Limb Lengthening Forum
Limb Lengthening Surgery => Limb Lengthening Patients Experiences => Topic started by: TheAlchemist on September 17, 2019, 06:18:43 AM
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Hey LL community,
I'm having my bi-lateral femur surgery (Stryde) with Dr. Paley later today. Starting a diary to share with the amazing community here.
Diaries were a valuable resource to help provide me with a raw glimpse into the LL journey. A big thank you to those veteran and current LLers who have shared their journeys with us. I hope my diary helps any current or future LLers with information to glean insights from and make informed decisions over. Any support and advice from veterans or current LLers for me during my journey will be very much appreciated!
STATS
Age: Mid 30's
Gender: Male
Current Height: 5'8.5 or 174 cm at night (around 5'9 in the morning)
Goal: No crisp quantitative metrics here....my ultimate goal is to free myself of height neurosis. I don't want to get caught up in the numbers game, but personally that translates to an ideal gain ranging anywhere from 6 cm to 7 cm, with anything above deemed a bonus. I'd like to balance and optimize length and functionality. I'll listen to my body and take it day by day.
Family / Friends Doing this entirely solo - I've decided to keep this procedure private and haven't told any family or friends. The primary reason is I don't want my family and friends to worry about me as this procedure is pretty crazy in the eyes of the general public and my family/friends don't understand the depths and complexities of height neurosis. Although having them around these challenging times would be amazing and incredibly helpful, I'm fairly independent and will push forward solo.
Caretaker Booked a care taker for the first week after discharge from the hospital (4 nights in the hospital post op until discharge.) Will play it by ear but planning on 3 days at 24 hours, and 8 hrs/day thereafter.
Living Situation Staying at one of the recommended Paley hotels.
Financing Paid for the procedure with my own hard earned cash. The fees for STRYDE femurs are all over the forum so please refer to those threads for info around costs.
About myself: I'm generally content and happy in the core areas of my life (career, family/friends, women). Overall I'd say I have a healthy sense of self worth and confidence and live life with an abundance mentality..... however, one area I'm not satisfied with is my height.
I've struggled with height dysphoria for the past 5 or so years. It has manifested itself into a shoe lift addiction where I don't leave the house without my 2 inch shoe lifts. It boils down to height dysphoria creating irrational limitations on living my best life. For example, although I was satisfied with my sxx life and the options I had, I realized the height dysphoria put a real constraint on building deeper connections with some of the women I grew closer to as I avoided situations where I had to take off my shoes which pretty much rules out any normal relationship (other than laying flat on my bed with them.)
Earlier this year it got to a point where I declined an important wedding of a close loved one simply because it was on a beach and the dress code was barefoot. At that point it became painfully obvious that I was making irrational decisions based on my height issues and was slowly living a life that was not congruent with my purpose or desired life experiences.
It became clear that I needed to address the height dysphoria and I ultimately was left with two options, either 1) accept my current height at 5'8.5 and seek therapy to address the dysphoria or 2) explore LL.........Welp.....here I am a few hours away from my surgery. The main reasons I've come to this decision comes down to timing as a) I'm at this odd point in my life where my career, finances, and living situation allow me to afford the procedure and dedicate the massive amount of time required for it and b) the advent of the recent STRYDE technology and the game changing factor of being able to weight bear (timing is everything isn't it!?!?) Deep down inside I knew had I not gone forward with LL it would have been something I'd think about for the rest of my life and it's not so often where you are at a point in your life where you have the time and finances to do something as life changing as LL, so.....here I am!
One thing I want to make clear. I'm not doing LL for any external person or thing. My height has never presented itself as a real issue when it comes to my dating life, my career, or how my family/friends view me. The reality is I have height neurosis, a mental issue where I am not satisfied with my natural height and I'm addressing it through LL. I want to emphasize that I am doing this for me.
I did my research and had a short list of potential surgeons to go with but ended up with Paley simply based on his experience and reputation as the #1 LL surgeon in the world which I believe best stacks the odds of a successful outcome in my favor.
Current Mood 40% nervous/ anxious, 40% excited, 20% WTF am I really doing this?!?!? I've been planning this surgery for quite some time now and have put off living my normal life (planning vacations, dating certain women long term, hanging out with friends) in anticipation of knowing I will be off the grid, dedicating 100% of myself to LL for at least 5 months.....so it goes without saying that I'm excited to get this show on the road.
The fear mostly stems from the solo aspect of all of this and the psychological challenges that come with solitude and loneliness. In fact, the psychological aspect of this scares me more than the physical aspect, which I know, will take every ounce of strength, patience, and determination to push through the pain and general physical limitations.
OTHER I did quite a bit of planning/shopping for things leading up to my operation. I'll share that list with you guys once I've had a few weeks to really understand what worked for me and what didn't.
I also want to say thank you to the members of this community who have helped me along the way (too many to list, you know who you are!)
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I think you already have a good height and you have a good mindset. Hope everything goes fine for you. Wish you all the best.
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Let me be the first(well, until there was a response while I was typing this up) to wish you all the best! What a coincidence I swung back by the forum right as someone in such a similar position was beginning their journey.
You honestly sound like a version of myself that had developed height dysphoria a few years sooner than I did. I really do think you will be completely cured if not feel MORE relief than me, so just remember the goal at the end of the tunnel.
Its a hard process in a lot of ways, but just remember that the pain and the isolation ENDS and that on the other side you will be an objectively better version of yourself- taller and with total peace of mind.
If you ever are feeling in the gutter or just want to compare and contrast with someone who has been in an essentially identical position always feel free to hit me up.
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I wish you the best of luck brotha. one piece of advice, keep up with the pain medication every 4 hours. Do not let the nurses forget. It'll be a breeze for you if you do that. Once that medication wears off after 4 hours and you let it go and forget, it'll be hard to keep control and you will be uncomfortable.
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Good luck, Alchemist! Your story is relatable to many. Let me know if you have any questions along the way and I'd be happy to advise.
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Best of luck bro, will be following up!
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Hey guys,
Well....it’s done. Happy to report back that the surgery went well. Currently in the hospital and resting. I know the next few days will be rough so I’m enjoying this medicated low pain state while it lasts.
I’ll update the diary and respond to questions with a detailed recap in the next few days once I get back to the hotel. Thanks for all of the support and kind words. .
