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  • Doctor in 1 week: this is my last chance

    Hello everyone!

    I am currently 17 years old and next week I will be going to Ottawa, ON to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario to see Dr. Moroz. Because I will be turning 18 in September, I am not supposed to be seen by a doctor in a children's hospital once I reach the age of majority.

    On my last visit in January, I was told that he wished to see me 6 months later to see if my curve has progressed and if not, there really isn't anything we can do. He told me to try physiotherapy, which I have been doing for the past 5 months, with no results. I am in a lot of pain and I am having a very hard time coping with it. No medication will help.

    I am wondering, what do I do if he says that my curve has not progressed and there is nothing he can do for pain? This is the 5th doctor I have seen, and all of them tell me that there is nothing to do for the pain. This is something that I do not believe. How is that even possible?

    Thank you very much in advance for reading this and giving me advice. You are all so kind,

    Justine
    My name is Justine
    I am 17 years old
    I live in Canada
    March 2007 - 13 degree curvature
    June 2007 - 28.5 degree curvature
    January 2008 - 27 degree curvature
    CHEO June 26th


  • #2
    hello ballerina!

    i wish the best for you! i hope your appointment turns out how you hope it will! i am visiting the doctor next month and i am really nervous. at this appointment we will determine if i need to switch from my nighttime-only brace to an all-day one. i hope we both get the results we want!

    i have a few questions for you...
    1) what are your curves
    2) is the pain severe?

    my curves are not that big, but i suffer from pain also. for the more minor pains, i use a heating pad, which seems to work. i do occasionally have more severe pains, and i just take ibuprofen or somethin. anyway good luck!!

    I'm bringing curvy back

    Comment


    • #3
      My curve is 27.5T. The pain is severe all the time, and nothing that I have tried has helped it. Good luck on your appointment, and I wish you all the best.

      Justine
      My name is Justine
      I am 17 years old
      I live in Canada
      March 2007 - 13 degree curvature
      June 2007 - 28.5 degree curvature
      January 2008 - 27 degree curvature
      CHEO June 26th

      Comment


      • #4
        Can I ask where your curve is? I'm guessing lumbar.

        If the doctors are saying your pain is not due to the scoliosis then maybe a pain specialist can figure it out.

        Good luck.
        Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

        No island of sanity.

        Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
        Answer: Medicine


        "We are all African."

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Pooka1
          Can I ask where your curve is? I'm guessing lumbar.

          If the doctors are saying your pain is not due to the scoliosis then maybe a pain specialist can figure it out.

          Good luck.

          Nope, it's thoracic.
          My name is Justine
          I am 17 years old
          I live in Canada
          March 2007 - 13 degree curvature
          June 2007 - 28.5 degree curvature
          January 2008 - 27 degree curvature
          CHEO June 26th

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Ballerina
            Hello everyone!

            I am currently 17 years old and next week I will be going to Ottawa, ON to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario to see Dr. Moroz. Because I will be turning 18 in September, I am not supposed to be seen by a doctor in a children's hospital once I reach the age of majority.

            On my last visit in January, I was told that he wished to see me 6 months later to see if my curve has progressed and if not, there really isn't anything we can do. He told me to try physiotherapy, which I have been doing for the past 5 months, with no results. I am in a lot of pain and I am having a very hard time coping with it. No medication will help.

            I am wondering, what do I do if he says that my curve has not progressed and there is nothing he can do for pain? This is the 5th doctor I have seen, and all of them tell me that there is nothing to do for the pain. This is something that I do not believe. How is that even possible?

            Thank you very much in advance for reading this and giving me advice. You are all so kind,

            Justine
            Hi Justine:Please contact Andrea Lebel a Certified Schroth Physiotherapist at( 613) 233-1235 in Ottawa or e-mail: odpcphysio@sympatico.ca for great information regarding your scoliosis .

            Comment


            • #7
              Justine

              I am no expert by any means but I have heard that braces can be used to treat pain as well as physical therapy. I have also heard quite a bit about the Schroth method so i would suggest looking into it. At your age I am told there is still a good chance for correction with out surgery however the clock is ticking so it is important that you start any bracing etcetera as soon as possible. Best of luck and let us know what your doctor says.

