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[PerfectBody]

2-3 hours of stretching everyday ? On your own or with a physiotherapist ? What do you think of the physio team there ? What kind of stretching are you doing ?  Imo 177-178cm is a very solid height and a decent upgrade from 171cm

Thank you! I'm really happy about it. Here are my complete thoughts on stretches -

Stretches
Hamstrings - Any bending to your toes help you stretch you hamstrings and back. Your hamstrings are going to be tight hell real quick. After 2cm my hamstrings were utterly taught. Not fun!
Quads - You need these for bending and standing. Child's Pose (yoga pose) is a good and controlled way to stretch these out! I can't do the full thing, so I try to push myself as far back as I can.


Stretching duration - 2-3 hours. Note: Physical therapy does not count as stretching time
On your own (or help if you have it!). 15 mins before+after you lengthen (total: 2hrs). So you're not really doing anything while you distract apart from eat/sleep/maybe work - but work should not be your top priority; your recovery/physical health is! Try to stretch throughout the day, at least 4 additional 15 minute sessions(total: 3hrs). It sounds like a lot but this is our lives now. Resting time counts as stretching time.

Try to start early - I waited too long because of swelling+pain+infection. Now I lost a lot in terms of flexibility that I will have to struggle to regain later after distraction.

[PerfectBody]

just call it after june 2nd and comeback to finish the 3rd inch in 2-3 years, maybe

I'm content. I'd like to move towards the end of the LL journey

[dexter1930]

I'm content. I'd like to move towards the end of the LL journey

how many gram of paracetamol are you on for the last 20 days, may I ask? and how many days in a row have you been on them too?

[PerfectBody]

how many gram of paracetamol are you on for the last 20 days, may I ask? and how many days in a row have you been on them too?

I stopped taking them 2 weeks ago; they aren’t super helpful.  Maybe twice a day max when I used to. It’s not addictive, why do you ask?

I take novalgine once a day if I feel pain coming on (ie today).

[dexter1930]

I wanna know if painkiller get less effective overtime. I'm on 350gr paracetamol before bed and can sleep for maybe 2-3 hours, this is bad for everything. I wonder, should I up the dose for better sleep. how many hours can you sleep per night?

[Fiveandsomething]

I wanna know if painkiller get less effective overtime. I'm on 350gr paracetamol before bed and can sleep for maybe 2-3 hours, this is bad for everything. I wonder, should I up the dose for better sleep. how many hours can you sleep per night?

Typically yes. But the painkillers they prescribe imo are nowhere near strong enough for the pain we’re experiencing. They’re the equivalence if Tylenol

[AimHigh]

  , LON femur is notoriously painful, even during my far less painful unilateral Internal nail femoral lengthening Paracetamol/Tylenol were not strong enough pain killers to give me any level of normal comfort or sleep.

[dexter1930]

Typically yes. But the painkillers they prescribe imo are nowhere near strong enough for the pain we’re experiencing. They’re the equivalence if Tylenol

know, sad man, I bet we all do miss the time when we were normal, still gotta finish the mission

[PerfectBody]

Wednesday June 30 - 47 days since surgery - ~45±1mm gained

Exit surgery - scheduled for June 2nd! By then I should have reached 4.7cm, which is close enough to 5cm in my book. I don’t care for the remaining 3mm, lmao

The only pain I have is nerve pain. It bites extremely hard when I move my leg from a resting position (flat).

Flexibility is still   but I can walk easily unassisted.. Penguin with a duck ass, but still walking. Today I went up stairs! Like 15 steps with crutches and hand rails. I definitely put a ton of my weight on the crutches and rails. Somebody recorded a video, I’ll post it when I can.

Very exited for this cursed process to come to an end. So tired of stretching 3 hours a day, Jesus

[PerfectBody]

Saturday July 2nd - 51 days since surgery - ~47±1mm gained

POST REMOVAL SURGERY!

Hi all, I just got back to the hotel. Yesterday was the fixater removal surgery. The procedure lasts about 1 hour, which is good because long surgeries tend to leave me super debilitated. I woke in the post-surgery room cold and in tremendous pain. The nurse gave me a shot of something to help me but it wasn't that helpful. I was wheeled back to my room (in pain) and waited what felt like an hour (in increasing pain) for painkillers. 