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Best advice for this phase is to just stay ahead of the pain as opposed to reacting as it gets severe. Good luck! You've got this.
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Hello Alchemist....I really wish you best of luck for your journey....And hope that everything will be awesome .....I am a future lengthner....N I'll be following your diary....!
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Yes! You're one of the taller guys on here, more relatable for me at 177cm. I have a couple questions if you dont mind.
1) are you going to take pictures and videos?
2) I lived in west palm beach my whole life, why do most people get their surgeries at the peak of hurricane season?
3) are you considering tibias in the future to be over 6ft tall?
Wish you the best, PM me I would love to meet someone going through this.
1) Currently not planning on sharing any pics or videos due to privacy and not having the time to record/edit etc. We'll see as the journey progresses. May take a few videos during the consolidation phase to document how my walk/gait progresses.
2) The timing had more to do with my career. I planned it during a time that is seasonally less demanding for me and my team and at a point where I received a substantial amount of stock awards vesting. The idea of a hurricane worries me from time to time, but totally out of my control.
3) No tibias in the future for me. Perfectly happy with 5'11 or 6 ft when all is said and done with femurs. I was fortunate enough to have experienced life with 2 inch lifts for the past few years, which put me at about 5'11.5 in shoes and I was content there. With this procedure if everything goes as planned I'll end up about half an inch above that so I expect to walk away satisfied with the results (6ft to 6'1 in shoes).
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I’m an LLD guy with less planned growth but we’re doing this together for at least the first part of the journey...my surgery was just a day or 2 after yours. Best of luck to you, glad you have a caregiver for at least the first week... in watching Movie and with my own unilateral experience so far, very thankful for my wife to assist.
As I watch the bilateral cases with Stryde, it’s apparent that Paley and Dr M from LA have no hesitation about full weight bearing in the growth phase. My doctor is still playing it very conservative and still only recommending partial weight bearing since I have the luxury of 1 unaffected leg. Not sure how that will play out with me... time will tell how much I push the boundaries there!
PS. One of the things I so look forward to...walking barefoot in the sand! A little different twist to your story but the same net effect!
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Alchemist.....Any updates....How are you holding up....I hope everything is fine....?
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Alright LL fam, it’s been nearly a week since my surgery and I’ll try to recap the journey so far. So far so good , I’m doing well and in good spirits. I’ll recap surgery day and the days after.
SURGERY DAY 0 - 9/17/19
To my surprise I was able to sleep the night before surgery despite having so much on my mind. Woke at 4:30 AM, went straight to the shower and washed myself off with a pre surgery antibacterial soap provided by the Paley team. As instructed, no food and limited water the night of surgery (cutoff was midnight the night before surgery.)
Ordered a Lyft and got to the hospital at around 6 AM as instructed. Cherished every step I took around the hospital as I knew it would be a long time till I’d be comfortably mobile on my own two feet again.
Mood/ Mental State: For the most part anxious and ready to get the show on the road. So much planning and anticipation over the past year for this moment, although there was much to be fearful about, I kept thinking about what awaits me on the other side of the finish line of this journey, what life will be like a year from now, living a happy, healthy life, and continuing to contribute to the world without the constraints of my personal mental issues surrounding my height. There is a thin line between excitement and fear/anxiety, and with this positive mindset I felt energized and excited, I truly felt like I was moving forward.
Surgery Prep:
They wheel you into the pre surgery room where the nurses take your vitals again and proceed to have you undress into your hospital gown and store your belongings in a security locker.
Then one of the nurses shaves your legs around the surgery site.
They have you fill out a bunch of paperwork providing consent and defining liability, scary morbid stuff to read through, I scanned through it, said a prayer (not at all religious) and signed them.
Then, the anesthesiologist comes by and walks you through the process. I opted to go with a spinal block instead of an epidural to avoid the catheter, in hindsight am glad I did.
They put the IV in you, about a half hour later the anesthesiologist comes back and give you the “happy juice”, which contained fentanyl. I’m not here to glamorize drugs but there was in instant hit of immense euphoria, calmness, and a general happy numbness flowing throughout my body…my eyes rolled to the back of my head and a smile formed from cheek to cheek. It was an amazing high. Fentanyl is powerful stuff, and I can see why it’s an epidemic. A few seconds later the lights went out……
Surgery:
Woke up in a new room. Dazed and disoriented. Not knowing where I was, what time or date it was, or why I was there…..until an attractive blonde nurse comes in and informs me my surgery is done and was successful, its late afternoon, and I’m in recovery. I slowly gather my thoughts and am thankful to be alive and healthy. They take my vitals and I’m in good health. A feeling of immense gratitude and positive emotions fills my body.
Pain and other rehab: Virtually no pain. At a stand still pain is a 0. When you move your legs around pain is maybe a 1. The anesthesia lingers in your system for 24 hrs of so. On top of that, you are on a combination of Taradol, Tylenol, and Oxy.
Your lower legs are wrapped in an automated sleeve that intermittently squeezes and applies pressure to promote blood circulation.
Your thighs / femurs are elevated wrapped in ice pad to help with the swelling.
Exercises: The PT comes in and teaches you three movements to help promote blood circulation and stimulate your muscles
1) Toe/heel flexes – point your toes towards and your outwards 20x.
2) Quad stretches- straighten out your leg so that the back of your knee makes contact with the bed (your legs tend to slightly bend.) 20x
3) Squeeze your butt cheeks 20x
I was able to do all the above relatively easy, and did a few leg raises and 90 degree knee bends while laying down. PT and nurse were impressed.
Food: They bring you standard cafeteria food for dinner, a decent mix of protein ( meat), veggies and dessert. I didn’t get any morphine so I didn’t feel nauseous at all and was able to clean my plate. Your body needs calories after experiencing so much trauma, so even after this meal, I was still hungry and ate a protein bar I packed which hit the spot.
Going to bathroom: I was able to urinate on surgery date relatively easy. As I mentioned earlier, I opted to not use an epidural and therefore I did not need a catheter. I felt the urge to pee the night of surgery. At this point the anesthesia is still in effect and your bodily functions are still slowly coming back, so with a little more effort I was able to pee into a urine bottle. Made a little mess but you learn as you go.
