Re: Newbie here

[Guest guest]

Hi Debbie

Welcome to the group!

I definitely felt the blues when i first put my braces on. I used to

break into tears suddenly without the least warning the first month

and this was after having had braces for 10 years when i was younger

so one would think i had gotten used to it. there's no way around it,

braces suck but they are a necessary part of the procedure for many

of us unfortunately. the good news is that the pain does eventually

go away, or rather you get used to it and it's not as bothersome.

stay positive and concentrate on the end result, that's what i do

when i hit a wall and ask myself why i'm doing this to myself.

Sara

>

> Hi All!

>

> I am so glad that I found this support group! I am a 45 year old

> woman (I don't feel that old)and just got braces less than 1 1/2

> weeks ago. In July I am supposed to have Palatal Expansion Surgery

> (upper jaw only) and feel like I need a lot more information

> (regarding procedures, stay in hospital?, recovery period, etc.). I

> have to admit that I am concerned as the adjustment to braces has

> been hard for me. In the first week my mouth was extremely sore (I

> couldn't concentrate on much of anything) and in this second week I

> find myself depressed. Is this normal? Shouldn't I be happy that I

> will eventually look better (I am doing the brace/surgery thing as

> my back teeth are wearing down/I was also a thumb sucker for many

> years when I was young).

>

> My husband is tired of hearing me complain (and my twin children

who

> are almost 8 definitely don't need to hear it - especially since my

> daughter will definitely need braces also). Has anyone else out

> there suffered the blues in the beginning of having braces and pre-

> surgery?

>

> Thanks for listening. Right now I'm drinking Chardonnay and feeling

> sorry for myself..........

[Guest guest]

> >

> > Hi All!

> >

> > I am so glad that I found this support group! I am a 45 year old

> > woman (I don't feel that old)and just got braces less than 1 1/2

> > weeks ago. In July I am supposed to have Palatal Expansion

Surgery

> > (upper jaw only) and feel like I need a lot more information

> > (regarding procedures, stay in hospital?, recovery period,

etc.). I

> > have to admit that I am concerned as the adjustment to braces

has

> > been hard for me. In the first week my mouth was extremely sore

(I

> > couldn't concentrate on much of anything) and in this second

week I

> > find myself depressed. Is this normal? Shouldn't I be happy that

I

> > will eventually look better (I am doing the brace/surgery thing

as

> > my back teeth are wearing down/I was also a thumb sucker for

many

> > years when I was young).

> >

> > My husband is tired of hearing me complain (and my twin children

> who

> > are almost 8 definitely don't need to hear it - especially since

my

> > daughter will definitely need braces also). Has anyone else out

> > there suffered the blues in the beginning of having braces and

pre-

> > surgery?

> >

> > Thanks for listening. Right now I'm drinking Chardonnay and

feeling

> > sorry for myself..........

[Guest guest]

Debbie,

It's funny, we are all so excited to get started and count down the

days til we get our braces, then when they get put on we wonder what

we've done to ourselves. They feel a little like a torture device,

don't they? I cried for the first couple of days after I got them

on, and my husband tried to be sensitive even though I know what he

was thinking, actually the same thing I would have been thinking if

I were in his shoes, " We're spending several thousands of dollars to

be depressed?!? " Everyone says around a month to get used to them,

and it's true, maybe even a little less. I just rolled wax into

little rolls and applied it over all my braces when I was at home

and at night for the first couple of weeks, and it worked great!

The time has flown for me. I've had mine on for almost a year, and

hadn't even realized it had been that long until someone I hadn't

seen for a while commented on the fact that I now had braces. Hope

this helps, and welcome to the group!

Connie

> > >

> > > Hi All!

> > >

> > > I am so glad that I found this support group! I am a 45 year

old

> > > woman (I don't feel that old)and just got braces less than 1

1/2

> > > weeks ago. In July I am supposed to have Palatal Expansion

> Surgery

> > > (upper jaw only) and feel like I need a lot more information

> > > (regarding procedures, stay in hospital?, recovery period,

> etc.). I

> > > have to admit that I am concerned as the adjustment to braces

> has

> > > been hard for me. In the first week my mouth was extremely

sore

> (I

> > > couldn't concentrate on much of anything) and in this second

> week I

> > > find myself depressed. Is this normal? Shouldn't I be happy

that

> I

> > > will eventually look better (I am doing the brace/surgery

thing

> as

> > > my back teeth are wearing down/I was also a thumb sucker for

> many

> > > years when I was young).

> > >

> > > My husband is tired of hearing me complain (and my twin

children

> > who

> > > are almost 8 definitely don't need to hear it - especially

since

> my

> > > daughter will definitely need braces also). Has anyone else

out

> > > there suffered the blues in the beginning of having braces and

> pre-

> > > surgery?

