Re: No Change after Cast #1

[Guest guest]

Im sorry there was no change. Keep in mind it is a slow process. Your son is on the bit of the older side so maybe he didn't have a growth spurt in the last 10 weeks. Its a very good sign that the in cast numbers are better. It shows he is getting a bit more comfortable. How is the rotation ? keep positive i know you will get some change in the next few cast . Sent from Samsung Mobile

zwitkin wrote:

Hello All

we were pretty disappointing taking Binyamin's cast off ( we hope you all got to see the video how painless it was for ALL involved in the comfort of our home) and see on X-Ray that there was no change. Dr.C at Philly said he is not giving up yet ( although it is not a good sign) and is willing to try 2-3 casts and then see from there. Once Binyamin was in the 2nd cast ( which thank g-d went pretty well) the X-ray showed an improvement in the curvature.

Basically- there is only improvement in the cast but Binyamins body does not seem to be responding and keeping that change.

Does anyone have experience and/or clinical knowledge to share about this? We are trying to be optimistic but also want to be realistic.

Thanks in advance

Zehava-

Mom to Binayamin - 25 months old

[Guest guest]

We are on cast 7 and we have had some good ones and some not so good ones. I think we had 3 casts ina row where we only saw 1 degree of improvement. I wouldn't worry too much. It depends upon growing spurts as well.....better luck next time. It can be very frustrating I know.

From: zwitkin <zwitkin@...>Subject: No Change after Cast #1infantile scoliosis treatment Date: Thursday, January 26, 2012, 10:33 PM

Hello Allwe were pretty disappointing taking Binyamin's cast off ( we hope you all got to see the video how painless it was for ALL involved in the comfort of our home) and see on X-Ray that there was no change. Dr.C at Philly said he is not giving up yet ( although it is not a good sign) and is willing to try 2-3 casts and then see from there. Once Binyamin was in the 2nd cast ( which thank g-d went pretty well) the X-ray showed an improvement in the curvature.Basically- there is only improvement in the cast but Binyamins body does not seem to be responding and keeping that change.Does anyone have experience and/or clinical knowledge to share about this? We are trying to be optimistic but also want to be realistic.Thanks in advance Zehava- Mom to Binayamin - 25 months old

[Guest guest]

I wouldn't worry too much. I believe that just means his spine is still on the flexible side which is good. Eventually as he gets older, it will stiffen up and I believe this is what holds and maintains the correction.-LeoSent from my iPhoneOn Jan 26, 2012, at 10:33 PM, "zwitkin" <zwitkin@...> wrote:

Hello All

we were pretty disappointing taking Binyamin's cast off ( we hope you all got to see the video how painless it was for ALL involved in the comfort of our home) and see on X-Ray that there was no change. Dr.C at Philly said he is not giving up yet ( although it is not a good sign) and is willing to try 2-3 casts and then see from there. Once Binyamin was in the 2nd cast ( which thank g-d went pretty well) the X-ray showed an improvement in the curvature.

Basically- there is only improvement in the cast but Binyamins body does not seem to be responding and keeping that change.

Does anyone have experience and/or clinical knowledge to share about this? We are trying to be optimistic but also want to be realistic.

Thanks in advance

Zehava-

Mom to Binayamin - 25 months old

[Guest guest]

Hey! Our Daughter Sierra is skinny pheno type and her spine is very stiff...you would think it would be the other way around...if her body type was more chunky it would be more stiff but it is not. We started casting Sierra at 12 mo. with a 34 degree curve and 25 RVAD in April 2010. We are now on cast #9....Sierra is 9 degrees OUT of cast and –6 degrees IN cast. Dr. K actually has her spine pushed back to the right 6 degrees. Dr. wanted to stop casting this past Nov. 2011 on our 8th cast b/c we were just not getting much correction and Sierra was over 2 yrs. of age. I did not agree and he let us keep casting...Sierra went from 16 degrees OUT of cast on her 8th cast down to 9 degrees OUT of cast on the 9th cast....so that was a lot of correction. We go back in March 2012...which will put us at almost 2 yrs. of casting. It has been a long difficult journey but I will do anything to avoid any type of invasive back surgery. I want her Out of cast #’s as low as possible before we go to a nite time Providence brace. In March 2012 we will either do the 9th cast or go to a brace depending on her OUT of cast #’s. So don’t be discouraged. Keep casting you will get correction! Every little bit helps. Hope this helps...Best of luck!

