Re: Tips for Speeding up the Process?

December 4, 2009

cranial technologies got us in so quickly. we had an appt within the week and when we canceled it due to illness they fit us in a couple days later. the first appt to helmet on head was maybe 3 weeks? it was less than a month from first phone call with them to band on our child. he was 7/8 months old as well.

good luck!ajaOn Fri, Dec 4, 2009 at 3:31 PM, blueskies0402 <erinhakes@...> wrote:

Hi all. I've just joined and have learned so much from perusing this group's postings. What a nice support group.

A quick recap of my son's plagio history: At 3 months we noticed a flat spot developing. Mentioned it to the Dr., who said it would go away w/ tummy time and once he started rolling around. It didn't. Over the course of the next 4 months, I also asked two different nurse practitioner and another doctor in the office about the flattening. All said it was nothing to be worried about and would probably correct itself in time, or " it would just be like that forever. " I even asked about whether we needed a helmet (I was unfamiliar with plagio, but knew of some babies who had worn helmets) and was told no. I started to forget about his head shape. Fast forward to Thanksgiving, when our visit to out of town relatives led my Sister-in-law (who works in the medical field) to notice 's head shape and tell us we should get a second opinion, and quickly. So this week I've poured over all the plagio info on the Internet, and I feel certain that he has positional plagiocephaly, and likely at least a moderate case of it. I am just sick about the fact that it's taken me so long to do this research and angry that I listened to doctors who clearly didn't know what they were talking about. How to deal with the guilt?

We have an appt. set up with a reputable pediatric neurologist here in Sacramento next Friday. My main concern now is that this process will all move too slowly and delay what is already a late start for banding. He turned 8 months old this week. Any tips on things I could do to speed up the process? Should I call my insurance provider (United Healthcare) in advance of our Dr.'s office to inquire about their coverage of cranial orthotics? Is there usually a long wait at places that do fittings for Starbands (in our area) or DOCbands (our nearest CranialTech is in Pasadena, 6 hours away--yikes.)? If so, perhaps I should try to make an appt. now so that it will be already set up if/when the neurologist sends us that direction. I just hate that we waited so long to take action, and now fear that the laborious process of getting this all going will cut into the months of prime effectiveness for banding.

Sorry for the long message. Any advice that anyone can give on speeding up the process and/or dealing with UHC would be helpful and much appreciated. I read UHC's medical policy about plagiocephaly online and it states that " Cranial orthotic devices are cosmetic in infants with mild to moderate plagiocephaly. There are no definitive data demonstrating that there are adverse health effects associated with a mild to moderate degree of cranial asymmetry, and, therefore, it is unclear whether treatment of these individuals provides a future health benefit, or merely a cosmetic effect. " Doesn't sound good for our chances of insurance paying.

Thanks for your help! I think this group is going to be a great help to me as we navigate this road.

December 4, 2009

Hi,

When we found out, I took the next appointment a couple days away at

CIRS in Palo Alto and ordered the band at our evaluation. We had our

pediatrician send over the recommendation before the evaluation

appointment. My husband checked our insurance and we met the

requirements. We submitted the insurance claim after ordering the

band. This was a risk in terms of reimbursement. The insurance did

pay after about four months. While waiting the two weeks for the

helmet, we did aggressive repositioning and started chiropractor care.

By the time our helmet arrived, we had already seen a tiny bit of

visual improvement.

You have a little more time than we did since we didn't figure out

about plagio until was 11.5 months. This was late though and we

still haven't seen complete rounding out. We've seen a lot of

improvement though and are still hoping for more.

Best,

Kathy, mom to , 18 months

blueskies0402 wrote:

Hi all. I've just joined and have learned so much from perusing

this group's postings. What a nice support group.

