19 Year Old Male. Scoliosis Progressing.

[jrnyc]

would you consider going alone and asking
the doc if you could record the consult....??
they rarely refuse....
that would keep it down to one person, but your father could still
listen to what Bederman has to say....
just a thought...unless you will feel more comfortable
GOING with someone else...especially family....
that would be understandable

i assume Bederman takes your insurance....
that is a HUGE deal!
i paid $650 just to consult with Dr Anand...part of it was called
a "hospital fee"
so i sympathize with you on the expenses!

jess

[JDM555]

What airport? Could you ask for an a later appt in the day? If you and your Dad drive together, that is not a bad drive

Melissa

I think John Wayne Airport. He told me it's close to his clinic. I have no idea about places and locations down south though. We did that drive recently for a wedding and I didn't enjoy it at all. Maybe when I have surgery, we would drive south so my parents can stay with me during surgery, then I can either fly up or drive back. I'm not sure, it's all up in the air, no idea what I'm going to do.
John

would you consider going alone and asking
the doc if you could record the consult....??
they rarely refuse....
that would keep it down to one person, but your father could still
listen to what Bederman has to say....
just a thought...unless you will feel more comfortable
GOING with someone else...especially family....
that would be understandable

i assume Bederman takes your insurance....
that is a HUGE deal!
i paid $650 just to consult with Dr Anand...part of it was called
a "hospital fee"
so i sympathize with you on the expenses!

jess

That's a good idea. He said it will be hard for him to take a Friday off. So I might have to go to the first visit alone. Recording would be beneficial for everyone. And yes, the lady asked for my insurance and it was a go.
John

[mabeckoff]

Well, then if you are going alone flying seems to be the best choice

Melissa

[titaniumed]

John

I sure hope you can get your spine repaired soon. I think you are taking the right steps in getting all this resolved even if it is taking so long. Hang in there, your day will come soon.

I’m on the road up in Portland,Ore RV camping in the trees with 1 bar of internet on my air card. Posting lately has been a challenge.
Ed

[Vali]

Hi John,
I haven't been posting for a while, but just did a quick catch up of your situation. I am so sorry to read about your situation. I hope you can get things sorted out very soon. I noticed a couple of pages ago, that you asked about people fused to S1. I am fused to S1 and I am practically back to doing everything except playing netball (not allowed contact sports). I feel personally as time has moved on, I seem to get more flexibility. My initial visions were that I may walk like the Tin-Man, but this is not the case at all. I will keep a check on this thread to see how you get on. Best wishes.

[JDM555]

John

I sure hope you can get your spine repaired soon. I think you are taking the right steps in getting all this resolved even if it is taking so long. Hang in there, your day will come soon.

I’m on the road up in Portland,Ore RV camping in the trees with 1 bar of internet on my air card. Posting lately has been a challenge.
Ed

Thanks Ed. I appreciate the kind words. I hope I can get it repaired soon too. Have fun camping.
John

Hi John,
I haven't been posting for a while, but just did a quick catch up of your situation. I am so sorry to read about your situation. I hope you can get things sorted out very soon. I noticed a couple of pages ago, that you asked about people fused to S1. I am fused to S1 and I am practically back to doing everything except playing netball (not allowed contact sports). I feel personally as time has moved on, I seem to get more flexibility. My initial visions were that I may walk like the Tin-Man, but this is not the case at all. I will keep a check on this thread to see how you get on. Best wishes.

Thanks Vali. Talking about being fused to S1 with Dr. Bederman he said it wasn't something he'd recommend and I wouldn't enjoy it since I'm younger. He said it's better in cases where the patient is older and won't be as active as someone young. No matter what I do, I just want no pain and ability to gym.

Plane tickets to Bederman went up, it'll be like $350 just for flying. It's ridiculous. I might have to cancel or postpone it a week to get cheaper tickets are $220 round trip. Why is it so expensive to fly lol.
John

[jrnyc]

hey John
i know about the plane prices!
it costs almost as much for me to fly NYC to Montreal round trip as it does to fly
NYC to LA round trip!! the plane fares have been jacked up for every trip to every city!
it is outrageous...the airlines keep trying to justify it by complaining about gas prices...
but they now charge for checked bags, for any kind of food, and they are talking about
charging for using bathrooms on the planes...just greedy if you ask me!

if waiting a few weeks makes a big difference in fare cost, i hope you can wait....
this is why i asked about making the round trip in one day...to save the cost of
a hotel room...

jess

[mabeckoff]

So John thinking of you. What have you decided to do regarding seeing Dr Bederman?

[JDM555]

So John thinking of you. What have you decided to do regarding seeing Dr Bederman?

