14 years old and might have scoliosis surgery.?!
Question: 14 years old and might have scoliosis surgery!.!?
so i went to shriners hospital and they said i might have to have the surgery!. they are just gonna wait and see if it gets worse, but it still hurts, and for a while it wasnt hurting, then all of a sudden, it starts hurting again!. at shriners they never gave me a brace or anything!. but they said im right next to the line to have the surgery!. so im nervous, and like does the surgery hurt when your done (dumb question i know, but i still want to know) and like what all are the procedures!. thank you soooo much if u anser this! i dont really know how to work yahoo answers, except for like asking and answering questions!. so i dont know any of the lil points or wat eva!. so if u can just like answer the questions above, THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!! Www@Answer-Health@Com
Answers:
There are risks with every surgery, even minor procedures (I'm an OR nurse now)!. You and your folks will have to make an informed decision about surgery!. If your curve is severe and you are not corrected it can affect your ability to breath or carry a pregnancy!.
My pain was well controlled!. Really the only time it hurt was one time I was half-asleep and tried to sit up suddenly!. Depending on your surgeon, hospital protocol, and the hospital's pain team, you may be on IV pain meds, an IV PCA (you have a button to give yourself a little extra periodically), or combination of the two!.
On average, you'll be in the hospital 3-5 days, taking care of yourself in about 7-10, back driving in 4-6 weeks, weight restrictions for 6 mo!. It takes about 6-12 mo!. to completely recover!.
Talk with your physician about this!. He'll prescribe weight and activity restrictions based on how he is going to the surgery (posterior approach!? trans-thoracic approach!?) and your lifestyle (do you have to walk a lot at school!? carry a heavy load!? etc!.)!.
I was back up and moving around within a week of surgery without any meds and doing whatever I wanted!. My only restriction was to not lift anything over 10 pounds for 6 mo!.
I'm as normally functioning as anyone (are any of us really "normal"!?)!. I never got off schedule with school (had surgery over summer break)!. Graduated college at 20 and have been an OR nurse for 16 years, one of the most physically demanding areas of nursing (lots of lifting and lots of standing in one place for long periods)!. I've had 2 children without difficulty (didn't even use an epidural)!. I love to travel (I don't set off metal detectors), yoga (though the fusion prevents some positions), and SCUBA dive!. I can pretty much do anything I want!.!.!.but don't tell my husband I use the scoliosis to get out of vacuuming :) I don't feel my rods, but my bottom curve does ache now and then, I'm supposed to take 1-2 Alleve at bed time, but us nurses are awful patients, so I don't do it regularly!.
As a former patient and now a health care professional, Shriner's is absolutely the best place for scoliosis patients under 21! Ask the docs/nurses if they can arrange for you to visit/talk with other patients or people who will be involved in your care!. Other places may do this too, but I think Shriner's goes above and beyond for their kids!.
Be sure you are see a spine specialist, either neurosurgeon or an orthopedic surgeon, or at least a thorough general practitioner!. I don't trust chiropractors!. I had my back manipulated once or twice, it always hurt worse after they were done with it!. As a nurse, I've also cared for a few patients who required surgery after seeing a chiropractor because the chiropractor actually caused nerve damage!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
My pain was well controlled!. Really the only time it hurt was one time I was half-asleep and tried to sit up suddenly!. Depending on your surgeon, hospital protocol, and the hospital's pain team, you may be on IV pain meds, an IV PCA (you have a button to give yourself a little extra periodically), or combination of the two!.
On average, you'll be in the hospital 3-5 days, taking care of yourself in about 7-10, back driving in 4-6 weeks, weight restrictions for 6 mo!. It takes about 6-12 mo!. to completely recover!.
Talk with your physician about this!. He'll prescribe weight and activity restrictions based on how he is going to the surgery (posterior approach!? trans-thoracic approach!?) and your lifestyle (do you have to walk a lot at school!? carry a heavy load!? etc!.)!.
I was back up and moving around within a week of surgery without any meds and doing whatever I wanted!. My only restriction was to not lift anything over 10 pounds for 6 mo!.