A quick recap of my son's plagio history: At 3 months we noticed a flat

spot developing. Mentioned it to the Dr., who said it would go away w/

tummy time and once he started rolling around. It didn't. Over the

course of the next 4 months, I also asked two different nurse

practitioner and another doctor in the office about the flattening. All

said it was nothing to be worried about and would probably correct

itself in time, or "it would just be like that forever." I even asked

about whether we needed a helmet (I was unfamiliar with plagio, but

knew of some babies who had worn helmets) and was told no. I started to

forget about his head shape. Fast forward to Thanksgiving, when our

visit to out of town relatives led my Sister-in-law (who works in the

medical field) to notice 's head shape and tell us we should get

a second opinion, and quickly. So this week I've poured over all the

plagio info on the Internet, and I feel certain that he has positional

plagiocephaly, and likely at least a moderate case of it. I am just

sick about the fact that it's taken me so long to do this research and

angry that I listened to doctors who clearly didn't know what they were

talking about. How to deal with the guilt?

We have an appt. set up with a reputable pediatric neurologist here in

Sacramento next Friday. My main concern now is that this process will

all move too slowly and delay what is already a late start for banding.

He turned 8 months old this week. Any tips on things I could do to

speed up the process? Should I call my insurance provider (United

Healthcare) in advance of our Dr.'s office to inquire about their

coverage of cranial orthotics? Is there usually a long wait at places

that do fittings for Starbands (in our area) or DOCbands (our nearest

CranialTech is in Pasadena, 6 hours away--yikes.)? If so, perhaps

I should try to make an appt. now so that it will be already set up

if/when the neurologist sends us that direction. I just hate that we

waited so long to take action, and now fear that the laborious process

of getting this all going will cut into the months of prime

effectiveness for banding.

Sorry for the long message. Any advice that anyone can give on speeding

up the process and/or dealing with UHC would be helpful and much

appreciated. I read UHC's medical policy about plagiocephaly online and

it states that "Cranial orthotic devices are cosmetic in infants with

mild to moderate plagiocephaly. There are no definitive data

demonstrating that there are adverse health effects associated with a

mild to moderate degree of cranial asymmetry, and, therefore, it is

unclear whether treatment of these individuals provides a future health

benefit, or merely a cosmetic effect." Doesn't sound good for our

chances of insurance paying.

Thanks for your help! I think this group is going to be a great help to

me as we navigate this road.

December 5, 2009

My biggest tip is that if you can afford it, go forward and deal with the

insurance later. Certainly call your insurance company and find out if they

have a helmet/band provider that they MIGHT pay for, and use that one, but don't

wait for them to approve it---

We had to forgo some home improvements we had saved for to get the helmet but

I'm so glad we did it at 6 months instead of waiting the 3 additional monthss it

took BCBS to approve it. And here 3 1/2 months after approval, they have paid

80% of the helmet, but we're still out $1300 for doctor's appointments that they

are supposed to pay back but haven't---

If you don't have to get hung up on insurance, don't; time is of the essence

right now--

Betsy

Any tips on things I could do to speed up the process? Should I call my

insurance provider (United Healthcare) in advance of our Dr.'s office to inquire

about their coverage of cranial orthotics? Is there usually a long wait at

places that do fittings for Starbands (in our area) or DOCbands (our nearest

CranialTech is in Pasadena, 6 hours away--yikes. )? If so, perhaps I should try

to make an appt. now so that it will be already set up if/when the neurologist

sends us that direction. I just hate that we waited so long to take action, and

now fear that the laborious process of getting this all going will cut into the

months of prime effectiveness for banding.

Sorry for the long message. Any advice that anyone can give on speeding up the

process and/or dealing with UHC would be helpful and much appreciated.

December 5, 2009

Thanks for your response Betsy.

Is CIRS a Starband clinic? If we go with Starband we may have to head over to

the Bay Area for the initial scan because it looks like there isn't a clinic in

Sacramento. After that, do you just go to a local orthotist for Starband

fittings?

Did your pediatrician refer you to a chiropracter for care?

