PPS Flare-ups Suck!

According to the statistics I've found, post-polio nerve loss and accompanying functional decline progresses at an average rate of 3% per year. If it was gradual, this might not be too big a deal. But it's not gradual. On the contrary, in my experience nerve loss occurs in periodic spikes, separated by significant periods of stasis. This pattern is consistent over 15 years.

Periods of stasis can be a year or longer...long enough for you to get comfortable with your current neuro-muscular system. Then, for no apparent reason there is a flare-up. Of course, you could induce a flare-up through overuse abuse, which is PPS talk for pushing your compromised neuro-muscular system beyond its capacity. When that happens, you get the really big flare-ups, and your average nerve loss will be about 10% per year.

But even in the absence of overuse abuse, flare-ups happen. And even a 3% nerve loss in your polio-affected body parts is going to hurt. Not only does nerve loss hurt in and of itself, but the muscles those nerves were serving are being abandoned. Even moderate muscle loss puts a strain on the remaining functional muscle tissue. This results in strained muscles and strained muscles hurt too. Never mind the stress on joints, which is cumulative.

I can get pretty bummed when I'm having a PPS flare-up. The most important thing to remember is that it will end. When it ends, you still have to figure out where your neuro-muscular system has landed and adjust your lifestyle once again to avoid overuse abuse. But it does end.