Polio-and-Post-Polio-Syndrome Books

This book answered many questions we have had. It is very clear and informative. I plan on giving a copy to my family doctor so we can improve my health care. The author truly understands what former polio suffers experience years later.

This book is very enlightening for anyone who has had polio and their extended family and friends. People who have had polio (and other diseases that affect muscles) need to understand that the traditional approach of "use it or lose it" is detrimental....they need to take a "conserve to preserve" approach to life activities. This requires a change in mind set....which, of course, is the hardest thing for these Type A personalities to accomplsh.

This book was very informative. There was so much I didn't know about post polio. With some systoms I have, now I know it's the post polio.

This is a very helpful and informative work for Polio survivors AND their families. Believe it or not, there are some informed professionals "out there."

I am a polio survivor, having had both bulbar and spinal polio at age 10. I am one of the fortunate who learned to walk again and seemed to overcome many residuals. Like many polio survivors, I am someone who has refused to acknowledge that something is impossible - I rarely give up, and this quality enabled me to endure all the physical therapy that resulted in what passed for recovery. I have a trach scar, weakness in my right leg, left arm and a gradual onset of back pain and fatigue. I have had a post-polio assessment, but wasn't certain until reading this book that I should be resting more than overdoing exercise. I feel so incredibly lucky when I see the many who are back in wheelchairs - brings the whole nightmare of the iron lung, the rocking bed, the tube from my nose to my stomach for sustenance, the suctioning of the trach tube, etc., etc. I hope that everyone who has suffered will read this book and gain a better quality of life.

Excellent!! A must read for anyone with this diagnosis. Helpful, inspiring and her clinic can help you live your life to it's fullest. She's affilated with Mass. General and Harvard, the best in New England. This book was a life saver for me.

Dr. Julie Silver's book is the best summary I've seen of information on post-polio syndrome. Her explanations are clear, informative, and full of information that is crucial for anyone with a history of polio. I highly recommend it.

This book is a must for anyone who is a polio survivor, just as is TO CATCH THE SNOWFLAKES, the story of a polio winner.

An excellent, informative book! If you're a polio survivor, it is a MUST read!

I HIGHLY recommend this book for polio survivor and especially for every doctor that is treating a post polio person. It is a MUST! It is very easy to read & understand & not a doomsday downer in any way. I am on my second read as I am sure I missed key points and sure enough there are jewels of knowledge & necessary information WE POST POLIO survivors must do for ourselves and make sure our specialists have full grasp of our ever changing condition. PLan to mark up your copy and buy two copies or more at the beginning as you will want to make sure anyone that is trying to help you or cares about you can be fully informed.

From Jack Trombadore Book Reviews, New Jersey Polio Network NEWSLETTER, Fall, 1998.

Acute paralytic polio will be eliminated world-wide in a few years. Yet, says Dr. Lauro S. Halstead, MD, for many hundreds of thousands in the United States and elsewhere, the legacy of polio is "... still very much a part of our personal histories and daily lives."

That legacy is variously called "the late effects of polio," "post-polio sequelae," "post-polio progressive muscular atrophy," "post-polio muscle dysfunction," and most commonly "post-polio syndrome," or "PPS."

In a continuing effort to provide the latest medical and scientific information on post-polio, and the most useful strategies for managing PPS, Dr. Halstead and co-editor Naomi Naierman have joined several professional and medical contributors in bringing us this invaluable collection.

The editors have also included first person accounts of the experiences of seven polio "survivors," including those of Hugh Gallagher and Sunny Roller.

An internationally recognized authority on post-polio syndrome, Dr. Halstead tells us that PPS is a neurological disorder that produces a cluster of symptoms, or a syndrome, in people who had paralytic polio many years earlier.

These problems typically occur after a period of functional and neurological stability of at least 15 years following the initial episode of polio and include new weakness, fatigue, decreased endurance and loss of function. Some researchers also include muscle and joint pain. Less commonly, the symptoms include muscle atrophy, breathing and swallowing difficulties and cold intolerance. Much of Dr. Halstead's discussion is devoted to the evaluation, differential diagnosis and practical, useful recommendations in the management of each of these symptoms.

