In brief…

 

 

Post Polio in the news...

 

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Shoulder Guide Booklet:  There’s a new booklet available “S.O.S. Save our Shoulders:  A Guide for Polio Survivors”.  It’s a comprehensive 32-page booklet about shoulder problems and treatments.  It contains facts about shoulder problems and descriptions of several treatment options.  With shoulder overuse a common problem, this is sure to be helpful for many of us.  You may download at www.einstein.eud/polioandmobility or contact Roberta Costello at 215-456-4993.

 

Chocolate:  For chocolate lovers, all is not negative.  Several recent studies have found healthful benefits in chocolate.  It contains antioxidants helpful to the heart.  Dutch researchers say that dark chocolate contains four times more catechins (antioxidants) than found in black tea.  Chocolate mildly stimulates the central nervous system and increases your alertness.  Apparently, chocolate even contains an anti-bacterial agent that inhibits tooth plaque formation.  So, eating and savoring a small amount may not be so bad after all!

 

Social Security Online:  The new Social Security Ruling on Postpolio Sequelae was effective July 2003 and can be found at www.ssa.gov/.  Go to:  Disability and SSI and click on: more disability information, choosing the Social Security Ruling on Postpolio.  It covers not only the typical symptoms of post-polio syndrome, but also other complications that may contribute to your disability.  Further legislation is on going, such as seeking modifications to Medicare regulations to reimburse more people for power wheelchairs in order to preserve arm function.

 

Toll Free Hotline for Air Travelers with Disabilities:  Air travelers who want information about the rights of persons with disabilities in air travel or who experience disability-related air travel service problems may call the U.S. Department of Transportation Hotline for assistance at 1-800-778-4838.

 

 

Mia Farrow

Actress

Dinah Shore                             Singer/TV Hostess

And don’t forget...

►Ann Crocker, Publisher, 

    Polio Update

 

►George Nilson, Contributor,   

    Polio Update

 

►Rick Meade, Editor

     Polio Update

Fatigue and Post-Polio

 

Drs. Lauro Halstead and Julie Silver:  Fatigue is a common problem in polio survivors and is often a symptom of Post-Polio Syndrome.  However, if sleep does not restore your energy level, you may be suffering from some other problem.  Fatigue that occurs with Post-Polio Syndrome is typically a tiredness that occurs mid-day and has been described by polio survivors as “hitting the wall”.  Many polio survivors describe a physical fatigue where they are alert but just need to rest their muscles.  Others find that they have more of a “brain fatigue” with difficulty concentrating.  Both types of fatigue in polio survivors are relieved with a nap.  If you are tired first thing in the morning or after a nap, you may have a problem with the quality of your sleep.  For example, if you have sleep apnea, where you pause briefly in your breathing, you may awaken tired.  Or, you might have a problem with a chemical or hormone in your body.  You can be anemic

or have low thyroid levels.  Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can cause tiredness all day long as well.  It is also important to consider your mood.  People who are depressed often complain of feeling tired all day long.  Talk to your regular doctor about your fatigue and remember that fatigue associated with Post-Polio Syndrome is a diagnosis of exclusion.  This means that you should be tested for other causes of fatigue before assuming that it is due to Post-Polio Syndrome.

 

Dr. Richard Bruno:  Rest periods can be very helpful, even lifesaving.  However, there can be too much of a good thing.  Long naps can actually increase the problems of grogginess, headaches and “sluggish” brain, known as “sleep inertia”.  Researchers recommend 30 minutes as the ideal nap length.  Also, if you get too much sleep during the day, you may have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep during the night.  Other ways to lessen fatigue are to pace activities; take a 15-minute rest break in the morning, after lunch and in the afternoon.  If you keep a consistent daily schedule of rest breaks and bedtime (whenever possible), your body should respond to the resting and waking routine.