Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Long story short-
I was diagnosed with Scoliosis last year and go annually to see if there is any progression. This year I had a different dr. who- lets just say we didnt see eye to eye. I go to see an orthopedic surgeon (its not at a surgical state, by any means) because *frankly* he was too lazy to refer me to the radiology department to get an x-ray like what happened before. Anyways, I had to get my old x-rays to show the orthopedic surgeon and was expecting a large manilla folder... we got a CD instead. Well I was at home thinking it is after all my medical records so I can open it if I want. This thing was incredibly high tech! It had a special viewer, with all the bells and wistles in the world, and even had all of the radiologists notes. So above is my complete spine. I have *simply put* an S shape between my two shoulders, and an obvious curve in my lumbar region. The maximum degree of curvature is 20 degrees.
----- Here is where I get on my soap box-------
I went years and years and years with out anything... doctors visits, school nurse visits, everything.... with out any one saying bend over let me look at your spine. At school we had hearing tests, eye tests, dental checks, which took much longer than simply bending over. I went in to my primary dr. (before I knew I had scoliosis) and was complaining of back-pain. He was like, let me test you for scoliosis. I was envisioning many different tests each worse then the last. All I had to do was bend over, and he said, "yep! you have scoliosis."
Parents at your child's next drs. visit ask for a scoliosis test. It takes all of 30 seconds, and can do so much good! Being proactive is worth it!
-So much for short... Dont worry my next post will be back on topic!
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5 comments:
I remember having that test at school in the 7th grade! Thank goodness I was cleared. Is yours severe enough to require surgery? Does it get worse as time goes on? I never really learned that much about it even though my best friend had it really bad.
That's terrible that they didn't find that before! I just took my 10 yo in for her yearly check up and her Dr did that spine check during her check up. After reading your post, I am sure glad he did!!
Hi Tanner,
Thanks for the reminder. For once, Montana is ahead of the curve. During middle school years, my girls are checked for spine curvature(sp?) in PE class at least once a year.
So sorry that your dealing with it.
Cassie
I had the test in 6th grade at school, and was diagnosed with scoliosis. My parents are buttheads and never took me to a doctor for it, and I had horrendous back pain until about 2 years ago when I started to see a chiropractor.
He diagnosed me with an 8 degree bend in my lumbar region, explaining the YEARS of daily back spasms I had. I feel lots better now, THANKS TO HIM!
I'm glad you were diagnosed because you can't fix a problem until you know it exists. Great advice about getting tested, and I hope your diagnosis leads you to a more comfortable back future.
Katie @ GardenPunks
My 17 year old has scoliosis. She was diagnosed at 10 with a 1 degree curve just by the dr viewing her back!! I was floored how easy and non-technical the testing was! lol Now she is at 16 degrees curvature. They do not do xrays every year, it is every 5 years, but they use a ruler... yup, a ruler... to see if there is enough of a change to require xrays. Our insurance is cheap! lol
As a mum I gotta say... watch HOW and WHAT you carry! What you do now... will affect you for the rest of your life!
Okay, done being a mum for a sec! :)
Enjoyed looking through your blog!
Have a wonderful day!
Linda
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