Mood / mental state: Post surgery your body is recovering from significant trauma. Although you don’t feel it thanks to the meds, you are constantly dipping in and out of sleep. I would say I’d be awake for 1 to 2 hrs, fall asleep for 2 to 3 hrs, and repeat.
Hospital Care: The nurses are great. They check on you frequently, probably every hour or so, and take your vitals every 4 hrs. My biggest fear for the surgery was fat embolism, and the nurses coming in, checking my vitals, seeing my oxygen levels at optimum levels, really eased my concerns.
Surgery Day Tips:
1) Pack a long phone charging cord, at least 10 ft. Your bed is quite far from the power outlet in your hospital room.
2) Pack tons of snacks and meal replacements. The hospital feeds you decent cafeteria food 3 times a day, but I personally don’t feel like it’s enough. you’ll be starving post op and your body will need calories and protein. I packed a bunch of protein bars and Cliff bars which helped a lot.
3) If you are hiring a care taker, you will NOT need them during your hospital stay as the round the clock service from the nurses is more than enough. You can call the nurses at your will, but they pop in frequently enough that I felt safe and watched over.
4) The nurses won’t proactively provide you with oral hygeine care. Ask them for a tooth brush and mouth wash and they’ll provide.
Wow...didn't expect the surgery day recap to be this long, I'll follow up with recaps on the subsequent days later today....
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Alchemist..... amazing update... stay strong... my friend 8)
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Hey man! Good luck! I'm 173cm and will be doing the surgery in February.
Question: How's the sleep? This is the part that terrifies me because i'm a poor sleeper, and I sleep on my side all the time. I cannot imagine having to sleep on my back...
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Don't be nervous dude femurs will go by. It'll hurt but you can 100% hit 8cm if you stretch 3x/day and you'll be pretty much fully recovered 1 yr later. dont leave anything on the table you'll regret it
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Let me be the first(well, until there was a response while I was typing this up) to wish you all the best! What a coincidence I swung back by the forum right as someone in such a similar position was beginning their journey.
You honestly sound like a version of myself that had developed height dysphoria a few years sooner than I did. I really do think you will be completely cured if not feel MORE relief than me, so just remember the goal at the end of the tunnel.
Its a hard process in a lot of ways, but just remember that the pain and the isolation ENDS and that on the other side you will be an objectively better version of yourself- taller and with total peace of mind.
If you ever are feeling in the gutter or just want to compare and contrast with someone who has been in an essentially identical position always feel free to hit me up.
Thanks programdude! Your journey and successful outcome served as a huge motivating factor for me. Your diaries raw, honest take on this experience was just what I needed, the good and the bad, and I'm trying my best to provide what you gave to me and many other LLers through my experience and STRYDE. I’m an LLD guy with less planned growth but we’re doing this together for at least the first part of the journey...my surgery was just a day or 2 after yours. Best of luck to you, glad you have a caregiver for at least the first week... in watching Movie and with my own unilateral experience so far, very thankful for my wife to assist.
As I watch the bilateral cases with Stryde, it’s apparent that Paley and Dr M from LA have no hesitation about full weight bearing in the growth phase. My doctor is still playing it very conservative and still only recommending partial weight bearing since I have the luxury of 1 unaffected leg. Not sure how that will play out with me... time will tell how much I push the boundaries there!
PS. One of the things I so look forward to...walking barefoot in the sand! A little different twist to your story but the same net effect!
Thanks bgreenee! Best of luck to you as well! If you ever need someone to talk to or support feel free to reach out. Walking barefoot on sand would be amazing - we'll get there soon my friend!
Hello Alchemist....I really wish you best of luck for your journey....And hope that everything will be awesome .....I am a future lengthner....N I'll be following your diary....!
Thanks Dreamer57. It really means a lot!
Good luck, Alchemist! Your story is relatable to many. Let me know if you have any questions along the way and I'd be happy to advise.
IFS! Thx for dropping in my diary. You are a legend in this community! You've helped so many and your diary serves as one of the most comprehensive, informative diaries out there. I really appreciate the well wishes!
I wish you the best of luck brotha. one piece of advice, keep up with the pain medication every 4 hours. Do not let the nurses forget. It'll be a breeze for you if you do that. Once that medication wears off after 4 hours and you let it go and forget, it'll be hard to keep control and you will be uncomfortable.
Thanks E Z! Yes totally agree, disciplined pain management and medication intake is so critical! So far I've been doing well with it, I'll get into it a bit in my next diary update!
I think you already have a good height and you have a good mindset. Hope everything goes fine for you. Wish you all the best.
Thanks man. Yes, all things considered 174 cm or 5'8.5 is a good height that I'm thankful for, but our minds and height neurosis are a strange, powerful thing and I believe LL is the the path forward for me to freedom of height neurosis. Thanks for the kind words!
Alchemist..... amazing update... stay strong... my friend 8)
Thanks PANDA! It's a battle every day, every hour, every minute, but I'm staying strong all the way through!
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Hey man! Good luck! I'm 173cm and will be doing the surgery in February.
Question: How's the sleep? This is the part that terrifies me because i'm a poor sleeper, and I sleep on my side all the time. I cannot imagine having to sleep on my back...
Thanks Bastouille! Sleep was great until night 5 of the post op. The leg restlessness really starts to get to you and you realisically get 2 to 3 hrs of sleep at a time until the pain wakes you up. Luckily for me I naturally sleep on my back. Stay tuned, I'm experimenting with different ways to improve sleep. I will say that pain management is key. I'm going to try setting a timer every 4 hrs to take the pain meds throughout the night. Whenever I wake up, instead of trying to fight it, I'm going to stretch and move my legs to encourage blood flow to combat the pain. I tried Tylenol PM and it definitely helped me snooze a bit longer.
Don't be nervous dude femurs will go by. It'll hurt but you can 100% hit 8cm if you stretch 3x/day and you'll be pretty much fully recovered 1 yr later. dont leave anything on the table you'll regret it
MyEvolution thank you! Your diary was awesome. It's a battle everyday but I know the benefits will be life changing. Your diary was inspiring. Hoping to meet you here while you are doing tibias!
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Awesome man! Stay strong, soon you are gonna be a tall guy! Btw I am worried sick about fat embolism....What did Paley personally tell you about it? What are the chance of it happening? And about nerve damage? What did he tell you about that? Btw your updates are amazing and hopefully you are gonna be another of those successful diaries on the forum! Power to you!