Kristi Mommy to Sierra

From: zwitkin

Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 9:33 PM

infantile scoliosis treatment

Subject: No Change after Cast #1

Hello Allwe were pretty disappointing taking Binyamin's cast off ( we hope you all got to see the video how painless it was for ALL involved in the comfort of our home) and see on X-Ray that there was no change. Dr.C at Philly said he is not giving up yet ( although it is not a good sign) and is willing to try 2-3 casts and then see from there. Once Binyamin was in the 2nd cast ( which thank g-d went pretty well) the X-ray showed an improvement in the curvature.Basically- there is only improvement in the cast but Binyamins body does not seem to be responding and keeping that change.Does anyone have experience and/or clinical knowledge to share about this? We are trying to be optimistic but also want to be realistic.Thanks in advance Zehava- Mom to Binayamin - 25 months old

[Guest guest]

Hi Zehava,Please don’t be discouraged and stay the course. The pioneer of this gentle & corrective treatment modality says that the time it takes for the child to experience optimum correction is about equal the time from initial diagnosis to their 1st properly applied series of specialized EDF casts. (this applies to children casted EARLY, not late) . The key here is rotation correction and retraining lil Binyamins spine/muscles/ tissues to grow in a more correct position. We’ve seen the most success with kiddos who did not have their serried of Mehtas specialized EDF removed prematurely.Keep up the good work.HRH From: infantile scoliosis treatment [mailto:infantile scoliosis treatment ] On Behalf Of zwitkinSent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 8:34 PMinfantile scoliosis treatment Subject: No Change after Cast #1 Hello Allwe were pretty disappointing taking Binyamin's cast off ( we hope you all got to see the video how painless it was for ALL involved in the comfort of our home) and see on X-Ray that there was no change. Dr.C at Philly said he is not giving up yet ( although it is not a good sign) and is willing to try 2-3 casts and then see from there. Once Binyamin was in the 2nd cast ( which thank g-d went pretty well) the X-ray showed an improvement in the curvature.Basically- there is only improvement in the cast but Binyamins body does not seem to be responding and keeping that change.Does anyone have experience and/or clinical knowledge to share about this? We are trying to be optimistic but also want to be realistic.Thanks in advance Zehava- Mom to Binayamin - 25 months old

[Guest guest]

Exactly! From: infantile scoliosis treatment [mailto:infantile scoliosis treatment ] On Behalf Of Amber SchollSent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 9:11 PMinfantile scoliosis treatment Subject: Re: No Change after Cast #1 Have heart I believe it takes time to change and 10 weeks just isn't thatmuch time....its like braces keep pushing it back until they are straightno one only wore braces for 10 weeks. We cast at SLC & they don't evenwant an out of cast x ray until in Cast numbers indicate it might be timeto think about bracing.amber> Hello All> we were pretty disappointing taking Binyamin's cast off ( we hope you all> got to see the video how painless it was for ALL involved in the comfort> of our home) and see on X-Ray that there was no change. Dr.C at Philly> said he is not giving up yet ( although it is not a good sign) and is> willing to try 2-3 casts and then see from there. Once Binyamin was in> the 2nd cast ( which thank g-d went pretty well) the X-ray showed an> improvement in the curvature.> Basically- there is only improvement in the cast but Binyamins body does> not seem to be responding and keeping that change.> Does anyone have experience and/or clinical knowledge to share about this?> We are trying to be optimistic but also want to be realistic.> Thanks in advance> Zehava-> Mom to Binayamin - 25 months old>>

[Guest guest]

