I'm getting a blamed MRI!

[Blue Ginger]

LewisLegion, I have been going to a Chiropractor since I was four. My chiro is the only reason I can walk without being in pain.

However, I have never heard of a naturopath doing bone/joint adjustments. My naturopath makes really good creams and shampoos for my super sensitive skin. But when my hips are out of whack, I go straight to my Chiro. Are you sure you shouldn't be seeing a Chiropractor?

My hip joints are pretty messed up thanks to me coming out feet first and the doc pulling between contractions, not with them. The hips were only slightly out of alignment, so it never showed up on x-rays. My grandfather's GP/Chiro/Naturopath was the one who saw what was wrong.

I now visit my Chiropractor about 3 times a year and wear orthotic (sp?) inserts in my shoes. The inserts basically (in the words of my chiro) push the arch in the right place, which makes the muscles in the knee stay in place and keeps the hips even. Which also helps my back. Tilted hips caused my spine to curve.

I second the corset idea too. I use a sleeping corset. It basically has soft plastic boning that is more concentrated on the back and stomach. Mine goes from my hips to just under my boobs. It has helped heaps with my spine. Fortunately, I don't have to worry about being top heavy. I was 18 before I was out of training bras.

[LewisLegion]

Noted. Thank you, Panacea

Der Cute, C would be nice. Honestly, I'm to the point I'd rather just have them completely removed and not even need a training bra, I'm so sick of the darned things.

[Sapphire Silk]

I have not, however, tried corsets. That's an interesting thought...I will check it out

Take care with the type of corset you try.

Victorian style and Edwardian style corsets are actually very unhealthy to wear on a regular basis because they restrict your ability to breathe properly. (Side note: I actually have research studies done by physicians in the late 19th century that prove a significant reduction in tidal volume, or the amount of air you can breathe in). This is due to the boning, or whale bone, used to make the corset, whose purpose is also to tighten the waist.

Medieval or Renaissance style corsets (stays) don't have that problem, and are more comfortable to wear on a regular basis. You might try a bustier (bustiere); you should be able to find them in lingerie stores. Modern ones are made with mesh, and some are designed to be outerwear rather than underwear.

[Food Lady]

D- I had a neighbor who had corsets made for her. Loved them.

[Der Cute]

I have. Some work better than others but none take care of the problem. I've been seeing specialists since I developed (I literally went from completely flat to a DD within six months) and actually had to wear nursing bras for a while as nothing else would work!

6 months? Holy boobage Batman! Ow. I gained 30 #s in a few months and that kind of hurt.

Honey, I'd bite the bullet and get 'er done. You need it - just think, wouldn't that give the hip issue a lot more leeway? If your center of gravity is boobland, that itself will mess up your back/hips/rest of body. Reduce the mass, change posture, possibly do a longer lasting hip reset.

Hugs...ow. Want my C+ or D- boobies?

[LewisLegion]

For the breast problems, have you tried different sorts of bras?

I have. Some work better than others but none take care of the problem. I've been seeing specialists since I developed (I literally went from completely flat to a DD within six months) and actually had to wear nursing bras for a while as nothing else would work! Do you know how humiliating it is for a kid in gym class in junior high to wear a nursing bra?

From the moment I developed doctors told me I would need a reduction but that I couldn't have one until I was in my early twenties and had stopped developing. I have since found excuses not to get one done (even though docs keep telling me I need one, even now) because I don't want to have surgery, and on me it's going to be a major surgery and some serious recovery time.

I have not, however, tried corsets. That's an interesting thought...I will check it out

[Shalom]

One of the first things she looks for whenever she has to move is a shoe repair store that can modify shoes as well as repair them.

You're in Joisey? Try Correct Shoe Fitters in Rutherford; they're mostly sales, but their repairman does that sort of thing as well. I saw a shoe there once with a 5" sole lift. I realise Rutherford isn't that close to the Shore, but if you happen to be up this way sometime, it's worth a shot.

[ArcticChicken]

For the breast problems, have you tried different sorts of bras? My breasts are huge, I'm not sure exactly on the size, because my local bra place just brings me bras, but before I started loosing weight I was DD or DDD, and while I've lost band size, my breasts themselves haven't shrunk, stupid birth control pills.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say, is I went to my local bra specialist and said "I'm having shoulder and neck problems because of my boobs." and they went and grabbed a bra off the shelf that, frankly, works miracles. They're expensive, but I love them.

