It's all so overwhelming...

[T I N A]

Hey everyone...I'm new here...my first visit was yesterday after getting the devestating news from the x-ray technician...I haven't actually met with my doctor yet and been diagnosed but the x-rays were so bad that the technician actually called me in to see them so I could take a look at them myself...I have been suffering for years now but never knew...I have severe pain in my C6-C7 area as well as my lumbar area...About 4 years ago I went through a spell where I could not even more my neck...the inflammation was so bad...I went to the doctor and he sent me for xrays but it didn't show anything!!! How could it not? I underwent physio therapy for about 3 months (twice a week) and they brought me back to 85% of what I used to be which allowed me to be able to work again...now, 4 years later, the neck pain starts up again and small tasks that I've been doing for years now have become very painful to do...I can barely sweep a floor now because the pain in the lumbar area is so severe that I would cry if I didn't stop doing it...I went back to my doctor (different one than the one 4 yrs ago) and I told him about the pain...so he requested I go for xrays as he didn't have my others on file...he also did a referral for physio therapy...much to my amazement yesterday when I went for the xrays, I learned that I have scoliosis and have two curves in the spine...it was all so overwhelming and scary as I have NO idea what I'm about to face...after learning this though, many things started to make sense...i.e. when I was between 10-12 yrs old, I had severe pain in my feet and ankles when I would walk...I remember having to stop during my walks and having to massage my feet...such burning and knife cutting pain...they sent me for xrays at that time for my feet which revealed nothing...they said it was growing pains...at 15 I had a lot of pain in my knees...I went for xrays and again, growing pains and juvenile arthritis... I suffered from pain the rest of my life thinking I had bad feet...was told to wear boys sneakers to hold my ankles more as I would easily twist my feet... then 4 yrs ago I attempted massage therapy and had extensive pain from it but they couldn't figure out WHY it hurt so much! The massage therapist said that my shoulder blades were SO different in height from one another...I never thought of anything...always knew one side of your body was higher than the other...also, my physio therapist had asked me if I had ever been told I had scoliosis...at that time I had never even heard of it...she told me what it was and I said no, never been told that...she asked about my xrays and I advised her that nothing had been seen in them...she said it was really hard to tell because of the severe inflammation present...so...this is all I know up to now...I'm 40 yrs old and I just find out I have scoliosis and I'm so scared because I don't know what I'm about to face I've been suffering with depression in the last 6 months because I cannot do things I normally did and I feel bad that my husband has to do everything...

Thanks for listening...if you have any advice or guidance, please, I need all the help I can get...it's scary getting to a forum like this and seeing hundreds of threads to sift through...trying to absorb it all...if anyone has a similar experience of what I've been through, would love to hear from you...I also realize that this website is geared more towards the United States and I am from Canada...we do have free healthcare here which does help and I also have 80% coverage on benefits...

Thanks so much...

Tina

[rohrer01]

Hey everyone...I'm new here...my first visit was yesterday after getting the devestating news from the x-ray technician...I haven't actually met with my doctor yet and been diagnosed but the x-rays were so bad that the technician actually called me in to see them so I could take a look at them myself...I have been suffering for years now but never knew...I have severe pain in my C6-C7 area as well as my lumbar area...About 4 years ago I went through a spell where I could not even more my neck...the inflammation was so bad...I went to the doctor and he sent me for xrays but it didn't show anything!!! How could it not? I underwent physio therapy for about 3 months (twice a week) and they brought me back to 85% of what I used to be which allowed me to be able to work again...now, 4 years later, the neck pain starts up again and small tasks that I've been doing for years now have become very painful to do...I can barely sweep a floor now because the pain in the lumbar area is so severe that I would cry if I didn't stop doing it...I went back to my doctor (different one than the one 4 yrs ago) and I told him about the pain...so he requested I go for xrays as he didn't have my others on file...he also did a referral for physio therapy...much to my amazement yesterday when I went for the xrays, I learned that I have scoliosis and have two curves in the spine...it was all so overwhelming and scary as I have NO idea what I'm about to face...after learning this though, many things started to make sense...i.e. when I was between 10-12 yrs old, I had severe pain in my feet and ankles when I would walk...I remember having to stop during my walks and having to massage my feet...such burning and knife cutting pain...they sent me for xrays at that time for my feet which revealed nothing...they said it was growing pains...at 15 I had a lot of pain in my knees...I went for xrays and again, growing pains and juvenile arthritis... I suffered from pain the rest of my life thinking I had bad feet...was told to wear boys sneakers to hold my ankles more as I would easily twist my feet... then 4 yrs ago I attempted massage therapy and had extensive pain from it but they couldn't figure out WHY it hurt so much! The massage therapist said that my shoulder blades were SO different in height from one another...I never thought of anything...always knew one side of your body was higher than the other...also, my physio therapist had asked me if I had ever been told I had scoliosis...at that time I had never even heard of it...she told me what it was and I said no, never been told that...she asked about my xrays and I advised her that nothing had been seen in them...she said it was really hard to tell because of the severe inflammation present...so...this is all I know up to now...I'm 40 yrs old and I just find out I have scoliosis and I'm so scared because I don't know what I'm about to face I've been suffering with depression in the last 6 months because I cannot do things I normally did and I feel bad that my husband has to do everything...

Thanks for listening...if you have any advice or guidance, please, I need all the help I can get...it's scary getting to a forum like this and seeing hundreds of threads to sift through...trying to absorb it all...if anyone has a similar experience of what I've been through, would love to hear from you...I also realize that this website is geared more towards the United States and I am from Canada...we do have free healthcare here which does help and I also have 80% coverage on benefits...

Thanks so much...

