Text Box: Polio Update Text Box: Page # Text Box: erosion, ulcers and pulmonary aspiration. Treatment may include medications (such as antacids, Nexium or Prevacid), avoiding bedtime snacks or heavy, spicy foods 3 hours before bedtime, raising the upper half of your body at nighttime (extra pillow or elevating the head of the bed). ———————————— When It’s Not Post-Polio Syndrome According to Dr. Julie Silver, many polio survivors erroneously assume that all of their pain is due to post-polio syndrome. Typical pain that is polio related occurs in the muscles and usually involves the upper legs and arms. It is not typical for the pain to be associated with numbness and tingling. Moreover, pain that begins in the back or neck and radiates down the arm or leg is usually not polio pain. She urges

REPORT ON POST-POLIO

MENOPAUSE & AGING

 

We recently received the Final Report on Post Polio, Menopause and Aging that was undertaken by the University of Michigan Health System.  Post-Polio Health International (formerly GINI) provided support for this study.  The primary objective of this study was to begin to understand the experience of menopause in women who were post-polio, from their symptoms to their emotional well being, to their use of hormone replacement theory.  As this study has one of the largest sample sizes of post-polio individuals, in addition to the primary objective, a great deal of information about health and aging was gathered.  This study included both women and men who had had polio at some time in their lives, with the men as a “control” or comparison group. Among the significant findings were:

 

· Severity of post-polio symptoms was significantly related to severity of menopause symptoms.  Further research is needed to discern possible overlap of symptoms between post-polio and menopause.

· Hysterectomy rates among women in this study were significantly higher than the average rate for women in the United States.

· Despite an unknown increased risk of use in the context of physical disability, women in this sample used hormone replacement therapy at a significantly higher rate than estimates for their non-disabled peers.

· Middle aged participants reported substantially greater perceived stress than their similarly aged peers.

· Rates of educational achievement among these polio survivors were significantly higher than national averages.

· The vast majority of participants reported problems with involved muscle weakness, fatigue, cold intolerance, with about ¾ reporting muscle atrophy, uninvolved muscle weakness, muscle pain, joint pain and sleep problems

 

According to this report, women who are post-polio may very likely experience menopause differently than their peers –physiologically, physically, and psychologically.  Knowing our own unique risk profile and optimizing health at all levels are suggested as the most important messages from this study’s findings.

 

To learn more about the findings in the report and other related information, you may visit the website at www.med.umich.edu/pmr/polio.

 
Text Box: Swallowing and GERD Dr. Richard Martin of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, found that about half of the polio survivors in a 1999 study were aware of dysphagia (swallowing problems), and that a significant number had an abnormal swallow. He encouraged polio survivors to seek a medical evaluation to avoid further complications. Dr. Martin states that since the poliovirus directly affected nerves to striated (voluntary) muscles, the upper one third of the esophagus may be weakened, as well as the diaphragm. Gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD) is common with many people, which causes a burning sensation or discomfort behind the breastbone, and can lead to complications, such as esophageal Text Box: that individuals seek further medical evaluation if such symptoms occur. An MRI may show degenerative discs in the back or blockages of some kind. —————————————- The Resource Directory for Ventilator-Assisted Living (2005) of International Ventilator Users Network (IVUN) is now online at www:// post-polio.org/ivun/d.html.

We wanted to remind you about the wonderful website for information on post-polio syndrome. It is www.post-polio.org, and is the website for Post-Polio Health Institute (formerly known as "GINI"). You may also connect to it through a link on our website at www.ppsgm.org.

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