Re: Hello! An introduction and some questions of course :)

[Guest guest]

Welcome to the group. If they say " severe " there is really very little chance

that you would be able to avoid banding. If you're going to band, you should do

it now. My daughter started her band at the same time (5 mo) and they are still

growing very quickly. There is no reason to " wait and see " unless the plagio is

mild. Also banding is really not that bad once you get started. Babies are still

cute, and in the long run usually cuter with rounded out heads.

-christine

sydney, 4.5 yrs, starband grad

>

> Hi! My name is and my daughter Nora has severe torticollis with the

accompanying plagio. We have been trying to absorb all the news and roll with

the punches! She has been in PT for a little over a month now, and we're seeing

great improvements, but we had an eval with DocBand the other day and they

marked her as " severe " and in need of " at least one band, maybe two. " We were a

little shocked, but are coming around now and have questions of course! My PT

seemed kind of surprised that we were contemplating starting it soon (she's

almost 4 months old and would start the band at nearly 5 months, which I know is

the ideal time) because she thinks we can get her to a good place without a band

necessarily. So I guess my question is- how do you know when you really need a

band or not? She has what CT says are pretty severe asymmetries- we notice them

too but have also noticed some good improvements with PT. So- how did you know a

band was the right move for you?

>

> Thanks- I look forward to getting to know you all!

>

[Guest guest]

Hi - I would say you should get the band, it's SO worth it! Our daughter

was mild to severe when we banded 5 weeks ago (she was 5 m.o.) and we saw

improvements in 2 weeks. We too were super worried about how she was going to

adjust with it, will it cause sleep issues, etc, but the only problem she had

were some red spots on her temples that went away in a week or so (we kept the

band off more the first few days but decided to put it back full-time before the

spots had gone away). She wears the band like a pair of socks - doesn't even

know it's there. We were stressing out the first 3-4 days, but after we

decorated it (with flower stickers from Target and layers of Mod Podge) and saw

that she was doing so great, we calmed down. And the band makes them look so

adorable, the cheeks are chubbier and the giggles cuter ) Best of luck!

>

> Hi! My name is and my daughter Nora has severe torticollis with the

accompanying plagio. We have been trying to absorb all the news and roll with

the punches! She has been in PT for a little over a month now, and we're seeing

great improvements, but we had an eval with DocBand the other day and they

marked her as " severe " and in need of " at least one band, maybe two. " We were a

little shocked, but are coming around now and have questions of course! My PT

seemed kind of surprised that we were contemplating starting it soon (she's

almost 4 months old and would start the band at nearly 5 months, which I know is

the ideal time) because she thinks we can get her to a good place without a band

necessarily. So I guess my question is- how do you know when you really need a

band or not? She has what CT says are pretty severe asymmetries- we notice them

too but have also noticed some good improvements with PT. So- how did you know a

band was the right move for you?

>

> Thanks- I look forward to getting to know you all!

>

[Guest guest]

My son is almost 6 months old and has been in his band for 5 weeks now. He doesn't even care that it is there. My daughter, his twin never looked as though her head was an issue. I took her to be evaluated because everybody always commented that at least she didn't have to worry about the same thing. Then it made me think I better get her checked because I really didn't know if her head was ok. CT recommended a band for her but said she was borderline. She did have assymetry but not as bad as her brothers. Her head width however was the bigger issue. It was left up to me to decide if I wanted to pursue it. My husband thinks I am crazy and that she is fine. I am sure the rest of my family feels the same way. But I took her today for her DSI to get her helmet at CT. My reasoning is this, if the measurements show assymetry and CT tells me a band could be helpful, my insurance approved it, then how could I say no. At least when all is said and done, I can say I did everything, be it unnecessary or not. My daughter will know that I was willing to go the extra mile for her head shape no different than I did for her brother. If she is like her brother or many others that post, she won't even be phased by the helmet, and other than looking back at pictures it will be a distant memory. She can't blame me now! I compare it to braces for a kid with crooked teeth. There are going to be those borderline cases and it really is a matter of opinion as to when to treat and when not to. If CT could see it, and I could in their pictures, and the insurance based on her measurements were willing to pay for it then it must be significant enough to do something about it!

Hope this helps put another perspective on things.

Jen

[Guest guest]

Our son Peyton was diag. as severe as well. We chose to go through the process

now rather than wait (he is getting his band on Monday). By waiting they told

us he may be in the band longer since their heads grow more rapidly over the

next few months. Good luck making your decision.