> >

> > Hi all. I've just joined and have learned so much from perusing this

> > group's postings. What a nice support group.

> > A quick recap of my son's plagio history: At 3 months we noticed a

> > flat spot developing. Mentioned it to the Dr., who said it would go

> > away w/ tummy time and once he started rolling around. It didn't. Over

> > the course of the next 4 months, I also asked two different nurse

> > practitioner and another doctor in the office about the flattening.

> > All said it was nothing to be worried about and would probably correct

> > itself in time, or " it would just be like that forever. " I even asked

> > about whether we needed a helmet (I was unfamiliar with plagio, but

> > knew of some babies who had worn helmets) and was told no. I started

> > to forget about his head shape. Fast forward to Thanksgiving, when our

> > visit to out of town relatives led my Sister-in-law (who works in the

> > medical field) to notice 's head shape and tell us we should

> > get a second opinion, and quickly. So this week I've poured over all

> > the plagio info on the Internet, and I feel certain that he has

> > positional plagiocephaly, and likely at least a moderate case of it. I

> > am just sick about the fact that it's taken me so long to do this

> > research and angry that I listened to doctors who clearly didn't know

> > what they were talking about. How to deal with the guilt?

> > We have an appt. set up with a reputable pediatric neurologist here in

> > Sacramento next Friday. My main concern now is that this process will

> > all move too slowly and delay what is already a late start for

> > banding. He turned 8 months old this week. Any tips on things I could

> > do to speed up the process? Should I call my insurance provider

> > (United Healthcare) in advance of our Dr.'s office to inquire about

> > their coverage of cranial orthotics? Is there usually a long wait at

> > places that do fittings for Starbands (in our area) or DOCbands (our

> > nearest CranialTech is in Pasadena, 6 hours away--yikes.)? If so,

> > perhaps I should try to make an appt. now so that it will be already

> > set up if/when the neurologist sends us that direction. I just hate

> > that we waited so long to take action, and now fear that the laborious

> > process of getting this all going will cut into the months of prime

> > effectiveness for banding.

> > Sorry for the long message. Any advice that anyone can give on

> > speeding up the process and/or dealing with UHC would be helpful and

> > much appreciated. I read UHC's medical policy about plagiocephaly

> > online and it states that " Cranial orthotic devices are cosmetic in

> > infants with mild to moderate plagiocephaly. There are no definitive

> > data demonstrating that there are adverse health effects associated

> > with a mild to moderate degree of cranial asymmetry, and, therefore,

> > it is unclear whether treatment of these individuals provides a future

> > health benefit, or merely a cosmetic effect. " Doesn't sound good for

> > our chances of insurance paying.

> > Thanks for your help! I think this group is going to be a great help

> > to me as we navigate this road.

> >

>

December 5, 2009

That's encouraging to hear that they acted quickly. I left a message at the

Pasadena CT on Thurs. and haven't heard back from them. Also sent an email to

their " contact us " address from the web site, but didn't get a response. I'll

have to get on it again Monday.

>

> >

> > Hi all. I've just joined and have learned so much from perusing this

> > group's postings. What a nice support group.

> > A quick recap of my son's plagio history: At 3 months we noticed a flat

> > spot developing. Mentioned it to the Dr., who said it would go away w/ tummy

> > time and once he started rolling around. It didn't. Over the course of the

> > next 4 months, I also asked two different nurse practitioner and another

> > doctor in the office about the flattening. All said it was nothing to be

> > worried about and would probably correct itself in time, or " it would just

> > be like that forever. " I even asked about whether we needed a helmet (I was

> > unfamiliar with plagio, but knew of some babies who had worn helmets) and

> > was told no. I started to forget about his head shape. Fast forward to

> > Thanksgiving, when our visit to out of town relatives led my Sister-in-law

> > (who works in the medical field) to notice 's head shape and tell us

> > we should get a second opinion, and quickly. So this week I've poured over

> > all the plagio info on the Internet, and I feel certain that he has

> > positional plagiocephaly, and likely at least a moderate case of it. I am

> > just sick about the fact that it's taken me so long to do this research and

> > angry that I listened to doctors who clearly didn't know what they were

> > talking about. How to deal with the guilt?