This experience was utterly brutal, 9/10 pain. I was in bed howling in pain, begging for painkillers. Not sure why but they need consent to administer pain killer to me, but this happened last time too, and to other patients.  After what felt like 30-60 minutes, the doctor's assistant visited me. 5 minutes later the nurse came in and administered two painkillers; one helped a little (made me drowsy) and the other one completely undid the pain. It was crazy effective! I didn't feel pain for the rest of the stay at the hospital. Morphine? Contramol? I'm not sure.

For the first time in a while I slept (almost) like a baby. I woke in 3-4 hour intervals but without pain or discomfort so I fell back asleep with no problem. It was an incredibly comfortable experience after the 1 hour of post-op hell, all things considered.

I'm back in my hotel room (about 14 hours after surgery) and am doing ok. Sometimes when I move I still feel the presence of the fixater. My legs are pretty damn swollen. Here's some pics: https://imgur.com/a/QhvKB9C - Sorry about my huge magnum dong

Right now I'm in my hotel room. Getting up is a scary challenge and I need to eat. I should also take a painkiller before my situation worsens. Welp

[Apollo676]

Congrats man,take it easy from there for a few days to recover properly,when are you planning to go home ?

[PerfectBody]

Congrats man,take it easy from there for a few days to recover properly,when are you planning to go home ?

Thank you. The next few days won't be easy. I'm leaving on the week of July 19th - I have about 2 weeks here to recover.

[PerfectBody]

I'm well at the end of my goal in the first recovery stage, 3 days after removal. I heavily regret this. I don't care about my height anymore - so I guess my height dysphoria is cured.

I want to sleep sideways, I want my family and friends. I miss comfortably relaxing, working out, running, driving. It feels like these things are so fking far away.

It's 3 days after the removal (friday night) and I feel like my body is deteriorating. Hands and arms hurt, legs (obviously) hurt, spine is fked up, no ass. This procedure is fking awful.

I regret this.

[Apollo676]

Give it some time dude,you went through the hardest,hopefully from now it's only going to get better,you might change your mind in a few weeks,i mean i know it's not going to help you right now,but i really wish you a good recovery,you lengthen a conservative amount,went hard into your physio and diet,i bet you're going to recover wonderfully

[Unknown]

I'm well at the end of my goal in the first recovery stage, 3 days after removal. I heavily regret this. I don't care about my height anymore - so I guess my height dysphoria is cured.

I want to sleep sideways, I want my family and friends. I miss comfortably relaxing, working out, running, driving. It feels like these things are so fking far away.

It's 3 days after the removal (friday night) and I feel like my body is deteriorating. Hands and arms hurt, legs (obviously) hurt, spine is fked up, no ass. This procedure is fking awful.

I regret this.

Thanks for the honest opinion on the surgery. Hope you get better. Road to recovery is coming. Honestly this surgery should not be taken lightly and only a last resort.

[more]

The whole reason behind regretting this surgery is LON FEMUR. All the doctors in the world should stop LON femur

[PerfectBody]

Give it some time dude,you went through the hardest,hopefully from now it's only going to get better,you might change your mind in a few weeks,i mean i know it's not going to help you right now,but i really wish you a good recovery,you lengthen a conservative amount,went hard into your physio and diet,i bet you're going to recover wonderfully

Thanks. I know but it still feels terrible.

Thanks for the honest opinion on the surgery. Hope you get better. Road to recovery is coming. Honestly this surgery should not be taken lightly and only a last resort.

Personally I feel that it was - I've tried everything in life to find genuine happiness, from within rather than chasing hedonistic highs. A lot of my depression/sadness stemmed from my stature. 3 years of therapy, nice car, great job, friends, family. None of these were enough.

The whole reason behind regretting this surgery is LON FEMUR. All the doctors in the world should stop LON femur

Maybe. It's definitely not for everyone.

