Topic: Quadrilateral Lengthening with Dr. Paley (Read 282588 times)

CCMidwest · « **Reply #341 on:** March 20, 2016, 06:51:21 PM »

Hello, my first post here. I've read your entire diary and watched all your videos, good stuff. I wish you the best!

Re: Nerve decompression (from someone who has been there)

When I was 14 my right arm was crushed by a falling tree. About 1 year post accident I had nerve decompression surgery for the ulnar nerve just past where it passes through the elbow (funny bone) and enters the muscles of the forearm. I recognize all the symptoms you describe, only it was in my forearm/wrist/hand and not my feet. "Electric shock" type pain especially. That pain often reached the 7/10 or 8/10 range. (which was less than the 10/10 I was having before)

The pain went away, for the most part, after some healing time and physical therapy. I was left with some lingering syptoms though, that persist to this day. (I am 31 years old now)

Some numbness in my hand, wrist, and pinkie finger. Sensitive funny bone area (hitting my funny bone is actually an 8/10 or worse) and I can't do barbell bicep curls as it gives me an electric shock in my arm. (ez curl and dumbells are fine)

Anyway, I wrote all this because I know you are concerned that the pain will be forever, I do not think that is the case.

DoingItForMe · « **Reply #342 on:** March 20, 2016, 08:43:04 PM »

I can't say that I didn't expect this, because of our similar age and because I had a hard time going through LL. I had shoots of nerve pain as well during LL. It did go away eventually if that makes you feel any better. It went away after a few weeks.

My leg muscles are pretty weak still, and looking back, I probably should have walked more often and used the muscle stimulator more. The muscles that get especially weak are the inner and outer thigh muscles. The TFL more specifically. If you want to get rid of the penguin walk sooner, keep working out that TFL muscle.

It's been 9 months since I had this surgery, and I still have pain my legs everyday. So I know the feeling of wanting to catch a break for once. Hang in there. We're in this together.

Ozymandias · « **Reply #343 on:** March 20, 2016, 11:30:29 PM »

Quote from: DoingItForMe on March 20, 2016, 08:43:04 PM

It's been 9 months since I had this surgery, and I still have pain my legs everyday.

Scary info for all of us who are considering femoral LL. Can you describe your current level of pain, and where is it located (maybe the iliotibial tract?)? Is it getting better?

applesandoranges · « **Reply #344 on:** March 20, 2016, 11:35:17 PM »

Quote from: Ozymandias on March 20, 2016, 11:30:29 PM

Scary info for all of us who are considering femoral LL. Can you describe your current level of pain, and where is it located (maybe the iliotibial tract?)? Is it getting better?

Keep in mind in that case 8cm was lengthened. If you look at how big 8cm is next to your femur, maybe it's not so surprising there would be pain there. I think to reduce this, a smaller amount of 4cm or less is ideal for femur lengthening. But that's another subject.

TIBIKE200 · « **Reply #345 on:** March 20, 2016, 11:38:42 PM »

Quote from: applesandoranges on March 20, 2016, 11:35:17 PM

Keep in mind in that case 8cm was lengthened. If you look at how big 8cm is next to your femur, maybe it's not so surprising there would be pain there. I think to reduce this, a smaller amount of 4cm or less is ideal for femur lengthening. But that's another subject.

Dont know dude, you are thinking about 2 operations and lengthening less than 4cm on both. I doubt that any honest surgeon will accept a guy who only wanna lengthen 2.5 on his tibia... You are really pathologically cautious....

Iamready · « **Reply #346 on:** March 20, 2016, 11:48:29 PM »

Thanks for the responses. I'm just digesting them now as sit waiting for the exogen machine to finish. I do agree that using the Walker and building the muscle is important and it's something I have been trying to focus on recently so that when I complete lengthening I'm not starting from scratch.

Ozymandias · « **Reply #347 on:** March 21, 2016, 12:12:15 AM »

Quote from: applesandoranges on March 20, 2016, 11:35:17 PM

Keep in mind in that case 8cm was lengthened. If you look at how big 8cm is next to your femur, maybe it's not so surprising there would be pain there. I think to reduce this, a smaller amount of 4cm or less is ideal for femur lengthening. But that's another subject.

