@hunnybunchesok Apologies for not replying, life got a little hectic and I totally forgot to update this thread!
I got my ceramic braces off as I needed them off by a certain date and my ortho put them back on to tweak a few things we agreed on. The second time round I had standard metal braces. With the ceramics, they weren't really close to "invisible" and staining was never an issue for me. I'm not sure if they actually were but the metal brackets felt smaller with a flatter profile and more comfortable with less sharp edges. Having said that, the treatment was pretty straight forward when I had the metal brackets so perhaps that influenced the comfort level. In the end it's really the end product that matters

Did you end up getting ceramics and how are you finding it?
So just to wrap this thread up, my braces finally came off in 2019 and this is how my teeth look now. Bite and everything feels great still.
For those going through braces now, stay positive! There were many times where I felt like it was getting worse before it got better and was a bit discouraged but it's all worth it in the end.