[Apollo676]

If it can help you somehow,i had a friend who did LL with Buldu 6 months ago or so,and his condition is improving day after day,like a month after frames removal he was able to walk quite good,and now he walk something like 4km a day,ROM was a bit   after surgery but he is getting it back every day,almost at 100 degrees nowadays
Even though precise or stryde would definitely bring way more comfort,in the end,you break your legs and after lenghtening your muscles and all soft tissues will need months to grew properly,to either methods you use,in the end it's quite the same in term of recovery,even much better than precise at least you can walk post op
Only good from here hopefully man,wish you all the best,imo the worst is over

[PerfectBody]

Thanks for the words of encouragement. How much did your friend lengthen?

[Apollo676]

Hey,he lengthened 7.5cm,starting height around 164cm,he wasn't that much consistent with physiotherapy during the lenghtening and after removal fixators,after the surgery his ROM was really bad about 30-40 degrees,but with proper physio he is recovering pretty fast
And during the lenghtening,he didn't even really walk he was afraid to damage the nails somehow,but during consolidation phase he was able to walk properly,although his gait wasn't the best,it takes time,and watching how stryde patients are walking during consolidation,it's quite the same

[more]

If it can help you somehow,i had a friend who did LL with Buldu 6 months ago or so,and his condition is improving day after day,like a month after frames removal he was able to walk quite good,and now he walk something like 4km a day,ROM was a bit   after surgery but he is getting it back every day,almost at 100 degrees nowadays
Even though precise or stryde would definitely bring way more comfort,in the end,you break your legs and after lenghtening your muscles and all soft tissues will need months to grew properly,to either methods you use,in the end it's quite the same in term of recovery,even much better than precise at least you can walk post op
Only good from here hopefully man,wish you all the best,imo the worst is over

After 6 months if its 100°  knee flexion that's mean your friend in trouble. He may need quadricepsplasty to improve knee ROM

[PerfectBody]

This guy lengthened past conservative/safe margins, and cant bend 6 months later. Not an encouraging example man.

[RB]

Hey mate, how’s recovery going now? Any improvement? Are you walking without aids at this stage? You should have a full recovery given the amount you lengthened so keep working hard man and you will be normal before you know it!

[Apollo676]

He is doing fine overall,his ROM keep improving day after day,but as i said he was a bit lazy regarding his physiotherapy,even post op,since he start to actually do stretching and exercises on a daily basis a month or so after consolidation he made huge improvements

[PerfectBody]

Hey mate, how’s recovery going now? Any improvement? Are you walking without aids at this stage? You should have a full recovery given the amount you lengthened so keep working hard man and you will be normal before you know it!

I can penguin walk without aid. No pain, but tightness on quads if i sit for too long, and knees always problematic. The road will be long but there's no other path forward

[PerfectBody]

Small update - 12 days after fixater removal

Mood has improved. I think the opioids (contramol) had a negative affect on my mental health last week. However as my freedom/return to the US approaches my regret lingers; I can't walk normally or sit down/get up naturally. I 100% expected all of this, but confronting it in reality is a completely different beast.

I now walk without crutches a lot - they're more annoying than anything now. My walk is atrocious of course, but I'm happy that I'm not 100% dependent on crutches. I get tired very easily. Yesterday I walked 30 minutes at the lowest speed setting on the treadmill, and it got hard trying to stay at pace. Before this the 1 setting was almost insultingly slow - now it's almost too fast.

The physical therapists (in and out-house) help a lot with regaining movement. A lot of it is stretching/fixing muscles that haven't been used or are extremely and utterly tight because we couldn't work them out due to the fixater. Alone I'm a little scared to stretch by myself - my legs are extremely heavy and hard to move. This feels very injury prone if I do anything irregular. On top of that I don't want to do any movements that could disrupt healing. The pool has finally opened up in the hotel so I'm swimming/stretching in the water. It helps a lot. 


I look forward to all the comfort that home brings. Especially the food.


