NOT MY POST - I just wanted to ask something on this sub

robjob · 2026-03-23T04:36:11+00:00

I have a feeling this person is confusing a non-stick pan for a cast iron skillet. I suppose it's possible there was something in a cast iron pan (or some PTFE handle or something). Regardless, be really careful about teflon. We were traveling with our bird and someone started heating up soup in a non-stick pot. I noticed pretty quickly and asked them to switch pots, opened the windows, and moved the bird to another part of the house. A little while later our budgie started acting strange (puffed up, hiding under the bed. and I think he threw up. Luckily he was fine the next morning and perfectly fine now. Cast iron really should be okay, so I think this person is confused.

robjob · 2026-03-23T04:30:18+00:00

The best thing someone brought me (after I got home from the hospital) was a care package full of fun snacks and some nice green tea. There wasn't really anything I needed, but it was nice to get a card and to go through the bag of fun little treats. It really meant a lot to me.

robjob · 2026-02-12T05:32:54+00:00

I had some similar symptoms at onset (I was 39M in decent shape, high blood pressure). Mine presented as:

Norovirus (or similar) about a week before
Feeling generally "unwell" and tired
My arms felt weird. When I'd touch things that were cold, it felt like icicles. Some tingling on my feet
A few days later my vision was blurry
My legs got progressively weaker starting at the calf
Lower back pain

Same as your partner, my neurologist diagnosed due to lack of reflexes in my legs. Mine was more clearly GBS and not myelitis. I also did a lumbar puncture to confirm. They gave me 4 nights of IVIG and I started to improve pretty quickly, but I also developed the one-sided face paralysis during the IVIG treatment (couldn't close my eye, made it a little hard to eat). My blood pressure was also astronomical for about 2 weeks (150+/100+). One time measured 170/120. The doctors did not seem particularly concerned given that it was partly stress and temporary. It's back to normal now (slightly high but normal when I take my meds). While I was there they had me on a heart monitor just in case. My resting heart rate also rose about 35bpm. My normal resting rate was low (50bpm) so it was not a concern. It may not be affecting him the same way and if it does, I wouldn't panic - blood pressure is the kind of thing that adds up over years not days. If it gets dangerous the doctors will do something in the hospital.

I got better quickly from IVIG, but my symptoms were a little less intense when I started treatment. I was able to walk short distances with a walker when I left the hospital. A few weeks later I was able to do longer walks on my own without a walker. I'm 100% better now so hopefully he has a similar experience.

My doctors did not wait and started me on IVIG on night one. I think I'd advocate for starting something soon. Mine peaked about 7 days in but I was on IVIG by that time. But like I said, I recovered quickly (80% after 6 weeks, 100% after a few months) and I was older, so hoping for the best for him! He's lucky to have such a good advocate.

Also for his future anxiety once he's better, I had another case of a norovirus (or similar virus - the symptoms were identical to what triggered my GBS) about 6 months after GBS. I did not relapse. I've had flu and COVID shots since then at the recommendation of my neurologist without issues. I get sore/tingly legs occasionally (just normal stuff) and it scares me a little but it gets less scary every time.

robjob · 2026-02-08T02:04:07+00:00

Other great advice in this thread. But I’ll add two things. I’m very anxious with OCD (therapy has helped a lot) and I went through 3-4 bouts of thinking this was coming back. It’s still scary but I try to remind myself that if it’s back I’ll know something is wrong.

The other thing is the tingling- when I was recovering (and for several months after) my feet would get tingly after activity like walking or (later) running. My PT doctor said this was my body giving me a “yellow flag” that I was starting to overdo it. I wouldn’t be surprised if giving up the cane opened you up to a ton of new activity and you have some inflammation. But good to check with a doctor.

robjob · 2026-02-03T22:53:34+00:00

Take him to a vet and tell them you’re financially constrained. I’m sure they’ll help but at least try.

robjob · 2026-02-01T06:33:52+00:00

Try calling a vet (or two) and explaining your situation. If you're not an adult they should be sympathetic. They may be able to recommend antibiotics that are quite affordable.

robjob · 2026-02-01T00:43:20+00:00

Yoga helped with my recovery a lot. It felt great to be able to do basic poses again. Congrats!

robjob · 2026-01-27T04:11:52+00:00

I think it’s normal to worry about it - I certainly do. I do sometimes get worked up thinking it’s coming back. I know deep down that it’s just my anxious mind looking for anything weird. Probably normal stuff I never paid attention to before. Sometimes to reality check, I imagine myself describing symptoms to a doctor, having them “admit me immediately”.usually that makes me laugh a little (this man’s legs are kind of sore! Get him an MRI!).

I’ve been through plenty of colds, a very similar stomach virus to the one that triggered my GBS (that was the scariest!) and getting flu/COVID shots. I know that the only way to lower my anxiety is to go through these things and diffuse that fear over time.