Depends on the hospital/doc…The docs want to ensure the cast is effective, but they also want to minimize radiation if at all possible. Liv didn’t get xrayed after every cast.HRH From: infantile scoliosis treatment [mailto:infantile scoliosis treatment ] On Behalf Of bessrattray@...Sent: Friday, January 27, 2012 6:13 AMinfantile scoliosis treatment Subject: Re: No Change after Cast #1 HI everyone: First, just want to send encouragement to Zahava. I don't know much, but it certainly seems like not every kid gets improvement every time from every cast -- but that doesn't mean you aren't stopping it getting worse, right? Please don't be discouraged! Next, following up on Zehava's news, I am wondering: Does everyone get X-rays after EACH cast? We're finishing up cast #1 in a few days, and our ortho doesn't want to do more x-rays until after cast #3, which will come off in June. We get cast #2 next week, but . . . . I guess we won't know if he's improving, maintaining, etc., until mid-June. Anyone else NOT get X-rays after each one? THANK YOU!!

[Guest guest]

Exactly!  The idea is to get the lowest #’s possible before brace transition.  Kristi is a great example of going with her maternal instinct and pressing for more casting…Just when it was thought lil Sierra could get no more correction, Kristi’s gut said keep going and look what happened in the next cast.Way to advocate!HRH From: infantile scoliosis treatment [mailto:infantile scoliosis treatment ] On Behalf Of KristiSent: Friday, January 27, 2012 9:12 AMinfantile scoliosis treatment Subject: Re: No Change after Cast #1 Hey! Our Daughter Sierra is skinny pheno type and her spine is very stiff...you would think it would be the other way around...if her body type was more chunky it would be more stiff but it is not. We started casting Sierra at 12 mo. with a 34 degree curve and 25 RVAD in April 2010. We are now on cast #9....Sierra is 9 degrees OUT of cast and –6 degrees IN cast. Dr. K actually has her spine pushed back to the right 6 degrees. Dr. wanted to stop casting this past Nov. 2011 on our 8th cast b/c we were just not getting much correction and Sierra was over 2 yrs. of age. I did not agree and he let us keep casting...Sierra went from 16 degrees OUT of cast on her 8th cast down to 9 degrees OUT of cast on the 9th cast....so that was a lot of correction. We go back in March 2012...which will put us at almost 2 yrs. of casting. It has been a long difficult journey but I will do anything to avoid any type of invasive back surgery. I want her Out of cast #’s as low as possible before we go to a nite time Providence brace. In March 2012 we will either do the 9th cast or go to a brace depending on her OUT of cast #’s. So don’t be discouraged. Keep casting you will get correction! Every little bit helps. Hope this helps...Best of luck!Kristi Mommy to Sierra From: zwitkin Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 9:33 PMinfantile scoliosis treatment Subject: No Change after Cast #1 Hello Allwe were pretty disappointing taking Binyamin's cast off ( we hope you all got to see the video how painless it was for ALL involved in the comfort of our home) and see on X-Ray that there was no change. Dr.C at Philly said he is not giving up yet ( although it is not a good sign) and is willing to try 2-3 casts and then see from there. Once Binyamin was in the 2nd cast ( which thank g-d went pretty well) the X-ray showed an improvement in the curvature.Basically- there is only improvement in the cast but Binyamins body does not seem to be responding and keeping that change.Does anyone have experience and/or clinical knowledge to share about this? We are trying to be optimistic but also want to be realistic.Thanks in advance Zehava- Mom to Binayamin - 25 months old

[Guest guest]

Thank You ! Without You and ISOP I do not know where Sierra would be at today. I thank GOD you called me that 1st day and got us going in the right direction!

Love Ya Girl! Kristi

From: Hyatt

Sent: Friday, January 27, 2012 10:50 AM

infantile scoliosis treatment

Subject: RE: No Change after Cast #1

Exactly! The idea is to get the lowest #’s possible before brace transition. Kristi is a great example of going with her maternal instinct and pressing for more casting…Just when it was thought lil Sierra could get no more correction, Kristi’s gut said keep going and look what happened in the next cast.

Way to advocate!