> > We have an appt. set up with a reputable pediatric neurologist here in

> > Sacramento next Friday. My main concern now is that this process will all

> > move too slowly and delay what is already a late start for banding. He

> > turned 8 months old this week. Any tips on things I could do to speed up the

> > process? Should I call my insurance provider (United Healthcare) in advance

> > of our Dr.'s office to inquire about their coverage of cranial orthotics? Is

> > there usually a long wait at places that do fittings for Starbands (in our

> > area) or DOCbands (our nearest CranialTech is in Pasadena, 6 hours

> > away--yikes.)? If so, perhaps I should try to make an appt. now so that it

> > will be already set up if/when the neurologist sends us that direction. I

> > just hate that we waited so long to take action, and now fear that the

> > laborious process of getting this all going will cut into the months of

> > prime effectiveness for banding.

> > Sorry for the long message. Any advice that anyone can give on speeding up

> > the process and/or dealing with UHC would be helpful and much appreciated. I

> > read UHC's medical policy about plagiocephaly online and it states that

> > " Cranial orthotic devices are cosmetic in infants with mild to moderate

> > plagiocephaly. There are no definitive data demonstrating that there are

> > adverse health effects associated with a mild to moderate degree of cranial

> > asymmetry, and, therefore, it is unclear whether treatment of these

> > individuals provides a future health benefit, or merely a cosmetic effect. "

> > Doesn't sound good for our chances of insurance paying.

> > Thanks for your help! I think this group is going to be a great help to me

> > as we navigate this road.

> >

>

December 5, 2009

Hi,

You could also try calling San Diego. If I remember correctly, we

called the San Diego office when we made our appointment in Pasadena.

(We had an evaluation done at CT in Pasadena.) It might be that they

answer the phones more at San Diego since it is a larger branch. I

think Pasadena answered more frequently right after they opened in the

mornings. If you decide to drive, Pasadena is easier. If you fly, San

Diego might have more flight options and cheaper rates. The two

branches have the same manager. I think her name is Alyssa (sp?). I

would try to get her if you go with CT.

-Kathy, mom to 18 months

blueskies0402 wrote:

That's encouraging to hear that they acted quickly. I left a

message at the Pasadena CT on Thurs. and haven't heard back from them.

Also sent an email to their "contact us" address from the web site, but

didn't get a response. I'll have to get on it again Monday.

>

> >

> > Hi all. I've just joined and have learned so much from

perusing this

> > group's postings. What a nice support group.

> > A quick recap of my son's plagio history: At 3 months we

noticed a flat

> > spot developing. Mentioned it to the Dr., who said it would

go away w/ tummy

> > time and once he started rolling around. It didn't. Over the

course of the

> > next 4 months, I also asked two different nurse practitioner

and another

> > doctor in the office about the flattening. All said it was

nothing to be

> > worried about and would probably correct itself in time, or

"it would just

> > be like that forever." I even asked about whether we needed a

helmet (I was

> > unfamiliar with plagio, but knew of some babies who had worn

helmets) and

> > was told no. I started to forget about his head shape. Fast

forward to

> > Thanksgiving, when our visit to out of town relatives led my

Sister-in-law

> > (who works in the medical field) to notice 's head

shape and tell us

> > we should get a second opinion, and quickly. So this week

I've poured over

> > all the plagio info on the Internet, and I feel certain that

he has

> > positional plagiocephaly, and likely at least a moderate case

of it. I am

> > just sick about the fact that it's taken me so long to do

this research and

> > angry that I listened to doctors who clearly didn't know what

they were

> > talking about. How to deal with the guilt?

