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I hate wearing my brace to school

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  • I hate wearing my brace to school

    I hate this thing and i mostly hate it when i have to wear it to school. it is very hard for me to play gym and i am currently doing volleyball in gym but the good side of it is if i get hit in the stomach with a ball i wont feel it

  • #2
    You know, with a 29* curve, you might have other options besides a 23-hour a day brace.

    Did your orthopedic surgeon mention any of these other options?
    Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

    No island of sanity.

    Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
    Answer: Medicine


    "We are all African."

    Comment


    • #3


      Hi!
      I wore a body brace for 23 hours aday too! I wore mine for 18 months. Somedays I wish I could have melted it at a weeny roast!!! lol Then on other days I was glad I had it because, I fell out of chairs, I also have an annoying brother! lol My brother used to shoot me with a dart gun cause they would stick! lol He could also drag me across the carpet because I would slide really easy. I know that right now you hate it but stick with it to try and avoid surgery at all costs!!!!! Don't have to much fun avoiding volleyballs!!! lol
      Diagnosed in '06'
      Wore TLSO brace for 18 mo.
      Upper curve 40 degrees; lower 35 degrees
      Surgery in March '08' (T6 - T11)
      Rods for 7 vertabraes; 3 fused
      Still have lumbar curve (T12 - L4) of now, 33 degrees
      I have osteoarthritis, 3 bulging discs, stenosis, fast progressing lordosis, vertebrea twisting (vertebreas almost on side) all in lumbar spine. Will most likely have another surgery to extend rods and fusion. :'(

      Comment


      • #4
        Hang in there

        I know how you feel. I have to get up and shower and put my brace back on. I have been wearing it to work for so long everyone thinks its part of me and no one says a word, except for me sometimes. I wear a Milwaukee brace and I too want to roast it sometimes, but mostly without it I would loose function of my legs and now my left arm. Hang in there, you will adapt and people will always stare but its how you see them that matters not how they see you. But mostly how you see yourself. =)
        Last edited by TraumaScoli; 03-23-2009, 10:15 AM.
        Kevin
        AIS and Traumatic Scoliosis
        Degrees always differ (LOL)
        THIS FORUM ROCKS!!!!!

        Comment


        • #5
          I cannot really know what its like to wear a brace. I can tell you my daughters experience. She was put in the boston brace when her curve was 34 at the beginning of 6th grade age 12. She had a lot of growth left. Her doctor prescribed 20 hours a day. She was mad, self-concious ,miserable and scared . She was allowed to remove the brace for PE and volleyball ,basketball practices and games.She is a clothes lover and was always upset with how the brace looked under her clothes. Her curve went from 32 to almost 0 then slowly ended up at about 11 and 21. She eventually was told to switch to nighttime only until last spring. She stopped wearing it at the beginning of this school year grade 9 15years old in august. Her last x ray was in January 2009 after being out of the brace for 6 months. Her curve is around 25 and holding. As miserable as she was she is glad she complied and it worked for her.

          Comment


          • #6
            there are many advantages and disadvantages to a brace

            hey,

            i know the brace is a pain in the butt sometimes, and i hate how i get soaked with perspiration all the time, get skin irritation, and can't bend over to pick my books out from under my desk at school, but all this is for a good reason. would you rather have to take months of rehab and not be able o bend a section of your back for the rest of your life, or wear this brace for a couple of years to stop your curve(s) form getting worse. If you think about it carefully, wearing a brace beats the other decision. try to stick with it, because your getting a lot out of it!

            ~*Hannah*~
            AKA: cactigirl96
            Hey guys!
            My name is Hannah, I'm 14 years old, and I had a spinal fusion on 8/27/09
            I feel great now!
            Pre-op = 28T and 45L
            Post-op = 18T and 22L

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by cactigirl96 View Post
              hey,

              i know the brace is a pain in the butt sometimes, and i hate how i get soaked with perspiration all the time, get skin irritation, and can't bend over to pick my books out from under my desk at school, but all this is for a good reason.
              I certainly hope that is the case for you.

