I am going three times a week for 12 weeks then I'll be getting x rays again. Then twice a week for 12 weeks. Then once a week after that. He said it would take at least a year for the spine to be somewhat straight. The cost for me is do-able but on top of my regular doctor is a little much. I wish I could get massages too!
This sounds reasonable for all of your problems that you mentioned earlier. Long ago I was diagnosed with scoliosis and it took a long time to correct it. I learned a lot from the chiropractor I worked for. He had charts on his walls that showed that treatments needs to be intense at first to re-align the spine, then you can gradually reduce the frequency. I don't think it was a marketing gimmick.
I'm under the impression that chiropractics know where the misalignments are, and know how far you've progressed, and that the x-rays are mostly for the benefit of the patient. You could ask him if the x-rays are really necessary.
The reason I mentioned massage is because there may be some soreness as the soft tissue responds to bones becoming re-aligned, plus at least one chiropractor has told me that getting a massage could allow you to hold an adjustment longer, and therefore not need adjustments as often, but that will have to be a judgment you and/or your chiropractor makes.
A good chiropractor should be able to relieve acute pain (i.e. reduce your pain level from a 7 to a 4 in a few days). That's not enough to fix an underlying problem if the spinal alignment is bad. For a spine that's out of alignment, but not causing much acute pain, you won't know much is happening until there's a roadblock. Someone mentioned ribs getting out of place. I've had a lot of acute pain from ribs (t-12?) hurting; I would get some relief from the visit, but it took a lot of treatments to get to the point where they no longer moved around or caused pain. There was one time after a visit when I was driving home where I was shifting around in my seat and flexing my back, and a rib popped back into place. I felt immediate relief! But I had to keep coming back for visits to keep that rib from wandering.
Several chiropractors have said that pain is the last sign/symptom that something is wrong, so all chiropractors I've seen have recommended monthly visits, even if I'm not in pain.