> > >

> > > Thanks for listening. Right now I'm drinking Chardonnay and

> feeling

> > > sorry for myself..........

[Guest guest]

Debbie-

It's funny - I've had my braces for about a year now - I too was SO excited

when I got them on - this adventure of fixing my teeth was finally beginning and

I just so excited. Then my mouth just hurt! I was so surprised and

dissappointed. I could hardly eat anything, and I just couldn't figure out the

wax. If I could have ripped them out of my mouth and thrown them out the window

I would have and not looked back!

At about the 2 week mark things got better, and by the time I got my first

adjustment at my OD things were a lot better.

I think now that it's a good thing I went through that so I can get ready for

the post-op universe when surgery happens in August.

I just keep telling myself that the smile of my dreams is worth it, and by

Christmas this will (hopefully) be water over the bridge.

Have your favorite flavor of shake (mine was a chocolate Fribble from

Friendly's) and hang in there!

Cyndy

Debbie Rainsbury-Carmel wrote:

Connie,

Thanks for your info! It helps me to realize that I'm not the only

one feeling like a " baby " about the braces. I did feel like the

first week was a kind of archaic torture & I would look at

kids/teenagers and wonder how they seemed to adjust just fine while

all I wanted to do was complain about my hurting mouth! It must be

harder for Adults? to have braces...

I'm also glad to know that the time will fly as tomorrow it will

have been two weeks for me with the braces on, but all I can think

about is how slow time has gone! Luckily I am starting to eat

more " normal " foods now...

Thanks again for your support.

Debbie

> > > >

> > > > Hi All!

> > > >

> > > > I am so glad that I found this support group! I am a 45 year

> old

> > > > woman (I don't feel that old)and just got braces less than 1

> 1/2

> > > > weeks ago. In July I am supposed to have Palatal Expansion

> > Surgery

> > > > (upper jaw only) and feel like I need a lot more information

> > > > (regarding procedures, stay in hospital?, recovery period,

> > etc.). I

> > > > have to admit that I am concerned as the adjustment to

braces

> > has

> > > > been hard for me. In the first week my mouth was extremely

> sore

> > (I

> > > > couldn't concentrate on much of anything) and in this second

> > week I

> > > > find myself depressed. Is this normal? Shouldn't I be happy

> that

> > I

> > > > will eventually look better (I am doing the brace/surgery

> thing

> > as

> > > > my back teeth are wearing down/I was also a thumb sucker for

> > many

> > > > years when I was young).

> > > >

> > > > My husband is tired of hearing me complain (and my twin

> children

> > > who

> > > > are almost 8 definitely don't need to hear it - especially

> since

> > my

> > > > daughter will definitely need braces also). Has anyone else

> out

> > > > there suffered the blues in the beginning of having braces

and

> > pre-

> > > > surgery?

> > > >

> > > > Thanks for listening. Right now I'm drinking Chardonnay and

> > feeling

> > > > sorry for myself..........

---------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Welcome to the group Carol. I only had one experience with bruising, nearly 7

years ago. It was not a Ponsti doctor/cast (long story)....anyway his toes

swelled up and turned blue, that was my first clue of trouble. The doc blew us

off and we ended up taking the casts off that night at home. His legs were in

horrible condition, purple, black, red.... In this case I think it was just a

bad cast, put on too tight, etc.

Taking a ten day break is going to set you back on progress but I guess that's a

small thing compared to pushing ahead with further problems. Did you notice any

toe swelling, etc? How often are her casts changed?

s.

Newbie here

Hi there!

My beautiful daughter was born almost a month ago with

bilateral club feet. She is being treated with the Ponseti method.

I have a couple of questions. First of all, both of her big toes

curve inward toward her other toes and the second toe on her left

foot sticks way up. Is this common for babies born with club feet?

The toes do not look to be in a normal position even when the feet

are held in a corrected position. (She has moderate club feet which

are responding very well to the casts and her right foot is almost

at correction with two casts. She will not need a tenotomy on that

foot.)

Also, after we removed her second cast, her legs were bruised and

her orthopedist recommended that we take a 10 day break with the

casting to give them time to heal. Her orthopedist was trained by

Dr. Ponseti and appears to be very careful and precise so we don't

believe he caused the problem with carelessness or ignorance. My

theory is that she grew too quickly for the casts. We are very tall

people and have big kids who grow quickly so I think that is what

happened. Has anyone else had this experience?

I am very new at dealing with this issue. I had three other

children without club feet before was born so I have lots of

questions. I look forward to getting some information and practical

tips and support here. I don't know anyone with a child with club

feet so I feel pretty alone in my struggle with . Thanks in

advance for any help,

Carol, mom to four kids, including an absolutely perfect baby girl

with club feet

[Guest guest]

Welcome !

DeeDee

California

[Guest guest]

Welcome, Carol and !