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Awesome man! Stay strong, soon you are gonna be a tall guy! Btw I am worried sick about fat embolism....What did Paley personally tell you about it? What are the chance of it happening? And about nerve damage? What did he tell you about that? Btw your updates are amazing and hopefully you are gonna be another of those successful diaries on the forum! Power to you!
Fat embolism was without a doubt my biggest concern during my consultation with Paley. He said it's rare but each time it has happened it was detected and addressed and resolved with no issues. As a preventative measure, they drill holes in your femur bone to act as a venting mechanism to prevent fat embolism, as a detective measure, they are monitoring your oxygen levels in the hospital post op and would be immediately alerted if your O2 levels dropped (an indicator of fat emboli entering the lungs) where you would get immediate treatment.
There has been a diary here with someone who experienced it (BiLateral Damage) with Paley but they detected it and addressed it and he ultimately had a successful outcome. Out of all the patients I've talked to since I've been here, none of us have had issues with fat embolism.
As far as nerve damage goes, I also asked this question and Paley mentioned that he has no patients with long term cases of permanent nerve damages.
LL is a complex, significant procedure and there are real risks so its good you are thinking about these things. For me, it was about informing myself about the risks, and making a calculated decision about the costs and benefits.....and here I am. Good luck with your decision!
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Alright LL fam, it's been a week since my surgery and here's a recap. So far so good.
POST OP DAY 1
Pain Level: Average throughout the day was a 1. Peak was a 3 when they got me out of bed. I was surprised at how manageable the pain was. I know many other LLers have described this as one of the most painful days because this is the first time you get out of bed and use the walker. The nurse said many people cry or faint when they get of bed. For me, it wasn't bad at all, I used as much of my upper body as I could, maneuvering my way off the bed, and using my triceps to stand up with the walker, minimizing the work my legs had to do. From there, I was able to comfortably take little baby steps in and around my hospital room. Throughout the day the level 1 pain I could describe as the minor soreness in your legs after playing a game of basketball.
I attribute this pain management to 1) disciplined pain med intake, 2) thoughtful weight distribution and utilizing upper body accordingly, 3) consistent application of ice pads to my thighs/femurs and 4) mindfulness, staying calm, breathing, and not freaking out which I'll get into below.
Sleep: Slept like a baby. Would be awake for an hour or 2. Sleep for another 2 or 3. I'd be woken up by the nurses to take vitals, etc., but would go right back to sleep.
Mood/ Mindset: Positive. My biggest fear was the unlikely chance of death with fat embolism. Every time the nurse would check my vitals and report healthy O2 levels and blood pressure, I was thankful. With that behind me, I could now focus on recovery and PT. The pain meds, mainly oxy, didn't really get me high, you just feel a bit more relaxed and comfortably numb, but my mind was sharp enough to maintain the cognition required to read and respond to a few minor work emails. I was able to chat and make jokes with the hospital staff. Things are looking good.
Highlights: Getting on the walker and being mobile- feels great after being stuck in bed all day and night, it gives you back this sense of control. More PT. In addition to the three exercises we did on surgery date, we did two more. Leg lifts and knee bends. It's a bit difficult to get your muscles to do what you want them to initially, but once you get the first few down it get's easy, that muscle memory kicks in and it just feels heavier than usual. Pain increased to a 2, maybe 3 at most during these exercises, nothing unbearable.
POST OP DAY 2
Pain Level: Average throughout the day was a 1. Peak was a 2 or 3. Same as Post Op day 1.
Sleep: Still sleeping like a baby. Loving this because sleep makes time go faster. I'm really only awake to eat, take vitals, take meds and PT. Spent a few hours browsing the internet and shooting off work emails.
Mood/ Mindset: Positive and surprised that the pain level was as low as it was. Was waiting for things to shoot up after hearing about the horror stories but it never happened.
Highlights: Did PT again. Same routine as day 1 but took it a step further. Walker around the entire hospital floor, did a roundabout and back to my room. Steps are small, but I was moving along just fine. Continuing to eat tons of calories. I'm not a big guy, 5'9 and about 160 lbs, but I was all about calories. Would clean my hospital food plate and eat 2 or 3 Quest protein bars each day.
POST OP DAY 3
Pain Level: Average throughout the day was a 1. Peak was a 2 or 3. Same as the past few days. Still waiting on the pain to hit hard, but it never happened. Very thankful for this.
Sleep: Still sleeping like a baby. Time going by fast.
Mood/ Mindset: Positive and in good spirits. Time seems to be moving fast. I'm becoming friendly with the hospital staff. The fear of loneliness never hit, just chatting with my caretakers and PT was enough to feel connected to another human. Again, my biggest fear for this whole experience was the loneliness and solitude since I kept this a secret from friends and fam.
Highlights: Walking, walking, walking, on my walker. Still little baby steps but moving forward. PT gives you little gifts to take with you. A "grabber", basically an extended arm you can use to grab things off the ground, shoe horns, a mechanism to help you put socks on. They teach you how to put on a new set of clothes with these tools.
Dr. Paley and all the doctors dropped in to visit very quickly which was nice of them. If you end up doing Paley, you'll come to learn that he is a man of few words as he is super busy. We chatted briefly, he told me the surgery went well and was good to see me in good spirits.
It's only day 3 but I'm starting to see progress. Remember those leg raises? They become easier. I can go a little higher and hold them for a little longer.The steps on the walker? They get a little easier. My strides become more normal and my heel to toe form feels more natural.
POST OP DAY 4
Most people get discharged from the hospital on post op day 3. I could have totally gone home on post op day 3 but I decided to stay in the hospital another night for economic reasons. As part of the overall Paley fee, you get 4 nights in the hospital so that cost is baked in and included. I wanted to save money on my caretaker fees, as I would initiate the care taker hours upon hospital release, so I figured why not save an extra day of care taker costs since the nurses are basically more qualified, experienced, care takers?
Pain Level: Average throughout the day was a 1. Peak was a 2 or 3. Same as the past few days. Surprised I never had a moment where I wanted to scream, cry, or question it all.
Sleep: Still sleeping like a baby. Time going by fast.