Some of these symptoms (weakness, fatigue and atrophy) appear to be caused by a progressive degeneration or impairment of motor units, whereas other symptoms (muscle and joint pain) are more likely caused by excessive wear and tear on different parts of the musculoskeletal system.

Dr. Halstead's explanation of the mechanics and effects of polio's attack on the body's nerve cells and muscles is clear, detailed, intelligible and fascinating.

Julie K. Silver, MD, discusses Aging, Comorbidities and Secondary Disabilities in Polio Survivors. Muscular weakness in polio survivors due to overuse together with weakness from normal aging combine to cause profound changes in strength. A polio survivor suffering with a comorbidity, heart disease, for example, may suffer severe symptoms of fatigue, which may be caused by PPS or the heart disease or by both. She also analyzes the serious debilitating effect of a secondary disability, such as that caused by a fall and fracture, on a polio survivor with PPS.

Dr. Silver contributes an additional valuable chapter with a systematic and organized five-step process in How to Find Expert Medical Care.

In Energy Conservation, Grace R. Young, MA,OTB, provides many suggestions for compensating for muscle weakness, including correct posture and seating, while working or resting, the placement of your knees and feet while seated, the height and shape of your chair, correctly carrying and lifting objects, from a coffee mug to a heavy pot, package, purse or clothes on a hanger, and the placement of your computer keyboard and monitor. Numerous other tips are offered to make your kitchen, bathroom, entire home, and even your car more user-friendly.

Laura K. Smith, PhD, PT, provides a thoughtful chapter, Lifestyle Changes: Taking Charge, embracing principles of self-treatment with the help of health professionals on issues of muscle strength recovery, and the effects on the survivor's body of long-term overuse - and sometimes disuse - of the muscles and joints. Dr. Smith sets forth a specific program to alleviate the fatigue and pain of PPS and another to slow the rate of new muscle weakness.

Rhoda Olkin, PhD, presents a many-faceted study of the psychological and social problems facing polio survivors in the first of her two excellent articles, Psychosocial Dimensions of Polio and Post-Polio Syndrome. How do we perceive ourselves and how do others perceive us?

In Polio/Post-Polio Syndrome and Specific Life Tasks, Professor Olkin deals with the dynamics of families of persons with disabilities, assistive devices, and frank discussions of romance and dating, sexuality, marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, and aging.

Nancy Baldwin Carter, BA, M Ed, Psych, and Ruth Wilder Bell, RN, DNSc, share their knowledge and experience in organizing and maintaining a meaningful support group in Journeying Together: Post-Polio Support Groups.

Beverly Neway, MS, CRC., Liina Paasuke, MA,CRC, and Nancy E. Bogg, M Ed, CRC, CDMS, CCM, co-author Vocational Strategies, a chapter that stresses the process of re-establishing employment goals that have been seriously affected by PPS. They strongly recommend obtaining the help of a qualified vocational rehabilitation counselor in the process that includes job analysis, functional capacity evaluation, job market, job search, and reasonable accommodations.

In Navigating the Managed Care Maze, co-editor Naomi Naierman, MPA, shows us how to deal with managed care health insurance companies which too often consider only the bottom line. She writes that the best strategy is to be an informed consumer, knowing and exercising choices and legal rights. This is particularly true for persons with PPS, a chronic condition that invites the worst abuses and practices from too many managed care companies.

Playing the Social Security Benefits Card is a brief review by Kathryn R.B. McGowan, MA, of benefits that may be available from the federal government under Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and under Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The author sets out qualification criteria and information on applications and appeals.

A Guide to the Internet for Polio Survivors is provided by Anne C. Gawne, MD, and Tom Walter, BA, with tips on E-mail, post-polio resources on the Web, and much more.

Hopefully, Dr. Halstead and friends will share their research, findings, knowledge and expertise with all polio survivors and PPS sufferers on a continuing basis.

I read this book in paperback as it was sent to me by our state PostPolio group....I was amazed that there, in one book, were the answers to some of the questions that some of the many Drs. I've consulted NEEDED in order to treat me properly and with efficacy. It also answered many of the questions *I* have had, but nobody ever had the answers to...a common problem with PPS'ers. Dr. Halstead has done us ALL a favor and a service by writing this. I will give the copy I just ordered to my primary care physician, who, luckily, CARES! He in turn, will share it with others....there is power in knowledge! Unfortunately, many of we PPS'ers, don't meet many people who DO know!