I can't help you with the curly-toes thing. Some extreme cases

where the toe bends under the foot are treated by " clipping " the

tendon. Some toes are taped to the other toes to help them

straighten out, and others are just left alone. Hopefully your

doctor can give you some advice on the tootsies.

How often is your doctor changing 's cast? If she's growing

too fast over the 7 day period, they've actually shown that the

casts can be changed every 5 days with success. Dr. Ponseti uses

this " every 5 day change " for families who have traveled to Iowa

City for treatment to shorten their length of stay.

Since will be out of the cast for 10 days, it's most likely

that she will lose all of the correction that she had. Hopefully,

it will go better the second time around for you.

If you don't mind sharing- what doctor/hospital is treating ?

There is a lot of good information in the files, links, and photos

sections on this site. Hopefully it will help you out. If you're

interested in researching some- here's a link to a website with

lists of Internet links concerning the Ponseti method:

http://members.tripod.com/ponseti_links-ivil

I hope this helps-

Regards,

& (3-16-00, left clubfoot)

http://ponseticlubfoot.freeservers.com/

>

> Hi there!

>

> My beautiful daughter was born almost a month ago with

> bilateral club feet. She is being treated with the Ponseti

method.

> I have a couple of questions. First of all, both of her big toes

> curve inward toward her other toes and the second toe on her left

> foot sticks way up. Is this common for babies born with club

feet?

> The toes do not look to be in a normal position even when the feet

> are held in a corrected position. (She has moderate club feet

which

> are responding very well to the casts and her right foot is almost

> at correction with two casts. She will not need a tenotomy on

that

> foot.)

>

> Also, after we removed her second cast, her legs were bruised and

> her orthopedist recommended that we take a 10 day break with the

> casting to give them time to heal. Her orthopedist was trained by

> Dr. Ponseti and appears to be very careful and precise so we don't

> believe he caused the problem with carelessness or ignorance. My

> theory is that she grew too quickly for the casts. We are very

tall

> people and have big kids who grow quickly so I think that is what

> happened. Has anyone else had this experience?

>

> I am very new at dealing with this issue. I had three other

> children without club feet before was born so I have lots

of

> questions. I look forward to getting some information and

practical

> tips and support here. I don't know anyone with a child with club

> feet so I feel pretty alone in my struggle with . Thanks in

> advance for any help,

>

> Carol, mom to four kids, including an absolutely perfect baby girl

> with club feet

>

[Guest guest]

LOL!

Re: Newbie here

Oh, that's why there were bruised!!!!! HA! Hey, I'm just kidding, I know

that feeling of checking toes all the time so I had to toss that in!

s.

Her toes were fine. I was obsessively checking them for a good return blood

flow when pressed.

[Guest guest]

Hello Carol - am a bit slow to reply.

My son is now virtually 2. He has bilateral cf and curly toes. His

big toes in particular curl upwards. Nail cutting is a nightmare as

they are also ridged and as (ha ha ha) hard as nails

Al's orthopaedic surgeon said that they may need to be pinned/nailed

(oh dear!!) when he is older but that will depend if they are a

problem. With luck he hopes they'll sort themselves out. They

certainly do look better than they did when he was small.

grows at a phenomenal rate - 3cm in 2 days and yep he still

grows at that rate. We watch his head grow in awe. It takes 4 days,

Day 1 top of forehead (very cranial)

Day 2 bottom of forehead (alien like as his chin is tiny)

Days 3 & 4 Oh phew he looks like again

They are all unique aren't they He's very normal with a few

surprising quirks.

Best wishes and welcome to the group.

>

> Hi there!

>

> My beautiful daughter was born almost a month ago with

> bilateral club feet. She is being treated with the Ponseti method.

> I have a couple of questions. First of all, both of her big toes

> curve inward toward her other toes and the second toe on her left

> foot sticks way up. Is this common for babies born with club feet?

> The toes do not look to be in a normal position even when the feet

> are held in a corrected position. (She has moderate club feet which

> are responding very well to the casts and her right foot is almost

> at correction with two casts. She will not need a tenotomy on that

> foot.)

>

> Also, after we removed her second cast, her legs were bruised and

> her orthopedist recommended that we take a 10 day break with the

> casting to give them time to heal. Her orthopedist was trained by

> Dr. Ponseti and appears to be very careful and precise so we don't

> believe he caused the problem with carelessness or ignorance. My

> theory is that she grew too quickly for the casts. We are very tall

> people and have big kids who grow quickly so I think that is what

> happened. Has anyone else had this experience?

>

> I am very new at dealing with this issue. I had three other

> children without club feet before was born so I have lots of

> questions. I look forward to getting some information and practical

> tips and support here. I don't know anyone with a child with club

> feet so I feel pretty alone in my struggle with . Thanks in

> advance for any help,

>

> Carol, mom to four kids, including an absolutely perfect baby girl

> with club feet

>