have you experienced serious side effects from scoliosis sur

I had my surgery when i was 17 and i'm 22. I had two curves over 50 degrees ans my spine has completely twisted itself around the middle. After my surgery, my whole front and back left side was completely numb for a good 4-6 months. 5 years later, i'm able to do almost anything i want. I definitely lost ALOT of flexibility and miss being able to do dance like i used to. I just recently started having weird pains around my left rid and not sure if it has to do with the surgery. Just very uncomfortable. Also, my scar is a bit sensitive. Other than that, i'm glad i got the surgery!

Im 16 , i had my surgery October 2010 , so about 2 years and some months ago . I STILL have no feeling in my back , I cantt feel ifsomeone touches me , pinches me , pokes me , NOTHING. But I do daily feel deep inner pinhing & sharp knife like pains . I sometime get muscle spasms and have to sit wherever I am at that moment . I have stiffness and cramping very frequently & since my surgery I hve been having fainting & dizzy spells mostly every couple of months , I also get frequent heat flashes and headaches . All effects I NEVER had prior to surgery , that my doctor did not let me know i would have after my surgery . I am currently trying to figure out exactly what is going on with my doctor , but if conditions do not change or get worse my mother plans to take it to court .

I am now 44 years old and I had surgery in 1986 when I was 17 years old.  Prior to the surgery my primary curve was 64 degrees with a secondary curve of 48 degrees.  After surgery I was in a brace for six months. I was not allowed to stand without the brace and had to be log rolled in bed. Pain after surgery and a allergic reaction to the brace lining were  two side effects. I also recall having a lot of nerve pain in my right forearm and hand. Pins and needles type of pains that lasted well over six months. Numbness along the scar line is another small side effect.  Now that I am getting older, my secondary curve has a lot of degeneration and arthritis. This causes pain and spasms.  The side effects  a small price to pay for life and mobility. 

I too had surgery at a very at a young age. I was fifteen when I was operated on. My curves were 58 and 45. I have lived my entire life with pain since I was six when I flew off of a slide at a park and hit clay that was hard as concrete. After surgery my symptoms seemed to get better. I too wore a brace for ten months (couldnt even go to the bathroom in the middle of the night without it). But in my twenties after three pregnancies my pain level became a daily struggle. I have been to several doctors (another one tomorrow) none of them seem to know what to do for me. I have pain in between my shoulder blades (almost feels numb) down my thoracic region, in my lower back and throughout the pelvic girdle. I now take up to one and a half sleeping pills nightly and still wake up at least 5-10 times per night to try to find a comfortable position. Im only 41 and at times I feel like Im 100,. When I get up from sitting I feel I could almost fall over. I walk like a little old lady. I have heard that exercise is supposed to be good. For me it only seems to make my symptoms worse.

 

Hello, my name is Lorrie, Im hoping you get my reply, I actually do have to harrington or titanium rods in my back they were put in at the age of 16yrs. old Im now 43, and have learned on 12-15-11, that one of my rods have broken also, and the washers have fallen off and have flattened out.. one doctors say they cant move while broken, but one doctor and exrays have said they can and did. ive tried to get help with it for 10 months and by nov. 1 2012, they had to fix my neck first i had a spinal cord compression, i have had no problems with that yet, but now on Feb. 2012 I will need to go back to my surgon and see about my back, did you get your rod replaced? and how are you today? I hope you will reply n let me know Im so worried at this point, my  

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I was 15 when I had my Harrington Rod surgery. I am now 24. The last 3 years have been the worst. About 2 years after my surgery, one of the screws broke. My doctor told me it is healed in place and should be fine. Since then I have had increasingly worse pain. There are dull achy pains. Some sharp stabbing pains, pressure, and most recently such terrible stiffness in the morning, I literally cannot get out of bed for the first 20 mins to a hour. I had to quit my job from the pain and I can't even figure out how to get disability. I was told that I do not qualify for Medi-Cal because I am over 21, under 65 and have no children. Everyone is giving me the run around and I haven't even been told if I can qualify for disability.