> > We have an appt. set up with a reputable pediatric

neurologist here in

> > Sacramento next Friday. My main concern now is that this

process will all

> > move too slowly and delay what is already a late start for

banding. He

> > turned 8 months old this week. Any tips on things I could do

to speed up the

> > process? Should I call my insurance provider (United

Healthcare) in advance

> > of our Dr.'s office to inquire about their coverage of

cranial orthotics? Is

> > there usually a long wait at places that do fittings for

Starbands (in our

> > area) or DOCbands (our nearest CranialTech is in Pasadena, 6

hours

> > away--yikes.)? If so, perhaps I should try to make an

appt. now so that it

> > will be already set up if/when the neurologist sends us that

direction. I

> > just hate that we waited so long to take action, and now fear

that the

> > laborious process of getting this all going will cut into the

months of

> > prime effectiveness for banding.

> > Sorry for the long message. Any advice that anyone can give

on speeding up

> > the process and/or dealing with UHC would be helpful and much

appreciated. I

> > read UHC's medical policy about plagiocephaly online and it

states that

> > "Cranial orthotic devices are cosmetic in infants with mild

to moderate

> > plagiocephaly. There are no definitive data demonstrating

that there are

> > adverse health effects associated with a mild to moderate

degree of cranial

> > asymmetry, and, therefore, it is unclear whether treatment of

these

> > individuals provides a future health benefit, or merely a

cosmetic effect."

> > Doesn't sound good for our chances of insurance paying.

> > Thanks for your help! I think this group is going to be a

great help to me

> > as we navigate this road.

> >

>

December 5, 2009

Hi,

CIRS is a Starband clinic. There is one in Palo Alto and I believe

Oakland. We go to the one in Palo Alto and recommend it. We got some

recommendations for them before going there and I've run into several

happy customers since banding. We're in Mountain View and I've never

heard of anybody around here banding with CT. I also have read good

things about CIRS in Oakland. If you go with Starband, make sure the

ortho is highly recommended since results seem to vary. If you are

worried about paying for multiple bands, I believe fewer people require

a second Starband than a second Doc band. We go to the same place for

fittings that we went for the initial scan. It is only a 20 min drive

from our home.

No, the pediatrician didn't refer us to the chiropractor. Our

insurance has been paying for almost all of it. I think may have

hit some maximum with our insurance and that is why we got such good

coverage. ( also had surgery this year.)

-Kathy, mom to 18 months

blueskies0402 wrote:

Thanks for your response Betsy.

Is CIRS a Starband clinic? If we go with Starband we may have to head

over to the Bay Area for the initial scan because it looks like there

isn't a clinic in Sacramento. After that, do you just go to a local

orthotist for Starband fittings?

Did your pediatrician refer you to a chiropracter for care?

> >

> > Hi all. I've just joined and have learned so much from

perusing this

> > group's postings. What a nice support group.

> > A quick recap of my son's plagio history: At 3 months we

noticed a

> > flat spot developing. Mentioned it to the Dr., who said it

would go

> > away w/ tummy time and once he started rolling around. It

didn't. Over

> > the course of the next 4 months, I also asked two different

nurse

> > practitioner and another doctor in the office about the

flattening.

> > All said it was nothing to be worried about and would

probably correct

> > itself in time, or "it would just be like that forever." I

even asked

> > about whether we needed a helmet (I was unfamiliar with

plagio, but

> > knew of some babies who had worn helmets) and was told no. I

started

> > to forget about his head shape. Fast forward to Thanksgiving,

when our

> > visit to out of town relatives led my Sister-in-law (who

works in the

> > medical field) to notice 's head shape and tell us we

should

> > get a second opinion, and quickly. So this week I've poured

over all

> > the plagio info on the Internet, and I feel certain that he

has

> > positional plagiocephaly, and likely at least a moderate case

of it. I

> > am just sick about the fact that it's taken me so long to do

this

> > research and angry that I listened to doctors who clearly

didn't know

> > what they were talking about. How to deal with the guilt?

