Question: For the past 12 months, I have been taking Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes and weight loss. I am 69 years old, have post-polio syndrome, and weigh 215 lbs., down from a maximum of about 250 lbs. My objective is to reduce my weight to around 180. I have felt better in general from taking the weight loss drug, …
Shared peer advice from polio survivors about what works for them.
Share your solution:
News about people who have made significant contributions to the disability community.
Share your story:
Managing Knee Pain, Fatigue, and GERD
Question: There are no physicians who specialize in PPS near my home. I believe I had non-paralytic polio in 1952. I started having symptoms of PPS in 1993. I have full body pain and suffer from extreme fatigue. Testing by a neurologist in 2024 showed mild evidence of having had polio. I have worked with my primary doctor since 1994 …
Treating a Wound That Won’t Heal
Question: I scraped and cut my leg that is most affected by polio. It has not healed after two months. (I am not diabetic.) My family physician is sending me to a wound clinic. What can I expect at the wound clinic? Have you seen slow healing in polio survivors? Do you have any other advice? Answer: There are many …
Is Further Corrective Surgery After a Grice-Green Procedure Ill-Advised?
Question: I had a Grice-Green procedure in 1955 to correct toe drop and weak foot muscles in my right foot secondary to polio. I have had outstanding results since then. Though I have a gait specific to my disability, I am a hiker and can walk with good hiking boots for as far as eight miles. This is becoming more …
Are Gabapentin or Pregabalin Effective for Post-Polio Neurological Damage?
Question: Are gabapentin or pregabalin effective medications for post-polio neurological damage, the type of damage that leads to leg and hand muscle cramps? Answer: Gabapentin and pregabalin are only approved for control of seizures and fibromyalgia (in the case of pregabalin). There are no studies supporting their effective-ness for leg cramps in post-polio survivors or others. Gabapentin is the most …
Advice for Sciatic Nerve Pain
Question: Do you have any advice about sciatica nerve pain? I have been in physical therapy three times a week for three weeks, with home exercises. It helps, but the pain is not gone yet, and my physical therapist gave me some bad news. My hyper-extended right leg has gone from -11 degrees to -13 degrees. I noticed I was …
Advice for Post-Surgical Recovery from Shoulder Replacement
Question: I am going to schedule a left-shoulder replacement soon and would like to know if recovery will be more difficult with atrophied left paraspinal muscles. I had polio at eight years of age and was paralyzed from my neck down. I made a remarkable recovery and am now 77 years old. I have never needed mobility aids, but I …
Bracing; Any Appropriately Adapted Rehabilitation Programs for Mobility-Impaired Post-Polio Heart Patients?
Question: I contracted polio when I was six months old in Taiwan. I was able to walk without any assistive devices until I was 46 years old, at which point I decided to use a cane. I am now 61 and feel the need to do more to improve my balance and prevent tripping or falling. How do I start …
Nerve Tests to Determine if One Had Polio
Question: I am 79 years old and was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome a few years ago. I was originally diagnosed with polio when I was nine years old. On a follow-up visit to Rancho Los Amigos in Downey, California, the doctor I saw (different from the one I had previously seen) told me he wasn’t certain that I had ever …
How Successful are Knee Replacements for Post-Polio Patients and What is Recovery Like?
Question: I am an 83-year-old female polio survivor. The knee on my polio-afflicted right leg is bone-on-bone. My doctor is pressing me to get a knee replacement. How successful are knee replacements for post-polio syndrome patients and what is recovery like? Marny Eulberg, MD: I don’t have any statistics on success and recovery after knee replacements in polio survivors, and …