Scoliosis

Hi I'm Brigette I'm 17 years old and 2 years post op! I am not a doctor!

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2 years

So, it's been just about 2 years since I had my scoliosis surgery! I'm sorry if I've missed any messages lately, the tumblr app doesn't make it too easy to check them, but here's an update! So, I can't believe it's been 2 years since my operation, time really truly does fly by. Currently I am doing amazingly well. No limitations or really anything, my fusion has healed and I have maintained my post op curvature. Only on occasionally strenuous days do I feel a slight lower back pain but it's honestly nothing compared to the pain I would've been in without the surgery. Plus I've been working out more lately and I've found building up my core and back muscles takes a lot of stress off my lower back and now I rarely ever have any pain it's amazing! That's really all I have to say! My experience has truly been amazing, if anyone has any questions or would like to talk feel free to message me! I will check my inbox more often now that I have the new app figured out! :)

[valenteeno]

[caesarhead]

this looks amazing <3_<3

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Okay so I can deal with like collarbones and hip bones and things like that but am I the only one that gets creeped out by spines showing.. I mean it could be because mine is half metal and not perfectly straight but like really is this gross to you guys too?

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Sorry in advance for the semi gross photo but look they just found a 500 year old ex-king of England who died in battle and was never found. AND LOOK he had scoliosis and you can see how bad his curvature was! I find this so cool once you get past the gross ahaha

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Restrictions after Surgery!

Thank you for all the awesome replies and encouraging words about my 8 week post op post! Don't be scared for surgery if you are getting it I am so happy right now! A few people requested for me to do a post about restrictions I have so here you go!

1st Month: No bending lifting or twisting of any kind, no activities just walking. Try to stay as still as possible in your back. This wasn't very hard to do and you really don't want to move (not from pain just from being conscious about the fact that you just got surgery) the first week is spent in the hospital anyway and the three weeks after that go so fast so its not very hard. The no bending isn't as hard as it seems either because you can squat down with your knees then lean to reach something the doctors mean no bending your spine so you can bend at your hips. It's really not to different.

2nd Month - 6th Month: After the first month/6-week mark you can move a lot easier because your used to the fusion. My doctor allows me to swim, use the treadmill, and ride my bike (I'm at 8-weeks). No lifting over 5 pounds until the 6 month mark (I love this no textbooks in school!) no PE class for 6 months (I love this too haha). No running or sports yet just stick to walking and less impact movements.

1 year: Almost no restrictions! Bend, lift, run, play sports, I can do almost whatever I want just no tackle football, skydiving or gymnastics for the rest of my life! Which I wish I could skydive but the results I got from the surgery I don't care about skydiving anymore I'm so happy with them!

Everyones restrictions are different these are just mine for my personal surgery! If you have any questions or requests ask here!

[kjfvwkehlckqjwdkwqekudhwqhdlq-d]

These trees grow in the forest near Gryfino, Poland. The cause of the curvature is unknown.

[karina-padilla]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my heart !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Looks like my old spine #lol #scoliosis

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Deciding on Surgery

Okay so when I was deciding about the surgery an whether or not to get it I definitely considered a lot of factors.

First of all the degree of my curve was at 45* and my doctor told me if we didn't do surgery my curve would continue progressing even after I'm done growing just due to gravity and all so that was the first reason why I was for surgery. 

The second reason why I was for surgery was they say the younger you get it done the quicker and better you bounce back. 

The third reason I went for surgery was because I figured when I'm older even if by magic my curve stayed at 45 I Would probably have pain and with surgery the pain is supposed to go away after a year or two but even I it stayed I would rather have a straight back with pain then a curved back with pain if that makes sense? 

The younger you get the fusion done the better the fusion will be just due to bone production being higher in youth.

I wanted to be taller. Pre-surgery I was 5'8.5" now I'm 5'9.5" I wanted to be taller for a few reasons so I knew with the surgery I would be.

The external appearance of my body. I had a rib hump and my waist was very asymmetrical. Even though this may sound vain it was another reason for me to go for surgery my scoliosis made me feel insecure.

I had a little bit of pain in my lower back and knew in the long run the surgery would take it away.

My brace even though I only had to wear it for 16 hours a day it just wasn't working with my lifestyle and I really didn't like it.

Last but probably the most important is my doctor was recommending it.

So to sum it all up if your aged 13-18 and your curve is over 40* and still progressing and your doctor recommends the surgery I would say go for it. The longer you wait past 18 the more complications and the harder the recovery will be. I am NOT a doctor so don't use this completely as your decision making tool listen to your doctor because everyone has a different case.

