19 Year Old Male. Scoliosis Progressing.

[JenniferG]

Good advice from Debbe. I asked my surgeon at 6 months if I could run, he said No.

[titaniumed]

John

Im getting pretty pumped up.... Its amazing what the body can handle. I shoveled 2 driveways with 18 inches of heavy snow last Sunday. That was quite the workout.

Jimbo

Swimming does feel very strange right after surgery. After a while you acclimate to being in water.

I always got relief by being in water before my surgeries. I did notice that there was, and is, no "spinal" relief with being fused. No release of tension in my joints along the spine. Release everywhere else, but no spinal benefit.

Hang in there, take it slow. Running and lifting till you are fused really isnt a great idea.

Good morning Jen LOL
Ed

[JDM555]

Update: I am feeling much better. I still get a stiff back sitting a certain way for a long period of time or when I wake up, but other than that I'm back to normal. Doctor says x-rays look great and I can go back to the gym using 10-15lb dumbells. I go once a week at the most and try not to push it, but I can't WAIT to go back and give it my 110%.

I'm proud of my scar and show it off, a lot of people are amazed at how big the scar is and how I'm fine as if it's not even there. I am thankful for having surgery, my quality of life has improved. Before surgery the pain was unbearable, it was ridiculously painful 24/7.

I hope all new patients can read my thread and get useless info out of it and I hope everyone has a great future whether your going to have the surgery or had it. I want to Thank Everyone who also helped me out, this forum has been a huge help.

Thanks everyone! If anyone has any questions or needs something, please feel free to PM me.
John

[mbeckoff]

John,

Glad to hear how well you are doing.

I am going to have my surgery May 4th and hope to do well

I am many years older than you so it will take me quite some time longer than you to recuperate

Melissa

[gmw]

Glad to hear you're doing so well. It's great to have that big surgery behind you. Now you can move on with your life and it sounds like you are beginning to do just that.

I'm older than Melissa so I'll probably take an even longer time getting on the move again. But I'm looking forward to moving on. My surgery date is May 17.

[titaniumed]

John

Its great to hear things are well.

Just hang in there till you are fused, and next year you will be able to lift decent amounts.

Are you going to do physical therapy? If so, the arm bikes are great for tuning all the soft tissues in the upper back. After awhile, the muscles that run over the screw heads will toughen, and lifting will be much easier.

There were some pretty funny moments on this thread. I think it was proven that "In and out burger" was not the best diet for recovery... Fat, grease and cheese, to test the digestive tract! Man you were tough! LOL
Ed

[JDM555]

Haha, thanks everyone. It was tough, but I think the pain I was in before surgery is what made it easier for me after in recovery. It was horrible, it was probably the most painful thing I've ever had.

The way the ribs twisted and whenever I stood or sat for more than 5 minutes made it throb and hurt ridiculously, is what made me handle the pain in recovery. It was a different kind of pain, it wasn't even pain, just discomfort and a very stiff back and I was already use to that for over a year before surgery.

I hope everyones surgery goes well. I am down to 165lbs and I struggled lifting 15-20lb dumbells while I use to curl 40lbs. And I can't really work out legs/shoulders/back cause I don't want to put a lot of pressure on the spine. I use the bike machine to help me do some cardio and work out my legs a bit, usually work on it for 10-12 minutes then lift some light weights, then just head one once a week.

[Doodles]

Wow! Lots of great stories and achievements on here tonight. Congrats on your successful surgery. Janet

[Lorraine 1966]

I agree with Doodles, what a fantastic story John. I have just read this thread through and how absolutely wonderful to read your last post. You went from being misinformed, scared to wow, hey, love the scar, feeling great and then offer this all as a testimonial to other people, so proud of you mate, really am.

Melissa and gmw, Karen Ocker is a lady on here who had a pretty big scoliosis operation in her 60's and as far as I know she is doing very well. So be positive and I am sure even though it is scary I know that, I am sure all will be ok with you both.

Isnt this just the best thread.

Lorraine

[gmw]

Thanks for your encouraging words Lorraine!

Glenda

[rohrer01]

John

Im getting pretty pumped up.... Its amazing what the body can handle. I shoveled 2 driveways with 18 inches of heavy snow last Sunday. That was quite the workout.

Jimbo

Swimming does feel very strange right after surgery. After a while you acclimate to being in water.

I always got relief by being in water before my surgeries. I did notice that there was, and is, no "spinal" relief with being fused. No release of tension in my joints along the spine. Release everywhere else, but no spinal benefit.

Hang in there, take it slow. Running and lifting till you are fused really isnt a great idea.

Good morning Jen LOL
Ed

Really? You don't feel ANY relief in the spine? I would still like my ribs, neck and scapula to quit hurting, not to mention the irradic muscle spasms that make it hard to move, breathe, do anything. Mine are triggered by the most stupid things! Leaning over to lift the toilet lid, brushing my teeth, washing my hands, not in that order of course, LOL! This young man's story is truly inspirational. I think when we are on the pre-surgery side, there are so many fears. I guess once it's over, you just learn to live with your new body. It's the unknown that scares me. I've had to make so many adjustments in my life because of this stupid disease that it makes me feel like an old woman. I suppose AFTER surgery adjustments would be no different. Anyway, very encouraging thread!

[titaniumed]

No. And I started scuba diving years ago to try to help my back, and dove last Sept and once again, no spinal relief. I'm fused! LOL

Here is a picture from yesterday. It takes a good amount of strength to do a tip stand. The ole man can well, still get up there. LOL

I have no doubts that John will be just fine....
Ed

[rohrer01]

No. And I started scuba diving years ago to try to help my back, and dove last Sept and once again, no spinal relief. I'm fused! LOL

Here is a picture from yesterday. It takes a good amount of strength to do a tip stand. The ole man can well, still get up there. LOL

I have no doubts that John will be just fine....
Ed

Does the spine still hurt? Mine does at times, and very badly. I've always been afraid to try skiing due to the scoli. In fact, my family won't let me even try the bunny hills.

[titaniumed]

I have no spine pain. My knees are shot from 48 years of skiing hard, but that’s expected.

LOL. You will not learn anything on a bunny hill.... When I teach, we will do some minimal things for 15 minutes on the bottom, and then its up to the top.

I took my attorneys 17 year old daughter skiing years ago, and if anything went wrong, he would have killed me. I took her to Slide Mountain which is an expert hill, and took her to the top.

I had her into the downhill turn in 30 minutes! An older German lady in her 70s came up and asked "first day?" I said "first run" and she said "guud" and smiled. She knew.
Ed

[JDM555]

I'm back. Had my 6 month check up with the doctor last week and said everything is looking good.

My back feels a lot better, the pain I was in before surgery is gone. I did slip on the stairs and that did put me back pain wise. My back got stiff and started to hurt again, but I'm finally getting better. I can now lift more at the gym and I'm slowly gaining back my size. I'm around 170lbs now and can notice some muscle back. I can lightly jog on a treadmill or something as well, just nothing to hard like cement. My scar is still very visible, I haven't had a chance to show it off to anyone besides my family though.

All in all, I am glad I had surgery. I am still recovering, I can't wait till 100% and I have absolutely no back pain. Here are a few pictures of my back.

First one is right after surgery, the second one is recent.