Re: New here - Brachy Boy soon to get his 1st DOC band - long story :)

March 16, 2010

1. Did you have any trouble getting an prescription from your doctor?

No, I asked my daughter's pediatrician for a referral to a specialist and she

referred us to a pediatric neurosurgeon. I told him I wanted a prescription for

a band, and he wrote it. BTW, in hindsight, the specialist really wasn't

necessary.

2. Were you happy with the DOC band? Should I get an eval from another place?

We were very happy with Cranial Tech and the DOC Band. My only complaint is that

Lexi outgrew the band too quickly (I would have liked to have gotten one more

month out of it) but she got really good correction in a very short time. CT

staff in Dallas is outstanding and we had no problems with the band.

3. what was the length of time your little one was in the band?

7 weeks. Her cranial vault asymmetry went from 10 mm to 3 mm in that time.

4. Where are all the older kids with the flat heads??? Is this honestly

something that would get better without intervention?

Maybe, maybe not. Personally, I wasn't willing to risk it not improving. She

still has some minor asymmetry, and I'm not expecting it to correct on its own.

If it does, FANTASTIC! If it doesn't, I know we did everything we could to help

her.

Good luck!

Sharyn

Lexi DOC Band graduate 02/10

>

> Hi I am Amy, mom to Devin 5 months old. Devin has had a flat head since the

day he was born. Apparently since I carried so low his little head got wedged

into my pelvis and started the whole " high in the back " prone to flat thingy...

I am still learning the terms to all of this.

>

> Anyway, I have brought his head shape up at each well visit since birth and

the ped just kind of brushed it off. He said that as long as it was symmetrical

it wasn't anything to be concerned about. By his 4 month well visit it was

obvious that he had a bit of torticollis too so he started us with some neck

stretching exercises. We have been doing the exercises religiously and are not

seeing a whole lot of improvement. He has a tendency to always turn his head to

the right no matter what position I put him in, or what end of the bed or

changing table he is at. I am starting to notice that the right side of his

forehead is starting to protrude out.

>

> I came across Cranial Technologies website one night looking for more

information and saw they offered a free evaluation. I figured why not go get it

checked out - maybe they will say that I am seeing things and not to worry. No

such luck. I didn't think to ask for the measurements at the time but here are

the comments along with his photo study...

> " Devin is a 5.0 month old male referred to Cranial Technologies for treatment

of his brachycephaly. He presents with occipital flattening and an increased

head width to length ration. Increased width. Increased posterior head height;

sloped forehead. Occipital flattening; increased head width to length ratio. "

> Then the OT said on her notes...

> Devin is an appropriate candidate for the DOC band given his width, severe

posterior height and asymmetries. "

>

> I got a call back to day to let me know that my insurance will cover 100% with

a pre-authorization and doctor's prescription. that is fantastic news but I am

really nervous about asking our primary doc for an rx since he kept saying that

we didn't need to worry.

>

> So, if you made it this far I have a couple questions.

> 1. Did you have any trouble getting an prescription from your doctor?

> 2. Were you happy with the DOC band? Should I get an eval from another place?

> 3. what was the length of time your little one was in the band?

> 4. Where are all the older kids with the flat heads??? Is this honestly

something that would get better without intervention?

>

> Thanks for your time! I look forward to being an active member on here!

>

March 17, 2010

Hi Amy,

I too carried one of my twins very low, wedged into my pelvis and started the

whole " high in the back " prone-to-flatten-out issue, and her head got even worse

in the first three months.

Our first ped noticed a moderate problem at around 4 months, and said that a

helmet would be appropriate. But then we moved immediately after, and our new

ped was much more resistant. However, after specifically requesting a referral,

our daughter was checked by a plagio/brachy specialist (at Cincinnati Children's

Hospital). They agreed that there was moderate brachycephaly, and was referred

at 6 months for a Hanger Helmet. (And the brachy improved only slightly on its

own between months 4 and 6.) She started wearing the helmet at 6 1/2 months.

My daughter has only been in in the helmet for 5 weeks, but the improvement is

already quite noticeable. Hanger has indicated that she'll probably be in the

helmet between 3 and 4 months. She is growing slowly (we're a petite family),

which is why, I suspect, it will take closer to 4 months. She tolerates it with

only very minimal fussing (no crying at all). It's not painful, although a

little infant tylenol in the few days when it's tightest (before foam is

removed) also makes life easier on everyone!

Just FYI, we went with Hanger because it is the only facility in the vicinity.

However, I think that the most significant determinate of the quality of care at

a Hanger facility is how many children's helmets they do there -- experience is

key. Being right near a children's hospital, this Hanger facility does many --

we see other children in the waiting room each time we go. But Hanger handles

other types of orthodics (unlike CT). So if the Hanger near you primarily

handles adults with other issues, then they may not be a good choice.

As for older children with flat heads, I think that there are three answers.

First, until the " back to sleep " program started 10-15 years ago, this wasn't an

issue. And I think that it probably took about 5 years for the program to catch

on. Second, very mild cases probably aren't noticeable once there is hair,

especially if the hair is wavy/curly. Third, except for very severe cases, I

suspect that even when people think that a child looks " a bit odd/off " , people

don't automatically connect it with plagio/brachy. Until my twins came along, I

never gave the issue any thought. However, I'll bet that I've glanced at a

number of 5 year olds with brachycephaly.

If insurance covers all/most of it, I highly recommend getting it.