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Before / After 👌

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My x-ray!!! Curve is down to 6* so happy with the results!

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Post-Op Days in Hospital: Dec 7th - Dec 11th 2012

•Dec 7th- after I was moved up to pediatrics not much else happened I was so drugged that I pretty much slept or was in a semi-awake trance for the rest of the day. All I did will get rolled every 2 hours. No eating that day. Also I had an oxygen tube in my nose for the first day only.

•Dec 8th- Once again all that I did was get rolled every 2 hours until about noon when I sat up for the first time. This was hard and the nurses and automatic bed did almost everything it wasn't painful just awkward and stiff. I stood up very slow and turned around and sat in a chair with pillows all over and then fell asleep in the chair for 45 minutes. I then was moved back to my bed and was given some ice chips to eat. One of the IVs in my right hand came out of my vein and the fluid went into my hand and made my hand and wrist so puffy. The nurses removed the IV and gave me warm packs to make the swelling go down.

•Dec 9th- this day I got all my tubes out (2 IVs, catheter, epidural, back drain) the only thing still attached was the heart and oxygen monitor but that was just a piece of tape on my finger. I sat up again but I had so much gas in my stomach it was so uncomfortable it was probably the worst time in the hospital. The nurses suggested for me to walk to move around the gas so I started walking for the first time. I didn't notice much of a height difference (I gained an inch) but I was a little unsteady and walked in a very straight line with my feet close together. I enjoyed walking though because it made me feel more normal. I was also put on OxyCodone for oral pain medication which I liked more than the epidural. The epidural made me feel weird. I ate jello and drank apple juice. At the end of this day my compression stockings on my legs came off.

•Dec 10th- I was getting much better at doing things on my own now I still needed the nurses there but I could stand up without help. I walked every hour and practiced on the stairs which weren't hard at all. I ate normal food which was great I wasn't hungry but it was still a change. I started getting tired of the hospital that day. I wanted to go home.

•Dec 11th: My doctors approved me to go home I just needed to get an X-ray. The X- ray guy came and the gurney I had to ride on was so uncomfortable I just wanted it over with. Then when I got to the X-ray room they started putting lead on me which was so heavy it made me dizzy. I wanted nothing more than to leave the X-ray department and go sleep. My doctor looked at my X-ray and said I could go home which I was so excited and could not wait to get out. I said good bye to everyone I loved all the nurses and then I got into my car which was full of pillows and drove 2 hours home. The car ride wasn't horrible but I was so happy to be home!

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Pros and cons of surgery

Pros • Your curve is reduced and will no longer progress (this in my opinion is what makes surgery 100% worth it) • You grow taller • Your physical appearance (waist, rib hump etc.) is incredibly improved • Your posture is permanently perfect (you won’t be the old lady with a hunchback) • breathing/lung function is improved because your ribs are in the place they should be • less pain in the long run • time off from school!!! (this is also a con for a different reason haha) • once the fusion has occurred you can go back to a completely normal life (excluding skydiving and football) • higher self esteem. My curve was noticeable in a bathing suit and it made me uncomfortable and my rib hump was so awkward with these now both unnoticeable I feel better about myself. • NO MORE BRACE! I almost forgot this one but I hated my brace and being out of it now is amazing! Cons • less flexibility. (This doesn’t bother me too much I’m fused T4-L2 so I really haven’t noticed a flexibility decrease yet but I know I will eventually but so far so good) if you are fused higher than L2 you will probably have almost no decrease in flexibility but if you are fused lower than L2 you may have a significant decrease. • short term pain- yes the recovery is painful but it is NOT horrible i expected it to be 10x worse I would really compare it to the feeling of braces (sorry if you have never had braces) it is uncomfortable and weird feeling but completely bearable but not sharp pain like a broken bone you are on pain killers anyway so it’s not a huge deal • missing school- my teachers have come home with work for me which allows me to keep up but it’s still hard and I would rather be learning it in school. • it's expensive- surgery can cost well over 100 thousand dollars so if you don't have complete health insurance this may be a factor for you Those are all I can think of for the moment but I will add more as I think of them/ experience them! Officially 4 weeks post-op! Message me with any questions! I will still HIGHLY recommend surgery to anyone with the results I have received. Once again I'm not a doctor and these are just my opinions!

[xwolf88x-deactivated20141114]

So….who has scoliosis? I know it’s random and stuff but I just wanted to know….