Mood/ Mindset: Positive and in good spirits. Looking forward to my last day in the hospital and getting back to my hotel so I can be a bit more autonomous with things like work and getting on my walker (e.g. not having to wait for the nurse to take out my IV, etc.) .
Highlights: Walking on that walker. Did another round of the hospital floor, felt good.
My care taker came by the hospital to take me back to the hotel. Put me in a wheel chair and wheeled me over to his car. Getting in and out of the car wasn't that bad, again, utilizing my upper body to maneuver and rotate my body into his front car seat. At the most the pain was about a 3 when he had to lift my legs and rotate them into the front seat, but not bad at all.
Drove me back to my hotel and used my walker to get to my room. Home sweet home! Got into bed and felt great, the entire move was tiring since you are in a state of movement/transportation for over an hour or so. Felt comfortable in my bed and thankful to be back in good spirits. Started my ice packs, and taking meds in the hospital.
Got on my laptop and eased into some emails and netflix. I've been using a laptop bed stand, incredibly useful and highly recommended. Had my first bowel movement. This was a bit difficult because my toilet bowl seat was low and crouching down puts a lot of weight on your legs. I've since corrected this by installing a raised toilet commode and figured out better weight distribution.
Wow this post is really long, I'll get into the tips in another post!
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POST OP HOSPITAL STAY TIPS, RECAP AND PAIN MANAGEMENT
Okay so reading through other diaries, a lot of people describe the first few days in the hospital after the surgery as a nightmare. A lot of people have even said they fainted or cried the first day they got out of bed.
Meanwhile, my pain during this period never really went above a 3, and on average I hovered around 1 or 2. You would walk into my hospital room and see me chatting and laughing with the nurses. Everyone's experience is a bit different, and everyone has different pain tolerance. In hindsight, I think I have an above average threshold for pain, which has helped a lot, but here are a few things that helped me stay ahead of the pain.
1) Pain Med Discipline: So they have you on Toradol and Tylenol through the IV, staggered every 4 hours. This helps a lot. However, the oxy is given as needed based on what YOU communicate to the nurse as your pain level. I would tell my nurse I need pain meds every 3 or 4 hrs, and they would give me 5 or 10 mg of oxy. I set a timer on my phone, to inform my nurse So you see, I was never chasing the pain or reacting to pain, instead, I got ahead of the pain by taking a disciplined dosage of Toradol, Tylenol, and Oxy, at a fixed cadence. I don't encourage abusing this or getting hooked on the pain meds, just managing it wisely by staying ahead of it. As the pain crept up to a 2 or 3, I would take the meds before it went any higher (as opposed to waiting till it shot up to a 6 or 7 to bring it back down to a 3 or 4.)
2) Upper body strength and thoughtful weight distribution: Upper body strength is key to mobility during this time. Your legs are next to worthless. Stryde is a game changer, but all your legs are good for are taking little tiny baby steps, leg raises, quad stretches etc, you have to go in with the mindset that your legs will not be primary when it comes to functionality and mobility. That leaves you with your upper body- the key areas being your triceps to lift yourself up, your core (abs) to maintain stability, and your back (lats to pull yourself up, these areas of your body are working over time while your legs are taking a break. So getting out of bed, I would lift myself up using arms, use my core stabilize myself, and use my arms to move my legs along by lifting them little by little. When my feet touch the ground from the bed, I'm not pushing up with legs to stand, I'm extending my legs out so there is no weight on them, and using my arms to push my entire body up to get on the walker. When I'm on the walker, my arms and core are keeping my body stable and bearing most of the weight, with my legs just taking little baby steps. Occasionally I'd let go of the walker to see if I could stand, which felt fine, but still, any core movements and weight distribution were handled by my arms and core.
PRO TIP: If you have your surgery booked more than 3 months away, I would advise you to hit the gym and work out your upper body, build up strength and endurance in your triceps and shoulders, core abs, and back. They will offer incredible utility when your legs are gone.
Ice Pads Post surgery your legs are going through trauma. Ice those legs to keep the swelling down. The ice also helps with the pain as it numbs the area a bit. Remind the nurses to refill your ice pad bucket whenever you have the chance.
Mindfulness and meditation After this surgery, your body might go in shock because you're not use to this. Personally, I've never broken a bone in my body, so this was all new to me. There are new, weird, foreign feelings throughout your body, you don't know what to expect. During this rollercoaster of a time, it's best to stay cool, calm, collected and rationale. You hear something pop or feel a weird tingle in your leg as you get on your walker? Don't freak out, panic, have an anxiety attack, etc. That will only amplify your pain and trauma. Focus on the present, the task at hand, rationalize your thoughts, be aware that you are in a hospital surrounded by RNs and MDs, you are fine, embrace the new, weird, exeriences, and breathe. Continue to breathe. When my pain shot up to a 3 in a rare case where maybe my leg was dangling or angled weird when getting off the bed, I just took a deep breath and focused on the present. Sorry not trying to sound like a yogie guru, but breathing and mindfulness helps!
In summary, I'm thankful that my post op hospital stay was a success with low pain. Not trying to brag at all, because you'll see in my next update, right now I'm struggling with pain during the night, the kind of nagging pain that wakes you up.....I'm still trying to manage that, so it's not a walk in a park, there are real challenges in this journey. Stay tuned!
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Wow amazing update so far brotha. I'm going to compare it to my experience since it's still fresh on my mind... . I remember it being a nightmare to do transfers from bed to walker cuz my nurse wouldn't let me cheat and raise the bed lol. Transferring from car to walker on the way back was a nightmare (I had a 4 hour drive back home after leaving hospital)
Sitting on the commode was a nightmare for me till about 9-10 days post op. I'm talking 10/10 pain the first couple days.. My quads were just sooooooo tight.
My left leg was basically non existent the first 4 days. Till this day it bothers me and I can't move it laterally while in bed. Right leg is much stronger and 0 pain.
Awesome diary so far and I'm glad you're finding this easy even though it's not lol. After starting the lengthening the first 3 days I had sharp pains in my knees that would switch up from knee to knee (6-7/10 levels). No pain since then though and lengthening has been extremely smooth outside of pain on where your marker is that you just walk off after. Everyone's definitely different though, your body seems really strong and reacting well to everything.. don't mean to jinx u lol! Hopefully the trend continues wishing u the best!
