Post-Polio Health, (Volume 31, Number 3) Summer 2015 Dr. Rhoda Olkin is a Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco, as well as the Executive Director of the Institute on Disability and Health Psychology. She is a polio survivor and single mother of two grown children. QUESTION: I worked so hard to walk …
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Anxiety from Past Hospital Treatment
Post-Polio Health, (Volume 31, Number 3) Summer 2015 QUESTION: Sixty years later I still live daily with anxiety stemming from hospital treatment, not abusive but certainly traumatic for a child. Do you have suggestions on how I can reduce the stress of this anxiety? Dr. Stephanie T. Machell is a psychologist in independent practice in the Greater Boston area and …
Facial Involvement and PPS
Post-Polio Health, (Volume 31, Number 3), Summer 2015 Question: What are the symptoms in patients with post-polio syndrome with facial involvement? I am a PT with facial nerve involvement due to polio. Response from Dr. Fred Maynard: Regarding facial nerve involvement after poliomyelitis: It is not common but also not rare. I have seen well over a dozen patients with significant one-sided facial …
Cold Legs
Post-Polio Health, (Volume 31, Number 3), Summer 2015 Question: I had non-paralytic polio in 1949 when I was 2. I now wear two leg braces; one on my polio leg for drop foot and the other one on my left leg because I started dragging that foot. My right leg is always very cold to the touch even though it never feels …
Bullying on Internet
Post-Polio Health, Volume 31, Number 4, Fall 2015 Dr. Stephanie T. Machell is a psychologist in independent practice in the Greater Boston area and consultant to the International Rehabilitation Center for Polio, Spaulding-Framingham Outpatient Center, Framingham, Massachusetts. Her father was a polio survivor. QUESTION: I participate in a Facebook group for polio survivors. I want to contribute honestly, but many times …
Getting “Creepy” on the Internet
Post-Polio Health, Volume 31, Number 4, Fall 2015 Dr. Rhoda Olkin is a Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco, as well as the Executive Director of the Institute on Disability and Health Psychology. She is a polio survivor and single mother of two grown children. QUESTION: I see people on Facebook and other …
Fell: Cracked Vertebra
Post-Polio Health, Volume 31, Number 4, Fall 2015 Question: I am 82 years old and have PPS. Two years ago I fell backward down the stairs and broke my C2 and C3 vertebrae. I still can’t turn my neck enough to drive myself. I get worn out doing nothing, and I am tired all the time. I had two chair …
Restless Legs and Polio; Muscles Tears and Polio
Post-Polio Health, Volume 31, Number 4, Fall 2015 Question: I had what was termed a “mild” case of polio in 1951 at age 7. Other than a barely noticeable curvature of the spine and temporary weakness in the neck, I had no ill effects and was back in full action within a couple months. I played sports throughout high school and …
More on the Mayo Clinic Study of Anesthesia in Post-Polio Patients
Selma H. Calmes, MD, anesthesiologist (retired), Olive View/UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, California A recent Post-Polio Health article reported on the first scientific study of polio patients having anesthesia for major surgery. (1) The study was done at the Mayo Clinic and compared each post-polio (PP) patient to two control patients of the same age with the same severity of preoperative illnesses and having similar …
Questions About Receiving The Polio Vaccine After Having Already Contracted Polio
Question I contracted polio as child age 12 from the live virus vaccine. Several years ago I was diagnosed with PPS. Later in the US Army age 19 I was given a polio vaccination. What would have happened to me? What would have the side effects been? Enhanced PPS? Are there any studies on this situation? Response Marny Eulberg, MD, …