Yes, I agree that 8 cm is probably too much, and actually I'm planning to do 5 cm. However I'm afraid that the IT bands (and the achilles for tibias) will probably never be at 100% after the surgery, even for modest amounts of lengthening (of course, it is better to be at 99% than at 70%).

Quote from: TIBIKE200 on March 20, 2016, 11:38:42 PM

I doubt that any honest surgeon will accept a guy who only wanna lengthen 2.5 on his tibia.

Why? If the patient is OK with an extra inch, good for him. No ballerina problems, no long period with frames, no proportion issues...

Quote from: Iamready on March 20, 2016, 11:48:29 PM

Thanks for the responses. I'm just digesting them now as sit waiting for the exogen machine to finish. I do agree that using the Walker and building the muscle is important and it's something I have been trying to focus on recently so that when I complete lengthening I'm not starting from scratch.

Stay strong, man. Walking (even with a walker) will probably be good for your overall psychological well-being, too.

Ozymandias · « **Reply #348 on:** March 21, 2016, 12:14:19 AM »

Sorry, double post (delete please)

Ghostfish · « **Reply #349 on:** March 21, 2016, 03:32:30 AM »

Hi Iamready

You look better now although you are still suffering from enormous pain. 7.5cm gain appears way much more than I imagined. I guess a lot of guys around me who seem taller or much taller may not be that much taller than I thought. If I can gain 3 or so inches, I am sure I will feel much more confident.

So, regarding exogen, is it really helpful? I understand it could be hard to say since you are not comparing with or without it. If it can save 2-3 weeks, that will be huge for me, since my major concern is time. Please make some comment on exogen, when you can. Plus, how did you get it?

Thanks, man! You are a true hero!

Best,

DoingItForMe · « **Reply #350 on:** March 22, 2016, 11:23:34 PM »

Quote from: Ozymandias on March 20, 2016, 11:30:29 PM

Scary info for all of us who are considering femoral LL. Can you describe your current level of pain, and where is it located (maybe the iliotibial tract?)? Is it getting better?

My IT feels fine. I got the IT band surgery and that's probably why it's fine. To be more specific on the pain, it's my TFL (right below the hip bone) on my left side that hurts when I do leg raises while laying in my side. It hurts once in a while when I walk around and need that muscle too. Another annoying pain are my inner thigh muscles or tendon. It feels stretched and tight even when I'm not stretching them. When I squeeze my legs together, it hurts, and I'm not even squeezing that hard. The TFL pain is most likely just muscle weakness, because it's still hard for me to do leg raises. But the inner thigh pain seems like it's because my tendons are over stretched. I try to sit with my legs folded to try to stretch them out further but it does not appear to be improving. I had this inner thigh pain for a few months now. I don't recommend going all the way to 8 cm because of this.

chineseguy · « **Reply #351 on:** March 23, 2016, 02:09:04 AM »

difm. if you can return back time will you still do it?

DoingItForMe · « **Reply #352 on:** March 23, 2016, 09:30:30 AM »

Quote from: chineseguy on March 23, 2016, 02:09:04 AM

difm. if you can return back time will you still do it?

No, I wouldn't. I sacrificed too much for something that helped me very little. Being taller doesn't improve your life as much as some of you may think would. I cured my height neurosis but I replaced with it with a lot physical pain and suffering. The physical pain sucks because there's no off switch. It's always present from the moment you wake up to even during sleep. At least the height neurosis can be ignored when you stop looking at mirrors and stop being around heightists.

willsa · « **Reply #353 on:** March 24, 2016, 02:36:47 AM »

You only had your surgery in summer 2015? You'd have to give it a few more months before you make the call, no one should reasonably expect to be back to walking healthy for at least a year or two.

Iamready · « **Reply #354 on:** March 25, 2016, 02:24:53 AM »

Here is my newest x ray. The gap is 2.4cm centimeter magnified so roughly 2cm gained. Pain is SLOWLY improving. I suffer a lot during Pt

ortholengthening · « **Reply #355 on:** March 25, 2016, 04:47:47 AM »

wow
looking great!
where does that put you at? around 8.5 cm in total?

