Helmet ? (long)

TwinMama83

I first noticed that both of my twins had misshapen and flat heads at about 1.5mo.  I brought it up at the 2mo pedi visit.  She said to wait it out, but in the meantime try to keep them off their back (other than sleeping).  So I did that religiously.  I always held them, did tummy time, used the jumperoo/exersaucer, etc.  By the 4mo check up, DD's head had improved significantly.  Not perfect, but MUCH better.  DS's head did not improve, but also did not get worse.  I asked the pedi about it again.  She says its no big deal, "He'll grow hair and no one will notice", just wait.  I continued to keep him off his back, and now he even loves to sleep on his tummy so he doesn't even spend sleeping time on his back.  Zero improvement. 

By about 5.5mo I was just tired of waiting so I made an appointment myself at Cranial Technologies.  They took photos and discussed his head shape with me and showed me on the photos exactly where his head was shaped "funny" and that he would need a helmet and would only need to wear it 7-8wks.  I asked them to see if my insurance would cover it, and the insurance does not cover it.  With a military discount, the cost is $2500.  At the 6mo pedi visit I brought this up to her and told her about what CT said and I asked her for a referral for a 2nd opinion with a Physical Therapist at the Children's Hospital. 

So I go to the PT and she says that because I've basically been doing 4mo of physical therapy on my own (with the tummy time, keeping him off his back, etc) she says that she is hesitant to say "no helmet", and he might indeed need one.  But she says that my insurance co is probably going to want to see 3-4mo of documented PT with "no improvement" before they will cover it.  If we start now, by the time we could potentially get it covered he would be 10-11mo old.

If you are still reading at this point... here is the question: Would you shell out the $2500 and just get the helmet taken care of, or wait to see if it might improve and if not try to get it covered by insurance?  I'm afraid that by 11mo it will be too late, and he'll have to wear the helmet much longer.  Also, we can afford the $2500, but obviously we'd rather not pay that if insurance will cover it.  I just feel very confused about it all. TIA!

lisa&andy

I would just go ahead and do the helmet. I've always been told that the 6-8ish month range is the best time because their heads are still "soft" and will shape better than when they are older. I wouldn't chance it, Tricare is so iffy and if they are saying they won't cover it now, you are looking at him wearing it at 11 months and shelling out the money then+if he needs more than one helmet.

caden

I would pay and I'm probably going to be in the same boat. Cutting down the time he needs to wear it is more important than the money, to me anyway. I don't even know where to get an assessment for a helmet b/c CT isn't anywhere near me, according to its website. grrrr

TwinMama83

Thanks.  I'm leaning in that direction.  I just wanted to make sure that I'm not completely crazy for kind of going against the pedi's advice.  I was also just a little worried that CT might just be trying to sell me something, but I am confident that he needs a helmet, either from CT or elsewhere.

Caden - Have you tried Hanger?  https://www.hanger.com/Pages/default.aspx  I have heard of other mom's going there too for free evaluations.  The only negative thing I've heard about them is that their helmets are a little bulkier and cover more of the head than CT's doc band, so it's not as comfortable to wear, but the results are just as good.  They seem to have a lot more available locations, so if nothing else it could get you in to see a specialist for free.  I don't know what the cost differences between a Hanger helmet and a CT helmet, but I do know that a lot of people have been able to get their Hanger helmet covered by insurance when CT couldn't get it covered.  HTH!

caden

Thank yo so much! Hanger does have a location near me. I think I will go there before my kids' 6mo appt so I can discuss the results w/ my pedi. I'm almost positive I want to get him one. 

benkari

I would pay for it if need be.  My DS1 got his at 6 months and only needed it for 7 weeks and one of my friends needed to get one for her son and put it off until 1 year and he wore a helmet for 4 months and it still is noticable.

calebsrunninggirl

Sorry, I'm coming out of lurking , but I wanted to let you know we went through the same thing with one of our boys. At 2 months old I could tell Luke's head was flat and he also looked to one side. I mentioned it to the pedi, we did repositioning, but it did not work. Finally we did a few months of PT and while it helps a little, the head was still flat. Finally I took him to Children's in St. Louis and he was fitted with a helmet. If I had listened to my pedi who expressed that she did not feel a helmet was necessary, we would still have a child with a flat head. At children's they measured his head and he was on the severe end and we were lucky we went when we did because we had gotten to the point where it would be questionable to start. He had his helmet on at  7 months (6 adjusted) and within a month his head looks normal. We will be keeping it on for a few more months just to make sure it stays. My insurance is fighting us on this but I will not give up. I had to shell out the money for it and to be honest, if insurance never pays, I will be ok with that. I would pay double for the helmet considering how well he has done with it and my philosophy throughout the whole process was I would rather fix it now than to have him ask us why we didn't fix his head when we had the chance.

Basically, I'm a firm believer in it and trust me, it's worth looking into and finding a way to pay for it, insurance or no insurance.

groovygrl

Yes, because we did. DS wore one from 4 months to 8 months (actually 2 of them b/c he grew out of the first after 6 weeks) and we paid OOP for both of htem. Worth every dime. 

It is not just cosmetic, there can be internal alignment issues too and if even looking at it from a $ POV, it can cause more cost in orthodontics down the road, not to mention other problems that are more serious.

I'm obviously biased since we did it but honestly, we are so glad we did. It is not a big deal (if you are able to afford it) and you're right- do it earlier, the longer you wait the slower their heads grow, so the less effect & more time in the helmet.

GL! 

PMBridetobe

We used Hanger for our one twin and it is well worth it.  The helmet is 2500 and I am not sure if they have any discounts.

robynlesley

My insurance did NOT cover my son's DOC Bands (he wore 2 due to a severe case and starting young) so my 2? is to go ahead and start treatment. Cranial Technologies is a wonderful company and most people I know who used them had excellent results for their children.

I paid $3600 for my son's 1st DOC Band (the 2009 price) and $3300 for the 2nd (a discount for paying by credit card). I'm STILL paying them off, nearly 1 year after my DS finished treatment. But I feel my son's now normal head shape is worth every penny we paid.

I'd go ahead with treatment and fight your insurance for the cost.  I mean how the hell do you DOCUMENT repositioning?  You should just say you've been repositioning since you discovered the plagio at 2 months.   And the Yahoo plagio support group has a good database of appeal letters to insurance companies.

I hope you go ahead with the DOC Band and that you see great results.

SoldiersGreenBean

I would pay.  Do you have a FSA or HSA that could help with the tax-free aspect of it?  Otherwise, you may be able to itemize next year and have some of the cost taken care of that way.  Obviously doesn't fill an immediate need, but still possible.

shellshavintwins

My daughter needed one. We had a Hangar 1/2 an hour away, and Cranial Tec 3 1/2 hrs away. We paid $3,500 OOP not including traveling costs to go with Cranial Tech. I know two other friends who's babies used them this year also and we are all very happy with the results. I have heard that there are only issues with Hangar because they do not do the amount of helmets that Cranial Tech do, and my ped (who also said it would correct itself) said they have a track record of issues. I'd go with cranial tech because they specialize only in Cranial Deformities. I am glad we chose them. My Lilly started at 10 months and only needed hers for 10 weeks!!!!