Fw: posting

[Guest guest]

Hi Carol V,

My name is and I live in California also! I am going through the

stages of getting opinions for a revision surgeon! Where in California are

you?

I saw Dr Serena Hu at USCF a couple months ago. There are many resources to

check out here!

[Guest guest]

I'm forwarding this to the group address. , welcome to the group!

group posting

I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to post an introductory statement on the

group, so I'm using your e-mail. I'm not really sharp about all these links and

webpages on the internet. I found the link to your site through the National

Scoliosis Foundation site. I subscribe to their newsletter. I only found them

several years back.

I had my scoliosis surgery 30 years ago next month (July 1974) at the age of 16.

As I've seen on the websites, it is a very " lonely " condition. I have found only

a handful of people over the past 30 years that have the problem and very few of

those I have been able to talk to about it. I try to avoid discussing the

problem, as I feel most people don't want to hear about my problems. I still

have a very poor body/self image. And I still feel like a " freak " . I have no

surgeon or orthopedic doctor to go to, either, as the surgeon that performed my

surgery 30 years ago left the state of California within a few years after my

surgery. All these years later he's probably dead or at least retired. I heard

he went to Texas. No one was given as a follow-up person after I had my

post-operative checkup about 4 years after the surgery. So, I've been pretty

ALONE. All-in-all, not really doing too bad, although I have pain and some off

and on numbness and tingling in my lower back, legs, shoulders and arms/hands.

The arm and leg pain, etc. has been getting worse the past few years, mostly

after I turned 40 years old. My fusion is from T5 to L4, and I have the single

Harrington rod implantation. I have a double curvature. I had never heard of

" flatback " syndrome " until I stumbled across the name several years ago on the

internet. Most of my pain is in the lower back. All the doctors (GP's and

chiropractors) I've seen over the years say it's because I have such a limited

range of movement that area of my spine takes the brunt of abuse. I have no idea

whether I have bone spurs, or nerve impingement, although I'm pretty sure I have

nerve impingemnet. I take 800 mg. Ibuprofen for the pain, go to the

chiropractor, (even though he can't adjust my back) but he uses massage,

acupuncture and homeopathic treatments, which I'm sure have all helped. I also

use warm heating pads, etc.at home occasionally. After seeing that some people

undergo additional surgeries, I don't even want to consider anything like that

unless I was going to be paralyzed and in a wheelchair or something as drastic

as that. The surgery was bad enough, I don't want to go through that

again.....and especially at my age now!! The healing would take twice as long!!

I will try with my limited available access to the internet to look around your

site some more. I work full-time and have two teenage daughters--does that

explain that!!?? I signed up to be able to listen to some other's stories and

see if some of my problems/symptoms are characteristic of this surgery/problem,

and what people have done/are doing about them.

I would welcome any thoughts/comments.

Thank you.

Carol V.

California

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[Guest guest]

Carol V,

Welcome to the group! Keep on reading, because that means " learning " . At

least, that's the way I feel about it. I have learned more here in a couple

of years that I had all my life!

Here's hoping that you'll find relief from pain and some good friends!

Sincerely,

Carole M. (the elder)