I'm as normally functioning as anyone (are any of us really "normal"!?)!. I never got off schedule with school (had surgery over summer break)!. Graduated college at 20 and have been an OR nurse for 16 years, one of the most physically demanding areas of nursing (lots of lifting and lots of standing in one place for long periods)!. I've had 2 children without difficulty (didn't even use an epidural)!. I love to travel (I don't set off metal detectors), yoga (though the fusion prevents some positions), and SCUBA dive!. I can pretty much do anything I want!.!.!.but don't tell my husband I use the scoliosis to get out of vacuuming :) I don't feel my rods, but my bottom curve does ache now and then, I'm supposed to take 1-2 Alleve at bed time, but us nurses are awful patients, so I don't do it regularly!.
As a former patient and now a health care professional, Shriner's is absolutely the best place for scoliosis patients under 21! Ask the docs/nurses if they can arrange for you to visit/talk with other patients or people who will be involved in your care!. Other places may do this too, but I think Shriner's goes above and beyond for their kids!.
Be sure you are see a spine specialist, either neurosurgeon or an orthopedic surgeon, or at least a thorough general practitioner!. I don't trust chiropractors!. I had my back manipulated once or twice, it always hurt worse after they were done with it!. As a nurse, I've also cared for a few patients who required surgery after seeing a chiropractor because the chiropractor actually caused nerve damage!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
have u seen a chiropractor yet!? my daughter was almost put into a body cast like thing they called a turtle shell and i sooo refused! I took her to a well known chiropractor and now!.!.!.a few years later has no scoliosis and still doing great! I hope all works out for you!. Good luck!Www@Answer-Health@Com
ok well it does sort of hurt after the surgery is over but that should become better after a few days and also im not quite sure how the procedure is so good luck and hope everything works out for u ^^ Www@Answer-Health@Com
I've posted the following a few times for other people with questions!. I hope I'll answer the things that have you concerned!.
Let me talk about the hospital stay!.
You'll have meds to help with the pain!. You'll start out with stronger meds and then wean yourself from them over time!. So, yes, it does hurt, but you shouldn't be left hurting!.
The size of your scar depends on how many vertebrae need fusing and the technique used to do the fusion!. A four-level fusion will have a smaller scar than a 12-level fusion!. Some surgeries (probably not yours) need both anterior and posterior (A/P, or front and back)!. Lastly, some people may be candidates for "minimally invasive" techniques!. So, this is a hard question to answer without knowing more about your situation!.
Your hospital stay will probably be between four and seven days!. Teens typically heal quicker than adults and so their hospital stay is less!.
As for what they do, each case is different!. Here's one possible scenerio!. Its incomplete as I'm describing things pretty quickly!. The amount of time spent doing things will probably differ!. Maybe even the order that things are done will differ!. But it will give you kind of an idea of what happens!. Just take it with a grain of salt!.
You'll arrive at the hospital early to check in!. You'll change into your gown and get an IV hooked up!. You will talk to your nurse(s) and perhaps a couple of other staff members!. You'll then get put to sleep (injected through the IV that you had put in earlier)!. The operation then happens!. You'll wake up, probably in the ICU, but possibly in your hospital room!. Probably on the first or second day after surgery, you'll be shown how to sit and then stand!. You'll be able to take walks up and down the hallway but you'll tire quickly!. Your IV will be removed in a couple of days as will the catheter you've had in you since the surgery!. You'll be allowed to go home once your stomach starts rumbling, you're eating, and going to the bathroom!. When you are in the hospital, your scar will be checked by a doctor each day!.
You will feel like a truck ran you over for the first couple of days!. Once your body starts to recover, you'll feel better!.
When you wake up from surgery, your bed will have a machine that gives measured doses of pain meds (morphine or something as effective)!. You're self-medicating, so if you're hurting, just hit a button!. The machine won't let you overdose yourself, though!.
You'll be weaned off of the meds from the machine and given oxycontin (or the like)!. This is what you'll be taking for the first few weeks you're at home!.
Bottom line is that you'll be hurting, but you'll be given pain meds to take care of the pain!. They'll do the job for you!.
It still takes two months to be doing basic things!. You'll be cleared to do more things at six months!. At one year, you'll be able to do about anything you could do before the surgery!. Take it easy!. This is major surgery!. It takes a while for the spine to fuse!.
