QUESTION: Last month I went to the ER for severe muscle spasm pain in my thigh. While there, I got an injection of a muscle relaxant in that thigh and also a 50 mg dose of Tramadol. Symptoms improved in a few hours, but I don’t want to take Tramadol again—it made me feel weak and faint. The doctor sent …
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Sedation Options During an Endoscopy
QUESTION: I am scheduled for an endoscopy soon. Should I be concerned about anesthesia during this procedure? Answer from Marny Eulberg, MD: Most gastroenterologists technically don’t use anesthesia when they do endoscopies. Instead, they use medications that create “conscious sedation,” which means the patient will not remember what happened, but the patient can still respond to commands such as “turn …
Are GLP-1 Medications Safe for Polio Survivors?
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, …
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 …