I still don't know. I still am scheduled on the 30th, but talking to my parents, I still haven't decided what to do. The plane tickets are $300+ for same day roundtrip, Idk if I should just go for it or extend my appointment a week or two to get $200-220 roundtrip tickets. Money is tight, so that extra $100-120 is important. I just don't want Dr. Bederman thinking I don't want to see him, I really do. I'm just stressed out on what to do and what surgeon to see. I have an appointment today at 3:30 with the local surgeons partner, lets see what he has to say. Hopefully something positive.
John

[mabeckoff]

I still don't know. I still am scheduled on the 30th, but talking to my parents, I still haven't decided what to do. The plane tickets are $300+ for same day roundtrip, Idk if I should just go for it or extend my appointment a week or two to get $200-220 roundtrip tickets. Money is tight, so that extra $100-120 is important. I just don't want Dr. Bederman thinking I don't want to see him, I really do. I'm just stressed out on what to do and what surgeon to see. I have an appointment today at 3:30 with the local surgeons partner, lets see what he has to say. Hopefully something positive.
John

Johm, knowing Dr Bederman if you explain the plane cost situation, scheduling the appt for another time will be fine.

Melissa

[JDM555]

Johm, knowing Dr Bederman if you explain the plane cost situation, scheduling the appt for another time will be fine.

Melissa

Yes. I talked to him and he was understanding. I told him to come later and he said it's fine. Since I'll be flying solo, I can do wednesday. It's cheaper and I found Oct. 5 for $99 each way and Oct. 12 for $89 each way. So that's good. I'll plan buying tickets and scheduling appointments after today's experience with this doctor. Let's see what happens. I'll report back in an hour or two.
John

[JDM555]

Ok. Just got home. This visit just made it even harder. I'm even more hesitant on which surgery or surgeon to pick now. The surgeon was good, actually very good. Very intelligent and he knew exactly what he was talking about. Went over all my pictures and records, and touched base on what his partner said. Now, I talked about XLIF and fusing to the Sacrum with him too.

Regarding XLIF: He said he doesn't really have much experience using XLIF on a case similar to mine when it comes to a pseudarthrosis, but that or a small incision from the back to get to the discs, and add bone graft in the front and implants, could work to help fuse my back. But he said since the spine doesn't look too well balanced, most likely down the road I'll need to extend the hardware and balance it out. But here's the catch, if I do implants and fuse L1-L3 using XLIF now, and the pain isn't gone, the ability to straighten out my spine will decrease. He said if it wasn't fused, he could remove the disc or part of it, and it will be even more flexible, giving him the ability to straighten out and balance the spine, while adding the implants and bone graft, just like an XLIF. So that made me think for a bit.


Regarding Sacrum: He said fusing down the sacrum is not a great idea atm, which is what Bederman said as well. He said it would cause some problems and I wouldn't like it being young. And he would want to save as much flexibility as possible. He said the farthest to go down would be L5, but he'd prefer to go to L4 with new hardware.

He said usually with cases like this, the patients go out and play tennis and golf regularly, but he said running isn't a great idea. I don't care about running, so I asked about weight lifting, and he said as long as you're doing it in correct form and doing exercises that don't put too much stress on the spine, I should be fine. Which is good news, because I was already aware of what exercises I can and can't do and stay away from the dangerous ones.

Now, I'm still up in the air. I want to get fused, but I don't want to put all my money on the XLIF, then waste months, or a year to wait for recovery, and NOT have relief of my pain, causing me to get more surgery down the road. But then I also don't want to get XLIF, and have the idea in the back of my mind that I'll need more surgery extending the hardware in 5-10 years.

And of course, I don't want to have a huge surgery, and extend, and more fusion, and then have complications or make it even harder to correct my spine after. So it's all crap. Idk what to do. I will go back to the first surgeon (his partner) on monday, and go over my options. In the mean time, I'm going to talk to Bederman and see what he has to say. I really just wish I had a normal spine, I really really do.

[CHRIS WBS]

Regarding Sacrum: He said fusing down the sacrum is not a great idea atm, which is what Bederman said as well. He said it would cause some problems and I wouldn't like it being young. And he would want to save as much flexibility as possible. He said the farthest to go down would be L5, but he'd prefer to go to L4 with new hardware.

I would have to agree. While I have a fusion to the sacrum and have no problem with that, I’m at least 40 years older than you. I think a fusion to the sacrum could over time put stress on the pelvic bones and hips and possibly the legs since there are no more vertebrae below it to take the stress. If I were as young as you, I would definitely not want to be fused to the sacrum if it could be avoided.

[mabeckoff]

Excuse me but what is XLIF?

THanks

[Elisa]

Had to look it up myself Melissa. Found this article that explains it pretty well.

http://www.spine-health.com/treatmen...n-xlif-surgery