If you don't have a specialist place you can go, you might try a long-line bra, or a loosely laced corset, something to shift some of the weight from your shoulders and back to your hips.

[LadyAndreca]

My mom's been wearing those insoles since I was in grade school. She was misdiagnosed as having one leg shorter than the other, when in fact she had scoliosis. So she was being given the right solution for the wrong problem and didn't find out the truth for years. (She wondered once, years later, if that wasn't intentional on the part of the first doctor, as a diagnosis of scoliosis would have had her medically discharged from the Army. But she had no proof and it didn't really matter at that point.)

When she's not wearing the insoles, she has to have one shoe built up. It makes finding shoes hell for her, because it has to be a shoe where the cushioning can be cut apart (air/gel pockets = bad), but she's also got narrow feet so her selection is severely limited to begin with. One of the first things she looks for whenever she has to move is a shoe repair store that can modify shoes as well as repair them.

[LewisLegion]

If your GP doesn't want to do the MRI, ask for a referall to an orthopedist.

I will do so. Honestly I'm HOPING surgery won't help and something else can be done...like I said, I don't want surgery but this has to end somehow. Adjustments are not working. I will mention the insoles to both my docs and see their thoughts.

[Sapphire Silk]

I have a twisted pelvis, according to my naturopath. He says its tilted down to the left as well as the right side twisted forward.<snip>

I did have a set of xrays done years ago when I first started feeling pain in my hip. My doc at the time said my hips looked fine and that was that. Now I'm seriously ready to walk into my regular doc and demand an MRI. I don't really want to have surgery (part of the reason I haven't gotten a reduction before now) but I am so sick of the pain and walking like I'm ninety years old half the time when I'm only 35.

I can sympathize. I've got some hip issues of my own. I got worked up for them on the recommendation of my pediatrician, but the orthopedist didn't think there was anything wrong. I probably have very mild hip dysplagia (my hip "clicks" when I rotate it certain ways).

Bear in mind, even if your naturopath is right (and I'm not saying he is wrong), there may not be anything surgically that can be done. There may however, be other treatment options to help with your pain. I certainly hope so.

If your GP doesn't want to do the MRI, ask for a referall to an orthopedist.

[Shalom]

insoles for her shoes-one is thicker than the other,

Sounds like Foot Levelers. Highly recommended; been wearing them for years myself. My chiropractor prescribed them to keep my pelvis leveled (I also tended to get the one longer leg, although not to the extent that LL described), but I'm mostly wearing them because if I don't, the plantar fasciitis comes back. Ask your naturopath to check them out, although they might only be available through chiropractors.

[BlaqueKatt]

I'm so sick of this.

I have a twisted pelvis, according to my naturopath. He says its tilted down to the left as well as the right side twisted forward. Because of this, my right leg is about a half inch to an inch shorter than my left leg.

My sister has a similar problem, and she got help from a chiropractor, not via adjustments but via insoles for her shoes-one is thicker than the other, and there is some kind of balance test she does to make sure they're correctly adjusted in her shoes(holds her fingers in the "a-ok" hand sign, and if you can't pul her index finger and thumb apart they're adjusted correctly)....just throwing that out there....

[LewisLegion]

I'm so sick of this.

I have a twisted pelvis, according to my naturopath. He says its tilted down to the left as well as the right side twisted forward. Because of this, my right leg is about a half inch to an inch shorter than my left leg. This explains all my lower back pain, my hip pain, and the fact that even when I DON'T hurt (rare) I still limp. On my good days I walk funny. On my bad days I walk with a cane. Whenever I sit physically straight, I feel like I'm leaning to one side, turning to one side, and bent over. I also seriously need a breast reduction (I'm a DD).

My naturopath adjusts me once a week. It helps...right after the adjustment. There are some days I'll feel good for a couple hours after...most days I can literally feel my pelvis and lower back reshifting into its twist before I even get out to the car. He seems perfectly content with just letting me come in once or twice a week to adjust me. I, however, want an end to this.

I did have a set of xrays done years ago when I first started feeling pain in my hip. My doc at the time said my hips looked fine and that was that. Now I'm seriously ready to walk into my regular doc and demand an MRI. I don't really want to have surgery (part of the reason I haven't gotten a reduction before now) but I am so sick of the pain and walking like I'm ninety years old half the time when I'm only 35.