              Mike

              Comment


              • #8
                Great....

                Well, I recently returned from a visit to CHEO to see Dr. Moroz. He has told me that there is nothing he can do because he does not know what is causing my pain.

                I had asked him if there was anything that I could do to reduce the pain, since physical therapy has not been working.

                He told me that I must find another doctor because he does not see anything wrong with me (other then the fact that my back is curved).

                He also said that maybe this was all in my head (which almost made me want to walk right out of the room.)

                Now, I am without a doctor and without answers. I know that my curve is about the same as it was 6 months ago, but my pain is much more severe, and my range in flexibility has decreased. I do not want to live the rest of my life in this kind of pain, considering that I am so young (like most others).

                I believe that there has to be something out there, but I just cannot find anything. These past two years I have been reading and seeing many doctors, and I have lost all faith in them.

                Can someone please help me?

                Justine
                My name is Justine
                I am 17 years old
                I live in Canada
                March 2007 - 13 degree curvature
                June 2007 - 28.5 degree curvature
                January 2008 - 27 degree curvature
                CHEO June 26th

                Comment


                • #9
                  Justine-- don't give up hope! I am so sorry you are having such pain and not getting any help so far. Hopefully someone will have some ideas for you. I wish I could help, but I don't know much about your area or about adolescent scoli.

                  At least that's good news that your curve hasn't really progressed. But how frustrating to hear him say the pain might just be in your head. Grrrr! I hope you get some relief soon. Mike's suggestion about the possibility of bracing to help with the pain might be something to check into. Best wishes!
                  71 and plugging along... but having some problems
                  2007 52° w/ severe lumbar stenosis & L2L3 lateral listhesis (side shift)
                  5/4/07 posterior fusion T2-L4 w/ laminectomies and osteotomies @L2L3, L3L4
                  Dr. Kim Hammerberg, Rush Univ. Medical Center in Chicago

                  Corrected to 15°
                  CMT (type 2) DX in 2014, progressing
                  10/2018 x-rays - spondylolisthesis at L4/L5 - Dr. DeWald is monitoring

                  Click to view my pics: pics of scoli x-rays digital x-rays, and pics of me

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Seeing as you turn 18 in a few months, you should start looking into setting up appointments with adult orthopedists. Your curve is smaller, if you were thinking surgery would help the pain. A pain management doctor would be good. Check out any healing or spirit centers, some offer all day courses on pain that can help(at least where I live they do, and don't think it's hokey, the pain management doctors attend these as well). You are way too youg to have to deal with constant pain, don't give up hope.
                    Emily

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Have you had an MRI? If you are in pain, you need to do everything to get to the bottom of what is causing the pain. An MRI can rule out several things; Chiari malformation, syrinx/cysts, etc. My daughter had a lot of pain (although her MRI was negative) until she was braced 3 months ago, which took the pain away while in the brace (Rigo Cheneau Brace). Demand that your doctor do everything to get to the bottom of your pain, or find a doctor who will. It took several doctors to find one who listened to me and my daughter. And, please consider that surgery does not necessarily eliminate pain. Good luck to you.

                      bas2101

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Schroth therapy

                        If you are still interested to learn the exercises make an appointment 613-233-1235 Ottawa &District Physiotherapy Clinic (Andrea)

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Hi Justine,
                          I agree with Emily. You might like to go see an orthopaedic surgeon. They will monitor your curve, brace if needed and will discuss surgery with you if that's warranted. But you certainly cannot sit around and do nothing. It is disgraceful that doctors exist who treat people this way. Keep looking and don't give up.

                          Is there someone who could help you? Like your mum or dad? If I were your mother, I would make an appt with an orthopaedic surgeon straight away.

                          I wish you all the best.

                          Lisa
                          Mum to Tahlia, aged 15. Fused from T2 - L3, 18/11/08.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Oh, again, hope404 .. CLEAR (with many exclamation marks) and all ... *sigh. Justine, keep an open mind ... but search the forums here on the method (CLEAR) this person is pushing.