              But you seem to have some unusual and false ideas about fusion surgery on the average kid. For example,

              would you rather have to take months of rehab
              My daughter had ZERO rehab and that is the usual case for most kids as far as I can tell.

              and not be able to bend a section of your back for the rest of your life,
              My daughter's curve was in the thorax. She canNOT detect any change in her ability to bend because very little bending is done through that part of the spine. There would be some loss for lumbar fusions, though relatively little because most bending is done from the hips.

              or wear this brace for a couple of years to stop your curve(s) form getting worse.
              That is arguably worse that spinal fusion even if the brace worked to halt the curve in my opinion based on my daughter's case for reasons I won't get into now unless asked. And there is no guarantee any brace would have worked for my daughter.

              If you think about it carefully, wearing a brace beats the other decision.
              I've thought about it and think wearing a brace is worse than spinal fusion, at least in my daughter's case. And I think she would agree. Surgery put her back in the general population on ALL future back issues per her surgeon.

              Your case might be different. All cases are different.

              Just something to ponder. Or not. Always try to determine if you are getting good information, not just with scoliosis but for everything in life. Consider you might not be. Be skeptical. That's what I tell my kids. It could save you worry and grief.

              Good luck.
              Last edited by Pooka1; 03-24-2009, 09:11 PM.
              Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

              No island of sanity.

              Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
              Answer: Medicine


              "We are all African."

              Comment


              • #8
                PLEASE wear your brace so you don't ever have to make the decision to have this major surgery. I wish my parents and relatives would've forced me to wear mine 20 years ago, but I screamed & cried . I really wish I would have worn it all those years ago & listened to my dr. & parents.
                Jenn
                37 y/o female
                60 degree lumbar
                45 degree thoracic
                1st time anterior/posterior surgery May 8th and 10th 2006
                T 5 to S 1
                NYC

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by summer View Post
                  PLEASE wear your brace so you don't ever have to make the decision to have this major surgery. I wish my parents and relatives would've forced me to wear mine 20 years ago, but I screamed & cried . I really wish I would have worn it all those years ago & listened to my dr. & parents.
                  Wearing a brace faithfully is no guarantee to avoid a decision on surgery.

                  You don't seem to be aware that there is no good evidence that braces work.

                  How do you explain all the bracing failures, my daughter apparently being yet another one? Do you think they are all a non-compliance problem? My daughter is fully compliant... her decision, not mine. I think it is arguably in her best interest to be NON-compliant.

                  As far as we know, you made the correct decision not to wear your brace. Or at least it is not obviously wrong.

                  And last, did you know that fusion can put at least some kids and adults back in the general population on all future back issues? Has bracing ever done that to anyone's knowledge (over and above watching/waiting)?
                  Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

                  No island of sanity.

                  Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
                  Answer: Medicine


                  "We are all African."

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    hi!

                    Hey I'm new to this website. my mom showed me it yesterday afternoon. I just got my brace on thursday, but I already hate it. I haven't worn it to school yet, but just imagining it is making me feel sick. I really hope it doesn't show through my clothes, but on the other hand I don't want to try to hide something because I'm ashamed of it (that's not my personality). Anyone remember what happened on their first day wearing it to school?

                    Anyway, I have a 28 degree curve (not that bad, I guess) and wear a Boston thoracic brace. oh, and I'm 15 years old.


                    -Stephanie

                    Stephanie. Fifteen.
                    Boston Braced Since March 26, 2009.
                    2 thoracic curves: 28 and 22 degrees.
                    1 lower lumbar curve: 14 degrees.

                    One leg is longer than the other; pelvic tilt.
                    Curves are reversing in my brace!
                    Mother and sister with mild scoliosis,
                    and treatment was not required.


                    "I am uneven.
                    2 Halves.
                    1 body.
                    A curve.
                    So what?
                    Mistakes.
                    They lie.
                    Within.
                    My spine.
                    I.
                    Do not.
                    Match up.
                    Inside.
                    And outside.
                    I am uneven."


                    written by me. on May 7, 2008.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Hi all,
                      Im new to the site, and I did wear a Boston brace at 14 to school combined with a shoe raise. We had a strict school uniform and at the time it was impossible for me to find clothes the same as the uniform so I had to wear the most similar thing I could. I stood out and was bullied and stopped wearing the brace. I really wish I hadn't and had pointed out the bullies because I am in a much worse position now and the older you are the harder it is to recover from surgery. Please persevere, I know it's uncomfortable, embarrassing for some people, sweaty, rubs in places and makes you feel downright miserable at times but in the long run its worth it. At least you can look back in years to come and say "doing that made me a stronger person, and left me in a better position with my spine".
                      Best wishes
                      Claire

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        working on it.

