Post-Polio Fatigue
Original Post: I watched "Awakenings" with Robin Williams. I see some similarities with myself and others who were affected by polio. We were so sick at first and went through many days/weeks/months of learning to walk, therapy for our legs and arms, and multiple surgeries in the hospital. Then we lived a life of somewhat "normalcy" taking on many varied forms and functions for each one of us. Now some of us find ourselves back to square one with braces, wheelchairs, scooters, crutches, and canes and it almost seems like a dirty trick! It can tend to get us down if we let it. However, I loved how at the end of the movie they make the point that life is more than our disability. Life is the love of family and friends, it is the touch of another human being, it is knowing that there are others facing the same things you are facing and you realize you are not alone. We’re getting through this together!
Dr. Bruno’s Response: “Awakenings” has a lot to do chemically with post-polio fatigue, primarily because both are associated with a decrease in dopamine and both are caused by viral infections. Oliver Sacks told me that the symptoms of post-polio fatigue remind him of his “Awakenings” patients and believes that a lack of dopamine (that we outlined in these two articles) underlies post-polio fatigue.
These two articles along with others that can help on this topic are available under the topic of “Fatigue” in the Index of the Encyclopedia of Polio and PPS