Hi all!

[cowprintrabbit]

hubby is coming!

He has blocked the time out on his work calendar so nobody can schedule anything that would conflict :-)

Hopefully no one minds if I whine here - The pain is so bad today I had a friend ask me if I was on drugs because I am so dazed...

I wish I were, but I don't think I can take anything and still work. Advil, Aleve, and Aspirin are all no no's because of my stomach.

[lrmb]

Great news your husband could figure out a way to make it work! And good for you for encouraging it to happen I'm sure you will both be so glad you both went when it comes to planning the next step. Did you have any luck getting a name for a 2nd opinion? Take care ~Laura

[cowprintrabbit]

Don't have a name yet; I should probably get on that... I wish this weren't happening right at the holidays. Do I just call Group Health customer service?

[lrmb]

Hi! Does your MD not know of anybody else? Out of interest I looked on the scoliosis research society website (www.srs.org) and your man in Seattle was indeed the only one who came up... You could try Linda Racine's list too, I can't remember the link but you could search for it on the site. I know it would be a plane ride, but I hear there are FABULOUS people in San Francisco... Anyway, try Linda's list, just in case, if you haven't already.

Sorry to hear you're still in pain, by the way. ~Laura

[lrmb]

http://scoliosislinks.com/ScoliosisSpecialists.htm

I think I saw another one in Seattle on this. L

[kathleensrose]

Judy's surgery

Judy had surgery Freiday, 11/4. I told her I would think about
her, and I did. I spent from 8:00am to 1;30 pm having the
pulmonary test , exrays and CT scan. She was on my mind
quite a lot. I suppose she is in her hospital room now-drowsy and out of it. Heres hoping it was all a great success.
Kathleen Hutchinson

[susannajon]

Spine Surgeons in Seattle

Preston J. Phillips
http://www.sofc.com/pjp.html

Walter F. Krengel, III
http://www.swedish.org/

Both docs are in Seattle. Good luck!!!

Susanna

[cowprintrabbit]

OK, first consult is tomorrow! I'm nervous, but also relieved and a little excited... Seems like the first step in finally getting this taken care of after I've been treading water so long.

[cowprintrabbit]

Re: Judy's surgery

Originally posted by kathleensrose
Judy had surgery Freiday, 11/4. I told her I would think about
her, and I did. I spent from 8:00am to 1;30 pm having the
pulmonary test , exrays and CT scan. She was on my mind
quite a lot. I suppose she is in her hospital room now-drowsy and out of it. Heres hoping it was all a great success.
Kathleen Hutchinson

Has anyone heard from Judy yet?

[cowprintrabbit]

Saw Dr. Wagner this morning; he says that from my Xrays, I should not be in as much pain as I am.

He is sending me for a bone scan, an MRI, and a lung function test; and will decide to where to go from those results. I think I'm finally going to break down and ask my PCP for something for the pain in the meantime, though. (I can't take Advil, Aleve, etc because of a bad stomach)

Is this a pretty normal first visit?

[LindaRacine]

At your age, and your curve measurements, pain is a relatively unusual symptom, so I suspect that the doctor is simply trying to find why you have so much pain.

--Linda

[SkiAnn]

partner by your side

Chritine,
I would just like to say how positive it will be to have your significant other by your side. It will most certainly make a difference. My husband wasn't able to go to my first appointments with me. Only made the last appointment with me to meet the surgeon just before my surgery (after everything was set to roll). He had instant respect for Dr. Dzioba, which is a good thing and we had covered D. Wopert's book together. But since the actual experience of the entire surgery, hospitalization period and into the 6th week of recovery, he doesn't miss ANY OF MY APPOINTMENTS. This really is a big deal, a MAJOR surgery and he admits he wasn't as prepared as he should have been. Thank goodness for me he is a QUICK LEARNER......:>) He is also occasionly thinking of different things he thinks I should share on the forum for the caregivers, so he really jumped in headfirst.
Good Luck in the following days to come.
Regards,
Gayle

[blairf83]

I'd say that's a pretty standard first visit to a good, concerned surgeon when you present with a not so typical case...
In non-complicated/typical scoliosis cases, lots of times they don't do much more than an x-ray.
In my first appointments with the two surgeons I saw that I considered *good* surgeons, I was sent for MRI's, and then Bone Scans... I was only 20, but I'd had 35+ degrees of progression in about a 6 month period, taking my pretty much insignificant scoliosis up to being reasonably severe for the amount it unbalanced me, plus neurological symptoms, significant degree of pain (likely caused by degeneration of discs in my lumbar spine, we soon found out)...
I personally like a surgeon who tries to get the full picture straight off rather than putzing around, or just saying "under the knife you go"

[cowprintrabbit]

Bone Scan

Had bone scan Monday - I have my films because I have to hand carry them to Dr. Wagner, and boy are they funny-looking! They look like little Halloween skeletons or something :-)

Does anyone know what the dark areas mean? I have to wait for 2 other tests to come in before I can go see him, but I'm curious. My spine, face and pelvis are very very dark, and the rest of me is so faint you can hardly see it.

[LindaRacine]

Hi...

The dark spots indicate increased blood flow to bone or increased activity of the cells in the bone.

--Linda