> > We have an appt. set up with a reputable pediatric

neurologist here in

> > Sacramento next Friday. My main concern now is that this

process will

> > all move too slowly and delay what is already a late start

for

> > banding. He turned 8 months old this week. Any tips on things

I could

> > do to speed up the process? Should I call my insurance

provider

> > (United Healthcare) in advance of our Dr.'s office to inquire

about

> > their coverage of cranial orthotics? Is there usually a long

wait at

> > places that do fittings for Starbands (in our area) or

DOCbands (our

> > nearest CranialTech is in Pasadena, 6 hours away--yikes.)?

If so,

> > perhaps I should try to make an appt. now so that it will be

already

> > set up if/when the neurologist sends us that direction. I

just hate

> > that we waited so long to take action, and now fear that the

laborious

> > process of getting this all going will cut into the months of

prime

> > effectiveness for banding.

> > Sorry for the long message. Any advice that anyone can give

on

> > speeding up the process and/or dealing with UHC would be

helpful and

> > much appreciated. I read UHC's medical policy about

plagiocephaly

> > online and it states that "Cranial orthotic devices are

cosmetic in

> > infants with mild to moderate plagiocephaly. There are no

definitive

> > data demonstrating that there are adverse health effects

associated

> > with a mild to moderate degree of cranial asymmetry, and,

therefore,

> > it is unclear whether treatment of these individuals provides

a future

> > health benefit, or merely a cosmetic effect." Doesn't sound

good for

> > our chances of insurance paying.

> > Thanks for your help! I think this group is going to be a

great help

> > to me as we navigate this road.

> >

>

December 6, 2009

Hi Kathy.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have a sister in Marina Del Rey (close to LAX),

so I figure if we did Pasadena, then she could help us get there and we wouldn't

have to rent a car if we ended up flying down there. I'll try the Pasadena

office again tomorrow morning.

Does Alyssa do the actual consults?

CT would be a real stretch for us in terms of travel and costs, but we are at

least considering it. The training of the techs and the familiarity they must

have with their product (since that's all they do) plus the accuracy of their

" instant scan " method seems attractive. My biggest concern with CT is that,

since I expect we may have to pay out of pocket, what if requires a

second band? That might be more than we could manage out of pocket. Any idea

if older babies (an optimistic estimate is that he'll probably be 9 months by

the time he's banded) don't grow as quickly and therefore have less of a chance

of needing a second band?

I think Starband could also be a good option for us, and one that's more

feasible because of location, but I'm worried about the variables involved with

finding a local orthotist who will do a good job. I'm sure there are some, but

what if we get a bad one? So much to consider.

> > >

> > > >

> > > > Hi all. I've just joined and have learned so much from perusing this

> > > > group's postings. What a nice support group.

> > > > A quick recap of my son's plagio history: At 3 months we noticed a

> > flat

> > > > spot developing. Mentioned it to the Dr., who said it would go

> > away w/ tummy

> > > > time and once he started rolling around. It didn't. Over the

> > course of the

> > > > next 4 months, I also asked two different nurse practitioner and

> > another

> > > > doctor in the office about the flattening. All said it was nothing

> > to be

> > > > worried about and would probably correct itself in time, or " it

> > would just

> > > > be like that forever. " I even asked about whether we needed a

> > helmet (I was

> > > > unfamiliar with plagio, but knew of some babies who had worn

> > helmets) and

> > > > was told no. I started to forget about his head shape. Fast forward to

> > > > Thanksgiving, when our visit to out of town relatives led my

> > Sister-in-law

> > > > (who works in the medical field) to notice 's head shape

> > and tell us

> > > > we should get a second opinion, and quickly. So this week I've

> > poured over

> > > > all the plagio info on the Internet, and I feel certain that he has

> > > > positional plagiocephaly, and likely at least a moderate case of

> > it. I am

> > > > just sick about the fact that it's taken me so long to do this

> > research and

> > > > angry that I listened to doctors who clearly didn't know what they

> > were

> > > > talking about. How to deal with the guilt?