Alu · « **Reply #356 on:** March 25, 2016, 04:38:46 PM »

Hey Iamready,

considering you should be around the 8 cm mark by now, my own personal goal. How does it feel?

Sure you can't walk much or anything, but in terms of aesthetics, does it look good for you? Are you starting to feel your legs becoming too long or something like that? Do you think it's personally easy to hide that you've lengthen 8 CM?

Thanks man, Take Care!

EndGame · « **Reply #357 on:** March 27, 2016, 02:04:00 AM »

Hi Iamready,
Thank you so much for doing your blog of your experiences. The videos and insights are invaluable. I hope you are continuing to progress well. You posted a picture of your legs about one week after the femur nail surgery. You still had a fair bit of swelling and a large bruise covering about half your leg it seemed. I was curious to know how much the swelling had come down from its peak by the one week mark? More to the point I was wondering if you could describe or quantify how big/how much your legs swelled from the femur precice insertion? Along the same lines, how much swelling did you experience after the original tibia nail surgery? Thanks for sharing with us

Iamready · « **Reply #358 on:** March 30, 2016, 03:58:46 AM »

I'm at about 8.5cm now, and as far as height there is a noticeable difference. Especially since I can wear shoes now as opposed to always being in boots during the tibia surgery. I'm still not content with the height yet. Perhaps another inch will change my mind. My femurs look short compared to my tibia's which actually look perfect in proportion to my feet. Perhaps I've gotten used to having longer tibia's already. I will reassess at about 5cm. I think all the surgeries I've been through have taken a toll on my body and psyche so i'm evaluating my options with regards to my goal on my femurs. As far as swelling, both surgeries brought significant swelling however when I had my femur rod insertion I had absolutely no fat on my bones and I still was bloated like a corpse floating on the surface of the amazon river.

Here are some videos expressing my current mind set and situation if your patience allows.

yagen · « **Reply #359 on:** March 30, 2016, 07:27:42 AM »

Great work!!!!

TIBIKE200 · « **Reply #360 on:** March 30, 2016, 10:36:44 AM »

Dont get caught in the number game. You did this thing in order to not be short. Not in order to be one of the tallest guys in the room. Do what's best for your body, not for your ego

Alu · « **Reply #361 on:** March 31, 2016, 02:54:30 AM »

Nice video.

Glad you've had a relatively easy journey with femurs, even though you are suffering.

Get to the 5 cm and call it quits dude. 10 cm is a great gain overall, and it can lead to a great recovery. That mindset you have I 100% agree with and glad you changed your mind. Hit it and quit it mate.

Lastly, I don't think you really mentioned in your videos, even though I asked (not blaming you for glossing over it), but how is it at 8 CM? "Proportion-wise," how does it all look for you?

EndGame · « **Reply #362 on:** March 31, 2016, 04:03:51 AM »

The videos convey so much more about how you feel than text ever could. Really helps to better understand the journey you are on. Thx!

You mentioned you might stop around 10cm total and possibly come back in a year to max out the rods. If you find your soft tissue basically maxes out at 5cm on tibs and 5cm on fems, is that only a temporary issue in general? Meaning a year later, muscles and tendons further adapt during recovery and it becomes possible to do another 3cm and 3cm for 8 and 8 on both?

If you do stop at 5 and come back in a year do you think you'd rather do both tibs and femurs at the same time? Or one then the other? I was thinking the trauma of reaming and nail insertion would be absent making a follow up lengthening less traumatic, but perhaps that's just what I want to believe since it'd be faster doing both at once.

Good luck and stay strong!

willsa · « **Reply #363 on:** March 31, 2016, 04:28:33 AM »

Thank you so much for the videos. I feel like I can tell you're doing a little better now too. 5cm is fine man, I'd rather walk normally at 5'9 than risk more injury to walk at 5'10. After you're done lengthening, can you just go home? How do you fix your tightness and learn to walk again? Any estimated time table?

Iamready · « **Reply #364 on:** March 31, 2016, 12:55:44 PM »

Learning to walk is just a matter of effort. It's something your body can regain by itself with hard work but a trainer can help with weak spots you may not be paying attention to. At 8cm proportions look normal. Whereas the 8cm on femurs alone looks a bit long, not hating just mentioning- and by long I don't mean that people will hate but they'll probably notice and say wow your quads are long-, I think that spreading it out on both Tibias and femurs makes it much more natural. But then again I went through hell and a lot of cash to look proportional. This is something I'll discuss in another video so people don't get the wrong idea about my statement.

