To brace or not to brace?

This post will be about braces. Leg braces, to be specific. Something common in CMT is called "drop-foot" (I have this). Basically, it's harder for you to "pull your toes up", so you lift your legs higher to prevent tripping/falling. This makes walking a lot more work for someone with CMT, and they tend to fatigue more quickly. Of course, if they get tired, they might start to not lift their legs as high (this is all generally subconscious) and they will likely trip. Braces supposedly eliminate this problem. They make it so your toes can't "drop", and hopefully your gait will improve and you'll be able to walk for longer periods of time. Braces have been recommended for me many times, but I've always resisted. I think it's partly psychological, but I'm not sure how to explain it. If you wear long pants the braces are pretty much invisible, so for the most part no one would know, but I would know, and for some reason that is a problem for me. When making a decision like this you want to do what feels right to you, but also what is in your body's best interest. Another thing that the braces help with is keeping the tendons in the back of your ankle from getting too tight. This is why it is very vital to stretch there especially. I've been told that if I don't, I will most likely need surgery to lengthen the tendons in the next four or so years -- that's not good.

So for now I'm sticking to the stretching, and still thinking about the braces. Any advice is always appreciated.