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

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Hi Amy!!

In our case (Plagio and Brachy with torticollis) our pediatrician brought it to our attention and referred us to a specialist. I honestly expected the specialist to say it was fine and correcting on its own! Instead his first words were "Oh this is bad!" I was so upset. And this guy is supposedly the best and world renowned, etc. So he referred us for a helmet but we decided to get a second opinion from another specialist (who we liked much better) and he referred us to Cranial Tech. We also got great recommendations on CT from other parents of banded babies.

1. So obviously in our case - we had no problem getting a Rx, first from the pediatrician and then the other two specialists. I can only tell you the great advice my friend reminds of which is that your pediatrician works for you. You are paying them to work for you. So no need to be nervous, you are taking matters into your own hands to do what you think is right for your child. If he gives you any sort of trouble, maybe it is time to switch because he should be supporting you. I am shocked to hear how many parents on here had to bring this to their doctors attention.

2. We are so happy with our DOC band. We are not done yet, she has been in it for 5 weeks today and we were there for an adjustment today. We have seen MAJOR changes, even within a week we noticed such a difference. I am not sure how long she will have it, they initial guess was 2-3 months. I would research if you want to "shop around". We went with CT because we got so many recommendations for there, including that second specialist who said he only sends his patients there. However, I read many parents emails on this board that are happy with their Star and Hanger bands as well. My understanding is that those results are more dependent on the ortho and that they can wear them longer than a DOC band but I am not sure.

3. As above, she has been in it 5 weeks today and expect another 4 to 6 weeks.

4. There are many parents on here with older kids in bands, my understanding is they have to wear them much longer and the results may vary. From what I have heard (although initially when we were deciding, many people said it would "round out on its own") and especially read here, I would not count on it rounding out on its own. And then you are in a position where it may be too late to do anything. And now that I am so aware of plagio and brachy - I can really spot kids (and adults!!!) with it where it did not round out on its own.

Good luck and don't worry!!! We are so happy with our decision an results!!! And if your insurance with cover it 100% w/Rx - you are very fortunate!!! Go for it And at Devin's age, he shouldn't be in it too long. And keep up with the tort exercises!

mom to Willow 8months

From: alb5118 <alb5118@...>Subject: New here - Brachy Boy soon to get his 1st DOC band - long story Plagiocephaly Date: Monday, March 15, 2010, 7:15 PM

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!