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  • Please help

    Hi,
    my name is Ana and i am 26 year old...i was discovered scoliosis long time ago,at age of 10 and wasn't very worried about it. Last time i saw doctor was 13 years ago and my last concluded degree by Cobb(by that time) was 44 thoracic curve...Now, I am 26 and worried cos i found out what problems could scoliosis cause if you don't threat it.

    I never bothered by it, because i didn't had any pain whatsoever. I became aware of it last month,while i experienced vertigo that lasted for 4 days. Then i went to chiropractic who had done some cracking in my neck area and vertigo dissapered.DOES SOMEBODY KNOW IS VERTIGO CAUSED BY SCOLIOSIS, cos mine is in thoracic area?

    I was at my doctors office couple of days ago and x ray showed that i have 55 degrees, so in last 13 years it has gotten worse,but still no pain...

    Is someone in the same situation like me?

    And did someone gone to surgery with same type or degree as me?

    thank you all, and sorry for my poor english
    26 year old with 55 degrees thoracic curve

  • #2
    Hi Ana,

    I had a bout of vertigo and asked the Dr. what causes it. It has to due with your inner ear, I had a virus of some sort. I still had scoliosis at the time and I know that is not what caused it.

    As to you having a 55* curve with no pain that is good. I had a 49* curve with no pain till I took a vacation and did a ton of walking and it "woke up" the pain in my back. My Dr. said something can trigger the pain and your back will suddenly begin to hurt. My trigger was walking for 9-10 hrs per day for a week. This isn't something to take lightly, surgery. If you read back you will see how each person came to the decision to have surgery.

    Comment


    • #3
      Thoracic curve

      Suzy hi and tnx for answering me...wow you did a lot of walking

      i saw in your profile that you have lumbar curve..do you know what's the difference between thoracic and lumbar curve except on the spine part that it effects,i mean is there any difference in pain and severity or is that individual?

      kiss
      26 year old with 55 degrees thoracic curve

      Comment


      • #4
        I too have a lumbar curve and a lot of pain. I have found on several medical websites that lumbar curves have a tendancy to cause more pain than the other kinds, which has somethng to do with how much we use our lumbar spine or something. However, lumbar curves generally will not interfere with breathing or lung capacity even when they're severe like the other kinds.

        Comment


        • #5
          I don't know if lumbar pain is worse, but pain is pain. My pain was localised in my lower back on the side where my curve bowed out. I was a big C. The pain was intense. For example: I went from being an all day mall shopper, in HEELS, to only lasting a MAX of three hours in flats. And that three hours was for the whole day. I had to do my errands in priority towards the end. I had a lot of days I leaned on the counter while making dinner because I was at the end of my rope pain wise. I was taking 800 mg ibuprofin and it helped only a little, it took the sharp edge of pain away. Definatly lumbar curves do not interfear with breathing or lung capacity. I am SOOOOOO happy I had my surgery! I can shop again! LOL!

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          • #6
            Suzy at what age did you go to your surgery and how long did the recuperation lasted? I am 26 now and am afraid if the recuperation will last a lot longer if I do it later (like 40)?
            26 year old with 55 degrees thoracic curve

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            • #7
              Sweety,

              Well at 43 I think I did great in the recuperation area. I was driving around at 4 weeks post-op doing a bit of grocery shopping. At about 3 months I definetly had less pain then before surgery. At 4 1/2 mos I turned a corner and felt GREAT! You are young and the young heal faster. But you must remember this is a big surgery no matter the age you are. I don't know that at 40 your recovery would be a LOT longer but 26 is a big difference from 40. Plus, it not only matters what age you are but how good a shape you are in. If someone was over weight, out of shape in their 20's, a 40 year old fit person might heal faster.... I think because this is a planned surgery everyone has the opportunity to get ready mentally and physically for it. Even thought I had been working out for 13 yrs. prior to my surgery, I still made sure I was working the correct muscles to help me recover the fastest. I did not put off my surgery because I was in so much pain it was affecting my life and my curve was progressing 4* per year!

              Comment


              • #8
                Hi Sweety,

                Recovery is different for everybody, but being younger and in shape helps. Mine was still VERY long and painful(had surgery at 26), but I didn't have any drugs past the one month mark, as they didn't want to give me any for fear of addiction and the fact that I was young. Taking some would have helped, and I also could have been more active, wich would have also helped.

                IF you decide to have surgery, keep in mind that its a tough procedure and there are post op risks of having other types of pain and surgeries. Healing takes a lot of time for some(in my case almost two years to get back to "normal") and don't give up asking for help on this forum and with your doctors after the procedures, b/c some tend to not follow up with their patients well, as they did with me. Now that I know more it was much easier for this last surgery and I knew what to do. You can also wait and see and check your curve with appointments every year, in case you want to wait since you're not in much pain, and also continue to keep your back strong.