I have a daughter she had scoliossis surgery 2009 she screams in pain since her surgery,she crys to urineate and to have a bowel movement exstreme pain as if she is going to die,she has been on morphine,and morphine sulfate since 2009 any help would be apreciated.

Hello, my name is Rebecca. I seen your post about scholiosis, and would love to ask you some questions. I had surgery around 1993.

 

Hi Rebecca - my daughter had surgery March 2009 which was semi successful - if you want to contact me 

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I had surgery in 86 at the age of 14. I am now 41. I have the catrall rods. I had a 45 degree angle on each side. My spine was a S. The main side effects I have is constants back pain, and half of tennis ball lump sticking out on my back. Its fat tissue the a doctor has said not to touch because on my spine. Definately messes with my self esteem

I just recently got pregnant and found out my screws and the rod in my upper back have seperated from the spine. I found that if these problems occur to go to a neurosurgeon and it's their job to replace the rods that are damaged. Also I was told due to the rods breaking I can sue the manufacturing company who made the rods or my doctor depending on if it was their fault. The rods are supposed to be 100% effective and they arent supposed to break or come undone. I would try to find a neurosurgeon who others trust and can recommend you to. If no one wants to help you can sue them. Before this though I also had neurological problems due to the rods pinching my nerves. I'm going to lose my legs by the time im 30 and im 19 now. I can understand what your going through and I hope this helps a little

i had this surgery 7 months ago, im 14 and i cant do really anything anymore. im constantly puking, blacking out, my heart races, horrible back pain, and most of the nerves in my back are damaged. the whole bottom of my back and hips are numb. none of this happened before the surgery. i got 2 titanium rods put in and 14 screws. i cant walk for more than 30 minutes either. 

I had the surgery when I was 15 and again when I was 16, I am now 28. They put in harrington rods to cure my 2 90 degree curves. Now I suffer from back pain daily, some worse than others. My knees always hurt and when i bend down they pop really loud, which relieves the pain for moments, then it comes right back. Also big knots come up on and around my spine alot. When i got to the doctor they do x rays and tell me "I'm fine, that it is just the worse case of arthritis they have ever seen!"............ Yeah me!

I had surgery for kyphosis in 2003 when I was 17 years old to correct a 90 degree curvature. At that point many/most surgeons had stopped using Harrington rods so I received what the successor prosthetic was. It took about six months to get to 80% and another six to get to 100%. Since then I’ve just had to be careful about what I do (e.g. picking thing up awkwardly etc.) and aside from pulling muscles in my back and shoulder a few times, have been mostly okay. In hindsight, these muscle pulls might have happened regardless of my kyphosis. I was in a car accident that really wrenched my lower back and caused major back pain for about six weeks. My theory was that the rods kept the upper back inflexible so all the force hit the lumbar region but again this could have happened regardless. I’m fairly active, I work out, and camp/hike and generally do things that people my age do. This summer will be ten years and I’m still in pretty good shape. I attribute this to staying active and paying particular attention to exercise and stretch my core muscles and also that my Dr. was one of the best orthopedic spinal surgeons in the country.

I’m really sorry that so many people on this board are in pain. I’ve literally been there. To those who read these stories just note that people who have successful surgeries have less of a reason to dwell on it whereas people in pain are constantly reminded. The only side-effect I can think of is that to this day, the skin on my right side is numb to my nipple.

I have a friend who had scoliosis surgery when she was 16. The surgery was largely successful and she doesn't have any ongoing pain, but ever since her operation, she has suffered something similar to Sophite Syndrome, or motion induced drowsiness. Her symptoms include drowsiness, excessive yawning, disinclination for work, lack of social participation, apathy, and sleep disorders. She is being treated for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but I'm a bit suspicious of this diagnosis because the condition started shortly after surgery- and I'm thinking the problem stems from that surgery.

From my understanding, Sophite Syndrome is somehow related to the vestibular system, which in turn influences balance. The operation altered her height slightly on one side of her body, and I'm thinking that this could have upset her balance - and brought on a condition similar to that experienced by Sophite Syndrome sufferers.

I'm wondering if anybody else is suffering similar symptoms as the result of Scoliosis Surgery?