Needing your opinion

[bobafett573]

Hi I am 19 years old and a freshman guy in college. Ever since I was a little kid I have had scholiosis. However, it wasn't until I was almost 18 that I was officially diagnosed. At the time I had very little pain. The only pain I had was if I was lifting heavy things and when standing still for a long time. My spine has a wavy pattern. It curves to the left from my upper back to mid back and then curves right from my mid back to lower back. At the midpoint vertebrae it was measured to be a 12 degree curve each way. I'm assuming since it curves twice that it's a 24 degree scholoisis but I don't remember. It's been about a year and a half since I was diagnosed. My chiropractor/family doctor (he has 2 degrees!) referred me to physical therapy where I was given about a dozen exercises to do twice a day. The whole routine took 30 minutes and while I kept up with it for a month, I ended up stopping just because my life was busy and I didn't have any pain. Within the past few months though my lower back has begun to really hurt even when I'm sitting! I've never had that problem before and just the other day I thought I'd look up this disease and found this website. I honestly don't know what to do about my pain. It doesn't disrupt my life much but sometimes my back starts to ache in class. As I was reading the stories on this website, I almost broke into tears. When I hear the horrors that people go through, I get so scared. I'm 19 and I hate to think just how terrible my life might get. My parents and I don't have health insurance so I can't afford anything drastic. I just don't know what to do. The last thing I want is for this to get any worse. Please help a troubled guy.

[rainbow2010]

The best thing would be to get checked by an orthopaedic doctor that specializes in scoliosis. It sounds like your curve might be increasing. I would see about getting some type of health insurance first, so that everything in the future would be covered. Some are fussy about pre-existing conditions, so don't mention scoliosis when applying for it! Good luck

[debigolebiwski]

You are so Young, Yet

Now is the time for you to get help for your scoliosis. The older you get the worse the pain will be. Believe me. Save yourself alot of misery. I wore a brace when I was young but stopped wearing it by the time I was your age. Now, I never had surgery or anything of the sort and I have dreadful psin and no solutions. Incidentally, I am 49 now and every day is a challenge but it's easier to treat when you are young.

[harmoniesdj]

Pls what ever you do, do not feed your fear. FEAR = false evidence appearing real. If you have been perusing this site then you know every scoliosis case is different. Yours is specifically unique to you so it's best to get a professional orthopedic evaluation at this time if you have pain.

An x-ray would cost you about $150 cash. You could even take it to a clinic & ask the physician questions. Start collecting x-rays so you can track any progression in the future.....this will be very valuable to you. Absolutely be careful about mentioning scoliosis when applying for insurance esp. the pre-existing condition issue (can you get health insurance thru your college?). Actually you don't have an orthopedic evaluation stating you have scoliosis so you don't really know if it applies, right? Once you have insurance then get the x-ray & go to a clinic once only so insurance doesn't become an issue.

Most members note their upper & lower curves seperately. At your age I had curves to the left/ then right in the 20+ degree area. Little by little they have increased over the years as I aged. If you noticed less pain after keeping up the exercise, then definitly start again if only for once a day....see if that helps....if it does, then you know what you have to do. You'll have to keep doing it however or you'll probably get pain again. My childhood surgeon told me when I finally removed my brace that I should exercise like I was training for the Olympics to keep my scolosis in check.....so I did, have not had surgery & am almost 60 yo. Try what others on the Forum are doing. I have been doing yoga for 35 years & it's helped me. Also the YMCA has a Healthy Back exercise program that helped me also.

Sitting: my doctor told me to get up out of the chair every 20 minutes. I suggest you sit in the back of the classroom so you can stand up behind your chair w/o disturbing the class. This will give you some relief. Slowly do toe raises up & down while standing there...they will loosen the lower back. Get a micro-cassette recorder to tape the lecture if you need to fill in the note taking that you'll miss by taking a standing break.

I've had a difficult time sitting in work meetings that last 2-6 hours and have adopted these techniques. Lately I notice more employees doing the same - guess they have bad backs too. We all need a " seventh inning stretch" during long sit times.


Hope this helps.

[mylittleangel]

bobafett573,
Hi. I agree w/ everyone else GET to a Dr.I understand that money for medical is so hard trust me even with medical insurance.But I had a friend whose daughter was 18 and diagnosed w/ scoli.They did not have insurance either.Please do as they did.At first the applied for medical assistance through the state they were denied because she was a college student living at home,but if she was not living at home may have qualified.They finally found a program through our state call AR kids it covers up to the 21st birthday.Do your research in your state there are so many things out there you just dont know about.To me there is no shame in applying for anything when you truley need it.Your health is very important,my 12 yr old has scoli and if I didnt have insurance,I would of applied for anything to get her treatment.

[goldnyght]

I read your post and almost cried: I'm 18, and having the same fears. I know it isn't really sensible to get all worked up about it yet, but its terrifying to realize that you have a condition that you're going to have to deal with for the rest of your life, isn't it?

Well, as for sitting: I use a rolled up sweater at the small of my back to make the chair more comfortable. Also, don't cross your legs or slouch, it just makes it hurt worse.