Re: Experience with DOC Band/Cranial Technologies in San Diego?

[Guest guest]

Amy,

From everything I have read about and from what everyone says, the DOC Band from

Cranial Tech is the best out there. I wish I was in an area that had a Cranial

Tech. I am in Northeast Ohio and the closest to me is two states away in

Chicago. You are lucky that you can get the treatment through them.

I would also agree with you about starting the process of getting the band

instead of more physical therapy. Eventhough your child is still young, there

is only a limited amount of time that they can be banded to fix this problem.

Why waste another month with PT that might not work? Maybe you could continue

PT and get her fitted for the band at the same time.

I " m new to this also! My son is 6 months and will be getting his head scanned

on Monday to be fit for a Hanger Band. I am anxious to get everything going.

Good with little

>

> I wrote last month regarding my then four month old daughter who was

diagnosed with plagiocephaly/brachycephaly. We have been going to physical

therapy and using repositioning for two months now. Today we went in for her 3rd

PT appt (also her five month birthday) and we are being referred to Cranial

Technologies in San Diego for her to be fitted for a DOC Band. The plagiocephaly

assymetry is now better at 5mm (it was 6 mm) but the brachycephaly is now at 98%

(we started at 99.5%), slightly impoved but not the kind of change the PT wanted

to see. The PT said we could try another month of repositioining before making a

referral but i'm skeptical if she could really improve enough in that period to

justify losing a month's time. Given the process, it will still be about five

weeks from today until she is actually wearing it and that's if there are no

insurance/referral issues. Does anyone have any advice for me on that? I hope

the numbers i'm using make sense- i'm new to this:-)

>

> I was told our insurance (Anthem Blue Cross HMO) will not cover a Starband.

I'm wondering if anyone could share their experiences with Cranial Technologies

and/or the DOC band in general. The responses I got last month were extremely

useful in helping me advocate for my daughter so thank you so much. I would

greatly appreciate any advice!

>

> Amy

> San Diego, CA

>

[Guest guest]

Hi there-

If the PT is treat torticollis, I would definitely stick with it, even after

getting the band. It's really important to get that treated so that there are no

long term issues down the road.

Cranial Tech has a great reputation. We went to the one in Charlotte and

absolutely loved them. I've heard good things about the San Diego office as

well, although I can't remember right now if there are any current members going

there. But you should be in good hands. Good luck!

Jake-2.5 (DOCBand Grad 9/08)

Jordan-5

> >

> > I wrote last month regarding my then four month old daughter who was

diagnosed with plagiocephaly/brachycephaly. We have been going to physical

therapy and using repositioning for two months now. Today we went in for her 3rd

PT appt (also her five month birthday) and we are being referred to Cranial

Technologies in San Diego for her to be fitted for a DOC Band. The plagiocephaly

assymetry is now better at 5mm (it was 6 mm) but the brachycephaly is now at 98%

(we started at 99.5%), slightly impoved but not the kind of change the PT wanted

to see. The PT said we could try another month of repositioining before making a

referral but i'm skeptical if she could really improve enough in that period to

justify losing a month's time. Given the process, it will still be about five

weeks from today until she is actually wearing it and that's if there are no

insurance/referral issues. Does anyone have any advice for me on that? I hope

the numbers i'm using make sense- i'm new to this:-)

> >

> > I was told our insurance (Anthem Blue Cross HMO) will not cover a Starband.

I'm wondering if anyone could share their experiences with Cranial Technologies

and/or the DOC band in general. The responses I got last month were extremely

useful in helping me advocate for my daughter so thank you so much. I would

greatly appreciate any advice!

> >

> > Amy

> > San Diego, CA

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Amy,

Sounds like our timeline is similar to yours.

We started repositioning and stretches that the pediatrician recommended for my

son's torticollis at 2 months. By that time, his right side was already very

flat and his ears were significantly misaligned. (We knew nothing about plagio

then.) We tried repositioning and neck stretches for 2 months with no

improvement. By this time, we'd done quite a bit of research and learned about

plagio and what the treatment options were. We were referred to a specialist at

4 months who recommended PT and (along with his pediatrician) didn't think

banding was necessary. We started PT at 4 months. My husband and I were both

growing increasingly uncomfortable with the way his head was looking and even

more uncomfortable with the recommendations by his doctors to do nothing about

it -- and just hope it self-corrected over time. After much research, we went

to Cranial Tech in Austin, Texas, on our own and we're so glad we did. His

assymetry was 17 mm by that time. He received his band on June 18 (at 5.5

months). He's been in the band now for 3 weeks and the improvement is

remarkable. He's had 3 consecutive weeks of significant growth spurts

(4mm/3mm/4mm) which have helped tremendously, according to CT. His ears already

look more closely aligned, too. CT will measure next week so we don't have

specific numbers for comparison -- but you actually have to know what you're

looking for now to even see the area that remains flat (which is concentrated

mostly towards the base of his neck and behind the ear.)