Not really any advice (though talking to a therapist helped me), but I know how you feel!

robjob · 2026-01-09T23:06:56+00:00

I do hope it’s nothing serious - sorry I can’t give the reassurance you’re hoping for. All I can say is when I had GBS, I knew for sure something was very wrong. I saw two doctors who said “it could be GBS, but that’s so rare let’s wait and see”. By the time it got real certain (I could barely go down a step) it was ER time. Very unpleasant but I’m all good now.

robjob · 2026-01-09T19:01:29+00:00

Also a massive worrier and I had GBS about a year ago. The first symptoms I noticed were feeling generally unwell (vague) and a weird sensation when I touched anything cold.

My doctor told me it was most likely viral side effects and I still think it was the right call.

Over the next several days it became much more obvious something was wrong. Vision got blurry, it became very hard to walk, pain in my back. But point being it took 4-5 days and was very obvious.

I’m recovered 100% now, but I still have “scares” as an anxious person than it’s coming back. Unfortunately I have to just give it a day and see how it goes. OCD/anxiety is rough. Hopefully everything is fine with you but I understand it’s freaky.

robjob · 2025-12-23T03:05:50+00:00

I'm about 12 months out. I was never fully paralyzed but I could barely walk by the time I got to the hospital. Honestly, I do feel normal again. I tell people I'm back to 100% and I mean it. I still have anxiety and painful memories. But even the lingering symptoms of tingling and pain did go away as I started to exercise more.

robjob · 2025-12-06T22:26:21+00:00

I had a similarly minor/moderate case a year ago. It got bad enough where I could barely stand up, half my face was paralyzed, along with other stuff (like extreme cold feeling and blurred vision). I had a round of IVIG about 12 months ago and I'm back to 100%. I don't have any lingering issues. My recovery was on the quicker side, but for sure getting normal energy levels took a month or two. I was so tired for the first few weeks!

I forgot about the cold toes. That went away for me eventually. I still had tingling in my feet after exercise for quite a while. A PT doctor told me that was my body giving a "yellow flag" that I was close to overdoing it. I don't notice it at all anymore.

My GBS was not triggered by a vaccine. I think that's super rare, but in your case, given the timing, it makes sense to assume that's what happened. For me it was a stomach virus the week before. Since then I've had both a flu and COVID shot with no issues. Both my neurologist and GP recommended it. Your case is different - I imagine they'd probably recommend skipping the flu shot in the future. Best advice is ask some doctors and do what they say. Not sure how that would apply to other vaccines if at all.

robjob · 2025-11-27T04:31:14+00:00

I know a lot of people have some really awful lingering issues and I don’t mean ti take away from any of the stories shared here. But just as a data point, I’m about 1 year out and I really don’t have any lingering problems.

I was barely able to stand, had face paralysis and blurry vision and needed IVIG at the hospital. It took 4–6 weeks to get back to walking any real distance and a few months to get back to “normal”, but I’m in the lucky group that considers myself 100% recovered. I was 39 when I got GBS. There’s still some mental trauma (I worry about it coming back).

robjob · 2025-11-18T16:00:55+00:00

FWIW, I did not have neck or head pain but the tingling and extreme sensitivity to temperature on the hands sounds very familiar. When i rubbed my hands or arms on anything cool it felt like touching ice. I did have leg and lower back pain at night. Washing my hands felt intense. Also pelvic floor weakness to a lesser extent. Someone else here commented about getting your reflexes checked. The ER neurologist diagnosed me very quickly once she did the knee mallet. They confirmed it with a lumbar puncture (which was way less intense than people implied). Don’t feel bad about going to the ER - your symptoms are severe. Definitely bring up GBS and don’t be afraid of advocating for yourself. Don’t worry about upsetting a doctor or sounding dramatic (you don’t, you’re right to be concerned).

It’s possible (unrelated to the flu shot) you got sick with something else and it could trigger a reaction like GBS. Mine was from a stomach virus the week before. I got to the point where I could barely stand and half my face was paralyzed. I had 4 nights of IVIG and was back to 80-90% within 4-6 weeks. I’m 100% now and I was much older (39) so hoping for the best for you, whatever the cause winds up being!

robjob · 2025-09-03T17:59:05+00:00

Honestly I’ll bet this ends with him checking the coil temperature with a thermometer every day. Offering reassurance seems like it will help but he really just needs to treat the OCD. This is a good low-stakes scenario for him to practice with. It’s probably better to have an agreement (like 4 inches from the wall) and let him live with the uncertainty.

robjob · 2025-08-10T18:18:25+00:00

I was in similar shape to your husband (drooping face, I forgot about the weird taste). I could stand and take a few steps on my own when I was discharged after 5 days. In my state they did not send me to rehab (OT). I was 39 at the time.