Couple questions:
Are both your legs responding well to movements or is one stronger than the other?
Can you get in and out of bed by yourself?
Sorry if you mentioned this in an earlier post, but how was your flexibility pre-op?
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E Z - when you say the pain was super intense when trying to sit, was that even with a heavy dose of pain meds, or without?
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It would be awesome if you attach your latest x-rays !
Btw nice posts....Happy to hear that you are doing so good!
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It would be awesome if you attach your latest x-rays !
Btw nice posts....Happy to hear that you are doing so good!
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Knocking it out of the park with the posts! A lot more coherent than the early posts in my diary so it seems like you are doing great.
Good call emphasizing the importance of upper body strength, I can imagine the process being very hard(at least solo) if you aren't someone who works out.
Fingers crossed that things are going well in these rough days fresh out of the hospital, for me they were quite hard but as the body recovers slowly things transition from painful to boring.
I strongly recommend being sure to have whatever your preferred sleep aid is on hand incase you run into the difficulty with sleep that so many do. Once things settle down cumulative lack of sleep is really the biggest hurdle that can impede you.
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Knocking it out of the park with the posts! A lot more coherent than the early posts in my diary so it seems like you are doing great.
Good call emphasizing the importance of upper body strength, I can imagine the process being very hard(at least solo) if you aren't someone who works out.
Fingers crossed that things are going well in these rough days fresh out of the hospital, for me they were quite hard but as the body recovers slowly things transition from painful to boring.
I strongly recommend being sure to have whatever your preferred sleep aid is on hand incase you run into the difficulty with sleep that so many do. Once things settle down cumulative lack of sleep is really the biggest hurdle that can impede you.
Thanks brotha! Yes, upper body strength has been my savior. I'm channeling my inner Lieutenant Dan from Forrest Gump whenever I move.
Sleep and pain throughout the night and morning has been my biggest obstacle these past few days. Right now I'm on Tylenol PM to help as a sleep aid, but I'm still waking up throughout the night due to the pain. I'm getting 6 hrs a day (cumulative made up of a couple 1 to 2 hr sleep/nap sessions broken up by pain) of sleep a day so far. Everyday is a battle but I'm doing ok all things considered.
It would be awesome if you attach your latest x-rays !
Btw nice posts....Happy to hear that you are doing so good!
Thanks man. Haven't got x rays yet, once I have that scheduled I will!
Wow amazing update so far brotha. I'm going to compare it to my experience since it's still fresh on my mind... . I remember it being a nightmare to do transfers from bed to walker cuz my nurse wouldn't let me cheat and raise the bed lol. Transferring from car to walker on the way back was a nightmare (I had a 4 hour drive back home after leaving hospital)
Sitting on the commode was a nightmare for me till about 9-10 days post op. I'm talking 10/10 pain the first couple days.. My quads were just sooooooo tight.
My left leg was basically non existent the first 4 days. Till this day it bothers me and I can't move it laterally while in bed. Right leg is much stronger and 0 pain.
Awesome diary so far and I'm glad you're finding this easy even though it's not lol. After starting the lengthening the first 3 days I had sharp pains in my knees that would switch up from knee to knee (6-7/10 levels). No pain since then though and lengthening has been extremely smooth outside of pain on where your marker is that you just walk off after. Everyone's definitely different though, your body seems really strong and reacting well to everything.. don't mean to jinx u lol! Hopefully the trend continues wishing u the best!
Couple questions:
Are both your legs responding well to movements or is one stronger than the other?
Can you get in and out of bed by yourself?
Sorry if you mentioned this in an earlier post, but how was your flexibility pre-op?
Thanks brotha! Happy that you have moved forward from those nightmare-ish times.
1) My right leg is definitely stronger than my left, but my left is more flexible than my right. I can get through all PT motions with both my left and right leg, but there are certain elements of PT where one leg is easier than the other.
2) Yes, I am able to get in and out of bed myself. The mornings are the toughest as your legs are super stiff from restlessness the whole night. In the morning, I usually warm them up by doing heel/toe flexes and quad flexes for 5 to 10 min. I may take Tylenol for pain relief if needed. I let me upper body do most of the work for getting out of bed. I sit upright, rotate my body to the side of the bed using my arms and core. If needed, I'll lift my legs with my arm to rotate them, I also have a leg lifting extension from the hospital to aid in this. Once I have my feet off the side of the bed, I'll extend my feet as far away form the bed as possible to put less weight on them. Then I'll push myself up with my arms, and then get my feet under me. From there I'll reach for my walker and transition to my walker.
Outside of the morning, after I get my PT session in and my legs warmed up, with Tylenol on board, getting in and out of bed is not bad at all.
3) My flexibility pre-op sucked, especially my hamstrings. 6 months pre- op I could not touch my toes while standing or seated on the ground. Then, 3 months pre - op, everyday I spent 30 minutes working on stretching. I made some progress and before my surgery I was able to touch my toes. Right now post op, I'm still able to touch my toes while seated on floor.
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POST OP DAY 10
Approaching midway through week 2. It's been a battle. A recap of the past couple of days and nights.
Pain
The pain has risen to a 4/5 throughout the night, peaking at a 6/7 at its worst. There were times were I had to vocalize the pain, even finding myself yelling or screaming. Laying still throughout the night gives rise to restlessness in your legs which leads to pain, and although I can get sleep sessions of 2/3 hrs during the night, when the restlessness sets in the pain is strong enough to wake you up and keep you awake in agony. The pain is like living with a bruise throughout your thighs where pressure is constantly being applied to it (imagine someone poking or squeezing your bruise). I've found that there is no sense in fighting the pain, the best solution I've found is to make the most of that time and do PT/stretch. Doing PT beats staring at the ceiling in pain, might as well make it productive. It distracts the mind and gives you a sense that you are somehow moving forward. Outside of that, I've tried to set alarms every 3 hrs and 30 minutes to take pain meds (Tylenol) so I have a steady dose on board throughout the night. I've also added heat pads to my arsenal, this help a lot to relax your muscles and ease the pain.
In addition to the generic leg pain, around day 8 I developed concentrated pain in my knee. I would describe it as a throbbing, intermittent pain, that comes and goes for a few seconds. When it hits I'd say it could escalate to a 7/8 level pain, and I can only endure it because as I said, it's a throbbing pain that last for a few seconds, then leaves. Honestly, the worst part is not knowing when it's going to come again. There's no rhyme or reason. I've messaged Paley's team and hope to get it checked out soon.