Tina

Welcome,
According to most doctors, scoliosis in and of itself is not painful. With that said there are a small percentage of people that no other reason for their pain can be found. I, too, have suffered with pain since I was a child. My scoliosis was found at age 16, however it was too late to try to do anything for it. It was stable for about 20 years and now is progressing, and so is the pain. I just wanted you to know that if they don't find anything else, you are not alone.

[golfnut]

Tina,
Welcome to the forum. It's a great place to get feedback for your questions. I am fairly new to the forum, but have found that it helps to know that there are others in the same situation, since none of my friends have scoliosis. Unlike you, I have known that I had scoliosis since I was a teenager, however, I thought that I was going to avoid surgery by staying physically active. Apparently, after turning 50, my curve started to progress. While no one takes this major surgery lightly, I am sincerely hoping to have a successful surgery and a better future in my later years than if I did not have the surgery. When you meet with your Dr., you wlll probably feel less apprehensive.

[diane2628]

Tina, when do you see your doctor to figure out the plan?

There are a lot of people here who have been through this - just keep us posted on what is going on, and we'll try to advise you as best we can.

[T I N A]

I figure my family doctor will receive the report tomorrow and he'll request to see me as soon as possible...hopefully before the weekend but he doesn't work on Fridays so it may not be till next week...

Will the doctor have the curve measurements and all that or do you only get that information after meeting with a specialist?

Also, can anyone tell me more about the "skin test" that is taken? I have a HUGE phobia for needles and doctors so this makes it even HARDER for me to deal with...

I appreciate the comments I've read so far It really does help to see that I am not alone...

The surgery really scares me so I'm really hoping and praying that we can find alternate measures to alleviate the pain but I don't want to have to be on loads of pain meds either and live my life of not knowing what goes on half the time...

Thank you guys for accepting me in your community

[rohrer01]

I've never heard of a skin test.

[LindaRacine]

Hi Tina...

Welcome.

There is no skin test for scoliosis. There's a skin test for TB. Are there others??

Also, I doubt your foot problem has anything to do with your scoliosis. Feet problems are really common, but I've never heard that there's more feet problems in the scoliosis population. Both scoliosis and feet problems may, however, be symptoms of some syndrome. It's not anything that I've ever heard about, but thought I'd mention it.

--Linda

[T I N A]

Patients who initially present with scoliosis are examined to determine whether there is an underlying cause of the deformity. During a physical examination, the following is assessed:

* Skin for café au lait spots indicative of neurofibromatosis
* The feet for cavovarus deformity
* Abdominal reflexes
* Muscle tone for spasticity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoliosis#Genetic_testing

[LindaRacine]

Patients who initially present with scoliosis are examined to determine whether there is an underlying cause of the deformity. During a physical examination, the following is assessed:

* Skin for café au lait spots indicative of neurofibromatosis
* The feet for cavovarus deformity
* Abdominal reflexes
* Muscle tone for spasticity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoliosis#Genetic_testing

Assessed can mean that something is looked for, which is the case for cafe au lait spots. No cells are taken from the body.

--Linda

[T I N A]

Okay Thanks so much for clarifying

[T I N A]

Is it common to suffer from frequent headaches when you have scoliosis? I often have headaches and am now wondering if it may be as a result of what I recently learned...

Thanks!

Still waiting to hear from the doctor...was in there today as I passed by to see if they had received the report from the xrays but they hadn't yet...she said most likely tomorrow...am hoping I get to learn more real soon...

[T I N A]

Finally got my results today...the curvature isn't all that bad so that's good...

Here is what it says:

Cervival Spine

The normal cervical lordosis is replaced by a kyphosis. The intervertebral disc spaces are well preserved. There is no posterior osteophyte formation and posterior ridging at any level.

The facet joins show no unexpected finding for a 40 yr old patient.

The uncovertebral joints show no intrusion on the intervertebral foramina at any level on either side. There is no evidence of an ossified cervical rib.

Thoracic Spine

There is a scoliosis convex to the right in the lower thoracic region measuring from the upper border of T8 to the lower border of L1, the scoliosis measures 25.1 degrees off the straight line.

Lumbosacral Spine

There is counter scoliosis convex to the left in the mid lumbar region which correlates with the curvature of the thoracic spine. In the lumbosacral spine the intervertebral disc spaces are reasonably well preserved. There is no posterior osteophyte formation or posterior ridging at any level.

The facet joins show no unexpected findings for a 40 yr old patient.

If someone can give me a better explanation without all the long words, I would greatly appreciate it! I am waiting for Physio Therapy to start and he gave me Naprox 275 mg once daily...I have to go for bloodwork to measure inflamation and see if I have rheumatoid arthritis...

Thanks...

[rohrer01]

I'd say it looks pretty good. Your neck is bending the wrong way so that might be contributing to your headaches. A 25* scoliosis is really good news if you have scoliosis. It's nowhere near the surgical range. The rest of your spine looks good according to what you have posted. I hope your PT works and you get feeling better soon!

[T I N A]

Is it possible to have pain in the lumbar area from the kyphosis? I don't know why I have so much lumbar pain if the curvature isn't bad The biggest pain I have though is in the cervical area so the kyphosis makes perfect sense...

Thanks

[rohrer01]

Is it possible to have pain in the lumbar area from the kyphosis? I don't know why I have so much lumbar pain if the curvature isn't bad The biggest pain I have though is in the cervical area so the kyphosis makes perfect sense...

Thanks

I wouldn't think that the kyphosis in your neck would have anything to do with your lumbar pain. If it's severe or you have pain radiating down into your buttock or leg, it could be a pinched nerve from a disc problem. You may need an MRI to see this. It could also be a strained muscle from poor posture or from moving/lifting with bad mechanics. If so, PT can help. I am not a medical professional, just so you know. Just my own experience. I surely hope you feel better and your worries are relieved.