Jann Hartman, Baltimore, Maryland I was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome in 1989, and I assumed that my extreme exhaustion was due to overusing my muscles. It should have dawned on me that it isn’t wise to dismiss all symptoms as due to having post-polio syndrome. Last spring, during a routine visit to my physician, a simple blood test revealed an …
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The Glycemic Index: Good Carbs, Bad Carbs
Jann Hartman, Baltimore, Maryland One of the most frequent dietary suggestions I have received is to eat “low glycemic foods.” The Glycemic Index (GI) is a numerical ranking of foods showing how quickly they are broken down into sugars after a meal as compared to a standard (usually glucose). While the index can be a useful tool (similar to calorie …
Why the weight? Losing a few pounds is possible … right now. Why wait?
Sunny Roller, Ann Arbor, Michigan Even if one uses a wheelchair full time and has a metabolism that is a bit slower due to aging, losing weight is possible. I had almost given up, but then 14 months ago, my doctor fiercely demanded that I lose 10 pounds. If I did not, she threatened to infuse me with some creepy …
Weight
Body weight should be kept within the normal range (18.5-24.9) of a body mass index (BMI) for a person’s gender, age, and body frame. Additional weight from excess fat can exacerbate new muscle weakness. Being overweight,* defined as a BMI of 25 to 29.9, can aggravate almost all mobility problems. Obesity, defined as a BMI of >30, may seriously interfere …
Nutritional Route to Weight Loss
From the series, Polio Survivors Ask, by Nancy Baldwin Carter, B.A, M.Ed.Psych, from Omaha, Nebraska, is a polio survivor, a writer, and is founder and former director of Nebraska Polio Survivors Association. Q: I need to lose weight. My longtime post-polio weakness limits my choices of exercise. How can I enjoy going the nutritional route? A: Want some adventure in your nutritional life? …
Paraplegics and Diabetes
Post-Polio Health, Volume 27, Number 3, Summer 2011 Ask Dr. Maynard Frederick M. Maynard, MD 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) …
Feeling Like a Failure
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 …