Amy at CT here in Austin is fantastic. She encouraged us to continue with the

PT, which we have done. (The PT confirmed today that his ears definitely look

more closely aligned. She was also very impressed with his progress. Prior to

getting the band, the PT seemed to be on the same page as the pediatrician and

specialist...recommending we keep doing the stretches and hope for improvement

over time.) Amy at CT recommended we continue with all the stretches long

after the band is off...upwards of 18 months. No one else has suggested this

but we will most definitely follow her advice so that the torticollis doesn't

end up a recurring problem. We are vigilant with his stretches...trying to fit

several sessions in every day as best we can. It is our understanding that this

has really helped speed his progress.

It is unlikely that our insurance (United Healthcare) will cover the band but we

decided that we'd go forward with the treatment and work on an appeal later. We

knew the clock was ticking and we were regretting that we'd already lost a

couple of months listening to the advice of the first pediatrician and

specialist.

We have been so pleased with CT here in Austin and very, very pleased with the

results we've already seen. We are glad we trusted our instincts and pursued

the band on our own...and didn't lose more time hoping for improvement with all

the other things that were recommended. If we had to do it over again, we would

run - not walk - to CT! Thankfully, the results have been great so far banding

at 5.5 months.

Hope this helps...good luck!

Jill

mom of Cade, 6 mo, DOC Band 6/18/09

>

> I wrote last month regarding my then four month old daughter who was

diagnosed with plagiocephaly/brachycephaly. We have been going to physical

therapy and using repositioning for two months now. Today we went in for her 3rd

PT appt (also her five month birthday) and we are being referred to Cranial

Technologies in San Diego for her to be fitted for a DOC Band. The plagiocephaly

assymetry is now better at 5mm (it was 6 mm) but the brachycephaly is now at 98%

(we started at 99.5%), slightly impoved but not the kind of change the PT wanted

to see. The PT said we could try another month of repositioining before making a

referral but i'm skeptical if she could really improve enough in that period to

justify losing a month's time. Given the process, it will still be about five

weeks from today until she is actually wearing it and that's if there are no

insurance/referral issues. Does anyone have any advice for me on that? I hope

the numbers i'm using make sense- i'm new to this:-)

>

> I was told our insurance (Anthem Blue Cross HMO) will not cover a Starband.

I'm wondering if anyone could share their experiences with Cranial Technologies

and/or the DOC band in general. The responses I got last month were extremely

useful in helping me advocate for my daughter so thank you so much. I would

greatly appreciate any advice!

>

> Amy

> San Diego, CA

>

[Guest guest]

Hi! I am new to this board as my daughter just got her DOC band on Monday from CT. I have been reading that a few of you had the same issue as I did with her pediatrician. He did not really discourage me from going for a consultation at CT, but he did seem to think that it would improve over time. Nina was in the hospital for 3-1/2 months after she was born, and is receiving PT, OT, Speech, and nutrition therapiest. Thankfully her physical therapist urged me to go have the evaluation, so I just went. They placed her in the severe category for plagiocephaly and said that it may not totally correct since she is older now. The first appointment we went to was when she was 13 months. I feel bad that I didn't get her there sooner, but even the physical therapist said that we probably could not have done it much sooner than that anyway. I am a little worried after reading that some of you were not able to get this covered by your insurance since she is probably going to need two of them and we have already paid for the first one out-of-pocket. We go back for her second visit on Monday. Unfortunately I think she will be out of it all weekend because it is too tight on her forehead. Anyway, so far CT has been great with helping me get together everything they need to send to the insurance company. Oh, and since we are new to this, does anyone have any decorating tips?

Thanks.

Joyce Caruthers

Plagiocephaly From: jillmckay@...Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:45:41 +0000Subject: Re: Experience with DOC Band/Cranial Technologies in San Diego?

