Scoliosis - Introduce yourself and meet others

Hi there, Denise!
My heart goes out to you. I’m a teen who had scoliosis surgery about a year ago and I was really scared even though I only had to have 1 surgery and didn’t need to have any reconstruction done / discs removed. I’m so sorry that you are going through all this, and I will definitely pray for you, both for your spine and for your peace of mind in the meantime!! Jesus and Mary are watching over you, and God’s going to work everything for your good. Rest assured He won’t leave you alone; He took excellent care of me.
Some life hacks: you should get someone to take care of you at home during your recovery, and you may want to consider getting some bed rails for your bed; try not to rely on them for too long, but they did come in handy for me early on and helped me become independent sooner. Also, listen to your body and follow doctor’s orders on this, but the main thing that helped me was exercising as much as possible. Walking did hurt on the first day, but it was still bearable, and after that, I think it was actually the best tool I had for pain control.
Prayers and hugs!

What you might consider doing is looking up in your insurance companies online access what their criteria are for the procedure you’re having done. This way you and your doctor can fight the battle with better knowledge in hand. I used to perform insurance defense audits against insurance carriers for a health system in Pennsylvania. I’m certain it’s available from your Part B carrier as I presume you’re Medicare aged. Is this the procedure you’re seeking pre-authorization for?
https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/radiofrequency-ablation-pain-relief

I have no idea why I'm just seeing this, months later. But I wanted to thank you for your kind words and support. I hope that you are feeling a lot better now and I have decided to forgo the surgery for the time being. I lost a lot of weight, on purpose lol. It's helped a lot with the pain and the doctor told me just to keep exercising and keep my body strong and healthy and we're looking into possible injections for the pain. He told me that there's a possibility that I could do without the surgery so that's the route I'm going for right now with physical therapy, aquatic therapy, and exercise. I have to say I have a lot more energy and I'm feeling a lot more optimistic. But I just wanted to reach out because your message was very touching and sweet and I really appreciated it. God bless you!!

I am 64 and have scoliosis. I have had it since I was ten but thought it just involved two discs. I have had pretty bad arthritis throughout my spine for years, now severe, with foraminal stenosis on multiple levels.
In 2019, I slipped on water at school. While I fell all the time, this time changed everything. I had all the shots, epidurals, etc. Awful!

Finally, my doc sent me to one of the best, a well-respected neurosurgeon. The report said the right's upper lumbar scoliosis convex is compensatory lower thoracic convex to the left—lumbar scoliosis convex the right maximal at L1-L2 measures 40 degrees. I had three smashed discs; two inside the curve and one outside. He would not touch the ones inside the curve and said if he fused the one out of the curve, my back would collapse "in the near future." He said I needed a rod. The second opinion: said he can fuse the one outside the curve. I thought that they were two extreme opinions, so I went back to the first doc and asked him to send me to someone who would not be scared to disagree with him. The third surgeon, of course, said they were both right. He could fuse the one outside the curve, but he also believes I will need the rod "in the near future." The surgery to fuse L5, I think, and a laminectomy stopped the burning going down my leg. Small victory!

I consistently take pain meds and fear when/if my back will collapse. I sometimes have lousy neuropathy down my bottom and upper thighs and feet. I am unsure if my feet are from a failed bunionectomy that broke/dislocated six joints in the rest of my toes. I worked with them for two years before I retired. Now my big toe is fused, and a fantastic surgeon did her best to fix my foot. It still hurts, but nothing like it did.

I have had six shoulder surgeries ending with a Reverse on both shoulders. I won't even go through what the last one feels like now.

The arch and jaw have collapsed, among many other "unique" issues in my mouth. Every dentist and surgeon has a different solution, not to mention charging a fortune.

My head is swirling. I realize Orencia infusions are not good, so I am considering stopping them. The thought of my hands getting worse, though, makes me nauseous. Anxiety and depression make everything worse.

I am 64 and have scoliosis. I have had it since I was ten but thought it just involved two discs. I have had pretty bad arthritis throughout my spine for years, now severe, with foraminal stenosis on multiple levels.
In 2019, I slipped on water at school. While I fell all the time, this time changed everything. I had all the shots, epidurals, etc. Awful!

Finally, my doc sent me to one of the best, a well-respected neurosurgeon. The report said the right's upper lumbar scoliosis convex is compensatory lower thoracic convex to the left—lumbar scoliosis convex the right maximal at L1-L2 measures 40 degrees. I had three smashed discs; two inside the curve and one outside. He would not touch the ones inside the curve and said if he fused the one out of the curve, my back would collapse "in the near future." He said I needed a rod. The second opinion: said he can fuse the one outside the curve. I thought that they were two extreme opinions, so I went back to the first doc and asked him to send me to someone who would not be scared to disagree with him. The third surgeon, of course, said they were both right. He could fuse the one outside the curve, but he also believes I will need the rod "in the near future." The surgery to fuse L5, I think, and a laminectomy stopped the burning going down my leg. Small victory!

I consistently take pain meds and fear when/if my back will collapse. I sometimes have lousy neuropathy down my bottom and upper thighs and feet. I am unsure if my feet are from a failed bunionectomy that broke/dislocated six joints in the rest of my toes. I worked with them for two years before I retired. Now my big toe is fused, and a fantastic surgeon did her best to fix my foot. It still hurts, but nothing like it did.

I have had six shoulder surgeries ending with a Reverse on both shoulders. I won't even go through what the last one feels like now.

The arch and jaw have collapsed, among many other "unique" issues in my mouth. Every dentist and surgeon has a different solution, not to mention charging a fortune.

My head is swirling. I realize Orencia infusions are not good, so I am considering stopping them. The thought of my hands getting worse, though, makes me nauseous. Anxiety and depression make everything worse.

Has anyone heard of a Cobb score moving 11° and seven months and in scoliosis?

Hello, everyone. I am an S curve scoliosis person who was never diagnosed until a few short years ago. I am now 87. The diagnosis finally explained to me why my waist is higher on one side of my body than the other. In addition to scoliosis, I also have neuropathy which plagues me the most because it keeps me awake throughout the night. But the scoliosis keeps me from walking and standing during the day for more than 15 minutes at a time. Then I have to sit down to "decompress" for a few moments before I can get up and continue what I was doing. Overall, I still manage to live normally at home taking care of myself and 90 year husband.