My kind of scoliosis

Hey all,

So I was thinking maybe a little background about myself and my experiences might be a good way to start off with my page.  I know for me, I tend to want to know not only if someone has scoliosis, but if they have it like me.  Throughout these past eight years since I was diagnosed, I have come to learn, as I have said before, that scoliosis is not as uniform as doctors make it seem.  I have on many occassions told someone what I have only to be met with the response, "oh scoliosis? yeah I had that when I was younger but I think it's gone now."  Funny how they can make it sound so simple and easy in one short little sentence!  I look forward to the day when I can say that, think it will ever come?  lol I'll just dream about it I guess.  So what i'm saying here, is that yes I have scoliosis, and no, it will not "go away" any time soon--mine is progressive, it has been getting worse and worse for years and yes I feel it and yes it sucks!  So I do understand, I've been through ALOT, trust me on that one. 

So down to the numbers...
As of my last x-ray, (which at this point I do every year or so) I had a 28 degree cervical (neck), 68 degree thoracic (upper spine), and 52 degree lumbar (lower spine) curves.  The weirdest thing about my curves, and the one thing that none of ANY of my doctors have really been able to figure out, is whether or not I have just one major curve (my thoracic), or if I do in fact have a DOUBLE major curve (meaning that my lumbar curve is not purely a compensatory curve to keep me balance but also has a mind of its own)  Lucky me, I get to be the "rare rarity" so to speak.  Promise, if you follow my posts and stories you will see just how much this really is a theme with me!

The question of my double major curve has led me down many paths in order to find the right answer.  I spent about six years chasing every possible treatment.  I have tried:

• Charleston bending brace
• TLSO 18 hour brace
• physical therapy
• holistic medicine (I was desperate)
• CLEAR chiropractic(for over 2 years)
• Schroth method (briefly)
• acupuncture (couldn't do it! lol)
• yoga for scoliosis (my favorite--still do it and highly reccomend it!)

For the past two years or so, however, I have tried my own method: living.  I decided to give my body a break and, whether it was just lucky timing at the end of my growth spurt or actual success, my scoliosis has drastically slowed down in it's progression.  I still do yoga as periodically as possible, which is not easy unless I'm in NYC, but other than that I just live.  I maintain core strength at the gym, which I have found is the best way to keep as good of posture as possible and avoid that weird looking pelvic tilt I get. 
While it is definitely more peaceful than spending all my time battling the curve degrees, I of course have to keep up with my x-rays just to be sure.  I am scheduled for my first one in 18 months this Thursday so fingers crossed it goes well!

Sorry for the long post, I swear I'll get better at this lol

Introduction

Hey all you scolio's!

Let me just start off by saying, while I am fairly new to this whole blogging thing, I am DEFFINITELY not new to the wonderful life of living with scoliosis.  I've been through hell and back, most of which you will hear allllll about in my upcoming posts.  What I have found through these past 8 years that I've had scoliosis, is that there really are very few people who are real about what our lifestyle is like.  Whether its a life filled with conventional treatments, surgery, homeopathic remedies, yoga, whatever, (and yes, I have tried almost all of those), scoliosis is most of the time talked about as a simple condition with a simple fix: surgery. 

I am one of those very few people, however, who has denied surgery for the past 5 years.  No, sadly that is not because my back is okay or better, but instead because I refused to have such a life-altering surgery if I had not tried all of my options.  So this is my story, or stories rather, of my experiences with my scoliosis.

Now, I know that living with this is different for everyone, that some of you will go and have the surgery or have already had it, and I am in no way against that.  I simply believe that this is something that is often forgotten by doctors, parents, or whoever it is that helping you through this.  If they don't have it, haven't lived with it and all of its consequences, they will never be able to fully understand.  *Enter me!*  I guess that's why I wanted to start this.  I have tried many different approaches to both fixing and living with my scoliosis, and I just think that sometimes, all you need to hear is someone elses experience, even if they are different from yours.  I know that I certainly could have used the guidance over these years, would have loved to read peoples stories, what they had tried, and how their life was going after it all. 

So hopefully I can do just that--share all my stories and make someone out there realize that this isn't something to hide from.  And I might just make you feel a little more sane along the way...trust me on that one! lol

So here's to all you uniquely curvy girls out there, conquering every little thing life throws at you, and still managing to stand tall! (and I promise I'll try to come up with some better curvy jokes for you ;P )