Thanks for the replies and support.
I did read the post Mark referenced. Steve55 mentioned osteomyelitis, but gave no detail. It's been anything but negligible in my life. Perhaps I'll reply to his post directly and ask...
Again, no diagnostic or exploratory procedures of any kind for many years. Aside from the basic low-level back pain I've been able to manage successfully, I've led a pretty healthy and active life. This is a completely new experience to be taken down so fully. The pharmacist who mixes and delivers my antibiotics said that the overwhelming majority of osteomyelitis cases he deals with are diabetics. We'll probably never know for certain how the staph entered my bloodstream and attacked my spine. Tomorrow I'm having an echocardiograph, entirely non-invasive, to make sure that the infection didn't touch my heart (at least I'm on antibiotics already!).
Maria, I'm very curious about your autofusion. It sounds as though you attribute at least some stability and pain relief to that process. Are your vertebrae well aligned? The fact that mine are offset causes me concern. The intermittent spasming and crippling pain that I'm currently experiencing is occurring only on the left side of my spine now. Previously, my problems were always bilateral. My scoliosis is convex to the right and I don't recall which vertebrae, L2-3, goes to the left or goes to the right. I'm having another X-ray in two weeks to see how the bones look. I get up on the right side of the bed, maybe I'm just tweaking my muscles unknowingly. My severe pain is generally initiated by raising from, or lowering to, a sitting position. Less frequently, I'll be struck when standing or walking. I do also have osteoporosis in my sacrum -- the docs did look for a sacral fracture via CT.
I very much appreciate this forum. Thanks again for the information and concern. The best to you all.
Cheers, Debra
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