The mornings are rough. The lack of sleep starts to compound (I'm now averaging 4 to 6 hrs a night) and you wake up stiff and in pain (level 4/5). It takes patience and a whole lot of determination to get out of bed and push through the pain each morning. Once you wake the legs up and get the blood flowing (and get the meds to kick in) you bring the pain down to a 2/3 and that's when you truly start your day.
During the day, the pain isn't a huge issue. Thanks to stretching 3x a day, keeping myself active with walking (still using my walker), and disciplined pain med intake, I'm able to manage the pain to a 2/3 where at times it may peak at a 4.
Mobility
I still rely on my walker, but I'm able to walk comfortably, heel to toe, no swaying, with the majority of the weight on my feet. My goal is to ditch the walker by the end of week 3 and use a combination of my cane and crutches.
I can get in and out of bed pretty comfortably by utilizing my upper body and decent to good lateral movement with my legs.
Physical Therapy, strength and stretching
I started PT exactly 1 week after the surgery, I'm 4 days deep right now. So far, so good. . The PT's give you a set of stretches and strength exercises that you go through 3x a day (2 at home, 1 at Paleys). They are challenging, but doable, and honestly, when completed, they are rewarding. Based on feedback from all the PTs my flexibility and strength are good for week 2. My hamstrings are doing well, I can still touch my toes while seated. My quads are just decent, I'm able to meet expectations with strength and stretch exercises.
A lot of the stretches really require another person for you to get the most out of the stretch. People who come with friends/family who can help them stretch will really benefit from that, as for some stretches you can only get about 50% effective by yourself....highly recommend that you come with friends/family unlike me.
I know that the more I lengthen, the harder it will be to stretch, so I'm doing my best to get ahead of the curve now. I actually look forward to PT. Probably because it gets me out of my hotel room.
Independence
If you are doing LL solo without family and friends, everyone else's diaries are right, you will need to hire a caretaker during week 1 and 2. From a risk management perspective, you just need someone looking over you to make sure you are healthy. Everything takes longer to accomplish. Getting to and from the bathroom, brushing your teeth, dropping something and needing to pick it up...there's really no room for error, so you want someone there to assist you.
My caretakers for the most part have been solid. I don't have a dedicated one unfortunately, I had 3 that rotated. One was pretty much useless, so got rid of her. Although I am dissapointed that they limit the amount of assistance they can provide for PT at home, I want them to help push me during my stretches, but due to liability the agencies don't allow them to.
Mood and Mindset
Still positive despite the pain at night. Although the evenings have become nightmares, the positive mindset comes from the belief that I'm at the low point, as other diaries have pointed out, week 1 and 2 are hell weeks, and while the rest of the journey is no walk in the park, it gets better from week 1/2, the sense of only going up from here gives me hope.
The isolation and loneliness hasn't gotten to me....yet. Between managing pain, resting, PT 3x a day, and everything taking longer due to being crippled, there isn't a lot of idle time to feed depression and loneliness. I'm constantly working on something or trying to find a solution to something. From a social perspective, honestly, LL has been a unique social experience, I've come to Florida with no identity and no consistent contact with my family, friends or coworkers back home. So I've been more proactive about making social connections with other LLers here at my hotel or at Paleys during PT. I've even found some of my caretakers to be interesting and cool to chat with. It's put me out of my comfort zone, but in a good way. Let's see how long this will last. I can see this going south after some time here. I'm hoping that if my pain and condition improves over time so will my ability to focus on other matters (dedicating a few hrs a day comfortably reading, hobbies, skillsets.)
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Keep going brother....Just think about the reward at the end....You r gonna taller...! Best of luck keep fighting...!
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Great update Alchemist. Nights are hard with my 1 leg...with 2 legs I’d be a wreck...I just added Ambien yesterday since I pretty much felt like I hadn’t slept in a week...worked well but I’m hopeful I don’t have to use it consistently. I had some weird dreams but got almost 6 hours of sleep with only 1 bathroom break.
So far I haven’t had the pain but it may come soon, I’m a few days behind you. Going solo is rough, glad you’ve found some decent help.
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Hey man,
try CBD.
I was a heavy insomniac on medication and cbd is the only supplement that made me stopped, magically, overnight. I sleep better now and I will sure be using this to calm me and ease the pain without any mind-altering effect. Not sure why nobody here seems to be using this.
Some researches even claim that it helps bones grow stronger and fuse faster in trials... hopefully it doesn't fuse too fast ;)
Good luck with the pain, it should get better very soon.
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DO NOT b depressed my man!! You waited your whole life for this
Instead I advise to pickup a fun hobby. This is the only time in your life where you can become a gamer with NO guilt. I gamed all day yesterday 8 hours blew by
Regards to pain: ya man first 2-3 weeks r known as hell weeks
Walk only when u need to
Let inflammation go away
Take pain meds
Take tylenol pm to help u sleep that will knock u out
But ya dude 2-3 weeks sucks
Just do as little as u can to keep the inflamation down
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Any update sir??
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3 Week Post Op Update- 1.4 CM
It's been exactly 3 weeks since my surgery and things have been getting better everyday. Just had my first post op visit with Dr. Robbins (he does the surgery together with Paley) and I'm exactly where I should be, lengthened about 1.4 CM, legs are symmetrical. Seeing that x ray with your legs longer as an indicator of progress is a great motivator. With 1.4 CM under my belt I don't 'feel' taller, but I think once I cross that 1 inch threshold things will change. Things have been challenging but you feel the progress, above all else, IMO this is a mental challenge.
Pain
Week 2- This week was tough but you power through it. Pain hovered around a 3 to 4 throughout the day, peaking at a 5 or 6 that I would attribute to acute post surgery pains. You're sore, weak, and still adjusting to LL life, everything feels foreign, and every movement amplifies the pain. The highest pain points for me were around my knee, where I'd get a shooting, throbbing pain randomly throughout the day. Definitely difficult but manageable with OTC Tylenol, you just grind through it.