Amy,Sounds like our timeline is similar to yours. We started repositioning and stretches that the pediatrician recommended for my son's torticollis at 2 months. By that time, his right side was already very flat and his ears were significantly misaligned. (We knew nothing about plagio then.) We tried repositioning and neck stretches for 2 months with no improvement. By this time, we'd done quite a bit of research and learned about plagio and what the treatment options were. We were referred to a specialist at 4 months who recommended PT and (along with his pediatrician) didn't think banding was necessary. We started PT at 4 months. My husband and I were both growing increasingly uncomfortable with the way his head was looking and even more uncomfortable with the recommendations by his doctors to do nothing about it -- and just hope it self-corrected over time. After much research, we went to Cranial Tech in Austin, Texas, on our own and we're so glad we did. His assymetry was 17 mm by that time. He received his band on June 18 (at 5.5 months). He's been in the band now for 3 weeks and the improvement is remarkable. He's had 3 consecutive weeks of significant growth spurts (4mm/3mm/4mm) which have helped tremendously, according to CT. His ears already look more closely aligned, too. CT will measure next week so we don't have specific numbers for comparison -- but you actually have to know what you're looking for now to even see the area that remains flat (which is concentrated mostly towards the base of his neck and behind the ear.)Amy at CT here in Austin is fantastic. She encouraged us to continue with the PT, which we have done. (The PT confirmed today that his ears definitely look more closely aligned. She was also very impressed with his progress. Prior to getting the band, the PT seemed to be on the same page as the pediatrician and specialist...recommending we keep doing the stretches and hope for improvement over time.) Amy at CT recommended we continue with all the stretches long after the band is off...upwards of 18 months. No one else has suggested this but we will most definitely follow her advice so that the torticollis doesn't end up a recurring problem. We are vigilant with his stretches...trying to fit several sessions in every day as best we can. It is our understanding that this has really helped speed his progress. It is unlikely that our insurance (United Healthcare) will cover the band but we decided that we'd go forward with the treatment and work on an appeal later. We knew the clock was ticking and we were regretting that we'd already lost a couple of months listening to the advice of the first pediatrician and specialist. We have been so pleased with CT here in Austin and very, very pleased with the results we've already seen. We are glad we trusted our instincts and pursued the band on our own...and didn't lose more time hoping for improvement with all the other things that were recommended. If we had to do it over again, we would run - not walk - to CT! Thankfully, the results have been great so far banding at 5.5 months. Hope this helps...good luck!Jillmom of Cade, 6 mo, DOC Band 6/18/09>> I wrote last month regarding my then four month old daughter who was diagnosed with plagiocephaly/brachycephaly. We have been going to physical therapy and using repositioning for two months now. Today we went in for her 3rd PT appt (also her five month birthday) and we are being referred to Cranial Technologies in San Diego for her to be fitted for a DOC Band. The plagiocephaly assymetry is now better at 5mm (it was 6 mm) but the brachycephaly is now at 98% (we started at 99.5%), slightly impoved but not the kind of change the PT wanted to see. The PT said we could try another month of repositioining before making a referral but i'm skeptical if she could really improve enough in that period to justify losing a month's time. Given the process, it will still be about five weeks from today until she is actually wearing it and that's if there are no insurance/referral issues. Does anyone have any advice for me on that? I hope the numbers i'm using make sense- i'm new to this:-)> > I was told our insurance (Anthem Blue Cross HMO) will not cover a Starband. I'm wondering if anyone could share their experiences with Cranial Technologies and/or the DOC band in general. The responses I got last month were extremely useful in helping me advocate for my daughter so thank you so much. I would greatly appreciate any advice!> > Amy> San Diego, CA>

found her dream laptop. Find the PC that’s right for you.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the decorating info, .

I originally tried to make her appointment for today, but there is something going on in the office today. Not sure if it is meetings or what, but they were not making any appointments. They aren't there on Saturdays, and I know Monday is tightly booked so I think I have to wait until 3:30 on Monday. I will go ahead and give them a call though, just in case. Thanks.

Plagiocephaly From: nwilkens2275@...Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:18:26 +0000Subject: Re: Experience with DOC Band/Cranial Technologies in San Diego?

