You may have noticed that I have stopped blogging here.I started a blogger.com blog because let's face it - MySpace is more annoying than anything else, well I find this anyway. I will not leave MySpace because I have so many wonderful friends and contacts here and who knows, maybe one day I will need some of those friends!If you want to keep reading my blog posts then you may do so by going to my ScoliosisNutty blog

I have also just launched my new website, it took me a year to get it up there because I have been working on it in between pain and work - check it out :)

Scoliosis website - treatment, support, exercise

Thanks for listening and thanks for your support over the years, try and be pain free everyone and take care - maybe I will see you over at the blog!

I have had Scoliosis since 1989 and had surgery with a Harrington rod for correction. I have heard many Drs say "Scoliosis doesn't cause pain", well, I have Scoliosis and it does cause pain, I have been struggling to walk these past few days because of the load bearing on my back, I have been walking bent over forward and having to take pain killers because I couldn't cope with the pain.

I am living proof that SCOLIOSIS DOES CAUSE PAIN! I am usually very strong in these situations but sometimes the pain is just too much that I want to curl up and die, feeling sorry for yourself isn't great I know but sometimes, can we really help it?

I a member of many Scoliosis support forums and I know hundreds of Scoliosis patients who will agree that their Scoliosis also causes them pain, granted it may not be the Scoliosis itself that is causing the pain but hang on a minute.............the Scoliosis is causing my spine to bend in the direction of it's choosing so surely that comes back to the Scoliosis causing my discs/joints/ligaments to be painful, if the Scoliosis wasn't there, they wouldn't be in pain now would they?

I would love to hear from other Scoliosis patients about their pain tolerance and their pain levels.

Check out my website or join my Scoliosis support group

I have Scoliosis and had surgery for correction in 1989 and have a Harrington Rod a bit about me

I have a mattress from OroMed HealthCare which is memory foam and has a recess to help support spine and neck, this mattress is new on the market and they have world wide patents for the mattress.

I used to have problems sleeping because my harrington "rod" pokes out at the top of my spine, a conventional mattress was no good for me, I couldn't sleep on my back and my side is an issue because of the numbness I have there, which is from my operation.

They have recessed the mattress and designed a shaped pillow to fit into it. The result is a sleeping position that removes the body pressure from the shoulder and allows your spine and neck to rest naturally in a straight line, thus relieving the aches, pains and discomforts normally associated with conventional beds.

Below is an image of the insides of the mattress for a clearer view of how it works.


Even the most expensive mattresses cannot relieve the pressure where the shoulder presses into the mattress until now! The combination of the Oro mattress with its unique "pressure relief comfort recess" and the specially designed pillow have now changed all that. You will wake up feeling rested and refreshed. In fact, you might find it hard to believe that so much comfort can come from such a simple idea.

I have the high/lo profiling version of their bed and I also have the massage package which is just great for me, having a massage for someone with Scoliosis can be quite an ordeal, who do you trust to touch your back, do they understand Scoliosis even?

Their bed is the world's first and only automatically adjustable bed. It actually senses the change of the position from the one you were sleeping in and readjusts the bed automatically while you are asleep.

They offer a free trial of their bed at your home or you can try it out in Harrow, where they have a bed there on show at the disability living foundation.

If you want more advice about the bed you can see that on my website or their own site, or you may email me directly.

Join me on Bebo if you are a member :)

Not sure how many Scoliosis patients keep a pain diary but I find it a great way to keep a log of how I am feeling and if I go and see a Dr and he asks me how it felt I can show him my pain diary and I always find I go quiet when asked as I can't remember the actual symptoms so keeping a pain diary is great for both scenarios.

Scoliosis Pain Diary

Full article on ScoliosisNutty website

I read a very interesting article on Espine news about sweets and pain so I thought I would discuss this for a moment, it caught my attention somewhat and so I looked back at the times when I have been in constant pain, did eating sweets or chocolate help my pain or was it all in mind?

Sweet foods have always been associated with "comfort eating" does this equate to the same feeling when in pain? Is it similar to comfort eating or is there more science behind this claim?

We all know that the fattier the food the tastier it is, this is because cutting out fat, will take away the palatability of food, fatty foods always taste nicer and this is due to the fat triggering the taste buds.

Nutritionists and other scientists have said for years that fat only provides texture to foods, and that pure fat itself doesn't have any taste. Fat has been thought to be a flavor carrier that could deliver taste and odor compounds derived from different parts of food, and as a component that provided texture and what food scientists call "mouth feel" in foods.

