Re: doc band without support from spouse unrealistic?

[Guest guest]

I'm going to toss in my opinions and I hope they help.My son has mild plagio. BOTH his father and I didn't notice it until his pediatrician pointed it out to us. It wasn't until we got the photos back from Cranial Tech that we noticed how misshapen his head was. His right ear sat lower then the left, his right eyelid drooped and the back of his head was FLAT. For us there were many pros and cons to banding our son considering military insurance will not cover the band. I'm not the best writer so please bear with me.

Health implications from NOT banding:Eye problems from the eyelid droop. He is already looking at surgery when he is 5 to remove the excess skin that won't be fixed by being banded.

Hearing problems from his ears not being positioned properly on his head.Jaw problems like TMJ and other issues from his lower jaw not matching up properly with the upper.Then there is the social ramifications. I am not a superficial person, but with all the bullying in the media, I didn't want my son to be the subject of someone's harassment just because I didn't band him as a baby.

CONS for doing something:You are out some $ if it doesn't work, but doing something is better then doing nothing.PROS for doing something:

Giving yourself the peace of mind that you TRIED your HARDEST. When we welcome our children into the world we promise to help them be the best person they can be. While physical attributes shouldn't be part of that, in this case it should. Like I said earlier, kids are CRUEL and I don't see bullying going away anytime soon. I HATE the idea of grown adults STARING at my child with his band on, like he is some kind of freak, but I LOVE when adults or even kids ask my why he has his band. If I have adults staring at my son with his band, I can only imagine how people would stare if we hadn't chosen to get his plagio fixed.

I will be more then willing to scan and upload my sons photos for you so that you can see the progress he has made in the 7 weeks of wearing his band.Sylvia

[Guest guest]

If you have time, it would be helpful to see how your boy benefited from the band.  Thank you for offering.On Thu, Dec 16, 2010 at 9:55 PM, Sylvia McCue <sylvia.mccue@...> wrote:

I'm going to toss in my opinions and I hope they help.My son has mild plagio. BOTH his father and I didn't notice it until his pediatrician pointed it out to us. It wasn't until we got the photos back from Cranial Tech that we noticed how misshapen his head was. His right ear sat lower then the left, his right eyelid drooped and the back of his head was FLAT. For us there were many pros and cons to banding our son considering military insurance will not cover the band. I'm not the best writer so please bear with me.

Health implications from NOT banding:Eye problems from the eyelid droop. He is already looking at surgery when he is 5 to remove the excess skin that won't be fixed by being banded.

Hearing problems from his ears not being positioned properly on his head.Jaw problems like TMJ and other issues from his lower jaw not matching up properly with the upper.Then there is the social ramifications. I am not a superficial person, but with all the bullying in the media, I didn't want my son to be the subject of someone's harassment just because I didn't band him as a baby.

CONS for doing something:You are out some $ if it doesn't work, but doing something is better then doing nothing.PROS for doing something:

Giving yourself the peace of mind that you TRIED your HARDEST. When we welcome our children into the world we promise to help them be the best person they can be. While physical attributes shouldn't be part of that, in this case it should. Like I said earlier, kids are CRUEL and I don't see bullying going away anytime soon. I HATE the idea of grown adults STARING at my child with his band on, like he is some kind of freak, but I LOVE when adults or even kids ask my why he has his band. If I have adults staring at my son with his band, I can only imagine how people would stare if we hadn't chosen to get his plagio fixed.

I will be more then willing to scan and upload my sons photos for you so that you can see the progress he has made in the 7 weeks of wearing his band.Sylvia

[Guest guest]

I have twin boys, both started at 14.5 months, they were both above 99% of their head size in their age group. They've been wearing the helmets for 2.5 months now. Last measurement this Monday showed that Don had NO improvement, he's still at 8mm; however Derrick improved from 10mm to ~6mm. So the worse one now becomes the better one.

When I struggled with the decision of wether or not to band Don because he looked a lot better than Derrick, I told my family "what if Don becomes the worse one after I fix Derrick's head shape?", now even though I banded both, Don still becomes the worse one because there's no improvement with him at all. Do I regret about banding him? I do, not because of the $3000 I paid for him, but more because of so many sleepless nights the band brought to him and the endless struggles I had and am still having with my husband and inlaws because they still often get very upset about the helmets when the boys are fussy no matter if it's due to the helmets. The past 2.5 months is the longest tough period I've been.. However I'm still trying to let him wear the band whenever I can just in case there's another growth spurt that the band might be able to catch.

This hard path, all the sleepless nights, all the fights, the struggles and the money seem worthless if there's no improvement at all by the end. However if I never banded Don, I know I'd definitely regret after seeing Derrick's improvement. I would then be writing a totally different comment here now.

I don't want to encourage you to go for the helmet because due to your boy's age, he may just be like Don who would have no improvement at all. You will not know if you make the right decision until you band him and wait till the end.

