bad news

[brahman]

after being told 1/2 a year ago by a sugeon that i was worrying about nothing and that my 25 degree curve was nothing and will not progress i found out by a surgeon last week that my curve had progressed to 40 deg and i will need surgery. he refused me the chance of trying bracing or casting and is having me flown down to the state capital brisbane i was told to quit working on the land and to prepare for a stay in hospital

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT thankyou for your time and your honest opinions

[Alleycat]

Hey I don't know exactly what your going through, but my was out of the blue too. I didn't even know what it was and I was put on notice to have my surgery. Mine was about 50/60 when discovered and larger then that at time of surgery. All I can say is don't scare yourself. The surgery isn't that bad and recovery is what you make of it. I was out of the hospital in four days. When I was told two weeks. Basically stay positive and take everything in steps, if it starts to over whelme you, talk to someone you know or email me at Alleycat017@hotmail.com. I'd don't mind helping. Also if you want to know anything else email me. Don't be afraid to ask I've been through it all. - Ali

[derxz]

the whole expierence generally isn't that bad depending on the hospital. I was in there about a week, mostly just recovery, getting bodily functions to work again, learning how to walk again. I was 16 when i had my surgery; i really never thought about it until i was given anesthisa. finally at that moment i was like "holy sh*t, this is really happening" before that point i was never scared or anything. I fought it until i was out, next thing i know i wake up in a bed and i cant see anything because eyes were crusted shut. A bad thing is they wouldnt give me water for a few days, just would use web swabs to brush my mouth. the pain wasn't that bad for me, i was allergic to morphine so they gave me demerol which is more potent than morphine. after a few days it was all over. my llast hospital visit a month ago wasn't too go though, i was in a terrible motorcycle accident where i broke my lower back, compression fracture in the L2, and fractued my shoulder in 2places. no surgery was done, but this was by far much worse than the scoliosis surgery. good luck, i hope all goes well for you. Derek

PS. i'd be more than happy to answer ANYthing you may even slightly wonder about. I enjoy helping people, especially with scoliosis questions.

[mumof5]

GET A SECOND OPINION!
A 40 degree curve shouldn't, unless you have other problems as well, require immediate surgery. How old are you? If you are not in pain I don't see why working on the land would be a problem. You really do need to get a second opinion, this doctor does sound a little pushy.
Whereabouts in QLD are you? I'm sure even if you are outback there will be another doctor around. Why is he having you flown to Brisbane? Maybe you could try to arrange a second opinion while you are there.
Knowing how hard any work on the land is it is not something that you could go back to quickly after the surgery.
Please get a second opinion and let us know how you get on.
Best wishes.
Cheryl.

[brahman]

i live about 6km away from the beef capital rockhampton i am 16 and yes the dr is verrrry pushy i am working as a trainee plaster technician, casting arms and stuff not walls :-) (odd job for a chick) at the rocky hospital so i dont know wether the dr was pushy because of me kinda knowing about orthopedics but it still upset me non the less thanks for the support guys
love r-j

[mumof5]

Well your not as far outback as I thought you may be. My sister is a natural therapist 100kms out of Emerald and goes into Rockie every few months. She has told me that there are some treatments that she has seen done that have helped to relieve any pain associated with scoliosis. Don't rush into any decisions and get another opinion, more if you can. Don't let this one doctor scare or bully you, good doctor's shouldn't do this.
Best wishes.
Cheryl.

[brahman]

i got taken to rocky base hospital yesterday because my legs went dead i got chest pains and could not breathe and then i passed out i dont remember passing out but when i woke up my agriculture teacher was kneeling over me and told me what happened i am not sure if this has anything to do with my ribs squishing my lungs but the leg thing has me worried it is the 2nd time this has happened has this ever happened to any one else?

[mumof5]

Have you had an MRI done?
What you have described sounds similar to something that happened to my dad. He had a disc collapse, everyone thought he was having a heart attack. That was 10 years ago and his back is a mess now. But his didn't improve and he spent months in traction in hospital and then about a year of rehabilitation and physiotherapy.
How are you now?
Maybe you have a nerve getting 'caught up'. Make sure that they check it out properly and don't let the doctors just brush it off if you are feeling ok now.
Best wishes.
Cheryl.

[brahman]

yeah i got an mri a few months ago they said it looks fine so i don't know what is going on they think it may have been a 'panic attack' realating to somthing that happened to me last year but i don't think this was a pannic attack the dr's did 2x blood tests and chest x-rays

oh well what doesn't kill me makes me stronger lol :-)