Question: Several years ago my right ankle muscles gave out after a cortisone shot. I wear a brace to steady this leg. Now, after two bad falls, my left hip will need replacement. My current orthopedic physician wanted to give me a cortisone shot, and I refused, recalling the reaction from my ankle. Now I am frightened about hip replacement, …
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Rates of Diabetes in People with Post-Polio Syndrome and Spinal Cord Injuries
Question: My physiatrist says that paraplegics have a lot more diabetes, so I started wondering how post-polio and spinal cord injury compare with regard to the disease. Answer: You are right that people with chronic spinal cord injury paralysis do develop glucose metabolism abnormalities and diabetes (by criteria) more often than their age cohorts. I attended a 90-minute course on …
Why Would a Polio Survivor be at Risk When Taking Lodotra?
Question: I am a 1949 paralytic polio survivor (at 10 months old). I have rheumatoid arthritis and most of the typical drugs to control pain and progression have frightening side effects. I do well on a modest dose of prednisone and have read in Arthritis Today about a time-released prednisone called Lodotra®. One of Lodotra’s precautions, however, refers to patients …
Potential Side Effects of Specific Medications in Polio Survivors
Question: I am a polio survivor who has had untoward and paradoxical responses to muscle relaxants and meds in particular, but also possibly to lidocaine pain patches used for the first time this year. I was hospitalized, through the emergency room, with cellulitis of my stronger leg while on vacation. I don’t remember the first few days in the hospital, …
Antidepressants’ Potential for Relieving Muscular Pain and Fatigue
Question: Has there ever been a study of whether antidepressants help relieve muscular pain and fatigue? Is it a plausible treatment for people who have had polio? A: There have been studies showing reduction of fatigue and pain (not specifically muscular pain) among depressed patients treated with antidepressant medications, but none considered pain as a “primary treatment outcome.” Depressed mood …
Leg Numbness Caused by Bracing
Question: Recently, my hyperextended leg started going numb. It started with my foot and worked its way up to my knee. When it got so numb that I couldn’t walk, I got scared and immediately called my doctor. The doctor said that because my hyperextended leg has gotten worse, any brace I wore would put pressure on a nerve that …
Use of the Drug Lamotrigine for the Stabilization of PPS
Question: What is the current thinking on the use of the drug lamotrigine for the stabilization of PPS? Is there data to show it is effective without significant side effects? It has been ordered for me by my neurologist at 100 mg twice daily. I am 81 and reluctant to start this drug as the side effects are very scary, …
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