and a doctor performs more reflex and stretching tests. An hour or so passes, and they run a few tests: Lumbar puncture and they scan my bladder (I was unable to pass urine). Some more time passes, and they give a diagnosis of Guillain Barre syndrome. I am then allocated to a bed, and immunoglobulin is administered at about 12am that night. For the next 4 days they run the immunoglobulin, and conduct other tests on me such as: MRI and a couple of nerve conduction studies.
On Friday the 28th of August they discharge me, and I'm sent to a rehabilitation facility, although I'm still not able to walk. After 3 weeks of doing physiotherapy, I am able to walk around on my own, without a frame or wheelchair. I am discharged a couple of weeks after I was able to walk again.
So I've been home for over 2 weeks now, showing steady improvement. The numbness on my right side has gone down dramatically, although my left side is taking much longer (Is this normal?) They cleared me to drive 2 weeks ago, which I feel fine while doing so, and I'm still doing physiotherapy 3 days a week.
Just since I've been home though, my eyes have been feeling funny. They feel like they are blurry, but my vision is fine. Some days it happens, others it doesn't. It can last for as little as 5-10 seconds, or as long as 5 minutes. I'm also having problems with getting a normal erection. It takes alot of effort to do so, and once stimulation is stopped it fades fairly quickly.
Any advice at all is appreciated, because I am extremely worried.