Scheuermann's Disease Support Group

Hi, I am a 30 year old mother of 2 little girls, one is 7 years old and the other is 2 years old. I had a hysterectomy last September due to many problems that had been going on for way to long. Sometimes I feel like a crazy person being so young with so many problems as I am also diabetic. I have a hump between my shoulder blades that is very painful. The tightness is the worst thing for me, I know I have bad posture and after I sit for a period of time I stand up I feel like my bones are stuck and I cannot stand up straight. For many years I have had a "stiff neck" and learned that I also have nerve entrapment, narrowing of the spinal canal. I have been told numerous times that I have degenerative disc disease and been sent to physical therapy, the therapy does help in the short term but it seemed like something that would not have a long life effect unless I did it for the rest of my life. I finally started pressing my doctor because of the pain I've had in my lower back, it is absolutely intolerable. When I wake up in the morning I can barely walk, I feel like I'm literally having to lift each leg off the ground and move them forward and the pain is excruciating on most days. He ordered a 5 view lumbar xray that showed scheuermann's disease. This same doctor I had told that all my life no one ever said out loud to me anyway "stand straight" or anything of that sort. I look back at pictures and want to cry because I've felt that I am just to lazy or that I have done this to myself. I feel very lucky, my doctor isn't very knowledgeable on this disease but he is going to research it and also is sending me for an MRI with and without contrast before we take it any further. The one thing he did know is that I could not have prevented what happened to my body, it was not me being lazy and that I should not feel insecure about the outward curve between my shoulder blades and my lumbar area looks to be sinking in. He has been pretty great about giving pain meds and anti inflammatories, he's just scared with how young I am that I do not need to build up a tolerance so he keeps to lowest dose and wants to switch between some at intervals. I see him again next Thursday to have my kidneys tested for the MRI. I'm sorry this is so long and I know I am jumping around, it is hard to type with a two year old on your lap lol!

Any information or helpful advice is greatly welcomed as I am new and very confused.

My doctor did say that surgery is quite successful and that I should really consider it, what are your thoughts? I cannot wait to read more posts on this site, I'm so glad you guys are here!!!

Thanks!!

Jennifer

It is not your fault there is no way to prevent sk from happening. I also was told all my life to sit up straight and that pretty girls dont have bad posture. I felt like somehow I had caused this upon myself and I tried to exercise to fix it but I couldn't. I ended up having surgery 2 years ago and I am now fused from T3-L2. I have much less pain now although its not perfect. I guess we all lose the ability to have a perfect spine when it first starts curving which is sometimes a hard fact to deal with. I had horrible lower back pain before surgery and now I barely have any. I still feel at times I am slouching although everyone who sees me say they can't believe how upright I sit. I guess we are always the most judgemental on ourselves especially when its something that is beyond our ability to fix. Please feel free to ask any questions that come to mind because trust me your not alone.