Never Any Answers

[jacobss9]

Hi all. I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was 12. My orthopedist at the time mentioned something briefly about a brace but didn't push it so I didn't think it was that big of a deal. The older I got in school, the more books I got. And where did they go? In my back pack of course. At any given time I was carrying up to 20 lbs. on my back. Probably wasn't that smart but like I said no doctor or family member pushed me to take it easy. I also got into a sandal fetish around 17 and wore them ALL the time. Probably also not so great for my back. In short, I am almsot 20 and my back is at its absolute worst now. I have tingling in my arms, legs, and trunk area. I was also told by my family dr today after being in excruciating pain that he thought I had severely strained the muscles and ligaments supporting my sacro-illiac joint in my lower back. He also said he thought this joint weakness was due to muscle weakness which was due to the twisting and misplacement of muscles in my back by scoliosis. I feel that it is behind all my problems even though I'm told its just mild. The drs. are starting to make me feel like I'm crazy. My curve is around 35 degrees which according to various websites is moderate and almost severe. He recommended me to start physical therapy which i will be starting next Tuesday in hopes of strengthening my muscles which may in turn help strengthen my back and joints. If after 2 months or so I don't notice some kind of difference, I'm going to look into spinal fusion surgery because I can't live the rest of my life in such excruciating pain. I'm just getting sick of drs. basically telling me, "If I can't prove it on a test then its not there." I'm sorry that just isn't true. I'm not crazy and my pain is very real, ESPECIALLY with my back. I've been putting doughnuts in chairs at home, buying basically orthopedic shoes, IcyHit, ThermaCare patches, everything and anything I thought would help my back. Physical therapy is my last option. I hope it goes good so I can start living the life of a normal 20 year old.

[katblack]

Hi.
I feel your pain, I'm sure we all do.
I too was diagnosed at age 12 but told I would grow out of it because the curve at that time was very mild, only about 14 degrees.
I went on with my life which for me meant sports, activities and then marriage, two babies and lots of physically demanding jobs.
At the age of 30, I began having massive pain in my back daily. I started seeing a chiro who said I would need to see him 3 x a week for the rest of my life.
I stopped after 6 months because it was actually making it worse, not better.
My back would pop, I would "throw it out" all the time.

I saw a surgeon in April 2000 who said that's it, you're done. You cannot work any more, you need surgery but I can't help you. He referred me to surgeons who in turn referred me to more surgeons and each new one I saw only confirmed how serious it had become.

Childbirth and years of physical labor jobs such as moving furniture, house building, cooking in restaurants etc etc, (I did whatever jobs I had to do to my support me and my children after divorce) had caused more damage than anyone knew what to do with.

In the last 5 years, I saw 19 surgeons all of whom agreed I needed surgery in a very bad way but couldn't do it for a multitude of reasons such as my age and severity of damage to my nerves.

I finally had to push my insurance to let me go out of network because I had seen every neurosurgeon and ortho surgeon in network.
I met Dr. Moreno, had x rays and an exam in his office and he said he could help me, my age wasn't an issue, that the nerve damage, although very severe, was mostly fixable. He has a neuro on his team that is a "pro" he says.

I wish that when I was a teen, they had done something, anything. A brace, PT, whatever. I have now been labeled legally disabled because of this.
My life for the last 5 years has been put on hold. No dating, no fun, no work, nothing.

Please, take every step available to you to get your back fixed now, while you are still young and have the chance at a happy, healthy life.
I do not wish the constant excruciating pain I suffer daily on anyone.

best of luck to you. Sorry I rambled on but I needed to get it all out. Today was a very rough day of self blood donations and car problems and just stress.

[jacobss9]

Yes I'm actually very excited about the physical therapy. I know that sounds stupid b/c it will be hard and painful but nothing could be worse than the pain I'm in now. I hope your day gets better and best of luck with your surgery!