Hi! Thank you all for being here – so glad to have found you! I’ve been reading your posts here for a couple of months and have found them to be so helpful! (and so compelling too ) Thanks all of you for your generosity in sharing your stories and opinions, your expertise and positive outlooks on life. I’ve found the right place!
My background: first diagnosed in 1973 at age 12 by family physician. ‘Watch and see’ for 3 months as thoracic curve progressed to 43*. Dr. Harry Kroll of Topeka, Kansas was my orthopedist at the time and he recommended surgery but my parents did not feel comfortable with that option for me so I was fitted for a Milwaukee brace which I wore 23 ½ hours a day for 4 years then gradually increased hours out of brace to about 8 by the time I graduated from H.S. Had a hard time adjusting to sleeping without it so took it to college for the first semester. Curve diminished to 33* – 36* while in brace (but within a few years curve back to 43*.) Dismissed from Orthopedic care fall of 1979.
Over past 25 years have received chiropractic care at various times and it has kept me going. I thought I was doing enough to take care of myself and thought my curve would just stay the same. I have always been active and have not let my scoliosis be much of an issue as far as how I have lived my life and what I can and cannot do….until recently that is.
I did not see a dr. specifically for my scoliosis until this May, although I have always had yearly physicals and list scoliosis in my medical histories…. I have always had back pain issues, (I just deal with ‘em) but over the past year overall my various pains have ratcheted up and I was feeling a little desperate (not to mention like an 80 year old) – desperate enough to make an appointment with a general orthopedist. I went there with a request for pain management of some sort – specific exercises or some other sort of NSAID (besides Aleve) or epidural, so she sent me for thoracic x-rays and when she looked at them (all of 5 seconds) she turned to me and said, “You need to have surgery and you should go to Johns Hopkins – you should do it now. And I’m really sorry but I can’t help you.” Yikes. I asked her about a possible epidural and she said I have multiple issues at multiple levels and a shot wouldn’t do any good. I promptly made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon to get a 2nd opinion. More x-rays but this time I had both thoracic views and lumbar views taken. This Dr. spent about 20 minutes with me doing a thorough exam and when he measured my thoracic curve I was stunned to hear that it had increased to 60* and I now have a 52* lumbar curve as well, (and I believe increasing rotation) which probably explains the increase in intensity of pain I’ve been experiencing. This Dr. gave me information for physical therapists which I asked for and a script for Relafen to get a break from the same NSAIDS I’ve been on for 20+ years. He also strongly recommended surgery, sooner rather than later etc. Which brings me to the present. I have an appointment scheduled with Dr. Khaled Kebaish at Johns Hopkins November 5th. Reading, reading and doing more reading both on this forum and Dave Wolpert’s book has helped me begin to process what I believe is in my future 2009. I find myself now saying “WHEN I have the surgery” not “IF I have the surgery.” As I go through this process I’m sure I will be posting questions and even some comments here and there but for now I’d just like to say HELLO & THANK YOU! It is such a joy to have found a place filled with people who understand exactly what I have been and am going through!
My background: first diagnosed in 1973 at age 12 by family physician. ‘Watch and see’ for 3 months as thoracic curve progressed to 43*. Dr. Harry Kroll of Topeka, Kansas was my orthopedist at the time and he recommended surgery but my parents did not feel comfortable with that option for me so I was fitted for a Milwaukee brace which I wore 23 ½ hours a day for 4 years then gradually increased hours out of brace to about 8 by the time I graduated from H.S. Had a hard time adjusting to sleeping without it so took it to college for the first semester. Curve diminished to 33* – 36* while in brace (but within a few years curve back to 43*.) Dismissed from Orthopedic care fall of 1979.
Over past 25 years have received chiropractic care at various times and it has kept me going. I thought I was doing enough to take care of myself and thought my curve would just stay the same. I have always been active and have not let my scoliosis be much of an issue as far as how I have lived my life and what I can and cannot do….until recently that is.
I did not see a dr. specifically for my scoliosis until this May, although I have always had yearly physicals and list scoliosis in my medical histories…. I have always had back pain issues, (I just deal with ‘em) but over the past year overall my various pains have ratcheted up and I was feeling a little desperate (not to mention like an 80 year old) – desperate enough to make an appointment with a general orthopedist. I went there with a request for pain management of some sort – specific exercises or some other sort of NSAID (besides Aleve) or epidural, so she sent me for thoracic x-rays and when she looked at them (all of 5 seconds) she turned to me and said, “You need to have surgery and you should go to Johns Hopkins – you should do it now. And I’m really sorry but I can’t help you.” Yikes. I asked her about a possible epidural and she said I have multiple issues at multiple levels and a shot wouldn’t do any good. I promptly made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon to get a 2nd opinion. More x-rays but this time I had both thoracic views and lumbar views taken. This Dr. spent about 20 minutes with me doing a thorough exam and when he measured my thoracic curve I was stunned to hear that it had increased to 60* and I now have a 52* lumbar curve as well, (and I believe increasing rotation) which probably explains the increase in intensity of pain I’ve been experiencing. This Dr. gave me information for physical therapists which I asked for and a script for Relafen to get a break from the same NSAIDS I’ve been on for 20+ years. He also strongly recommended surgery, sooner rather than later etc. Which brings me to the present. I have an appointment scheduled with Dr. Khaled Kebaish at Johns Hopkins November 5th. Reading, reading and doing more reading both on this forum and Dave Wolpert’s book has helped me begin to process what I believe is in my future 2009. I find myself now saying “WHEN I have the surgery” not “IF I have the surgery.” As I go through this process I’m sure I will be posting questions and even some comments here and there but for now I’d just like to say HELLO & THANK YOU! It is such a joy to have found a place filled with people who understand exactly what I have been and am going through!
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