A question to People who either have experience with or suffer from Scoliosis?

I have scoliosis and have had the surgery myself so can hopefully help you,thingies are the metal or titanium rods,often they use two i have only the one though called the Harrington rod,mine is attached with hooks and wires,i never had a brace but hear its very uncomfortable but i did have a cast for 6 months after surgery which was not as bad as it all sounds,

after my operation i am not longer able to bend my back is very stiff,it wont twist at the waist either but surprisingly it isn't that much of a bother to me i have adapted well,but it really depends on how much of your spine they fuse so more fused the stiffer your back is going to end up,but apart from being stiff pretty much feel the same,

waking up as in pain? no pain at the start then it happens afterwards it is a hot feeling pain that aches and stings all at once,but your not much aware as you tend to drift in and out of sleep for the first few days plus they provide good pain relief so its bearable,i say 10 out of 10 then it gradually fades to a 4 out of 10 in the week,

your groggy when you wake and you can feel cold i was shivering as body temperature drops after anaesthetic this is normal but i spoke up and they warmed me up with more covers and stuff,so its not bad as many say it is,sorry about the brace answer but i have seen others with them but never had any myself only the plaster cast i mentioned as some need bracing after an operation but this varies,

will add a link for scoliosis support they are a forum so you can ask/answer question on it or simply chat to others with scoliosis and share experiences,you will notice many will say different as i say it varies between patients depending on the fusion involved,

http://scoliosis-support.org/

hope this helps.