Hey all

I've recently been diagnosed with scoliosis (spine curving). Well, I knew something was a little wrong for years, since pretty much all of my body is asymmetrical. Doctors and my parents were no help though, and it's taken me until I'm 23 to work out what I have! I suppose my condition isn't severe (at least it's not life threatening), but I do have moderate spinal curves at the base of my neck (pretty rare, apparently), and in the middle of my chest. It pushes my right shoulder up, and the right clavicle forwards (goodbye nice fitting bra straps...), as well as pushing my left chest forwards, and my neck also tilts to the right. Sometimes there's pain (usually just aches and annoyances), but occasionally I get severe, almost blinding pain in my left shoulder/neck. Nobody's ever noticed it though, since I've tended to wear heavy clothing.

That's by the by though. I'm almost certain that my denial about these issues put off transitioning--it was easier to live as a man, hiding my deformities, then as a woman with them in the open. I'm not sure exactly how I feel now (I feel all sorts of things), but I've put off transitioning until I can see a specialist, in about a month's time. I'm also trying not to worry about my scoliosis until then.

I'm not quite sure why I feel so down recently, but I suppose it's because  my life's hard enough with being a 6'3'' non-passing (at the moment) transwoman, but having skeletal issues complicates things.

I've heard from transwomen, and people with scoliosis, but not both so far. Talking to people with one thing or the other is helpful, but nobody can really understand what I'm going through at the moment.

Are there any out there?

I have a lot of posture problems.... after seeing a especialist many years ago (when I was 18 year old) I was diagnosed with kyphosis and lordosis (not scoliosis though). Until there it was not a big problem for me. As an overweight male concerned only with studies my posture was the minor of my problems.

Today I see how important they are. It's been difficult for me to walk with a more feminine posture because my head just wants to be a lot forward and my back ends looking huge because of my bad posture. Terrible!  I look like an ostrich! 

I am considering seeing a doctor again, but I'm not sure if I want to take of my shirt and allow a doctor to see an apparent male with obviously female breasts.

I totally have it! The left side of my body got paralyzed as a kid, and now it's all wonky from years of right-side compensation. I didn't know this until last year!

Is yours functional or structural scoliosis? That is, are the muscles and tendons in poor placement, or are the bones themselves twisted up? I have the functional kind, and that can be corrected. I have an awesome friend, who's a physical therapist, who's helping me recover.

Work on your posture and basic balance exercises to help get things situated. Beyond that, see a physical therapist.

I have sever scoliosis my curve is left/right and front back. Occasionally someone will refer to my "big shoulder" and I tend to react angrily.

It is hard to be social when it feels like the first thing people see. I had full fusion last year and it helped with the pain and minorly with my posture.

Hey Mugwort, my scoliosis is structural. Posture exercises help, but they can't correct what I have. Maybe I'll go for surgery eventually.

I'm so sorry sagitilicious, nobody should be talked to like that! Pointing out someone's asymmetries to them is pointless: if you have them, chances are you notice them too! You might as well ask Obama if he's noticed that he's black recently.

Mine is mild, I had a friend with a pretty sever case of it. She was in a brace 22 hours a day from 6 months to 9 years of age. The cut the bone in one leg to lengthen it to help make up for some of the twist. She leads a basically normal life now and it is hard to notice now. Without the brace at a young age, her liver and lungs would have failed to keep her doing well if not costing her, her life.

Don't sweat it. This guy has scoliosis, too!



Edit: I mean that to be encouraging. I'm not trying in any way to downplay the ->-bleeped-<- you might have to deal with.