Who's had braces? How long did the rubber bands take? (old)

I got braces at the age of 22 this March, and the orthodontist said it would be a treatment of around six months (I had had braces when I was younger and my teeth went back). I was really worried about getting them back on because 1: because who wants to get braces when they are a senior in college, 2: It's going to set me back in some of the things in my personal relationships (I'm pretty introverted, so that plus being self-conscious about braces means it takes me a long time to get comfortable with people), and 3: I have to start an internship soon and I really didn't want to be doing it with braces.

Well my next appointment is coming up mid-October, basically seven months in, and I'm worried about what could be next. This last appointment he checked my teeth, screwed some stuff on the brackets, and then told me I would have to wear one rubber band that hooks on my bottom left, goes up and around my upper front teeth, and then hooks on my bottom right. It's like a trapezoid shape, and feels like I'm wearing a muzzle. I was hoping this could mean that I'm getting down to the end and he's just fine tuning, but I'm worried because my ortho never said anything like that, he just said "wear this, 24/7, and I'll see you in 8-10 weeks," which is the regular time between appointments.

So I'm asking anyone who has had or has braces, how long did the elastics take once you started them?

I had braces for two and a half years but never required those elastics (they do not look comfortable), though I did have them back in the day where "giant metal" was the only option available. 
 
Anyways, tough it out. I had those things my entire junior high life but man oh man (oh man oh man oh man) were they worth it in the long run. 

Oh yeah, just curious: Over-bite? Under-bite? Random straightening? 
(Mine was for a vicious, buck-toothed over-bite)

I had braces for 3 years and elastics for 2. It really depends how serious the spacing is.

Yeah it all depends. I had a similar situation to yours and it wasn't on that long, maybe a month or two. I also had it so I had two set of rubber bands near my canine teeth that basically made a triangle and that was more like 6 months.

Just make sure you wear them for the time you're supposed to you (24/7 for you).  If you don't it'll just get worse. 
 
Personally for me I didn't have to use rubber bands for very long, maybe a few months?

@PeasantAbuse said:

Just make sure you wear them for the time you're supposed to you (24/7 for you). If you don't it'll just get worse. Personally for me I didn't have to use rubber bands for very long, maybe a few months?

This, you really just have to follow what your Ortho recommends because if you take days off your teeth will settle back and it just adds to the time you'll have to keep them. Also I wouldn't worry too much about the social aspects, I had braces as an adult and it was never an issue.

I had braces for about 2 years and had rubber bands for probably a good year or so, they really aren't so bad after a while, to be honest.

I had braces for about a year and a half, and i had elastics for the majority of it, i would usually get different ones in different places each appointment. It's pretty situational though, there's not really a set time for it to take.

There are clear ones, they cost more but they're invisible and I believe work a bit faster.

@ProfessorEss: I had one of my upper front teeth (the sharper ones that look the most like a fang) way up further than the rest of the teeth, and the shape of my upper teeth was starting to move into a concave shape. And a crossbite.

i never had braces but i had a permanent retainer. they put it and put some stuff that made it stay there. i had it about 2 years or so. if that didn't work then i had to get a braces.
 
the retainer was cool, it was green, and it could glow in the dark. i would sit in bathroom with no windows and open up my mouth to look at it.

Definitely obey whatever your doctor's directions are, it will make the total time you have hardware in your mouth pass as quickly as it can. I had a friend in high school who needed to wear the elastic bands and she decided to "speed up" the process by using 2 bands on each side. Needless to say, this pulled her teeth too far forward and she had to wear them much much longer to correct it.

EDIT: Well ha, looks like this thread was necroed to shill for a dental product. Ugh.

This is a really freaky thread to read because I had the same problem right around the same time (5 years ago)