Scoliosis Support Group

I was not diagnosed until my teens either (but I am a girl). I am in my late 30's and finally fixing my scoliosis. My advice, find a specialist that only does spine work. I went to 4 different orthapedic docs over the last 16 years or so, and I am so happy with my specialist. My other advice is to get his curves measured consistently. My Mom never did and never thought it was something that would progress, and since I was on my own at 18 I did not know to keep watch over it. I had it checked in my 20's ... nobody seemed concerned...and was told every time I have a chest x-ray (for asthma) that I have curves in my spine. at 27 I had it measured and my two curves were about 25 degrees each. Here we are 10 years later and the curves at 50 & 52 and I also have listhesis (vertabrae sliding out of place). So now I need surgery. I wish my Mom would have taken this seriously and told me to watch this over the years. Kids and teens don't know how to care for themselves medically so even when he goes to college, keep getting him measured. How bad are his curves?

hey, i just turned 13, and i had my surgery fir scoliosis august 11,2009. Inever had to where a brace,becasue no one ever knew. The docter;s diagnosed me a year b4 my surgery, the curve was 52 on the top. When my surgery came, it had prgressed, the top was 62 degrees and the bottum was 36. I was really excited and really scared..... Feel free to email me at leah14130@aim.com

Jann,
Your words were my words exactly... how did I not notice this with my daughter. Her curve was 54 degrees when we first found out she had scoliosis. I found myself feeling so guilty! I didn't even really know what scoliosis was. I thought it was caused by their very heavy book bags on their backs all the time. I had no idea!!!
My daughter had surgery 1.5 years ago at age 14yrs. She's doing very well and is playing sports and doing all the things she used to do.

Find a good Doctor who you feel comfortable with. Our Doctor is a Orthopedic Dr. specializing in the spine. I felt so safe and so secure with his knowledge and trusted him 100%. This is not an easy surgery to face. As parents, we worry about our kids!
Find a good Doctor and ask LOTS of questions!
I'm happy to answer any questions or help in any way .... please email me if you'd like.
valarieja@yahoo.com

My daughter was diagnosed at the age of 14 also which I had never noticed either. I know exactly how you feel guilt-wise! However, what the doctors told me was that it wasnt noticeable until she hit puberty and then it grew within about 18-24 months to a 60% curve.

This is quite possibly the same reason you didnt notice your son's curve, it could well have been quite a recent thing, so please dont beat yourself up over it!

My daughter is nearly 17 now, she had the operation to insert titanium rods in her spine at the end of June this year. I wont deny that it was a traumatic time, but within 3 or 4 days she was recovering really well and home within a week. Within 2 weeks of that she was off the pain killers and back to her normal life. So even if your son ends up having the operation, it is really worthwhile.

I really appreciate everyone who has responded. We are going to see a specialist on Thursday. It looks like his curve is between 56 and 62. Will know more in a few days. I will post and let you all know what happens. Thanks.

You shouldn't feel guilty about not noticing, I'd never even heard of scoliosis until I was diagnosed, it never seems to be publicised despite the amount of people who have it. I felt guilty for not noticing it happening to myself, but it can happen so quickly.

I had surgery for my 2 curves (62 degrees and 41degrees) in September last year. Surgery isn't an easy thing, but to me, it was completely worth it. I used to have back ache constantly and couldn't walk very far. But now I have no pain and live a busy life.
I was in hospital for 6 days and went back to college after 5 weeks. The idea and waiting for surgery, really are the worst bits!

If you want to know/ ask anything, feel free to message me :)
Best of luck to you and your son for the consultant appointment! x