[fuckyeahmedicalstuff]

This is a 13 year old girl with progressive double major scoliosis in her thoracic and lumbar spine. X-rays over time showed that her curves were getting bigger. At the time of surgery, she had a 39° curve in the thoracic spine and a 50° curve in the lumbar spine. Dr. Good performed a posterior spine fusion using pedicle screws. The fixation was strong enough that no brace was needed and she got out of bed the first day after surgery. X-rays taken two years after surgery show correction of her scoliosis and excellent spinal alignment. The patient is participating in full activities without pain.

(x)

[keepiingquietishard-deactivated]

Sco•li•o•sis

Having a fucking hunch back is so gross. One of my shoulders is crooked.

When I don’t have clothes on you can see me spine. It’s shaped like 4 S’s.

Not to mention its also really painful.

In certain clothes you can see it because after awhile my clothes fall to the right. That’s because I lean to the right.

I don’t think you can tell but it makes me want to cry because I know it’s their.

My doctors said its only going to get worse and there’s nothing I can do.

If it does in fact get worse I have to have metal rods holding up my spine together.

My back looks like an alien. I hate it.

[scoliosissurgery-blog]

It will be fine! And the surgery isn't as bad as it seems so dont worry if it comes to that!

[living-fractal]

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a girl swallowed a charm from her necklace and had to go to the emergency room

I couldn't help but stare at her spine and be jealous at the perfect straightness. Scoliosis problems

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My X-ray pre-surgery this one is 43*

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Surgery Day: Dec 7th 2012

The day of the surgery I had to wake up at 4:45 am we were staying at a hotel a few blocks away from the hospital (Stanford Hospital in CT) and wipe myself down with antibacterial wipes I had gotten from the hospital. I showered the night before and so my hair dried overnight. I then French braided my hair (highly recommended) and put on comfortable clothes. I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight so I was a little hungry but I just ignored it. We drove to the hospital and went to the second floor, the surgery unit. I checked in and they lead me to a pre-surgery room where I put on a huge paper gown, a robe, some grippy socks and a hat. After this a ton of doctors came in, the anesthesiologist, the doctors who monitored nerves, a few nurses, and Dr. Taddonio they all asked a lot of the same questions and told me what their part in the surgery was. I got my first IV put in by one of the nurses and waited for about 5 minutes with my parents. I wasn’t nervous at this point. Then a nurse came in and said its time to go so he took me from my parents and started walking me towards the OR. I started crying at this point I think it was because I didn’t want to leave my parents. I didn’t feel nervous just sad I guess. The nurse told me everything was going to be fine as we were walking and it was helpful. When we got into the OR it was pretty cold but not too bad. They told me to lay on the table and I was still crying so one of the nerve doctors told me everything was going to be perfect. Then the anesthesiologist came over and put something in my IV that made me feel really heavy and forget about being sad. She then put a mask over my face and told me it was oxygen but it was anesthesia and that is all I remember. After what seemed like 2 seconds I was waking up in the recovery room. My parents were there and a nurse. There were other people in the room because it was for everyone just out of surgery. I was really drugged at that point and all I kept asking was if the surgery was over again and again and again. I made sure I could feel my toes because that was my biggest fear and when I felt them I was happy and went kind of to sleep. They then told me they were moving me up to pediatrics. I don’t remember being moved though. By the time that happened it was 3 o clock so I pretty much just slept for the rest of the day.

[scoliosissurgery-blog]

Pre-Op: Oct 16th 2012-Dec 6th 2012

Okay so pre-op was a lot of driving to a lot of doctors and seeing a ton of people. The first thing I did was get a baseline blood sample to make sure I was healthy and it came back absolutely perfect. I hate getting blood drawn so it was annoying I just don’t like the feeling of the needle in my vein. The second thing was a Cat scan. I went to the hospital where my surgery was taking place for this. The cat scan was so my surgeon (Dr. Taddonio) could measure my vertebrae and decide what size screws and at what angle to screw them into my spine. He used the cat scan during the surgery as well almost like a map his tools all had location devices so he could know exactly where he was because his tools were calibrated with my cat scan. Then still at the hospital I went to get a merca check which they swabbed up your nose and a blood typing. Merca came back negative and I was O+ for blood. After that I took a tour of the hospital and they went through everything that I would be doing the day of the surgery and introduced me to some nurses. The last thing I did (this is only for people whose family has genetic blood defects like mine) was get a genetic blood test to make sure I don’t have any over clotting problems like my dad and aunts do. I had to get so much blood taken for this but the guy taking my blood did really well and I barely felt the needle. All the tests came up negative and I only carried one trait (which means I don’t have it but my kids can). So pre-op went great for me I had absolutely no complications.