> > > > We have an appt. set up with a reputable pediatric neurologist here in

> > > > Sacramento next Friday. My main concern now is that this process

> > will all

> > > > move too slowly and delay what is already a late start for banding. He

> > > > turned 8 months old this week. Any tips on things I could do to

> > speed up the

> > > > process? Should I call my insurance provider (United Healthcare)

> > in advance

> > > > of our Dr.'s office to inquire about their coverage of cranial

> > orthotics? Is

> > > > there usually a long wait at places that do fittings for Starbands

> > (in our

> > > > area) or DOCbands (our nearest CranialTech is in Pasadena, 6 hours

> > > > away--yikes.)? If so, perhaps I should try to make an appt. now so

> > that it

> > > > will be already set up if/when the neurologist sends us that

> > direction. I

> > > > just hate that we waited so long to take action, and now fear that the

> > > > laborious process of getting this all going will cut into the

> > months of

> > > > prime effectiveness for banding.

> > > > Sorry for the long message. Any advice that anyone can give on

> > speeding up

> > > > the process and/or dealing with UHC would be helpful and much

> > appreciated. I

> > > > read UHC's medical policy about plagiocephaly online and it states

> > that

> > > > " Cranial orthotic devices are cosmetic in infants with mild to

> > moderate

> > > > plagiocephaly. There are no definitive data demonstrating that

> > there are

> > > > adverse health effects associated with a mild to moderate degree

> > of cranial

> > > > asymmetry, and, therefore, it is unclear whether treatment of these

> > > > individuals provides a future health benefit, or merely a cosmetic

> > effect. "

> > > > Doesn't sound good for our chances of insurance paying.

> > > > Thanks for your help! I think this group is going to be a great

> > help to me

> > > > as we navigate this road.

> > > >

> > >

> >

>

December 6, 2009

Hi,

I'm not sure you could get Alyssa for a consultation in Pasadena. We

could not. She was traveling between the sites, but I think she works

more out of San Diego.

Actually, the Doc band only lasts 4 months and older babies are more

likely to need a second band. The Starband lasts 6 months. The

results may be slightly slower with the Starband, but I cannot say that

for sure. I've never heard of anyone else doing this, but we are

continuing to use our Starband past 6 months with our ortho's

approval. This would not be possible with a Doc band. ly, if I

had this to do over, I would prefer our local CIRS over traveling to CT

in most cases. The only time I might consider CT is for a severe case

or a much older baby.

As in our case, CT may not be able to make a second band if you ended

up mild after the first band. The Starband does not rely on the

holding points as much. We considered a Doc band after our Starband,

but they could not make us one. 's head has continued to improve

since then in his Starband, so I'm now thankful CT didn't make us a

band.

9 months is not that old, but I would not waste time. was a

mild/moderate case and we started the band at 12 months. After 6

months, is very mild, but we would have preferred normal. is

still slowly improving, so there is some small hope yet.

-Kathy, mom to , 18 months

blueskies0402 wrote:

Hi Kathy.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have a sister in Marina Del Rey (close to

LAX), so I figure if we did Pasadena, then she could help us get there

and we wouldn't have to rent a car if we ended up flying down there.

I'll try the Pasadena office again tomorrow morning.

Does Alyssa do the actual consults?

CT would be a real stretch for us in terms of travel and costs, but we

are at least considering it. The training of the techs and the

familiarity they must have with their product (since that's all they

do) plus the accuracy of their "instant scan" method seems attractive.

My biggest concern with CT is that, since I expect we may have to pay

out of pocket, what if requires a second band? That might be

more than we could manage out of pocket. Any idea if older babies (an

optimistic estimate is that he'll probably be 9 months by the time he's

banded) don't grow as quickly and therefore have less of a chance of

needing a second band?

