5 years since my scoliosis Dx - Where I've started and where I am now

I can't believe it's been five years since my scoliosis diagnosis. Unfortunately, the diagnosis was rocky. My spinal condition was determined by a chiropractor. Chiropractic care, while helpful to many people, tends to be looked down upon by some doctors. Dr. Thomas Ballantine from Harvard Medical School puts it simply:

“The confrontation between medicine and chiropractic [...] is more in the nature of an effort by an informed group of individuals to protect the public from fraudulent health claims and practices.”

I created this comic in September, 2010 at the age of 19 when I was first diagnosed with scoliosis. Humor has been my favorite coping mechanism.

However, while chiropractic cannot serve as a cure but rather a treatment for back and neck pain, chiropractors are forced to undergo insanely stringent classes and training before they can ever actually practice chiropractic methods. Point being, they can be helpful in determining spinal conditions and addressing various methods of treatment. Without a chiropractor, I wouldn't have known (at least not anytime soon!)

During my first visit with my chiropractor, he told me to walk down the hallway and pointed out to my then-boyfriend that I had scoliosis. My boyfriend and I asked how he could tell, and he pointed out that one of my feet dragged on the ground harder than the other. He explained that my hips were uneven, and that's why one of my footsteps was heavier. A few minutes later, I was presented with these x-rays as proof that he was correct.

Unfortunately, doctors didn't accept these x-rays. An FNP at my college ordered x-rays for me that would be medically acceptable. I did them right away. The doctors overlooking my x-rays told the FNP that my spine was basically smushed up against my muscles, causing them to spasm. (I still don't know how true this is. They were not aware of my autoimmune disease, as it had not been uncovered yet. So that particular diagnosis could be incorrect.) I was prescribed muscle relaxers.

Though my x-rays show a clear, visual curvature of the spine, they were not considered medically sound and had to be retaken, only to be promptly lost. So frustrate, much typical, wow!

When I got a primary care physician, I learned that my x-rays had been lost. Just...lost. I don't even know how. My PCP didn't care anyway; he did one series of blood tests, took no heed to check out my spine, and misdiagnosed me. I got a new PCP, but I could only see him every 3 to 6 months which was not acceptable after 2 years of not being able to sit down and discuss my problems. I got a new PCP, who finally ordered a third set of x-rays. Just my luck, she's on maternity leave, but at least she's been good on her word and her efforts have thus far proven fruitful.

Now I need my current PCP to analyze blood work and look at my new x-rays which will happen in November. (Booooo...)

Either way, it's been an insane (and sometimes very painful) five years, and I'm still not entirely done getting diagnosed!