However, over recent years we have found this claim to be wrong and humans can indeed taste fat.

In a recent study carried out relating to sweets and pain and whether sweets do actually help Chronic Pain sufferers. ScienceBlog explains:

"They started with three types of smells: sweet and pleasant (caramel), unsweet and pleasant (after shave), and unpleasant (civet musk, which I hear smells awful). The inclusion of both sweet and unsweet pleasant smells allowed Prescott and Wilkie to distinguish between the analgesic effects of the pleasantness of the smell from that of the sweetness (apparently these two properties had been confounded in previous studies). The smells were placed on the inside of a mask, which participants were told was used to measure their breathing rate so that they would have no knowledge of the experiment's purpose. Participants put on the mask, and then placed their hands into a vat of water at 5° Celsius (41° Fahrenheit) for up to 4 minutes. They did this in two trials, separated by 15 minutes, one trial with the smell and one without (they wore the mask for both). The key measure was how long participants kept their hand in the cold water. Prescott and Wilkie also asked them to rate how intense the pain was right after putting their hands in, thirty seconds later, and when they pulled their hands out of the water."

So, my question to all Chronic pain sufferers out there, do you find sweets and chocolates help combat your Chronic pain or is it just a state of the mind, where the fat is released into the body giving you relief for a short space of time because your brain is now concentrating on the fat you have just given yourself?

Whether this appears to be true or not, try eating a few choccies or sweets next time your pain is unbearable and this might help you tolerate it more and get on with your day! ;)

No doubt all of us women suffer from the inevitable period pains, but why do we? Isn't it enough that us women who also have Scoliosis pain have to suffer with this extra pain every single month??

And of course, let's not forget that those of us who suffer from on-going pain from a disease or condition have the added "extra" pains if something else should go wrong, for instance if I get a cold you can guarantee that this cold will attack my spine and lumbar even more just to rub it in!!!!

My period has the same effect, once the blood starts to flow the pain increases to gigantic proportions and then I get lost within the realms of should I take more pain killers or ride this out? I can never get comfortable and I know that this is going to take 5 days before I can have some relief, in fact after a period and my "normal" daily pain resumes I almost look forward to it.

The beginning of women's menstrual cycles is usually at about 12 years of age, with the development of breasts and pubic hair usually occurring one or two years earlier. Menstrual cycles normally take place between 21 and 35 days, with the average being about 28 days.

Menstrual flow can last from three to five days with some women suffering even longer periods than this. The first day of menstrual bleeding marks the onset of the follicular phase. During the early part of this phase, blood levels of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone are both low. Toward the latter part of the follicular phase, estrogen secretion rises to a peak, just prior to ovulation.

Ovulation usually occurs around midcycle (between days 13 and 15), although stress and a variety of other factors could cause ovulation to be delayed or missed. The luteal phase lasts from ovulation until the onset of the next menses, normally about 14 days. This phase can also be affected by external factors.

Estrogen levels remain high-although not as high as immediately before ovulation-and progesterone also increases. These reproductive hormones can cause some physiological and psychological symptoms, described later. If implantation of a fertilized ovum does not occur, falling hormone levels will lead to shedding of the uterine lining (the endometrium) as menstrual flow, and the cycle begins again.

Certain symptoms suggest ovulation. They include breast tenderness, fluid retention, appetite changes and mood changes during the second half of the cycle. In moderation, they signal that the neuroendocrine axis is working as it should. In excess, they can become troublesome as premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Painful menstrual cramps and heavy flow are termed dysmenorrhea. Scientists believe that regular physical exercise may be beneficial in reducing the severity of these latter two conditions - hmmm and what about the Scoliosis patient who struggles to exercise and keep fit because their pain is so extreme - I find this pain fight a constant struggle, usual daily life is fine, I can cope, but when my menstrual cycle starts to attack and bleeding occurs, it is almost impossible to keep fighting.

In Italy women are of the opinion that us women should not shower while we are menstruating, yes, wash, but standing under hot water stops the blood flow, this I cannot agree with personally as this is my relief from the constant pain bearing down on my lumbar, perhaps this is an angle I should try and attack next time around?

