The Polio Paradox Understanding and Treating "Post-Polio Syndrome" and Chronic Fatigue by Richard L. Bruno
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Book Description

There are nearly two million North American survivors of the polio epidemics that terrorized the world during the middle of the twentieth century. More than half are now experiencing Post-Polio Sequelae—overwhelming fatigue, severe muscle weakness, and chronic pain. In this blueprint for well-being Dr. Richard Bruno describes the cause and treatment of PPS. Drawing on his two decades of research, he also explains the remarkable parallels between the polio epidemics, PPS, and today's epidemics of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. His findings will astonish—and change the lives of many; for example, Baby Boomers diagnosed with CFS, who were born before the discovery of the polio vaccine, may have had a mild case of polio in childhood and may actually have PPS today.

What You Need to Know

A blueprint for emotional and physical well-being... a medical mystery... an exposé about child abuse by the medical profession... the story of polio survivors, their trials and triumphs...a memoir of a scientist treating a "new disease"...

The Polio Paradox

Unbearable fatigue; leg and arm weakness; burning muscles and joints; head, back, and neck pain; trouble sleeping, breathing, and swallowing....Although polio epidemics are a nightmare from the past, millions of middle-aged polio survivors are today being disabled by these Post-Polio Sequelae (PPS), the sequel to having had polio.

Now PPS pioneer Dr. Richard L. Bruno, founder of The Post-Polio Institute and the world's leading expert on PPS, reveals:

• How damage done by the polio virus decades ago set the stage for new symptoms today

• The physical and emotional battles of polio survivors—including their Herculean struggles to become "normal" and the terror they feel as PPS threatens to strip them of their hard-won abilities

• The Post-Polio Institute program that relieves symptoms, helps stop their progression, and helps increase the patient's ability to function

• How to treat cold intolerance, insomnia, sleep apnea, nighttime muscle twitching, and hypoglycemia

• The greatest challenge in dealing with PPS—the psychological scars left by the polio experience.

Dr. Bruno then goes further. Outlining the remarkable similarities between PPS, chronic fatigue syndrome, myalgic encephalomyelitis, and fibromyalgia, as well as the nearly seventy-year history of chronic fatigue outbreaks that occurred at the same time as the polio epidemics, he shows how The Post-Polio Institute program is equally effective in managing PPS, chronic fatigue, and chronic pain.

The Polio Paradox offers real solutions for polio survivors, those with CFS, ME, and FM—as well as anyone aging with a long-term disability—and provides a ringing wake-up call for their doctors.

About the Author

Richard L. Bruno, H.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Richard L. Bruno is a clinical psychophysiologist specializing in the treatment of chronic conditions -- fatigue, pain, and stress -- as well as Post-Polio Sequelae. He is Chairperson of the International Post-Polio Task Force, an Associate Professor at New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and Director of The Post-Polio Institute, the International Centre for Post-Polio Education and Research and the Fatigue Management Programs at New Jersey's Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.

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