                Good luck.
                Last edited by sweetness514; 07-16-2006, 05:47 PM.
                35 y/old female from Montreal, Canada
                Diagnosed with scoliosis(double major) at age 12, wore Boston brace 4 years at least 23 hours a day-curve progressed
                Surgery age 26 for 60 degree curve in Oct. 1997 by Dr.Max Aebi-fused T5 to L2
                Surgery age 28 for a hook removal in Feb. 1999 by Dr.Max Aebi-pain free for 5 years
                Surgery age 34 in Dec.2005 for broken rod replacement, bigger screws and crosslinks added and pseudarthrosis(non union) by Dr. Jean Ouellet

                Comment


                • #9
                  13 degrees in 11 years

                  Hi,
                  just wanted to say that since my last x-ray which has been 13 years ago i got worse 11 degrees (from 44 to 55) ( age 13-now age 26),that's 0.8 per year and i didn't do anything to prevent it plus it was in my growing period of life...I don't know is that slow process of getting worse since i didn't practice at all? What do you think?

                  Tnx
                  26 year old with 55 degrees thoracic curve

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I think that's a slow progress. My curves were both diagnosed in their thirties(38 thoracic and 34 lumbar) when I was 12, then I wore a Boston brace and at 18 it had grown to 60 thoracic and about 25 lumbar(lessened). Stayed 60ish in the thoracic until age 26 and surgery, lumbar decreased again, since I grew from age 18 to 26 about half an inch.
                    35 y/old female from Montreal, Canada
                    Diagnosed with scoliosis(double major) at age 12, wore Boston brace 4 years at least 23 hours a day-curve progressed
                    Surgery age 26 for 60 degree curve in Oct. 1997 by Dr.Max Aebi-fused T5 to L2
                    Surgery age 28 for a hook removal in Feb. 1999 by Dr.Max Aebi-pain free for 5 years
                    Surgery age 34 in Dec.2005 for broken rod replacement, bigger screws and crosslinks added and pseudarthrosis(non union) by Dr. Jean Ouellet

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Pain?

                      Hi sweetness

                      Have you practiced a lot before surgery, when you found out that you are going on one?

                      Cos here in Croatia, we wait for 1,5 years for surgery and i was wondering would it help to excersise that 1,5 year pilates or something like that to help me recuperate better after surgery?

                      tnx
                      26 year old with 55 degrees thoracic curve

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        It probably would help to keep muscles strong, for your scoliosis too. I wish I had known about Yoga and Pilates before surgery, maybe it would have delayed the surgery and I don't think I would have minded that, with the problems I've been having post op.
                        35 y/old female from Montreal, Canada
                        Diagnosed with scoliosis(double major) at age 12, wore Boston brace 4 years at least 23 hours a day-curve progressed
                        Surgery age 26 for 60 degree curve in Oct. 1997 by Dr.Max Aebi-fused T5 to L2
                        Surgery age 28 for a hook removal in Feb. 1999 by Dr.Max Aebi-pain free for 5 years
                        Surgery age 34 in Dec.2005 for broken rod replacement, bigger screws and crosslinks added and pseudarthrosis(non union) by Dr. Jean Ouellet

                        Comment


                        • #13


                          Hi,

                          I am curious,what kind of problems did you have after the surgery?

                          Kiss
                          26 year old with 55 degrees thoracic curve

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Stiffness above and below the fusion(especially the neck), and it's sometimes to be expected when some veretebreas are not fused, as they do some work for those who are fused. I tried many things to relieve the pain and sometimes the pain is less.

                            Like it is written in my profile, I had a surgery to take out one hook, it was really hurting me and then I was mostly pain free for 5 years until my rod broke, and had surgery to repair that and the fusion. Right now I have pain in some screws between shoulder blades, and it's nerve related. I don't tolerate the hadware well in that area and I don't want to have it taken out.
                            35 y/old female from Montreal, Canada
                            Diagnosed with scoliosis(double major) at age 12, wore Boston brace 4 years at least 23 hours a day-curve progressed
                            Surgery age 26 for 60 degree curve in Oct. 1997 by Dr.Max Aebi-fused T5 to L2
                            Surgery age 28 for a hook removal in Feb. 1999 by Dr.Max Aebi-pain free for 5 years
                            Surgery age 34 in Dec.2005 for broken rod replacement, bigger screws and crosslinks added and pseudarthrosis(non union) by Dr. Jean Ouellet

                            Comment

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