Having a hysterectomy at such a young age of 30 seems a bit drastic to me but perhaps this is the only option I have in getting rid of this monthly pain but then what if my partner and I decide that we want a birth child (even though we are adopting from China), this option would no longer be available for me. I get annoyed with having to keep reeling through these emotions all the damn time, there is no easy option for us, if I was to take a pill that stops the period, this again is no good as the body needs to release the waste that comes from having our periods . aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am constantly looking for a way out from this pain, if anyone can help me or other Scoliosis sufferers fight this monthly struggle then please do come forward and give me some tips!

I have been using herbal tea Blackcurrant, Vanilla and Ginseng to help ease some of this monthly pain as the Ginseng does help, perhaps this is just mind over matter but either way it has helped. Heat pads are useful of course but when I am in Spain and the weather is over 35º having a heat pad on as well can be a bit much ;)

Herbs and Food that may help with pain relief

Had a bad day today but also a good day in a strange way, I had to have a mole removed and that upset me very much, I am so scared of needles that I go to another planet because I freak out so much.

I wasn't aware what was happening because the Dr told me that the mole didn't look too bad but then changed his mind once he had his boss look at me, so, I was sitting there thinking "brilliant I can go home", oh no! He went to see if the room was ready for me removal - I lost the plot and went into shock I think, not from the mole removal but from the injection I had to have to administer the local anaesthetic, the Dr thought I was concerned about having a scar! LOL

I have 2 ugly scars on my back so I wouldn't be concerned about that ;) What's one more when I already have a back full!

The incision is 2 inches across and very deep, the Dr was very good I have to admit and the nurse held my hand during the needle going in, my husband was also there for moral support and let me scratch him to bits hehehe, anyway back to the reason I said it was a good day also - because I have pain elsewhere I am not focusing on my lumbar pain as much as I now have the mole removal site to worry about instead ;)

I am not sure how I am going to cope sleeping tonight because I am in the UK so the bed I am sleeping on here is not as good as the bed I have at home in Spain, memory foam mattress, which moulds to me but the bed I have here in the UK is a bit on the soft side and is just a conventional mattress. Sleeping on my side is going to be an issue as I sleep on my left hand side and then of course the right arm is bent at the elbow, across my body, but the mole site is just under my collar bone so the skin is very sore and tight so when I lay on my side it smarts a bit.

The stitches come out in 7 days so roll on 26th June so I can get back to normal, we take for granted how we move our arms, especially the arm we write with, and I am right handed, it is also surprising to notice how much we use that part of our body so even the small task like washing my hair was difficult, so much so that my Mother did it for me.

We had some good news at the end of the week about our adoption process and the Social Worker suggested that we would pass panel with no problems at all, this was fantastic news of course and with us being in the UK instead of Spain we had no choice but to celebrate with our "different" friends and go to the local pub.

This always throws me into a dilemma, I am such an out-going person but my Scoliosis always plays a major part in everything I do these days, including going out and having a good time!

I refuse to take all the drugs that the Drs think you should take so that life can continue as normal for you, well I have a bad habit of drinking instead when we go out but drink myself to the point where it becomes ridiculous and I get so drunk I struggle to stand, yes, go on write in and tell me I am a fool.............I already know it!

The thing is I strive so much to be like everyone else who take for granted a night out in the pub and the only thing they have to worry about the next day is that nasty hangover, so, is drinking when you have Scoliosis the real social drug killer?

I do know that my personality carries this Social Drinking trait but why do I continue to go out and over compensate my Scoliosis?

Pain relief comes in many forms and unfortunately those of who suffer regularly get what relief they can and in what format this comes in and when I want to go out and enjoy myself this always entails me drinking too much and ruining it for those who are around me.

I wish I could change that part of my personality but I have always been a clubber and I made a deal with myself when I had surgery that Scoliosis would not change that, I seem to be fighting that little bit harder these days :)

Well, here is the start of another week, I am hoping I won't suffer too much pain this week, I started the last 2 weeks with having to stay in bed because of the bad lumbar pain and I was unable to walk - struggling with balance issues.

I did however, have a great weekend, here in Spain we have just had International Day which is a 4 day Fair where all the nations get together and they have a a different bar showing their own food, music and beer for each country, it is a great 4 days and really nice to see all those nations coming together and getting along - makes a change these days!

The news about the new Gene that the Texas researchers have foundand I hope this is good news for those who are just finding out that they have Scoliosis, perhaps in the next few years this new Gene can make a world of difference. I have also decided to share my pain diary blog, I was going to keep this to myself as it is very personal but decided what the hell I will share it, maybe people I am meeting here can relate :D

Scoliosis Pain Diary

See you all soon no doubt

Nutty