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 …
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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 …
Progression of Post-Polio Syndrome Symptoms, Fatigue and Pain
Question: In your most recent column, you referred with clarity about new pain and fatigue that many polio survivors are experiencing. I have had the same symptoms for 12 years or so, but never with the same intensity and to the same degree as I do now. I am 74 years old and contracted polio in 1952 at age four. …
Could Continuing New Muscle Pains After Potential Viral Infection Associated with Post-Polio?
Question: I am a polio survivor, age 76, in good health, active, and still working as an RN (not in hospital). I suspect I might have had COVID-19 in late January, with mild symptoms lasting only a few days—no fever but felt weak, fatigued, had a mild sore throat and a dry cough at the end. I was surprised since …
Stiff Neck and Back Problems Leading to Pain and Weakness in Arms and Shoulders
Question: I was diagnosed with a mild case of polio in 1952 when 12 years old. The polio affected my neck and upper back, and both recovered to the point where I didn’t have any visible physical problems. Over the years I have encountered a lot of stiff neck and back problems and was treated at pain management facilities. The …
Exercise and Pain
Question: As a young kid I contracted polio in my right leg. Apparently it was a mild case because I had no noticeable effects until my late 40s or 50s. At that time, I experienced right leg pain if I had not exercised for several days or about a week. If I exercised moderately then I had no pain. If …
Do You Know of Any Cases of People with PPS and ALS?
Question: I had paralytic polio 64 years ago at the age of 13 months. My left leg had major paralysis and a small amount to my right leg. I always walked with a severe limp. I was diagnosed 25 years ago with PPS as I was developing new weakness in my legs. Four years ago, swallowing began to bother me …
How Do You Feel About the Pain Patch Duragesic?
Question: I am now 76, had polio when I was 4. Since post-polio syndrome (PPS) hit me, I needed a leg brace and walk with two canes. I can never remember a day without pain, but now it seems to have spread all over my body, not just my legs. My question is: How do you feel about the pain …
Muscle Regeneration in Polio Survivors and Bracing
Question: I am a polio survivor with PPS. Recently I began to suffer severe knee instability, but a sports medicine specialist recommended against braces, saying they would inhibit the muscles from regenerating. It seems to me that polio-atrophied muscles will not regenerate anyway and that braces would at least help to prevent collapse. Your thoughts? Answer: If your knee instability …
Is it Possible for Post-Polio Syndrome to be Causing Shortness of Breath?
Question: I am 83 and had polio when I was 6, affecting my right leg. I received the Sister Kenny treatment in St Michael’s Hospital in Newark, NJ in the spring of 1942. My leg is 1/2 inch shorter and one of my quad muscles and my calf atrophied. I have led a pretty normal life with one weak leg. …
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