To the people looking at Buldu for this surgery:
Go ahead, he's a really good surgeon.
The purpose of my blog and posts is not to smear the work being done here. The purpose of my posts is to give you a western, US-leaning perspective on my experience. LLT is good but they are not my choice for #1 clinical team out of those whom I have worked with. However for the price, this service will get the job done. Don't let me deter your decision. I understand that if you are seriously considering this operation you are in serious (mental, emotional) pain and you cannot afford the 100k price tag. This procedure can help cure those ailments.
This has not been easy, and it never will be, but it's the price you pay to do the impossible. Just be aware of how the culture/climate is in Turkey and how this team works. If you can stomach these problems, your experience here won't be as bad as it was for me.

[LL2022]

Was it the 90days Premium package you picked with Dr. Buldu? Did you manage to haggle down the price by 2k EUR, because it seems like the package is listed at 22k EUR?

Best of luck to you on your recovery, In less than one year, You can probably read about my painful journey at the same place...

[PerfectBody]

Was it the 90days Premium package you picked with Dr. Buldu? Did you manage to haggle down the price by 2k EUR, because it seems like the package is listed at 22k EUR?

Best of luck to you on your recovery, In less than one year, You can probably read about my painful journey at the same place...

Good luck. It's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life and many patients there can attest to this. I bought the surgery for 15k EUR and negotiated the package. I only stayed 2/3 months so I paid for a little less than 2/3.

Casual reminder: LON-Femur diaries that do not talk about how extremely, devastatingly painful it is 100% FAKE.

-----

Small update since my last post:
I'm approaching the 4-week mark after removal. My gait is wobbly but ok, it's getting better very quickly everyday. I am doing physical therapy by myself at home 2-3 times a day for 45 minutes. Hold the stretch for a total of 90 seconds for at least 30 second per rep. Repeat twice.  Feels great after every time.
I walk without crutches unless I'm going outside. I only use 1 crutch for support/safety. Flexibility is terrible - I'm getting 105-110* bending. Extremely tight quads. Hamstrings are great. Hips are awful. I am stretching everything of course. I can scale stairs ok with one crutch.

[Growing]

Thanks for the detailed journal. I was set to go this month but after reading I'm thinking of changing my mind. You think someone who's more of a loner would have a easier Time being there? I noticed guys who are used to home comforts have a harder time. I go months without seeing family from time to time. So 3 months for me would be a nothing. I just need Netflix and YouTube to keep me occupied. My concern is the pain. I thought they'd give something for that but it seems what they provide isn't good enough.

[Activatedxx]

Thanks for the detailed journal. I was set to go this month but after reading I'm thinking of changing my mind. You think someone who's more of a loner would have a easier Time being there? I noticed guys who are used to home comforts have a harder time. I go months without seeing family from time to time. So 3 months for me would be a nothing. I just need Netflix and YouTube to keep me occupied. My concern is the pain. I thought they'd give something for that but it seems what they provide isn't good enough.

Every with best pain medicine the discomfort itself will drive you crazy

[PerfectBody]

Thanks for the detailed journal. I was set to go this month but after reading I'm thinking of changing my mind. You think someone who's more of a loner would have a easier Time being there? I noticed guys who are used to home comforts have a harder time. I go months without seeing family from time to time. So 3 months for me would be a nothing. I just need Netflix and YouTube to keep me occupied. My concern is the pain. I thought they'd give something for that but it seems what they provide isn't good enough.

Bring a ton of sleeping medications, seriously. If you’re not a military/trained sleeper youlll need all the pain and sleeping meds in the world. Internet is absolute   and you need vpn so don’t count on it.

Food is also absolute  , at best a 2/10. I like Turkish food but you’re a patient at a hospital/hotel you don’t have many options.

This is doable but it’s very hard. My biggest regret, seriously, is not doing an extra 1-2 cm. But in the face of not even the pain, but just being in Turkey with bad internet and  ty food (but of course also the pain and being immobilized) no thank you. I am very happy with my 5cm. If you are shorter than 17x cm before starting this surgery I heavily recommend doing at least 7cm. You don’t want to leave this with regrets.
You’re a loner? F*Kc off man, you’ll need to spend 100% of your time with the other patients. It’s the only thing that will help you, seriously. Company is key.