Is Fatigue a Symptom of Post-Polio Syndrome?

Question: I had polio at age three. I am now 67 years old. I have no movement from my waist down. I have severe scoliosis with a 95° curve. I have had two spinal fusions. I now have post-polio syndrome. I am so tired. I cannot seem to transfer or function as I have before. I sleep for much of the day. I am wondering if I’m being lazy or if this is a symptom of post-polio syndrome.

Marny Eulberg, MD: It is very unlikely that you suddenly have become “lazy!” It sounds likely that your tiredness is a symptom of post-polio. It will be very important to make sure that your severe scoliosis is not compressing your lungs or your heart and causing you to either not get enough oxygen or not be blowing out enough carbon dioxide; or that you have not developed another reason for the tiredness, such as an underactive thyroid or uncontrolled blood sugar. There is no single test or group of tests that will determine with certainty that you have post-polio syndrome. It is what we call a diagnosis of exclusion—meaning we can assume PPS is the cause of a polio survivor’s symptoms when everything else (or at least the most common everything else) that could also cause tiredness has been excluded as the cause. If no reversible cause is found, there may be some easier methods of transferring that you could learn and use. It is not unusual for polio survivors these days to have trouble finding healthcare professionals who know a lot about polio. In general, a physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) doctor is the best trained to help polio survivors—especially one who specializes in neuromuscular diseases like multiple sclerosis, ALS, muscular dystrophy, etc. It is very important that if you have not had an evaluation of your breathing and heart function in the last few months, you do so very soon.

Post-Polio Health (Vol. 40, No. 1, Winter 2024)