Hi all:
This is my second post ever here. My first was in response to someone looking for a scoliosis doc in the Seattle area. Some background-- I was discovered to have scoliosis when I was probably 10ish. Watched and x-rayed until I was about 12 yrs 3 mos and put in a Milwaukee brace. I hated it, of course, and was so self-conscious. Plus, I was a swimmer and hated having to change in front of everyone into and out of it. I spent a lot of time alone in my room, so my parents wouldn't know I wasn't wearing it 23/7. I ended up calling my doctor the summer before I was to enter high school (which back them was 10th grade) and told him I hadn't been compliant and that I was refusing to wear it to high school. He agreed that if I would not be compliant, I could stop wearing it. I think I had just turned 15 and perhaps the thought was that I had reached skeletal maturity, or was very near it. I do seem to recall that my highest curve was 37 degrees, since back then, they threatened surgery for anything over 40 degrees.
Fast forward to Jan 2014. Walking on snow the first week of January led to severe hip pain, limping, MRI/X-rays of the hip and then the eventual full spine x-ray where it was discovered that my scoliosis had kept progressing. I think it was measured at about 54 degrees.
Since about March or so of this year, I have been having increased pain and was put on Vicodin by my primary about 4 months ago. I saw Dr. Sethi at Virginia Mason today, who measured my most recent x-ray (done at Swedish-Cherry Hill in October) to be 62 degrees. I started crying, of course, because I DO NOT want surgery. I honestly don't remember a lot of what he said, but I think he said I would be fused from T3 to L3, because he wanted to leave my hips mobile (gee, thanks!). It scares me to think of being inflexible for the rest of my life. That being said, I was very impressed with him.
I did have an appt. with Dr. Jens Chapman in October (hence the x-ray), but I never actually got to see him. I was worked up by a nurse practitioner, who said if I had the surgery, I would be very rigid for the rest of my life and suggested I do pilates. Dr. Chapman was then supposed to come in, but she told me that he got pulled into an emergency surgery. I had already looked him up and knew I would never let him operate on me. He has been involved in a lawsuit and used a compression fracture glue on two women who died on the table. He was involved in animal testing of the project, so I was shocked to see that he went ahead and used it on humans. :-(
So, this is all a long way of saying that I was very impressed with Dr. Sethi and will be following up with him yearly, until I am ready for surgery (or sooner if needed). I'm not ready right now. I'm 48, have a 9 y.o. son and we have no family in the area to help us. (My husband is from England and my parents are elderly-- 82 and 76-- and in WI).
This is my second post ever here. My first was in response to someone looking for a scoliosis doc in the Seattle area. Some background-- I was discovered to have scoliosis when I was probably 10ish. Watched and x-rayed until I was about 12 yrs 3 mos and put in a Milwaukee brace. I hated it, of course, and was so self-conscious. Plus, I was a swimmer and hated having to change in front of everyone into and out of it. I spent a lot of time alone in my room, so my parents wouldn't know I wasn't wearing it 23/7. I ended up calling my doctor the summer before I was to enter high school (which back them was 10th grade) and told him I hadn't been compliant and that I was refusing to wear it to high school. He agreed that if I would not be compliant, I could stop wearing it. I think I had just turned 15 and perhaps the thought was that I had reached skeletal maturity, or was very near it. I do seem to recall that my highest curve was 37 degrees, since back then, they threatened surgery for anything over 40 degrees.
Fast forward to Jan 2014. Walking on snow the first week of January led to severe hip pain, limping, MRI/X-rays of the hip and then the eventual full spine x-ray where it was discovered that my scoliosis had kept progressing. I think it was measured at about 54 degrees.
Since about March or so of this year, I have been having increased pain and was put on Vicodin by my primary about 4 months ago. I saw Dr. Sethi at Virginia Mason today, who measured my most recent x-ray (done at Swedish-Cherry Hill in October) to be 62 degrees. I started crying, of course, because I DO NOT want surgery. I honestly don't remember a lot of what he said, but I think he said I would be fused from T3 to L3, because he wanted to leave my hips mobile (gee, thanks!). It scares me to think of being inflexible for the rest of my life. That being said, I was very impressed with him.
I did have an appt. with Dr. Jens Chapman in October (hence the x-ray), but I never actually got to see him. I was worked up by a nurse practitioner, who said if I had the surgery, I would be very rigid for the rest of my life and suggested I do pilates. Dr. Chapman was then supposed to come in, but she told me that he got pulled into an emergency surgery. I had already looked him up and knew I would never let him operate on me. He has been involved in a lawsuit and used a compression fracture glue on two women who died on the table. He was involved in animal testing of the project, so I was shocked to see that he went ahead and used it on humans. :-(
So, this is all a long way of saying that I was very impressed with Dr. Sethi and will be following up with him yearly, until I am ready for surgery (or sooner if needed). I'm not ready right now. I'm 48, have a 9 y.o. son and we have no family in the area to help us. (My husband is from England and my parents are elderly-- 82 and 76-- and in WI).
Comment