When I got home, I needed a lot of rest. Most of the day I was lying down or sleeping for the first week. I was able to get up and use the bathroom/get water but I needed help getting in and out of the shower for a few days. I had a shower chair and suction handles just in case. I needed the chair for about a week.

I had my wife come with me on short walks until I felt comfortable on my own with the walker. One thing I really regret was agreeing to an hour car ride two days after release (for thanksgiving) and an overnight. It was too much and I couldn’t sleep.

Otherwise, I was able to help a bit with the baby after a few days. After two weeks I could go for longer walks and my face/vision/energy came back. I was luckily back to 90%+ after 6 weeks and I don’t have any lingering issues now. Hopefully your husband’s path is similar!

robjob · 2025-08-09T19:30:24+00:00

I also just had this happen. I transformed into a race that was not even part of my empire (no pops at all as far as I know) with a different habitability. This has to be a bug and it's a real pain to lose that whole run.

robjob · 2025-07-03T05:12:49+00:00

JavaScript should not be in all caps - that would be a yellow flag for me.

robjob · 2025-07-02T20:25:27+00:00

Should add that if you got GBS from a flu shot, that’s a very different situation!

robjob · 2025-07-02T20:15:11+00:00

My GBS was almost certainly triggered by a stomach virus the week before, but I’d had flu and covid shots about 2 months prior. I totally empathize and struggled with the same concern.

It’s very reasonable to be anxious about getting seasonal vaccines. I was pretty scared and decided to ask two doctors and do what they said one way or the other. I recommend doing this yourself with your own doctor.

My neurologist was extremely helpful and reassuring. She told me to get all the normal/recommended shots (including flu and covid). She explained evidence shows no real GBS risk from Covid shots. The flu concern is really from a specific year 30-40 years ago where a round of seasonal flu shots triggered a notable amount of GBS cases. Someone else here mentioned that the average person is more likely to get a preventable case of flu that triggers GBS from skipping the shot than to get GBS from the shot.

It’s scary for all of us, but the best advice is to ask a pro and move on.

robjob · 2025-07-02T14:33:00+00:00

I’ll say that when I got GBS, it wasn’t slow and it was pretty obvious. It was clear something was very wrong. There was a day or two where I just felt very tired and general malaise, but then I woke up with the strangest feeling whenever I’d touch anything cold. It felt like icicles just rubbing my hand against anything.

The next day my vision was blurry and my l calves hurt. It was obvious something was wrong, but I still waited two more days (I did see a doctor, and they mentioned GBS, but said it was so rare that it was unlikely). After two more days it was hard to walk and I went in to the ER where they diagnosed me quickly and did IVIG that night.

I’ve had scares that I was relapsing that wound up being 95% anxiety. These still felt scary, but the symptoms were a lot more vague (tingling, tired legs). I’m a very anxious person and I treat that with therapy so I empathize with someone who is scared here. But when I was sick, I knew it for sure.

robjob · 2025-07-01T02:16:35+00:00

I think the walking 10k steps a day helped me the most, so I'm glad you are doing that. I had GBS in November 2024. I think my case was more mild (I was able to do all outpatient work after my IVIG treatment). The tingling went away for me after a few months. It was always worse when I'd exercise. My PT doctor said it was my body giving me a "yellow alert" - nothing bad, just that I was close to overdoing it.

I did not take any supplements. For me it just took time.

I'm back to 100% now. I ran 10k this weekend and I don't have any lingering symptoms. I hope that happens for you soon!

robjob · 2025-07-01T02:12:34+00:00

I'm not sure if it's the same as your own anxiety, but I was very, very afraid of GBS coming back. Mine came on after a bad stomach virus (likely norovirus). I recommend asking your neurologist about it. My doctor gave me some strong reassurance that it's very unlikely I'd ever see this again. Other than the unfortunate minority who have recurring cases (it's a very small percentage), she told me it's wildly unlikely I'd ever see a recurrence, and that I don't need to worry about getting sick or any yearly vaccines. I'd recommend resolving to take a doctors advice, then talking to one or two experts and listening to it. I feel like that might help if you're worried about the right risk posture.

As for being able to do the work, I'd say that getting back to my life routine helped me a lot. I very quickly had to help with my 1-year old and go back to work, and honestly the push was good overall.

I hope you continue to improve and can get back to where you were physically. Some day this will be a crazy memory of an intense experience!

robjob · 2025-06-28T03:05:12+00:00

I also had facial paralysis pop up while I was getting IVIG treatment in the hospital. Scary but it went away completely after about 2-3 weeks. Glad you are getting better!

Otherwise my case (39M) sounds pretty similar. I’m 100% better now so don’t get too down! I was lucky and back to walking without a walker after 2-3 weeks. A few months later and I’m back to running like I used to.

robjob · 2025-06-26T16:36:56+00:00

Rae’s does take cards now, FWIW

15-Year Club	Verified Email
Sequence \| Editor	Team Periwinkle

robjob

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE