Just Got a Brace!

[LindseyDavis]

I'm pretty new to the whole brace thing, I've had it for 1 and a half months and still cry every now and then at the thought of wearing it to school and giving up all my birthday clothes that will no longer fit w/ the boston brace! EEP! But, my dad found this so I can talk to all you galls and we can chat about the cutest ways to dress it and etc!

although it stinks and I hate the smell of the fresh plastic, I know I'm blessed to have the great care so that when I'm older I'll still have a hot back and good posture! Looking back you'll know that the days didnt matter and that now you are the one with the good situation of a healthy back! When the goin gets though, the tough get goin'!!

PS- have any style tips and any other kinds of tips plz tell me because I'm still new to it!

[LindseyDavis]

Oh, I'll be wearing it for 2 years and I'm currently fourteen. my curve started out at 27 but after one month my x-ray while wearing the brace was a 24!

Question- do any of you guys go to a chiropractor or reccommend it?

How do kids at school treat you?

What did you have to do for different leg lengths? plz not orthopedic big shoes!!!

[bracegirl]

Some advice from a seasoned vetran

Hey!
So, I'm an 18 year old who wore a brace for over 5 years. I wore a cheneau for most of that, but wore a Boston for a little under a year. so here's some tricks:

1. Clothes: babydoll tops and loose clothes are best. Don't get those silly t shirts that feel like they're made from kleenex. they'll tear so easily. as far as pants, get ones that fit in the waist and find someone who can hem pants. its much easier than searching for the perfect pair that fits your brace, trust me they don't exist.

2. Kids are generally very accepting of the brace. I never really got teased about it at all. Most of the people I met were super supportive.

3. WEAR THE BRACE. I know it sounds silly but please just do it. It will only help you. I knew girls who hid their brace from their parents. Parents shouldn't have to force you to wear it. you should take the initiative yourself.

hmmm thats all I can come up with now. post more questions if you have them!

[LindseyDavis]

Thanks! I'll totally look into that for the pants! Glad to hear the kids will accept it, maybe I'll try wearing it more than just wednesdays to school. (my doc wanted me to wear it to school every day and every wednesday at school is a half day so i was planning to just wear it then, but if i can master dressing up ill go for it!) thanks!

[Snoopy]

Lindsey,

Welcome! You will find several kids/teens on this forum, but if you want to find a lot of kids going through what you are, you might want to check out SpineKids. It is a forum much like this one, only it has more kids/teens posting than adults. Several people post on both forums.

Mary Lou

[LindseyDavis]

Cool, I think I may switch to that if it has more action going on and more constant and recent posts! Thanks for the update!

[Snoopy]

You're welcome for the update. And you are more than welcome to stay here as well.

Mary Lou

[bracegirl]

Re: school

I feel like I'm harping a bit, but if your doctor said you should wear it every day to school then you really should. He's wanting those 5 days a week and one half day every week is not gonna do anything for your back whatsoever. The brace needs to be worn in a consistent, long term manner for it to be effective. Compliance is shown to be a huge factor in brace success. It is much much more likely to work if you wear it when the doctor says you should. I was nearly 100% compliant for over 5 years, and it sucks, I know, but if you wanna avoid surgery then you need to wear it. Your classmates will completely understand and be supportive, you just have to be up front and answer any questions they have, no matter how stupid they are (ie. Is it bulletproof??). In terms of clothes, yea there are times when you feel like you look awfully ugly but there's no way of avoiding it. And yea, I had random strangers come up to me and ask "my my, what IS that thing on our back? You must have had quite an accident!" and those people are annoying but just remember that the brace is only gonna help and that it won't be forever. Plus you're 14 already! I got a brace at age 12. You will definitely not be braced for 5 years like me. You will be in and out super quick. So just hang in there!

[LindseyDavis]

Hi, Thanks for the extra boost! For the last few days I've been thinking about that and I think I can handle it and so can others (and if they can't handle it then that's cuz they are n't wereth it as a friend!) I'll hang in there and after the firswt week Im sure ill be totally used to it (I Hope!!)

haha (Is it bulletprooF? That was pretty funny to hear)

[bracegirl]

haha

yea, you wouldn't believe how many times I got that question. Like, no of course its not bulletproof, its PLASTIC you dummies. seriously, sheesh. Although it does work nicely against air soft pellets. for awhile I was my brother's favorite target. Then one time he let my cousin shoot at me and she missed and hit me right below the eye. Then he was not allowed to shoot at me anymore. lol

[LindseyDavis]

Thats sooo close to ur eye... eeek! I dont have any brothers, just two sisters (Im the middle child!) but that certainly doesnt mean they can be just as... well, rough and not carefull! ha, my older sister once put a hot marshmallow on my eye! I was so young tho so i dont remember thankfully! Oh siblings...

[lovinglife]

heyy i know how it feels the first few months wid the brace. ive been wearing it for over two years now. and i just wear it at home for a couple hrs a day. but dont cry over it. think positive. i have a friend that has scoliosis real bad. so appreciate your brace no matter how unfair you think it is. and if you want give me your email address and ill send you a couple of pics of outfits i wore wid my brace for ideas.

[LindseyDavis]

Thanks Girls!

Its so great to hear from girls w/ scoliosis, i was just searching up how to increase my capacity and I learned that 2-3 % f population has scoliosis and 1% gets treatment. That made me so annoyed (I mean, why dont skanks and jerks get it????) Im lulucarman@gmail.com, I need lots of help with gettiing dressed w/ it, but I do have some really great outfits that conceal it.

[cherrylips]

Hey lindsey. Im glad you got your brace. I know exactly how you feel about wearing your brace to school. I have been thru that. I was embarassed and i hated wearing it because it used to be so hot and painful. All i got to say is PLS wear your brace at all times. I did not wear mine and my curve ended up getting worse than before..

About clothing. I used to wear t-shirts one size bigger and strechable pants so that it'll be easier to wear.

[karend]

Hey there,

I had the same concerns as you when I was 12 and I was told that I would have to wear my boston brace for 22 hours a day in middle school. It's definitely not the best situation! As a pre-teen I was very image conscious myself and wore the brace for a month. I opted to wear the Charleston night time bending brace instead and I thought being uncomfortable for only the night time was a better option for me because I was free in the day. I played sports so that also made me not want to wear a brace in the day. Hope this helps!