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Seems like we have to go see a Doctor 10 times before they can tell what is wrong with us?


Why is that happening?


Is this happening everywhere?


I went to a Doctor for three years when my Scoliosis started Flaring up she told me for three years there was nothing that could be done for my Scoliosis.


She lied I could of been doing yoga could of been wearing a brace.

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No she wasn’t ‘lying’. There IS nothing that can be done for your scoliosis – otherwise I would have done it for mine. The only thing that can be done is to manage the pain. Yoga might keep you more flexible, but for me it would increase the pain. It probably depends on how far down the track you are. A brace can help reduce the pain when it's bad, but wearing a brace much of the time is a trial and it doesn’t make your back stronger – in fact the reverse. The best and cheapest braces I have found come on line, oddly enough from Latvia.

Nothing will straighten your spine after you have finished growing. My daughter wore a Boston Brace (hard plastic from chest to hips) for three years, 23.5 hours a day (30 minutes time off for a shower) in her early teens, which certainly helped stop it getting worse and worse as she was still growing. You are past that point, if you are doctor shopping on your own.

My best pain-manager is lying flat on a firm floor with a book to distract me, a hot water bottle under my top curve, and 30 mg of codeine. A pity it's not compatible with a nice cup of tea. Of course, make sure your posture is as good as possible, as much of the time as possible. And stay slim!

If anyone tells you that they can fix your scoliosis, THEY are lying (even if they think they are right) and their suggestions are going to cost you money. Normally they are yoga, massage, chiropractic or other alternative types of 'therapies', and normally with almost no long-time scoliosis experience to see what works. Not usually physio, most of them are better educated, even if they don't help either. Been there, done or seen all that.

Send me a private mail if you want to discuss our shared problems, Margaret
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AlvaDeer Jun 7, 2024
Kudos, Margaret. You are so right. There are surgeries and if anyone wants to see what a torturous crucible THAT can be they should look it up. And there can be help with braces when young and the column a bit more maleable. Some help. And you are correct, maintaining movement, bone health, flexibility, stretching tendons and ligaments and such may be helped with healthful gentle yoga (and MAY just hurt some people irreparably). People often don't want to be bothered with the total truth and would rather be angry, and you are wonderful to offer you own help and experience. THIS is what makes this FORUM so very WONDERFUL for so many people!
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Just because a doctor tells you a truth you don’t want to hear doesn’t mean they don’t care.
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It certainly does seem to be a racket doesn't it? I think mostly because insurance companies won't approve this "hoop" until you jump through this other" hoop" first. And on and on it goes.
What I have learned so far in my life with my own care and also my late husbands, is that we all have to be our own advocates as who knows our bodies better than we do?
So if you're not getting the answers you're needing, do your homework and try try again.
And thank God for the internet. as we all now have the ability to check reviews for all doctors.
There are still good doctors out there, but often you have to kiss many frogs before you find a keeper.
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MargaretMcKen Jun 7, 2024
You would have to kiss a lot of frogs to find one that could cure scoliosis. In over 60 years, I haven't found one. 'Handsome princes' are a lot more likely. I also haven't found any relevant insurance.
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I've had a bad back since I was 29 years old. In fact, last time I was hospitalized, the orthopedic surgeons were shocked I was able to walk at all. No miracle cures have been offered to me for my terrible back pain, like a new spine, for instance, since they aren't available like new prosthetic hips or limbs are. My heating pad is my bff. My DH has scoliosis with daily back pain, and a very caring doctor, but unfortunately, he's not a magician.

We've both been blessed with good doctors over the years who do care about us, since they've saved our lives 4x so far. And we're 66, both of us!

Your other question is "what causes dementia?" Which means you now have 2 issues going on with no medical answers to date. Tough conditions, both of them. My friends husband died an excruciating death from ALS which has no cure or medical answers either. He starved to death, and my friend still hasn't gotten over witnessing it, 15 years later. And still no progress has been made with ALS, sadly.

