Hi Jenna, and welcome to the back board!
I have scoliosis, too. Mine was ignored for too long when I was young and by the time I had it treated at age 18, they just fused me without correcting it. I had a 75 degree curve fused that way. But that was a long time ago. I'm now 51. I developed osteoporosis in my early 40's and it made my spine break down. I had to have another fusion, this time re-fusing part of the old fusion and going all the rest of the way down. My surgeon is the sweetest doctor you could ever find! He said he felt so bad that they couldn't do any more for me, but hey, he kept me out of a wheelchair, where I was quickly headed.
Okay, there's a point to all this. My surgeon said that technology has come a long way since my first fusion. He said that today, they'd never leave me like this, with an uncorrected curve. They couldn't correct it now because I was already fused, but if I were 21 and had not had a fusion already, they could correct it!
Because you've more than likely finished growing, a brace probably wouldn't do much for you. If you're having significant pain, you might want to consider surgery. It's a big surgery with a long recovery, but you're young and will probably bounce right back. Also, because you're so young, you probably have a lot of years ahead of you. It would be a shame to live them in pain if you don't have to.
Have you seen an orthopedic surgeon? That would be the place to start. He'll tell you if there are other options besides surgery and whether he thinks surgery would help you or not. My guess is that he'll recommend fusion surgery. My opinion, though I don't know you, is that it would be the best option. I still have pain, but it's nothing like the pain I was having before! I'd make the surgery decision again in a heartbeat if I had to go back and decide all over again.
If you have other questions, please post them. We'll do our best to help you from our own experiences.
I wish you the best,
Emily