                            Do NOT waste your time on CLEAR. I'm not even a believer in the grand claims of Schroth, really, but I'd recommend it over Woggon's witch doctor methods. Schroth likely can't hurt in a case like yours with a small, seemingly non-progressive curve. Is it any better than yoga, Pilates or ANY exercise that strengthens your core? Who knows. I'd try those less costly alternatives first, and know that any exercise you find that helps will be something you'll need to continue your entire life.

                            As bas mentioned, an MRI would be a good first step to make sure you know there are no underlying conditions causing your pain - and probably a prudent one before you start any therapy or exercise program. I saw adult bracing mentioned, and I have mixed feelings on that: There are too many other things you haven't tried, IMO, to jump right into a brace ... and I believe you're far better off at your age (and curve size) if you can strengthen your core vs. "propping it up" the rest of your life. Looking down the road, it doesn't seem like a great alternative.

                            Have you tried simple things like yoga, ibuprofen, and ice vs. heat? Heat often aggravates pain and spasms (it took me until AFTER surgery to realize that): Cryotherapy (icing an area) can be quite effective in certain circumstances. Your 27° curve (Regarding the prior 28.5° measurement you were given ... who told you they could measure it that precisely? Curves are not measured in fractions of degrees.) seems to be causing as much or more discomfort for you at 17 than my 35° did at 10 years old. That's NOT at all to say I believe it doesn't hurt ... I absolutely believe even smaller curves can hurt (just like some larger ones never do).

                            A pain management doc is also a good suggestion, but I'd try more conservative methods before resorting to narcotic or surgical intervention (and that's generally a PM doctor will suggest). As a last resort, they do have some tools in their surgical arsenal that can provide relief for some. One of the more common is a rhizotomy - a.k.a. RF ablation - where they zap the medial branch nerves (they carry pain impulses) and basically stops the pain impulse by shutting down that pathway for some period of time. The nerves may or may not regenerate after they're burned the first time, or even first few times. The procedure is relatively painless, but may or may not be 100% successful depending on the rotation of your curve.

                            I'm curious ... what type of exercises are you currently doing for your back, if any, outside of PT?

                            Regards,
                            Pam
                            Last edited by txmarinemom; 02-10-2009, 08:39 AM.
                            Fusion is NOT the end of the world.
                            AIDS Walk Houston 2008 5K @ 33 days post op!


                            41, dx'd JIS & Boston braced @ 10
                            Pre-op ±53°, Post-op < 20°
                            Fused 2/5/08, T4-L1 ... Darrell S. Hanson, Houston


                            VIEW MY X-RAYS
                            EMAIL ME

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Pain hurts...

                              Has anyone every heard of Gary Young?

                              He takes organic, non-modified plants and distills them into a super concentrated essential oils. There is a technique called Raindrop that takes 9 oils, oregano, thyme, basil, cypress, wintergreen, majoram, peppermint, aroma sieze(a blend) and valor(blend)... they are put on the spine in a particular order... it detoxes the spine.

                              I know... sounds hokey right?

                              My operation was in 1983(c-7 to t-8?), I was 12. I have a Herrington Rod. Everytime we move, my husband is in the military, I get the... "Oh, I didn't know they left any of those in..."

                              When we moved to Wisconsin, the bitter winters trigger my arthritis really bad, and the pain was even worse in my hips, which were never even. A Lady in our church is a naturalpath... and she invited me out.

                              After 2 years, my hips are now almost even and the pain is gone.

                              I really wish my parents had had the option proir to my surgury, I wonder if it would have helped my thorasic curve.

                              Another thing I notice is that my pain will flair if I am dehydrated. You are suppesed to drink one half of your body weight (pounds) in ounces a day. If you drink caffinated or carbonated beverages, you need three times the amount of water to flush it out. Also refined white sugar and flour are hard on all joints.

                              Just a couple of thoughts,

                              Cynthia

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