I think Starband could also be a good option for us, and one that's

more feasible because of location, but I'm worried about the variables

involved with finding a local orthotist who will do a good job. I'm

sure there are some, but what if we get a bad one? So much to consider.

> > >

> > > >

> > > > Hi all. I've just joined and have learned so much

from perusing this

> > > > group's postings. What a nice support group.

> > > > A quick recap of my son's plagio history: At 3

months we noticed a

> > flat

> > > > spot developing. Mentioned it to the Dr., who said

it would go

> > away w/ tummy

> > > > time and once he started rolling around. It didn't.

Over the

> > course of the

> > > > next 4 months, I also asked two different nurse

practitioner and

> > another

> > > > doctor in the office about the flattening. All said

it was nothing

> > to be

> > > > worried about and would probably correct itself in

time, or "it

> > would just

> > > > be like that forever." I even asked about whether

we needed a

> > helmet (I was

> > > > unfamiliar with plagio, but knew of some babies who

had worn

> > helmets) and

> > > > was told no. I started to forget about his head

shape. Fast forward to

> > > > Thanksgiving, when our visit to out of town

relatives led my

> > Sister-in-law

> > > > (who works in the medical field) to notice

's head shape

> > and tell us

> > > > we should get a second opinion, and quickly. So

this week I've

> > poured over

> > > > all the plagio info on the Internet, and I feel

certain that he has

> > > > positional plagiocephaly, and likely at least a

moderate case of

> > it. I am

> > > > just sick about the fact that it's taken me so long

to do this

> > research and

> > > > angry that I listened to doctors who clearly didn't

know what they

> > were

> > > > talking about. How to deal with the guilt?

> > > > We have an appt. set up with a reputable pediatric

neurologist here in

> > > > Sacramento next Friday. My main concern now is that

this process

> > will all

> > > > move too slowly and delay what is already a late

start for banding. He

> > > > turned 8 months old this week. Any tips on things I

could do to

> > speed up the

> > > > process? Should I call my insurance provider

(United Healthcare)

> > in advance

> > > > of our Dr.'s office to inquire about their coverage

of cranial

> > orthotics? Is

> > > > there usually a long wait at places that do

fittings for Starbands

> > (in our

> > > > area) or DOCbands (our nearest CranialTech is in

Pasadena, 6 hours

> > > > away--yikes.)? If so, perhaps I should try to

make an appt. now so

> > that it

> > > > will be already set up if/when the neurologist

sends us that

> > direction. I

> > > > just hate that we waited so long to take action,

and now fear that the

> > > > laborious process of getting this all going will

cut into the

> > months of

> > > > prime effectiveness for banding.

> > > > Sorry for the long message. Any advice that anyone

can give on

> > speeding up

> > > > the process and/or dealing with UHC would be

helpful and much

> > appreciated. I

> > > > read UHC's medical policy about plagiocephaly

online and it states

> > that

> > > > "Cranial orthotic devices are cosmetic in infants

with mild to

> > moderate

> > > > plagiocephaly. There are no definitive data

demonstrating that

> > there are

> > > > adverse health effects associated with a mild to

moderate degree

> > of cranial

> > > > asymmetry, and, therefore, it is unclear whether

treatment of these

> > > > individuals provides a future health benefit, or

merely a cosmetic

> > effect."

> > > > Doesn't sound good for our chances of insurance

paying.

> > > > Thanks for your help! I think this group is going

to be a great

> > help to me

> > > > as we navigate this road.

> > > >

> > >

> >

>

December 6, 2009

CIRS is a STARband clinic in Oakland and Palo Alto. There is a Hanger

facility in Sacramento if you are looking for some place closer to home. Do

you know if your insurance will cover a band? If so, they may have a

specific provider that you have to go to (we had Kaiser and only covered the

band if we went to CIRS). If you get the band at CIRS you will continue

seeing them for all the adjustments.

Molly

Novato, California