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I feel for you

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  • I feel for you

    Angel, I know how you are feeling. I am similar to you. I was diagnosed in the 7th grade and had to wear a brace until I graduated from high school. I have lived most of my life with a 28 degree curve. Then back at the beginning of this year, I started having excruciating pain in my lower back. Some days I could not walk. I have two small children ages 3 and 1. I went and saw a chiropractor, it didn't help. At this point I had no idea that scoliosis will get worse over time. By the time I made the apointment to see the surgen my curve was at 70 degrees. Having children will really put a huge strain on your back even if you don't have scoliosis. We suspect that the pregnancies had a major imact on the quick progression of my curve. After the chiropratcor didn't help, I went to see a doctor who suggested we do an MRI. The MRI showed a lot of inflammation and I was told that I had arthritis. I wanted to have a surgical consultation. When I got into see the surgeon. We discovered that my the curve had put a lot of wear and tear on my discs and that I had bone spurs. The surgeon told me that my spine would only continue to get worse if left alone. He said that if I didn't have surgery now, that I would have to have it done later on. At some point in my life, surgery would have to be done. And the more I wait, the worse it will get. Because of my curve, I had only one good disc left, the bottom disc. He told me that if I have the surgery now, it would be better. Reasons being, that I still have that good disc which would make things easier. Instead of having to do two surgeries, they could do only one. He left the decision completely up to me.
    I'm no doctor, but your curve is only going to keep getting worse and the pain is only going to increase and eventually you will need the surgery. It will make it hard having small children, but if you have good family support, friend support, neighbor support, and church group support; things will go smoothly for you.
    I don't regret having my surgery.
    Hope I have been helpful
    Ellen

  • #2
    Ellen, Thanks for responding.

    I have one dr that says that I could wait a year to see my curvature is progressing, and another dr that says the sooner the better. They also can't agree on the type of surgery they would suggest...Posteriorly, or through the side.

    I obviously don't want to have surgery, but I have no doubt that my curvature will continue to increase. It has increased from 32 degrees in 1986 to my current curvature of 56 degrees. The most worrisome is that it has increased 6 degrees in the past year. My thought is why risk waiting another year, especially if it continues to progress at this rate. The drs do pretty much leave the decision up to me as it is not life threatening, but sometimes I just wish they would tell me what to do. I also have a syrinx in my spine and that complicates things. I am obviously concerened about the risks of having surgery.

    How have you been doing after surgery? I'm glad to hear that you don't regret having surgery. Is the pain you were having prior to surgery gone? Did you have problems breathing before you had surgery?

    How is it with having young children? Not sure if I mentioned it but I have triplets that are 4 yrs old and a 10 yr old. They are obviously demanding, but I think they would do alright. I have really been working with them in trying to get them to get themselves out of the carseats and things like that. Up until this point it has not been something I wanted to teach them. I know I won't be able to lift them for quite some time. How do you do it with a 1 yr old?

    Where in Utah do you live. I live in Grand Junction, CO which is only 26 miles from the Utah border. If it isn't too far, I wonder if I should get another opinion.

    Feel free to email me...mpiechota3@bresnan.net. I'd be interested in hearing more about your surgery experience. Thanks for your input.

    Angel

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