HRH

From: infantile scoliosis treatment [mailto:infantile scoliosis treatment ] On Behalf Of KristiSent: Friday, January 27, 2012 9:12 AMinfantile scoliosis treatment Subject: Re: No Change after Cast #1

Hey! Our Daughter Sierra is skinny pheno type and her spine is very stiff...you would think it would be the other way around...if her body type was more chunky it would be more stiff but it is not. We started casting Sierra at 12 mo. with a 34 degree curve and 25 RVAD in April 2010. We are now on cast #9....Sierra is 9 degrees OUT of cast and –6 degrees IN cast. Dr. K actually has her spine pushed back to the right 6 degrees. Dr. wanted to stop casting this past Nov. 2011 on our 8th cast b/c we were just not getting much correction and Sierra was over 2 yrs. of age. I did not agree and he let us keep casting...Sierra went from 16 degrees OUT of cast on her 8th cast down to 9 degrees OUT of cast on the 9th cast....so that was a lot of correction. We go back in March 2012...which will put us at almost 2 yrs. of casting. It has been a long difficult journey but I will do anything to avoid any type of invasive back surgery. I want her Out of cast #’s as low as possible before we go to a nite time Providence brace. In March 2012 we will either do the 9th cast or go to a brace depending on her OUT of cast #’s. So don’t be discouraged. Keep casting you will get correction! Every little bit helps. Hope this helps...Best of luck!

Kristi Mommy to Sierra

From: zwitkin

Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 9:33 PM

infantile scoliosis treatment

Subject: No Change after Cast #1

Hello Allwe were pretty disappointing taking Binyamin's cast off ( we hope you all got to see the video how painless it was for ALL involved in the comfort of our home) and see on X-Ray that there was no change. Dr.C at Philly said he is not giving up yet ( although it is not a good sign) and is willing to try 2-3 casts and then see from there. Once Binyamin was in the 2nd cast ( which thank g-d went pretty well) the X-ray showed an improvement in the curvature.Basically- there is only improvement in the cast but Binyamins body does not seem to be responding and keeping that change.Does anyone have experience and/or clinical knowledge to share about this? We are trying to be optimistic but also want to be realistic.Thanks in advance Zehava- Mom to Binayamin - 25 months old

[Guest guest]

Zehava,

I have not been using my mail so I have not been keeping up with this group the way I should be. Fortunately today I checked this email account for the first time in forever and have been reading about your little Binyamin. Let me start by saying that Dr. C is my son 's doctor and he treats him at Erie Shriners and your son is in amazing hands. I can understand why you may be fearful of being optomistic having not achieved correction in the first cast, but let me tell you that this process, this journey, has been 3 years long for my son. His curve was almost 60 degrees when he started casting at 18 months....his rotation was total. I honestly stopped keeping track after about 6, the number of cast he was in. is now 4 1/2 and has been in a brace since last June. He gets a new brace next week because he has grown almost 2 inches! "If" come this June, his spine hasn't changed, Dr. C

wants to slowly start weaning him off of the brace, for as Dr. Mehta believes, one year in brace with no change means it's time to start weaning to see if the spine has learned to grow straight. 's spine has been at approximately 10 degrees since last June. A ten degree curve is not technically scoliosis, nor is it really very visible on an x-ray.

Please don't lose heart or hope for one cast is just the starting point. Children can and do! continue to receive correction in a cast over age 2. I know that my son is lucky and blessed that casting has worked for him exactly as it is supposed to. I also know his journey is not over. Binyamin's journey has just begun and I will start praying earnestly for his spine to start holding when the cast comes off each time. We also have always removed the casts at home! It was so nice to have those 24 hours to hug and cuddle him. Dr. C is beyond incredible when it comes to treating scoliosis kids and I know he will not give up, so hang in there and don't lose faith. No matter what, Dr. C will do whatever is best for your precious little boy.

Lots of hugs and prayers for your son and all the cast kids! And as always, my prayers are with Liv and who have made all of this possible for my son.

