Is There Any Difference in PPS Symptoms in Patients that Contracted the Disease through the Vaccine Versus Wild Polio? / Can Polio Cause GI Issues?

Question: I had polio at age 5 in 1968 apparently contracted from the oral polio vaccine. The acute illness lasted about a month, then a slow recovery ensued (upper and lower right limb involvement) that took about a year. Is there any difference between PPS symptoms in patients who have contracted the disease through vaccine and those who contracted it naturally? After many years with mysterious health problems, I have been diagnosed with PPS by my family doctor, but neurologists who we have consulted are confused by some of my most prominent symptoms. They say that they are not familiar with PPS causing anything more than difficulty swallowing (which I have). However, I also have severe reflux, intermittent gastroparesis, slow GI motility, constipation and right upper quadrant pain after fat-containing meals. Are these added GI problems in line with what could be caused by PPS?

Answer: In answer to your first question, there are no known differences between the late effects of polio that develop in people with a history of vaccine-related polio vs. wild polio. The way you describe your recovery after polio also sounds typical for recovery from wild polio illness/paralysis, and there is a wide variation in the speed of recoveries that is primarily due to the severity and extent of nerve damage/nerve loss, not immunological issues.

Regarding your second question about gastrointestinal problems beyond swallowing difficulties related to throat muscle weakness, I would have to say that there is no convincing scientific evidence or study that shows they are directly related to having had polio. There are reports that suggest aging polio survivors MAY have a higher incidence of gastrointestinal motility disorders, as you describe them, but the evidence is weak and not widely accepted as “real” compared to chance occurrence because these problems are common in many older populations. The treatment would also be the same in any case.

Post-Polio Health (Vol. 34, No. 1, Winter 2018)