> >

> > Hi! My name is and my daughter Nora has severe torticollis with the

accompanying plagio. We have been trying to absorb all the news and roll with

the punches! She has been in PT for a little over a month now, and we're seeing

great improvements, but we had an eval with DocBand the other day and they

marked her as " severe " and in need of " at least one band, maybe two. " We were a

little shocked, but are coming around now and have questions of course! My PT

seemed kind of surprised that we were contemplating starting it soon (she's

almost 4 months old and would start the band at nearly 5 months, which I know is

the ideal time) because she thinks we can get her to a good place without a band

necessarily. So I guess my question is- how do you know when you really need a

band or not? She has what CT says are pretty severe asymmetries- we notice them

too but have also noticed some good improvements with PT. So- how did you know a

band was the right move for you?

> >

> > Thanks- I look forward to getting to know you all!

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hello ,

I agree with 99% of what Amy said. I just wanted to add my take on it. My

daughter received her band at 6 1/2 months, primarily for brachycephaly, with

just a little plagio. And it made an enormous difference. If your son's plagio

is " severe " , he will probably need a helmet for substantial correction.

My daughter's experience suggests only waiting a month or two to get a helmet.

First, because my daughter was not yet inclined to fiddle with the velcro, it's

just much easier on parents at an earlier age. (After the first night, she

didn't mind the helmet at all.) Second, the helmet was, actually, incredibly

helpful when my daughter was first crawling/falling. Unlike her twin sister,

she could hit her head on anything, and just shake it off -- it was fabulous.

(I'm not talking about falling down stairs; obviously, you still need to

child-proof.) But, regardless, it makes sense for you to wait a month or two to

decide -- at least until the worst of the summer heat is over, because the

helmet will make him feel warmer. I purposely rushed the helmet (by, perhaps, a

month), so that she was wearing it primarily March-June.

In any case, the helmet is NOT the end of the world. Other than the cost (and

the distance if it's inconvenient), it's truly not that big a deal, and it tends

to be worth doing. Of course, YMMV.

a

>

> Hello ,

>

> Welcome to the group. My daughter was banded two days before she turned

8

> months. It was her PT(for right-side tilt tort) who actually brought up the

> helmet issue. The ped was concerned with the tort, but very nonchalant about

my

> daughter's head shape. I had a consult w/ Cranial Tech and 's ped

refused

> to write a script, instead referring her to a neurosurgeon. My husband really

> wanted to hear from an independent source(ie. someone other than a provider

who

> sells bands) that our daughter actually NEEDED the band. I could understand

this

> for peace of mind, but it was obvious from 's deformed head shape that

she

> needed a band.

>

>

> The neurosurgeon did indeed recommend a band. When I expressed concern about

her

> age, he said that she was at the right age for a band because there was no way

> it would resolve on its own and that she would still get great correction.

Well,

> he was right. She wore her band for 15 weeks and went from 14.5/13mm to

2.47mm.

>

>

> At just under four months, there is certainly plenty of time to make up your

> mind. You shouldn't feel like you have to rush into treatment. You could

wait

> and see how things go w/ the PT. There was absolutley no question in my mind

> that banding was the right thing for . Her head shape was no longer

round,

> instead taking on a paralellogram shape. She also had forehead bossing and her

> right ear was pushed forward 6mm. At over 6 months, there was no way she would

> get correction at her age. Banding was a no-brainer for us.

>

>

> When finished treatment at 11 months, her orthotist said that at her

age,

> the chance of regression was less than 1%. He also said that there is a such

> thing as banding too soon(regression more likely) and I've even seen him tell

> the parent of a 5 month-old to wait another month and then come back.

Correction

> with repositioning can definitely be successful before six months of age.

> was already 6 months when her ped diagnosed her tort, so banding was our only

> option. It would have been nice to have had another option as you do before

> resorting to the band. Don't get me wrong. Banding did a wonderful thing for

my

> baby, but if I had it to do over, I would have preferred PT at 8-9 weeks when

I

> first noticed the flattening and avoiding the helmet if at all possible.

>

>

> Hope this helps. Good luck with your decision.

> -Amy

>

>

>

>

> ________________________________

> From: lallyrizzo <lallyrizzo@...>

> Plagiocephaly

> Sent: Thu, July 15, 2010 8:38:15 PM

> Subject: Hello! An introduction and some questions of course

>

>

> Hi! My name is and my daughter Nora has severe torticollis with the

> accompanying plagio. We have been trying to absorb all the news and roll with

> the punches! She has been in PT for a little over a month now, and we're

seeing

> great improvements, but we had an eval with DocBand the other day and they

> marked her as " severe " and in need of " at least one band, maybe two. " We were

a

> little shocked, but are coming around now and have questions of course! My PT

> seemed kind of surprised that we were contemplating starting it soon (she's

> almost 4 months old and would start the band at nearly 5 months, which I know

is

> the ideal time) because she thinks we can get her to a good place without a

band

> necessarily. So I guess my question is- how do you know when you really need a

> band or not? She has what CT says are pretty severe asymmetries- we notice

them

> too but have also noticed some good improvements with PT. So- how did you know

a

> band was the right move for you?

>

> Thanks- I look forward to getting to know you all!

>