Wish you all the best though!

Plagiocephaly From: jasonkapell@...Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:42:54 +0000Subject: doc band without support from spouse unrealistic?

I apologize if some of this is repetative. I've been posting for a lot for the last couple of weeks, as I'm quickly running out of time. Long story short, my wife and I don't see eye to eye on the DOC band. She thinks its totally unnecessary, and is upset at the thought of it. I am consumed by guilt, and also don't love the idea, but feel I owe it to my son. Is this something that I can do withough my wife's support? I'm not concerned with being the one who drives him back and forth, deals with insurance, and cleans the band. What worries me is that I will be the one encouraging (forcing) him to keep it on, explaining why he needs it to friends and family, etc. If anything seems off, or he is upset (whether helmet-related or not) I'll have to fight with my wife to keep it on his head. Let me be clear that she will not be convinced that there's any good to be had from the helmet, whether or not it helps to round out his head.Should I bother to pursue this? I've got 1 week to decide. Got the RX and everything, but he'll be 18 months on the 27th, after which insurance no longer covers 80%.

[Guest guest]

thanks.  I don't think he'd need surgery, but certainly he may notice someday when his hair is short.  your daughter started late too, right?i think we had a " conversation " this past weekend.

On Thu, Dec 16, 2010 at 8:40 PM, critter lover <tinsel2003@...> wrote:

pursue it. Tell her it's cruel of her not to support a medical non invasive helmet. Ask her if she'd rather due skull surgery later? At 18 months your window is closing for it helping at all. You do owe it to your son. it's about your son not your wife's vanity for a few months. At worse you pay a measly 20% for a bicycle helmet. I'm impoverished and paid 100% of cost because it's THAT  important to me. I don't want her teased and paranoid for the rest of her life or something I could have done for her when she has no memory of it and it didn't even hurt. Most kids find it comforting. My 20 month old doesn't think twice about it. She doesn't sweat, stink, it doesn't bother her at all sleeping (and she sleeps on her tummy). Your his dad and you have a right to parent him and a right to make him

healthier.

From: K <jasonkapell@...>Plagiocephaly

Sent: Thu, December 16, 2010 4:42:54 PMSubject: doc band without support from spouse unrealistic?

 

I apologize if some of this is repetative. I've been posting for a lot for the last couple of weeks, as I'm quickly running out of time. Long story short, my wife and I don't see eye to eye on the DOC band. She thinks its totally unnecessary, and is upset at the thought of it. I am consumed by guilt, and also don't love the idea, but feel I owe it to my son. Is this something that I can do withough my wife's support? I'm not concerned with being the one who drives him back and forth, deals with insurance, and cleans the band. What worries me is that I will be the one encouraging (forcing) him to keep it on, explaining why he needs it to friends and family, etc. If anything seems off, or he is upset (whether helmet-related or not) I'll have to fight with my wife to keep it on his head.

Let me be clear that she will not be convinced that there's any good to be had from the helmet, whether or not it helps to round out his head.

Should I bother to pursue this? I've got 1 week to decide. Got the RX and everything, but he'll be 18 months on the 27th, after which insurance no longer covers 80%.

[Guest guest]

We put my son in one last winter when he was 11 months. We saw improvements right away as far as shape went. Hisnumbers improved some at first then bot much at all which we were told was probable because if his age. However, we are so glad we did it because by looking at shape we can tell a big difference. With him being a boy and not having all the hair a girl would have we wanted to know we did everything we could for him when he was older. He didn't bother it much after they got it adjusted right after the first week. Every once in a while he would really pull at it or unfasten the Velcro as he got older but was never really cranky, etc. With it. We had him out of it before the weather got too hot because his head dis sweat a lot. I hope this helps you with your decision.AmySent from my iPodOn Dec 17, 2010, at 1:48 PM, Leina Tian <leinatian@...> wrote:

I have twin boys, both started at 14.5 months, they were both above 99% of their head size in their age group. They've been wearing the helmets for 2.5 months now. Last measurement this Monday showed that Don had NO improvement, he's still at 8mm; however Derrick improved from 10mm to ~6mm. So the worse one now becomes the better one.

When I struggled with the decision of wether or not to band Don because he looked a lot better than Derrick, I told my family "what if Don becomes the worse one after I fix Derrick's head shape?", now even though I banded both, Don still becomes the worse one because there's no improvement with him at all. Do I regret about banding him? I do, not because of the $3000 I paid for him, but more because of so many sleepless nights the band brought to him and the endless struggles I had and am still having with my husband and inlaws because they still often get very upset about the helmets when the boys are fussy no matter if it's due to the helmets. The past 2.5 months is the longest tough period I've been.. However I'm still trying to let him wear the band whenever I can just in case there's another growth spurt that the band might be able to catch.

