Scoliosis at 39...What are my options?

I'm 39 years old and was told by my doctor 11 years ago that I had Scoliosis.  At the time I was working, going to school and had insurance.  I was diagnosed while I was there for the removal of a cyst.  I asked what the treatment was and was told I would have to wear a back brace fro a year.  I was an Electrician at the time and that wasn't an option.  The doctor asked me if I had any pain and at the time I didn't.  The doctor said in the future I would.  I wish I would have taken care of it then.  I don't understand how my Scoliosis wasn't caught when I was younger.  

Over the last few years, the pain has become unbearable.  I was recently laid off from work.  My workplace didn't offer health insurance.  The pain when I wake up often renders me helpless.  It puts me into a depression.  Without health insurance i've had to resort to getting pain meds off the streets.  I've been on the pain meds for the last year and a half.  It was the only way I could go to work without being in pain.  I can't afford the pain meds off the streets anymore since I was laid off.  The pain med that seem to work without making me drowsy is Roxy.  I also take either Zanax or Valium to keep my head from dwelling on the pain.

I've tried the over-the-counter pain meds.  I was up to almost 30 Ibuprofen a day.  My liver was taking a beating.  I've tried just about every pain med out there.  Roxy seems to be the only one that actually works and gives me a little pep for work.  People don't understand what chronic back pain can do to you physically and psychologically.  I'm looking for options.  My left arm is starting to go numb now.  I thought it would go away after a couple days.  I thought maybe I slept on it wrong.  Then I started to do some research on Scoliosis and found out that the numbness is one of the symptoms.  I've also started to look into back braces.  The kind of work I do is physical.  Being an Electrician is what I went to school for.  I'm 39 and feel like I have the body of an old man.  The pain and the depression is wearing on me.

I asked some friends about getting help from the government for my condition.  They told me if I get unemployment benefits I make too much.  I haven't been to a doctor in a long time.  Which doctor should I go to If I decide to make an appointment?  I can't afford to go to one doctor and be referred to another.  Do I tell them what i've tried on my own to relieve the pain?  How do I express to them the amount of pain that i'm really in?