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day 5 wearing the Boston Brace... how will she sleep at night???

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  • day 5 wearing the Boston Brace... how will she sleep at night???

    My daughter (11 yrs old) started wearing her Boston Brace 5 days ago. She's got a very positive attitude.
    She's supposed to wear it 23 hours per day. She's had around 7 hours at a time so far, with an hour or so of rest. She says she feels so floppy and relaxed when she takes it off! School is not a problem, so far.

    The only problem is wearing the brace to sleep. She prefers to sleep on her side, and can not do that with the brace. She has ended up taking it off every night after a little while trying to sleep. Is there any way of making it more comfortable yet useful when she sleeps???

    I surprised her with a new wardrobe of larger tops and "hoodies" as well as a couple of pairs of jeans and panchos just before picking up the brace. They are coming in handy, and have diverted her attention from the potential discomfort of the brace, thankfully. She wears the "Boston T" underneath and doubles it up over the bottom of the brace underneath her shirts, so it's pretty much concealed and padded.

    Any ideas for sleeping at night??

  • #2
    sleeping in brace

    I assume you have already tried a variety of pillows added, between the knees, behind the back, etc... I know Sean preferred side sleeping as well, but until he got used to the brace he ended up sleeping on his back with a pillow under his knees.

    One thing we have done wiht him now (he is in halo traction to straiten his upper Tspine) is to get him a tempurpedic mattress topper (not brand name, but got it at costco for 89 bucks) and let me tell you, he slept like a baby his first night on it, after tossing and turning for several nights previous to it. Truly made a HUGE difference, and when I lay down on it myself, I dont want to get up! When we get home from our Seattle adventure I intend to get one for MY bed!

    Good luck to you and our daughter... its hard, but it can be done. She is doing great so far... keep up the good work!

    Heidi
    Heidi (mom to 3 boys, Sean is 9 and has LCDH, SBS, is TPN, O2, and Bipap dependent, has SVC stenosis/stent x4, severe malignant scoliosis fused twice from T1-L2, halo traction for 2 months, severe restrictive lung disease, a CVL and GT, Fundo x2, and is one of my heroes.)

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    • #3
      tempurpedic mattress topper.... hmmmmmm: my daughter has been asking me for this for a couple of years, before even being diagnosed with the scoliosis!!! She will love it!! Good idea. thanks, and good luck to you, too!

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      • #4
        The tempurepedic was my suggestion also. I also wore a Boston brace back in the '70's. I'm not sure if it was the same as the ones now, but it had the plastic brace around my torso and bars in the back and front and around my neck. Tell your daughter that it really does get easier. I eventually got used to it and slept ok.

        How others at school look at her will be determined a lot by how she feels about herself. There were a couple of other girls who wore braces when I did, and they just kinda quit doing things, so everyone thought they couldn't do things. Now on the other hand, I am just a WEE bit stubborn and was determined to do all that I did before I got the brace. I also wore it 23 hours a day, which meant I had track practice and had to run in it. I was also on the rally squad and had to jump and do the splits with it on. Not too easy to get up from that position! I remember the rally squad advisor telling my mother that I should quit because it didn't look right for me to be on the squad. My mom was very supportive and needless to say, she marched down to the school and gave her a piece of her mind! If that had happened in this day and age, the advisor would have been reprimanded in some manner.

        So the moral in the story is to be positive-have a strong support group of family and friends, and show everyone that you are still you! Another plus for me was the fact that the guys that asked me out truly were interested in ME and were willing to overlook the brace. Kinda weeded out the ones that weren't worth it. In fact, I married one of those guys 25 years ago and we are still going strong!

        Tell your daughter that she can ask me any questions she has. We have been there and truly understand how scary it can be.
        Use this forum- I have had so much help already and I am new to this sight. Wish her luck and keep that positive attitude. You can do anything if you set your mind to it.

        Jenee'

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        • #5
          we're getting to our two-week mark

          thank you for your replies so far. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks in the brace. My daughter is wearing a Boston t-shirt under the brace and folding it up over the bottom half, with a hoodie or a sweatshirt or loose shirt over it, sometimes also with a poncho or fleece jacket. Layers are her style. Her blue jeans all fit and it just looks like she's wearing an untucked shirt over them.

          She's now sleeping with a body-pillow I bought a Sears... the tempurpedics didn't come in twin size mattress toppers, so I tried the alternative, which worked! (so-far... for 3 nights)

          We're going to a dr. in nyc in two weeks for management of the bracing... hope we're comfortable there.

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          • #6
            What is a boston t-shirt

            HI,
            We are in the process of waiting , we have seen two doctors. One wants to brace, one wants to wait. My son's curve is 20 degrees. I was wondering why there wasn't any padding or covers for the braces. Is there? Also has anyone ever heard of Scoliosis Associates in NYC? That is our third opinion. We are also looking into a pediatric orthopedist closer to our area by the name of Dr. Nelson in Pleasantville, NY. any help on these questions would be appreciated.
            Thanks
            Laura

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            • #7
              Waiting or bracing

              To brians mom.

              You say one doctor wants to wait and the other wants to brace. Normally in the UK if the curve gets to 20+, then doctors would recommend bracing. This is when they try to decide which one they think is best, a plaster cast or a brace. Usually they go with a brace that does up at the back, to see if helps and it usually does. Which they may request to be worn at all times except bed or they request it to be worn just at bed. Through my experience (of 19 years) me and my doctors would rather go with a brace rather than wait.

              Hope you find a solution.

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              • #8
                Boston T-Shirt/Night wear

                Hi,
                In reply to the mom with a question about the t-shirt, the Boston T is a very nice, and really expensive, t-shirt worn underneath the brace to cushion the skin. My daughter prefers it to any of the substitutes that we've found, which means that we do a lot of laundry to make sure one it always clean. Regular T-shirts aren't long enough for her, because she likes to pull the bottom up over her brace, and the athletic style Ts (tank top style) don't cushion under the armpits.

                At night, though, she prefers to wear her Boston brace over her nightclothes. She can take it off faster then if she wants to use the bathroom.

                I think that she also feels a little more normal that way. On weekends, she'll often wear the brace over her clothes, just so she can wear "regular" things. Doesn't bother us, as long as she has it on!

                Chris

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