Crystal mom to -

From: zwitkin <zwitkin@...>infantile scoliosis treatment Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 10:33 PMSubject: No Change after Cast #1

Hello Allwe were pretty disappointing taking Binyamin's cast off ( we hope you all got to see the video how painless it was for ALL involved in the comfort of our home) and see on X-Ray that there was no change. Dr.C at Philly said he is not giving up yet ( although it is not a good sign) and is willing to try 2-3 casts and then see from there. Once Binyamin was in the 2nd cast ( which thank g-d went pretty well) the X-ray showed an improvement in the curvature.Basically- there is only improvement in the cast but Binyamins body does not seem to be responding and keeping that change.Does anyone have experience and/or clinical knowledge to share about this? We are trying to be optimistic but also want to be realistic.Thanks in advance Zehava- Mom to Binayamin - 25 months old

[Guest guest]

Zehava – I know this is very disappointing

especially when you hear of other kids’ large correction. Eden was 27 months when we

started. She saw a 10 degree correction within 2 casts, and some more

after, but she seemingly plateaued around 30 degrees even though she’s in

cast #8. It has been very slow at around 4 degrees or less per cast, so

sometimes I wonder if there really was any improvement. Hang in there and

give it another 2-3 casts as per Dr. C’s advice. It’ll be two

years of casting for Eden come June. Dr C is talking about another brace for the

summer, and then likely more casting. Eden, who turned 4 earlier this

month, is doing so well in the cast. Her father and I are very committed

to continuing the process to get as much correction as possible.

To answer Bess’s question, Eden gets an xray after each

casting. Dr C wants to see how much correction he was able to

achieve. She gets out-of-cast xrays every other cast.

Sherry

No

Change after Cast #1

Hello All

we were pretty disappointing taking Binyamin's cast off ( we hope you all got

to see the video how painless it was for ALL involved in the comfort of our

home) and see on X-Ray that there was no change. Dr.C at Philly said he is not

giving up yet ( although it is not a good sign) and is willing to try 2-3 casts

and then see from there. Once Binyamin was in the 2nd cast ( which thank g-d

went pretty well) the X-ray showed an improvement in the curvature.

Basically- there is only improvement in the cast but Binyamins body does not

seem to be responding and keeping that change.

Does anyone have experience and/or clinical knowledge to share about this? We

are trying to be optimistic but also want to be realistic.

Thanks in advance

Zehava-

Mom to Binayamin - 25 months old

[Guest guest]

Were in cast #4 and have not had an out of cast xray since we began. Our doctor

says that he would rather hold off on the radiation when he can look at her and

see that she's still not where we want her to be! Basically there is no reason

to subject her to radiation when he knows she's not completely straight yet. I

can tell each time she looks a little better but until we can no longer see the

curve we're going to hold off!

>

> HI everyone: First, just want to send encouragement to Zahava. I don't know

much, but it certainly seems like not every kid gets improvement every time from

every cast -- but that doesn't mean you aren't stopping it getting worse, right?

Please don't be discouraged! Next, following up on Zehava's news, I am

wondering: Does everyone get X-rays after EACH cast? We're finishing up cast #1

in a few days, and our ortho doesn't want to do more x-rays until after cast #3,

which will come off in June. We get cast #2 next week, but . . . . I guess we

won't know if he's improving, maintaining, etc., until mid-June. Anyone else NOT

get X-rays after each one? THANK YOU!!

>

[Guest guest]

We didnt see a change in logan's back after the first cast, even though they were able to cast him at 14 down from 45 in the first cast. We didnt see an improvment until like the 3rd cast. We are going to Logan's 12th soon. It is a LOOOOOOOONG process and correction ONLY happens when the child grows. Growth spurts = good changes. Hang in there and dont give up! Logan's mama (45 down to 9 out of cast, going for 12th cast soon, 2 years old) From: zwitkin <zwitkin@...> infantile scoliosis treatment Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 10:33 PM Subject: No Change after Cast #1

Hello All

we were pretty disappointing taking Binyamin's cast off ( we hope you all got to see the video how painless it was for ALL involved in the comfort of our home) and see on X-Ray that there was no change. Dr.C at Philly said he is not giving up yet ( although it is not a good sign) and is willing to try 2-3 casts and then see from there. Once Binyamin was in the 2nd cast ( which thank g-d went pretty well) the X-ray showed an improvement in the curvature.

Basically- there is only improvement in the cast but Binyamins body does not seem to be responding and keeping that change.

Does anyone have experience and/or clinical knowledge to share about this? We are trying to be optimistic but also want to be realistic.

Thanks in advance

Zehava-

Mom to Binayamin - 25 months old