Welcome-Is there any way you could call CT and take him in today for an adjustment? I would hate to leave him out of it all weekend, and this happens a lot (where babies need adjustments before the next scheduled visit because they're growing fast), so CT is usually flexible and will squeeze you in earlier. If possible, I would really recommend it. I decorated my son's bands with acrylic paint, stickers and mod podge (2-3 coats of paint, stickers, then 2-3 coats of mod podge over top to protect it). Each paint job usually lasted about 3 weeks (with some touchups, because the paint will chip), and then I just peeled it all off and started again. It was a lot of fun. We did different football helmet themese, baseball batting helmets, and Titleist golf hat designs. Just have fun with it.Good luck!Jake-2.5 (DOCBand Grad 9/08)Jordan-5> >> > I wrote last month regarding my then four month old daughter who was diagnosed with plagiocephaly/brachycephaly. We have been going to physical therapy and using repositioning for two months now. Today we went in for her 3rd PT appt (also her five month birthday) and we are being referred to Cranial Technologies in San Diego for her to be fitted for a DOC Band. The plagiocephaly assymetry is now better at 5mm (it was 6 mm) but the brachycephaly is now at 98% (we started at 99.5%), slightly impoved but not the kind of change the PT wanted to see. The PT said we could try another month of repositioining before making a referral but i'm skeptical if she could really improve enough in that period to justify losing a month's time. Given the process, it will still be about five weeks from today until she is actually wearing it and that's if there are no insurance/referral issues. Does anyone have any advice for me on that? I hope the numbers i'm using make sense- i'm new to this:-)> > > > I was told our insurance (Anthem Blue Cross HMO) will not cover a Starband. I'm wondering if anyone could share their experiences with Cranial Technologies and/or the DOC band in general. The responses I got last month were extremely useful in helping me advocate for my daughter so thank you so much. I would greatly appreciate any advice!> > > > Amy> > San Diego, CA> >> > > > > > > > > > __________________________________________________________> found her dream laptop. Find the PC that's right for you.> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/choosepc/?ocid=ftp_val_wl_290>

Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. Check it out.

[Guest guest]

Amy,

My son , 6 month and half, just had DOC band yesterday.

Our insurance, Anthem Blue Cross PPO covers it. Just go to Craninal Technology

for the evaluation and the insurance coordinator will find out for you.

Good luck!

Honghong

>

> I wrote last month regarding my then four month old daughter who was

diagnosed with plagiocephaly/brachycephaly. We have been going to physical

therapy and using repositioning for two months now. Today we went in for her 3rd

PT appt (also her five month birthday) and we are being referred to Cranial

Technologies in San Diego for her to be fitted for a DOC Band. The plagiocephaly

assymetry is now better at 5mm (it was 6 mm) but the brachycephaly is now at 98%

(we started at 99.5%), slightly impoved but not the kind of change the PT wanted

to see. The PT said we could try another month of repositioining before making a

referral but i'm skeptical if she could really improve enough in that period to

justify losing a month's time. Given the process, it will still be about five

weeks from today until she is actually wearing it and that's if there are no

insurance/referral issues. Does anyone have any advice for me on that? I hope

the numbers i'm using make sense- i'm new to this:-)

>

> I was told our insurance (Anthem Blue Cross HMO) will not cover a Starband.

I'm wondering if anyone could share their experiences with Cranial Technologies

and/or the DOC band in general. The responses I got last month were extremely

useful in helping me advocate for my daughter so thank you so much. I would

greatly appreciate any advice!

>

> Amy

> San Diego, CA

>

[Guest guest]

> >

> > I wrote last month regarding my then four month old daughter who was

diagnosed with plagiocephaly/brachycephaly. We have been going to physical

therapy and using repositioning for two months now. Today we went in for her 3rd

PT appt (also her five month birthday) and we are being referred to Cranial

Technologies in San Diego for her to be fitted for a DOC Band. The plagiocephaly

assymetry is now better at 5mm (it was 6 mm) but the brachycephaly is now at 98%

(we started at 99.5%), slightly impoved but not the kind of change the PT wanted

to see. The PT said we could try another month of repositioining before making a

referral but i'm skeptical if she could really improve enough in that period to

justify losing a month's time. Given the process, it will still be about five

weeks from today until she is actually wearing it and that's if there are no

insurance/referral issues. Does anyone have any advice for me on that? I hope

the numbers i'm using make sense- i'm new to this:-)

> >

> > I was told our insurance (Anthem Blue Cross HMO) will not cover a Starband.

I'm wondering if anyone could share their experiences with Cranial Technologies

and/or the DOC band in general. The responses I got last month were extremely

useful in helping me advocate for my daughter so thank you so much. I would

greatly appreciate any advice!

> >

> > Amy

> > San Diego, CA

> >

>