This hard path, all the sleepless nights, all the fights, the struggles and the money seem worthless if there's no improvement at all by the end. However if I never banded Don, I know I'd definitely regret after seeing Derrick's improvement. I would then be writing a totally different comment here now.

I don't want to encourage you to go for the helmet because due to your boy's age, he may just be like Don who would have no improvement at all. You will not know if you make the right decision until you band him and wait till the end.

Wish you all the best though!

Plagiocephaly From: jasonkapell@...Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:42:54 +0000Subject: doc band without support from spouse unrealistic?

I apologize if some of this is repetative. I've been posting for a lot for the last couple of weeks, as I'm quickly running out of time. Long story short, my wife and I don't see eye to eye on the DOC band. She thinks its totally unnecessary, and is upset at the thought of it. I am consumed by guilt, and also don't love the idea, but feel I owe it to my son. Is this something that I can do withough my wife's support? I'm not concerned with being the one who drives him back and forth, deals with insurance, and cleans the band. What worries me is that I will be the one encouraging (forcing) him to keep it on, explaining why he needs it to friends and family, etc. If anything seems off, or he is upset (whether helmet-related or not) I'll have to fight with my wife to keep it on his head. Let me be clear that she will not be convinced that there's any good to be had from the helmet, whether or not it helps to round out his head.Should I bother to

pursue this? I've got 1 week to decide. Got the RX and everything, but he'll be 18 months on the 27th, after which insurance no longer covers 80%.

[Guest guest]

Please go with the Doc Band. Your wife will come around and even if she

doesn't, in this case, you are right. It makes me sad when young adults come on

this board and wonder if they can do something at this point about their plagio

and unfortunately, after 2 yrs of age, the window of opportunity is gone. If

this helps, my pedi is Dr. Bob Sears (of the vaccination books) and he

recommended the Doc Band to me and his brother Jim Sears did a segment on his

show, the Doctors on plagio. Not to name drop but for some ppl that helps

convince them. I am so glad Dr.Sears recommended it. It's tough but it does

not hurt the kids, just hurts us parents b/c who likes to see their kids in

discomfort? Forget the naysayers b/c your kid will THANK YOU when they grow up.

You are a great dad for doing this alone; although everyone on this board is

with you on this, I am sure.

My son was a severe case and had two Doc Bands for 7 months w/asymetrical

features (ears, eyes and jaw); and he is now almost 2.5 and he looks fantastic.

I don't regret it. My MIL was fiercely against it and I had a mom refuse to let

her kid play with my " freak " son; but to be fair, most ppl are just curious, not

unkind. But for those that are rude or cruel, in the long run, that's their

problem. I stuck it out and now my son has a great looking head, if I do say so

myself!

>

> >

> >

> > pursue it. Tell her it's cruel of her not to support a medical non invasive

> > helmet. Ask her if she'd rather due skull surgery later? At 18 months your

> > window is closing for it helping at all. You do owe it to your son. it's

> > about your son not your wife's vanity for a few months. At worse you pay a

> > measly 20% for a bicycle helmet. I'm impoverished and paid 100% of cost

> > because it's THAT important to me. I don't want her teased and paranoid for

> > the rest of her life or something I could have done for her when she has no

> > memory of it and it didn't even hurt. Most kids find it comforting. My 20

> > month old doesn't think twice about it. She doesn't sweat, stink, it doesn't

> > bother her at all sleeping (and she sleeps on her tummy). Your his dad and

> > you have a right to parent him and a right to make him healthier.

> >

> >

> > ------------------------------

> > *From:* K <jasonkapell@...>

> > *To:* Plagiocephaly

> > *Sent:* Thu, December 16, 2010 4:42:54 PM

> > *Subject:* doc band without support from spouse unrealistic?

> >

> >

> >

> > I apologize if some of this is repetative. I've been posting for a lot for

> > the last couple of weeks, as I'm quickly running out of time. Long story

> > short, my wife and I don't see eye to eye on the DOC band. She thinks its

> > totally unnecessary, and is upset at the thought of it. I am consumed by

> > guilt, and also don't love the idea, but feel I owe it to my son. Is this

> > something that I can do withough my wife's support? I'm not concerned with

> > being the one who drives him back and forth, deals with insurance, and

> > cleans the band. What worries me is that I will be the one encouraging

> > (forcing) him to keep it on, explaining why he needs it to friends and

> > family, etc. If anything seems off, or he is upset (whether helmet-related

> > or not) I'll have to fight with my wife to keep it on his head.

> > Let me be clear that she will not be convinced that there's any good to be

> > had from the helmet, whether or not it helps to round out his head.

> > Should I bother to pursue this? I've got 1 week to decide. Got the RX and

> > everything, but he'll be 18 months on the 27th, after which insurance no

> > longer covers 80%.

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

>