Like F.D.R., I had polio. Ask me anything

[mopaul]

I was two years old when i contracted polio in 1953. The disease killed and crippled millions, including President Roosevelt.

I am from the last group to get polio, the year I got it was the year the vaccine was made widely available, so I missed out on the vaccine. I am among the youngest living polio survivors, although I'm 53. The disease was practically wiped out in the mid fifties, and I know of only one other person who had it.

It's amazing to look back at the history of polio and see it ENDED on a particular date. Amazing to think that researchers are working all the time on curing horrid diseases, like aids, cancer, etc. The fact that this epidemic was ended in the U.S. and most of the world gives one hope for future miracle cures and vaccines.

I could only watch parts of the FDR documentaries, as much as I love history, and especially his history, parts were just too difficult for me to watch.

I have a hard time just doing simple things like the dishes, but I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to be the president, during that time in our nation's history, with the added burden of polio.

And I've thought long and hard about FDR's decision to hide his affliction from the public. I'm sure he had his reasons, the times were different then, and people's perceptions about disabilities are different too.

A very controversial figure FDR. Beloved, and hated by some, but only a human being, with imperfections. Our first disabled president. And perhaps our last.

[benburch]

1. My Uncle caught it at the same time.

He was a few years older than you at the time.

He was significantly worse off than you are, though, and eventually it caused him to take his own life.

[Wonk]

2. Polio is actually on the increase in some countries. It's not gone yet.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2005/04/19/polio-anniversary050419.html

(snip)

In 2004, 1,258 children were paralysed with polio, up from 784 the previous year.

[China_cat]

8. Unfortunately that's because people in other countries

believe the vaccine contains an element that will sterilize them...part of the US effort to eliminate populations that are not white.

And here at home we have the idiots who decry vaccination even in the face of new whooping cough epidemics.

[Gman]

3. Has it tried to come back on you?

I thought I heard or read somewhere in the last few years that it comes back in later years.

I have a friend, now 52, that had polio as a child. He doesn't talk about it, but his wife mentioned he's having some problems related to polio, though she wasn't specific and I didn't pry.

[mopaul]

10. yes, post polio syndrome

some have it worse than others. it's not the disease itself, just the aging effects and nerve damage leads to further complications and lack of mobility.

[otohara]

11. I'm One of the "Worse"

The only thing I can figure as to why...

a) women always have more severe symptoms
b) I was very athletic inspite of my brace & limitations, pushed my self too hard trying to improve muscle that wasn't there. I killed what muscles I have and nerves.
c) danced too much in my party daze....weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee


My PPS pain is unbearable, and I too spent many years trying to "hide" my polio. Except when I was the poster-child, then they made me highlight my little brace.

[mopaul]

12. chronic pain

i've been living with what i call the usual aches and pains, which are always there, but just bearable.

and then there are the unbearable ones.

i too was once a poster child at shriner's hospital.

thanks for checking in and sharing otohara.

i still mangage to force a party or two.

[Catshrink]

4. Not in *'s America

"It's amazing to look back at the history of polio and see it ENDED on a particular date. Amazing to think that researchers are working all the time on curing horrid diseases, like aids, cancer, etc. The fact that this epidemic was ended in the U.S. and most of the world gives one hope for future miracle cures and vaccines."

With his insane attempts to limit stem cell research, * is hindering progress in many areas. Just think if FDR had been on a crusade to prevent polio research.

I hope that Parkinson's and diabetes can benefit from the few stem cell lines available.

Thanks for sharing a bit of your history with us, mopaul. I'm a little younger than you (not much) and remember seeing people afflicted with polio when I was a kid. We don't see them much anymore.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

5. For what it's worth.......

I take fifty mg coenzyme Q10 with l-carnitine per day... I do not now nor did I ever have polio... but I do know the benefits of coenzyme q10 supplementation for many other concers, heart, circulation, brain, etc, etc..... there aren't many papers... but even this one on Coenzyme Q10 may help you do better.... take care Mo....

If you go to PubMed and type in Polio Antioxidants in the search window... you will find papers similar to these that explain how some simple supplements may improve the quality of life for people dealing with post polio syndrome.

1: Mol Aspects Med. 1997;18 Suppl:S291-8. Related Articles, Links

Effects of oral supplementation of coenzyme Q10 on 31P-NMR detected skeletal muscle energy metabolism in middle-aged post-polio subjects and normal volunteers.

Mizuno M, Quistorff B, Theorell H, Theorell M, Chance B.

Department of Medical Biochemistry and Genetics, Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

The effects of oral supplementation of 100 mg coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) for 6 months on muscle energy metabolism during exercise and recovery were evaluated in middle-aged post-polio (n = 3) and healthy subjects (n = 4) by the use of phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The metabolic response to isometric plantar flexion at 60% of maximal voluntary contraction force (MVC) for 1.5 min was determined in gastrocnemius muscles before, after 3- (3MO) and 6-month (6MO) of CoQ10 supplementation. The MVC of plantar flexion was unchanged following CoQ10 supplementation. The resting Pi/PCr ratio in gastrocnemius muscles of all subjects decreased after 3MO- and 6MO-CoQ10 (P < 0.05). The post-polio individuals showed a progressive decrease in this ratio, while less pronounced changes were observed in the control subjects. Similarly, the post-polio individuals showed a lower Pi/PCr ratio at the end of 60% MVC in both 3MO- and 6MO-CoQ10, whereas no change in the ratio was observed in the control subjects. A less pronounced decrease in muscle pH was observed at the end of 60% MVC in both 3MO- and 6MO-CoQ10 in the post-polio individuals, but not in the control subjects. No systematic difference in end-exercise ATP was observed between the three phases in both groups. The half-time of recovery for PCr decreased in all subjects after 6MO-CoQ10 supplementation (P < 0.05). The results suggest that CoQ10 supplementation affects muscle energy metabolism in post-polio individuals to a greater extent than in control subjects. The mechanism for this effect is not clear, but may involve an effect of CoQ10 on peripheral circulation in the calf muscles, its action in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and/or its antioxidant potential.