Start doing yoga and wearing a brace, and let's hope you get some relief from your back troubles as many folks cannot.
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Not sure what any doctor can do about Scoliosis in adults. I think once the growth plates have hardened not much can be done, not by a PCP anyway. My nephew was operated on at 15, 18 yrs ago, and has 4 rods in his back to correct the Scoliosis. This was fairly new some 47 years ago but had a friend who had it done at the age of 40. She had polio as a child. She was told thatvit would cause trouble ascshe aged.
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I do want to say that Medicare or insurances as a whole have not helped concerning our health. Medicare only allows so much time for a visit. My doctor charges more the longer I am there. So your being charged for questions you have. We have to be our own advocates. We need to know what pills we r putting in our mouths and what side effects there are. Usually this info comes from a Pharmacist. He/she is more likely to know what meds interact. When my Uncle was in rehab, he took not one pill or IV without knowing what it was. TG because he would have been given the Med that put him in the hospital originally and almost killed him.
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You can always change doctors if you are not happy with the one you have. If you have to go "in network" there is usually a list of doctors to chose from.
Read reviews.
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PeggySue2020 Jun 7, 2024
Don’t bother if on Kaiser. They’re all the same.
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My Mom, an RN for 40+ years, always said to go directly to a specialist. Are you seeing an orthopedist who specializes in scoliosis? If not, please do, even at this point.

Healthcare here in the US varies greatly by state, and county, even when one is on Medicare. And it depends on your chosen network, clinic, and supplemental plans and insurances.

I agree to switch doctors, and seek second opinions, if you feel you aren't getting all the care and treatments you feel would help you if at all possible.

Back in the 1980s in the early years of owning a business together with my husband, we paid for HMO health insurance. At that time, in that clinic, I was suffering with recurring yeast infections. On and off and on and off of antibiotics for a few years but it always came back. This clinic only let me see a NP (there were no PAs at the time and you needed a "referral" to make an appointment with an ob/gyn). She'd listen to my description of my symptoms, look at the discharge and prescribe Monistat (or something similar). I finally switched insurance and clinics and for the first time could go directly to an OB/GYN MD. In one appointment, and one smear later, I was told I was passing my infection to my husband and he back to me. We BOTH had to take antibiotics and I finally got rid of it. This was a profound lesson to never settle if that provider isn't making progress in finding a solution for you.
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MargaretMcKen Jun 8, 2024
The specialists in this area are usually orthopedic surgeons. Their specialty is operating, for scoliosis operating on teenagers. This can have its own problems in later life. Finding a doctor who can cure this in an adult is about as likely as finding one who can re-grow an amputated leg.
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You Could try acupuncture , and chiropractor . At Least you Know You Have Options .
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MargaretMcKen Jun 8, 2024
Chiropractors can help joints, but they can't straighten bones. Acupuncture works, but the relief is short lived - very expensive if you've got the problem for life.
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I finally got on dh’s Kaiser after my hip pain progressed to my needing a walker in March. I got put on two big bottles of stupid antidepressants to “help” with pain and when that didn’t work they put me on Mobic. If you have a pet, you’ll probably know it as meloxicam, the only nsaid for cats, dogs, birds and reptiles. I have a steroidal spine injection in five weeks, and no pain relief until then. Oh, and the doc put in my chart that he’d discussed “complimentary” therapies, which he hadn’t.
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lealonnie1 Jun 8, 2024
When my hip pain got bad, my PCP at Kaiser took xrays, saw the arthritis, and referred me to the orthopedic dept. I got 2 steroid shots in my hip joint that did help, but then a total hip replacement was recommended by the surgeon. I had the surgery in 2017 and it was a full success w a quick 3 week recovery. When the xray showed bone on bone, Kaiser was urging me to have a THR. I hope you get relief from the med and the joint shot, and THR asap,
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