There's a couple of things, off-topic, that will make life easier for you!.
o Make sure you has a robe in case you gets up in the middle of the night when the house is colder!. The surgery may mess up your body's temperature control!.
o Get a toilet seat extender so that you don't have to squat as far!. These also have handles and certainly made my life a lot easier!. Since your chest muscles are fine, you'll be able to use them to raise and lower yourself!.
o It might be nice to get a "grabber" which will help you pick things up from the floor!.
o You may or may not have a walker when you get home from the hospital (probably not, but!.!.!.)!. I did and discovered that I had to meneuver through the bathroom door sideways because the walker was too wide!. This works, but it may be a bit more difficult!.
o You will be sleeping an awful lot!. This is a combination of your body needing rest and the pain meds knocking you out!. Expect it!.
o When I was in my bed, my wife made kind of a "nest" with pillows so I wouldn't roll out!. I don't normally roll but I think it made both of us feel better!. You might want to do the same!.
o It will be helpful to sit in a chair with arms when you're having his meals and is sitting at the dining room table!. Since your chest muscles are fine, you'll be able to use them to raise and lower yourself!.
Please email me if you have questions!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Let me talk about the hospital stay!.
You'll have meds to help with the pain!. You'll start out with stronger meds and then wean yourself from them over time!. So, yes, it does hurt, but you shouldn't be left hurting!.
The size of your scar depends on how many vertebrae need fusing and the technique used to do the fusion!. A four-level fusion will have a smaller scar than a 12-level fusion!. Some surgeries (probably not yours) need both anterior and posterior (A/P, or front and back)!. Lastly, some people may be candidates for "minimally invasive" techniques!. So, this is a hard question to answer without knowing more about your situation!.
Your hospital stay will probably be between four and seven days!. Teens typically heal quicker than adults and so their hospital stay is less!.
As for what they do, each case is different!. Here's one possible scenerio!. Its incomplete as I'm describing things pretty quickly!. The amount of time spent doing things will probably differ!. Maybe even the order that things are done will differ!. But it will give you kind of an idea of what happens!. Just take it with a grain of salt!.
You'll arrive at the hospital early to check in!. You'll change into your gown and get an IV hooked up!. You will talk to your nurse(s) and perhaps a couple of other staff members!. You'll then get put to sleep (injected through the IV that you had put in earlier)!. The operation then happens!. You'll wake up, probably in the ICU, but possibly in your hospital room!. Probably on the first or second day after surgery, you'll be shown how to sit and then stand!. You'll be able to take walks up and down the hallway but you'll tire quickly!. Your IV will be removed in a couple of days as will the catheter you've had in you since the surgery!. You'll be allowed to go home once your stomach starts rumbling, you're eating, and going to the bathroom!. When you are in the hospital, your scar will be checked by a doctor each day!.
You will feel like a truck ran you over for the first couple of days!. Once your body starts to recover, you'll feel better!.
When you wake up from surgery, your bed will have a machine that gives measured doses of pain meds (morphine or something as effective)!. You're self-medicating, so if you're hurting, just hit a button!. The machine won't let you overdose yourself, though!.
You'll be weaned off of the meds from the machine and given oxycontin (or the like)!. This is what you'll be taking for the first few weeks you're at home!.
Bottom line is that you'll be hurting, but you'll be given pain meds to take care of the pain!. They'll do the job for you!.
It still takes two months to be doing basic things!. You'll be cleared to do more things at six months!. At one year, you'll be able to do about anything you could do before the surgery!. Take it easy!. This is major surgery!. It takes a while for the spine to fuse!.
There's a couple of things, off-topic, that will make life easier for you!.
o Make sure you has a robe in case you gets up in the middle of the night when the house is colder!. The surgery may mess up your body's temperature control!.
o Get a toilet seat extender so that you don't have to squat as far!. These also have handles and certainly made my life a lot easier!. Since your chest muscles are fine, you'll be able to use them to raise and lower yourself!.
o It might be nice to get a "grabber" which will help you pick things up from the floor!.
o You may or may not have a walker when you get home from the hospital (probably not, but!.!.!.)!. I did and discovered that I had to meneuver through the bathroom door sideways because the walker was too wide!. This works, but it may be a bit more difficult!.
o You will be sleeping an awful lot!. This is a combination of your body needing rest and the pain meds knocking you out!. Expect it!.
o When I was in my bed, my wife made kind of a "nest" with pillows so I wouldn't roll out!. I don't normally roll but I think it made both of us feel better!. You might want to do the same!.
o It will be helpful to sit in a chair with arms when you're having his meals and is sitting at the dining room table!. Since your chest muscles are fine, you'll be able to use them to raise and lower yourself!.
Please email me if you have questions!.Www@Answer-Health@Com