I'm 52 years old and it has been 50 years this year since I became involved with poliomyelitis, I am in the 1-2% who suffered paralytic polio. Not knowing any better, and because my parents never treated me any different than my brothers or sister. I lived what I thought was a normal life growing up. I've worked six days a week for the past 35 years, and raised two childern with the help of my wife of 32 years. In the early 80's I began to notice that things that I used to be able to do like play catch with my son, were becoming more difficullt. Not all at once but a little bit at time I began to notice I was not able to reach my left arm across my body. Now I cannot step up on the curb like I could 15 months ago. Here I was thinking that I had overcame this challange, but I began to notice that my old enemy had returned. Dr. Halstead has written the bible for all of us who have or are receiving a return visit by polio. Thank-you Dr. Halstead I would like to have your e mail address so I could tell you how much your efforts have meant to me. Listen all of my polio brothers and sisters trust me you won't regret purchasing this book.

I'd like to alert readers to a related book by one of the authors in this book. Rhoda Olkin, Ph.D., has written a book called WHAT PSYCHOTHERAPISTS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DISABILITY that many readers of the Halstead book will find useful and enjoyable. Do not be put off by the title: it is applicable to persons with disabilities as well as professionals.

I agree with the thorough review of this book by Jack Trombadore and the other person from Baltimore: 5 stars! This book has so much good information on Post Polio Syndrome. We, Polio survivors now experiencing these late effects, have so few resources and this book fulfills the need for information and support so beautifully!

As a post polio person I have read & bought several copies of this book & given them to my doctors & people I know that are also post polio. The key to your condition is be informed because your doctor has not got a clue what it is or what to look for. I have been diagnosed with MS, Lupus, & several other maladies even when every doctor that has ever treated me I have told I had polio as a child. Today's doctors think of polio as if you once had chicken pox, no this is far different. This book is by far the best lay person's guide to what is happening in the body & what one can do for ones self. Also, join the Internet's post polio syndrome group helps once you are well informed.

Here is THE book that is a MUST read for the person faced with post polio syndrome, their families and certainly every doctor attempting to properly treat a PPS person. If you had polio as a child and don't think you have any problems now 40 yrs. later, you may be very surprised what you read & learn about yourself. Some lights may go on and connections relate to medical issues you have been dealing with but never dreamed it could be connected to having polio as a child. This is THE problem, doctors have little to no information about PPS and therefore misdiagnose or certainly don't recognize the true cause & correct treatment. Persons live for years with unanswered questions and truly suffer with no help in sight. First inform yourself if you had polio, then alert the doctors that have or are treating you. This is not just a note on your medical records that you had polio as a child, to be ignored as a past issue. If you need to find specialists, be your own advocate, because most everything the medical community says is misinformed about PPS. The general attitude is that polio was eradicated but there are still people getting polio from the vaccine. No one ever imagined that residual effects 40 yrs. later could put you in a wheelchair and live with chronic debilitating pain. You may be surprised to find out how PPS has affected your brain, & what comes with that now. Do this for yourself, read this book if you relate to any of this review.

Good and easy understanding information book, Lauto S. Halstead writes and describes in practial way what is Post polio

In the shortage of professional literature on post polio syndrome, this is probably the best book existed. It gives a plane view to a reader who would like to be more familiar with that not-completely-researched entity. Since the post polio is the field of my professional interest, I can see some minuses in the book (eg. the problem of cold intolerance is only mentioned, but not discussed). However, every book when it comes out of print, allready misses the latest findings, the same is true for Halstead`s work.

As far as I am concerned, it is the best book on Post Polio Syndrome. It should be must reading for all doctors...wish I could get mine to read it. Halstead's book is a gem, and full of the best information presently availble abou PPS. I highly recommend it to all Polio survivors who have or need information about PPS.

This is probably the most comprehensive, easily understood treatise on the causes and effects of post-polio syndrome

I believe this book mostly helped in encouraging me. Sometimes I think I'm going nuts or imagening symptoms, but seeing them in print helped tremendously.