1: Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Jul;80(1):154-62. Related Articles, Links
Click here to read
An increase in selenium intake improves immune function and poliovirus handling in adults with marginal selenium status.

Broome CS, McArdle F, Kyle JA, Andrews F, Lowe NM, Hart CA, Arthur JR, Jackson MJ.

Department of Medicine, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: Dietary selenium intakes in many countries, including the United Kingdom, are lower than international recommendations. No functional consequences of these lower intakes have been recognized, although experimental studies suggest that they might contribute to reduced immune function, increased cancer incidence, and increased susceptibility to viral disease. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to assess whether administration of small selenium supplements to otherwise healthy UK subjects leads to functional changes in immune status and the rates of clearance and mutation of a picornavirus: live attenuated polio vaccine. DESIGN: Twenty-two adult UK subjects with relatively low plasma selenium concentrations (<1.2 micromol/L, approximately 60% of those screened) received 50 or 100 microg Se (as sodium selenite) or placebo daily for 15 wk in a double-blind study. All subjects received an oral live attenuated poliomyelitis vaccine after 6 wk and enriched stable (74)Se intravenously 3 wk later. RESULTS: Selenium supplementation increased plasma selenium concentrations, the body exchangeable selenium pool (measured by using (74)Se), and lymphocyte phospholipid and cytosolic glutathione peroxidase activities. Selenium supplements augmented the cellular immune response through an increased production of interferon gamma and other cytokines, an earlier peak T cell proliferation, and an increase in T helper cells. Humoral immune responses were unaffected. Selenium-supplemented subjects also showed more rapid clearance of the poliovirus, and the poliovirus reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction products recovered from the feces of the supplemented subjects contained a lower number of mutations. CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate that these subjects had a functional selenium deficit with suboptimal immune status and a deficit in viral handling. They also suggest that the additional 100 microg Se/d may be insufficient to support optimal function.

Publication Types:

* Clinical Trial
* Randomized Controlled Trial


PMID: 15213043

[Mnemosyne]

6. Thank you for sharing mopaul.

[KamaAina]

7. How long before the U.S. Mint issues the mopaul dime?

You said, "Ask me anything..." :spank:

Our first disabled president. And perhaps our last.

Not a chance.

JFK: back injury, regularly used crutches while a representative

Reagan: Alzheimer's disease, becoming pronounced by his second term

Clinton: wears hearing aid

Bush 43: expressive language disorder (undiagnosed): "I know how hard it is to put food on your family", etc.

[Sugarbleus]

9. Thank you for sharing this Mopaul... I watched the FDR

episode on TV. I thought it was FANTASTIC.. yes, times were different for him. I can't imagine another disabled president; at least not in this current climate.

I actually came in here tonight to comment on the FDR chronicles. I was so impressed by him, his coping, his striving to do the right thing. All of it. He was a character corraled by his era. If he had been prez during more of the civil rights era, perhaps he could have done even more. What he did manage to accomplish, the people and policies he managed to overrule..was DYNAMITE! He did it all while coping with Polio. :wow:

I knew of him to some extent; his policies etc, but I didn't know as much as what was portrayed on the program.

I was shocked to learn that our conservative leaders were just as mean spirited back then as they are now. Was there really ever a "better time" in America? I doubt it. The right and left have been at each other's throats since time began. Sad

I want a new and improved FDR in the whitehouse. *sigh*

[DemBones DemBones]

13. So do you go in for using a jaunty cigarette holder like FDR?

Just messing with ya, mopaul. I didn't realize the polio vaccine was widely available in 1953. I didn't have a polio shot until 1956, maybe 1957. Maybe parents were waiting to see if the shots really worked? When I finally got my shot, they bused all of us from my school to another school where they were giving the shots. Talk about mass immunization!

I had a friend in junior high who had had polio and had leg braces, used crutches. She spent most of the summer after 7th grade recuperating from surgery and in a body cast. I really hated it that she had to endure that. Nobody had air conditioned homes back then and she was pretty miserable, even with fans aimed at her. I used to go visit her and try to cheer her up but it didn't help much.

I wonder every now and then what happened to all the polio patients in iron lungs. Did they all die after a few years? Do any survive? There should be quite a few young enough to still be living, assuming people can live for decades like that. They used to be shown sometimes on TV up into the sixties. I can remember seeing at least one iron lung patient who had learned to paint, using a brush held in her mouth. That made a big impression on me. I also thought it was great that they had racks to hold books up above them so they could read -- and turned the pages with a tool held in their mouths. I thought that would make the experience a lot more bearable. No doubt this impressed me because I had eye surgery the summer after second grade and wasn't allowed to read for weeks, which was a horrible torture to me. I also had to stay in bed in a darkened room all day.

[Feron]

14. Here's a story about a man who still uses an iron lung

I thought it was interesting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3182096.stm

[DemBones DemBones]

15. Very interesting. It said he was the longest surviving beneficiary

of iron lung technology so I suppose we can infer that all the other iron lung patients from the 50's have died.

It seems as if the iron lung would avoid the infection problems that can accompany today's ventilators but apparently they're no longer being used for patients who can't breathe on their own.