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faantastic

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  • faantastic

    hey there, im a 16 yo male and i just got my 'boston' brace on thursday. Its been pretty painful, i have a 40 + degree curve in my lumbar region and was told that because of my age i dont have the time to try and get used to the brace so im on 22/7. Im australian so must have different standards over here, as i hear its 23/7 in america. At the moment im really struggling getting used to it, ive had alot of constant back pain since ive had it on, before hand i had no pain at all. But the main problem i have is sleeping with it on. I used to sleep a solid 10 hours no breaks, now i find myself struggling to get to sleep even when im dead tired, and waking several times in the night with a massive urge to take the brace off. Its getting rather hard to keep sanity at the moment, as i need a good nights rest. Any suggestions on how to make it a less painful experience?

  • #2
    Hi

    ......Just curious what part of Australia you're from??, Did you know we have a Scoliosis asssociation here http://www.scoliosis.org.au

    "so im on 22/7. Im australian so must have different standards over here, as i hear its 23/7 in america"

    Umm.......mate we don't particularly have different standards here, the number of hours in a brace really depends on the Doctor......what they prefer, what they have used in the past, what they are looking at to achieve etc.......whether your in the US, UK, Australia, the number of hours in a brace each day can range anywhere from 12 hours to 23 hours a day...the 'standard' for full time bracing is either 22 or 23 hours.

    "Any suggestions on how to make it a less painful experience?"

    Ok......maybe with your age/growth etc you can't take 'forever' to get used to it, but how about taking it in incrememnts of 4, or even 8 (ie 8 hours, 16 hours, 22 hours). A brace isn't something you can get used to 'overnight'.......no wonder your muscles are 'complaining' about being in it full time, straight away. Once you have mastered sleeping at night......your almost nearly 'there'. For getting used to it in bed......loosening it a bit (ie the straps), at first, can help........also lots of pillows (some squishy....others of diff sizes etc)......to position you......you will get there but it often does take time

    Alison

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    • #3
      unfortunately, it's something that just takes time. but please persevere! if surgery can be avoided then that's a huge opportunity. i don't really have much advice apart from what's already been said. i think it's odd you've not been told to break yourself in a bit. i got a brace when i was 14, and i guess that i'd have been at a similar growth stage as you're at now (seeing as i'm female and we stop and start growing sooner than guys do), but i was told only to take a maximum of two weeks over it... but different doctors have different opinions. good luck with it, i hope it's successful for you
      diagnosed aged 14 (2001)
      braced from july 2001 to february 2003 to hold curves
      fused T11-L3 on july 16th 2005 (aged 18)
      Discharged by surgeon july 11th 2007 (aged 20 and almost 2 years post-op)
      scoliosis support forum

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      • #4
        yep western australia here. Its my 5th day today, it hasnt hurt as much but im about to try sleeping, hoping the suggestions that youve said do help, even if a little bit. Will tell you how it goes in the morning.

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        • #5
          hi!
          my name is Liat and I am 16.5 years old.
          I have scoliosis...
          I began to wear a boston brace a year ago, and I am still wearing it..
          In the begining it's a very hard to me to sleep with the boston..
          but now it's ok...
          I lie on the side, and I put cushion between the wall and my bad.
          I hope you understand what I wrote...
          don't worry!

          liat

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          • #6
            its still hard to stay asleep. When i attempted to sleep it was more comfortable, but i still found myself waking up several times and in the end not feeling refreshed. I guess i need to just keep at it

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            • #7
              Yeah, keep at it. It will just take some time to get used to it...

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              • #8
                My daughter took about three weeks to get used to her brace. Sleeping was very hard at first, and she found it helped to loosen the brace at night. After that early adjustment period she was then able to sleep with the brace fully tightened. Eventually, she got so used to the brace that she felt she would not be able to sleep without it.

                Cheers - Patricia
                Patricia
                Scoli Mum from New Zealand
                Daughter Caitlin's surgery 2nd May 2005
                Posterior fusion T3 - L1

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