Coming back a year later to max out the rods is the safest way to do it but it costs more money and requires coming back and revealing the bone. It is an outpatient operation and you are able to lenghten right away with minimal trauma to the body. I might do both or just one depending on how much more I want to grow.

I can go home after lenghtening but I don't know how long it will take to consolidate since my Tibias and femurs are making bone at the same time. Once I get the clear for crutches il move to that then get the clear for full weight bearing. J assume it will take 2-3 months post lenghtening for me to consolidate to weight bearing since I seem to create bone quickly.

Thanks for your comments it really gives me energy.

DoingItForMe · « **Reply #365 on:** March 31, 2016, 08:59:10 PM »

Quote from: Iamready on March 31, 2016, 12:55:44 PM

At 8cm proportions look normal. Whereas the 8cm on femurs alone looks a bit long, not hating just mentioning- and by long I don't mean that people will hate but they'll probably notice and say wow your quads are long-, I think that spreading it out on both Tibias and femurs makes it much more natural. But then again I went through hell and a lot of cash to look proportional. This is something I'll discuss in another video so people don't get the wrong idea about my statement.

You're right that 8 cm on femurs is disproportionally long. And when I'm nked, it does look weird. But with clothes on, nobody has ever commented that my femurs look too long. But yea, if time and money were no factor, splitting the height between both sections would look the best.

CCMidwest · « **Reply #366 on:** March 31, 2016, 09:07:21 PM »

Quote from: DoingItForMe on March 31, 2016, 08:59:10 PM

You're right that 8 cm on femurs is disproportionally long. And when I'm nked, it does look weird. But with clothes on, nobody has ever commented that my femurs look too long. But yea, if time and money were no factor, splitting the height between both sections would look the best.

"Wow, you have long legs"

Or...

"If only you were taller"

I'll take the leg comment I think.

Iamready · « **Reply #367 on:** April 01, 2016, 12:54:41 PM »

Yea like I said. It's not something I meant bad by. It's just something that makes me not regret getting both segments done because up to this point I've never looked at my legs and thought they looked long for my body. I feel like they are finally becoming what they should have been originally.

On the flip side I went through some traumatic so I don't even know what to reccomend to people when it comes to just getting femurs done or split it between both segments, because in my opinion the technology for a complication free tibia surgery isn't quite there and you have to accept that it will be a gamble and you better come with that extra 35k. This is of course in reference to the precise internal system.

willsa · « **Reply #368 on:** April 01, 2016, 01:25:21 PM »

Isn't that because you were wearing lifts for a while which shortened your tendons so they had to slow you down?

Also I think I remember in another video you said you could dunk in basketball, if that's the case you need to have serious musculature in your legs at your previous height, which seems to be a theme in complications and pain (muscles fighting against lengthening)

Still looking forward to seeing your recovery! Please don't dip out of here once you're done lengthening.

chineseguy · « **Reply #369 on:** April 01, 2016, 02:06:33 PM »

what is your sitting height?

TIBIKE200 · « **Reply #370 on:** April 01, 2016, 10:42:24 PM »

Hope everythig goes well.

I wanted to ask you since you are doing both segments; which of the two has a bigger effect on overall proportions? Like, the 5.5cm on the tibia changed your proportions as much as the 3m on the femurs?

Iamready · « **Reply #371 on:** April 02, 2016, 01:51:52 AM »

I think ultimately I'll be more pleased with the tibia lengthening because my wide feet always made me feel like my Tibias were super small. But most people notice your femurs sitting down or maybe it's just me. Like you're taking a and you're like holy my legs are growing long. I think once my femurs grow a little I'll be visually happy. Not sure about content about my final height but that's another issue.

I couldn't dunk I could just grab onto the rim but I also did gymnastics and wrestling so I had dynamic legs. It wasn't just me that had to shell out the extra 35k. The other two tibia patients at the time had issues as well and paid the same to get fixed.

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Author Topic: Quadrilateral Lengthening with Dr. Paley (Read 282588 times)