                        Cherrybird:

                        I'm wearing my brace right now, and it's hurting me so terribly. But after reading that last comment I KNOW that I will stick it out. Thank you so much.

                        -Stephanie

                        Stephanie. Fifteen.
                        Boston Braced Since March 26, 2009.
                        2 thoracic curves: 28 and 22 degrees.
                        1 lower lumbar curve: 14 degrees.

                        One leg is longer than the other; pelvic tilt.
                        Curves are reversing in my brace!
                        Mother and sister with mild scoliosis,
                        and treatment was not required.


                        "I am uneven.
                        2 Halves.
                        1 body.
                        A curve.
                        So what?
                        Mistakes.
                        They lie.
                        Within.
                        My spine.
                        I.
                        Do not.
                        Match up.
                        Inside.
                        And outside.
                        I am uneven."


                        written by me. on May 7, 2008.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Brace and Sports?

                          I am one of those girls who really loves to play sports and just wear a T-shirt in the summer. But since I have a brace on my body I probably won't be able to do that 2 years from now. It is very frustrating because you probably won't want anyone to see your brace right I mean who wants too? I just wish sometimes that there were no such thing of "Scoliosis". What do you guys think?
                          SmileyGirl8
                          T30
                          Got my brace on March 21,2009
                          Age 12
                          <3

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I had colorful braces and I wore mine openly. I wasn't in public school, so can't really help you guys there. I wore tank tops under mine. I liked shirts and pants with little seams because they would dig into your skin and would really hurt!! I totally understand your guys pain while wearing it. I would take mine off and I would have huge bruises on my back, but despite the discomfort and what people thought of me I still wore it. I would have occasional emotion meltdowns over what people thought of me. But I would think of all the people stuck in wheelchairs, or people that couldn't walk and would think of how good I have it. Yeah, it is kind of ugly and hot, and you get stared at but this will go away after a while. Others may be stuck in like the same thing for life. Yeah your back will always be crooked and may require surgery, but it is not the worst thing that can happen to you and it is not the end of the world. So, just stick with it, inform as many people as you can and just think it will all be over before you know it.
                            Diagnosed in '06'
                            Wore TLSO brace for 18 mo.
                            Upper curve 40 degrees; lower 35 degrees
                            Surgery in March '08' (T6 - T11)
                            Rods for 7 vertabraes; 3 fused
                            Still have lumbar curve (T12 - L4) of now, 33 degrees
                            I have osteoarthritis, 3 bulging discs, stenosis, fast progressing lordosis, vertebrea twisting (vertebreas almost on side) all in lumbar spine. Will most likely have another surgery to extend rods and fusion. :'(

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              hmm.

                              Pooka,

                              I agree that a lot of the times the braces don't work out, and they can't all be because of non-compliance. But guess what? A lot of times they do! It's just about what your doctor thinks is best for you. No one can really know what your curve is going to do as you grow older, but the best people to take advice from is the doctor, because each case is different. I am really hoping that my brace will work and I won't have to have any surgery. No one wants to wear a brace, and no one wants to have scoli surgery. But we take what we are given, and sometimes it's not good news, but we just have to deal.

                              Stephanie. Fifteen.
                              Boston Braced Since March 26, 2009.
                              2 thoracic curves: 28 and 22 degrees.
                              1 lower lumbar curve: 14 degrees.

                              One leg is longer than the other; pelvic tilt.
                              Curves are reversing in my brace!
                              Mother and sister with mild scoliosis,
                              and treatment was not required.


                              "I am uneven.
                              2 Halves.
                              1 body.
                              A curve.
                              So what?
                              Mistakes.
                              They lie.
                              Within.
                              My spine.
                              I.
                              Do not.
                              Match up.
                              Inside.
                              And outside.
                              I am uneven."


                              written by me. on May 7, 2008.

                              Comment

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