Week 3 - Pain gradually gets better day by day, probably averaged a 2 to 3 throughout the day. The post surgery acute pain starts to fade away during this week and is replaced by a dull pain that I would describe as more annoying than painful. Imagine coming home from an all day long hike on a hill with a steep incline with your legs tired and sore- this is how it feels all day. After a couple weeks of LL experience under your belt, your mind gets sharper, you learn how to manage the pain, what movements hurt, and you adjust and adapt.
As I kick off week 4 of my journey, it's getting better and I'd say I'm at a 1 or 2 throughout the day, sometimes 0.
Sleep
I'm averaging about 5 hours of sleep a night. Restlessness, which I would describe as more of a nagging discomfort rather than a pain, will wake you up after 2 or 3 hrs. I'm unable to sleep on my sides, and have to stay fixated on my back with my legs straight so tossing and turning isn't an option.
When I wake up, instead of fighting it, I'll just stretch, or warm up my legs, and ease back into sleep.
I don't feel sleep deprived yet, but we'll see how it goes as the 5 hr nights start to compound.
Tip: Heat pads work wonders with helping me sleep. The heat is really soothing and numbs the pain and nagging restlessness. Tylenol PM has also been a great aid.
Mobility
I'm still using my walker, but I'm moving around just fine at a decent pace, with a good gait and a proper heal to toe action walk. When using my walker, I'm limiting the amount of weight I put on the walker/arms, and just using it as a guide/balance/safety more than anything. I would say I'm putting about 90% of my weight on my feet now. In the next few days I'm going to try to move to a cane.
Getting up from a seated position has gotten way better since week 2. Earlier, I had to rely entirely on my upper body to get up from a seated position, now I primarily use my legs with a little help from my arms.
I consciously try to walk around at least 3x a day to 1) build strength and 2) increase blood flow to help prevent the risk of blood clots / pulmonary embolism (scary stuff that can lead to death.) I also find that walking around is good for the mind.
Flexibility
Maintaining a disciplined PT / Flexibility routine is key. Stretch, stretch, stretch like it's a full time job. It's a constant battle to not get stiff, and to stay ahead of the curve you've got to stretch hard. If you take a break from stretching, you definitely feel it and pay the price through stiffness and challenging sleep. I'm stretching 3x a day, with each session bordering 1 hour and experimenting with more sessions / lower duration. The Paley PT's took my measurements last week and I'm doing above average with my range of motion, but I feel like it's going to be an uphill battle from here the more I lengthen as I can feel the stretches start to get more difficult the more I lengthen.
The PT's at Paley will give you a variety of exercises to do at home which focus on strength and stretching. Personally, I'd dedicate more of your time to stretching rather than strengthening as you get most of your strength back simply from walking. As I'm doing this alone, it's difficult to get a full stretch by yourself, so when I'm at Paley's PT and tell them to push me to the limit.
After stretching you feel much better- you just feel a lot looser, way more mobile and get a little sense of accomplishment.
Mood/ Mindset
Like I said earlier, for me, above all else this is a mental challenge. The physical pain is tough but you just grind through it. Mentally, this process will test you, especially if you are doing it solo with no contact with friends/family like I am. LL is a journey with a huge transition/adjustment where you have several WTF am I doing moments. Imagine going from pre-LL w/ a relatively happy life, where you get a sense of purpose and accomplishment from work, dopamine hits from seeing friends/sxx with women/going out/working out, to going to this LL life where every day is the same, you sleep, wake up, stretch, go to PT, eat, stretch, eat, sleep, repeat....... huge transition.
You're isolated, and have to actively train yourself to not let things get to your head. I haven't had a good dopamine hit since this journey started, and the highlight of my day is either PT or hanging out with other LL people at the hotel. You want time to go faster but the pain/stiffness/lack of sleep just makes time feel a lot slower.
Pre LL I considered working remotely, I'm glad I didn't. It would be hard to be a high performer at work while doing LL as the process puts a strain on you mentally with the lack of sleep, medications, and dull pain + the unpredictability of when the pain will hit. I think my performance would definitely suffer had I decided to work remotely.
Tip: The best remedy to prevent getting lost in your head is staying busy and active around other peopld. I would not recommend doing this alone like I am. If you can do it with a friend or family, definitely do that. The best aids in helping the time go by is being social. My source has been hanging with other LLers here at the hotel. I'm going to try to transition to other activities like books/hobbies but you are just tired and dealing with dull pains to get really excited about anything.
Welp that's it guys. The best part about this stage is you get a sense that things keep getting better day by day, and you are starting to see the progress with the lengthening.
In my next update I'll try to go over recommended purchases for the LL journey based on my experience so far.
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TheAlchemist ..... great update.... your in safe hands and doing well... every millimetre counts:)
Stay strong... my friend.
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I don't know how you can sleep on your back with your legs straight, that'd cause me pain, I always sleep with a pillow under my knees otherwise I couldn't. but so far you're doing great man week 4 you'll feel much better keep going bro cheers
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Alright LL fam, it’s been nearly a week since my surgery and I’ll try to recap the journey so far. So far so good , I’m doing well and in good spirits. I’ll recap surgery day and the days after.
SURGERY DAY 0 - 9/17/19
To my surprise I was able to sleep the night before surgery despite having so much on my mind. Woke at 4:30 AM, went straight to the shower and washed myself off with a pre surgery antibacterial soap provided by the Paley team. As instructed, no food and limited water the night of surgery (cutoff was midnight the night before surgery.)
Ordered a Lyft and got to the hospital at around 6 AM as instructed. Cherished every step I took around the hospital as I knew it would be a long time till I’d be comfortably mobile on my own two feet again.
Mood/ Mental State: For the most part anxious and ready to get the show on the road. So much planning and anticipation over the past year for this moment, although there was much to be fearful about, I kept thinking about what awaits me on the other side of the finish line of this journey, what life will be like a year from now, living a happy, healthy life, and continuing to contribute to the world without the constraints of my personal mental issues surrounding my height. There is a thin line between excitement and fear/anxiety, and with this positive mindset I felt energized and excited, I truly felt like I was moving forward.
Surgery Prep:
They wheel you into the pre surgery room where the nurses take your vitals again and proceed to have you undress into your hospital gown and store your belongings in a security locker.
Then one of the nurses shaves your legs around the surgery site.
They have you fill out a bunch of paperwork providing consent and defining liability, scary morbid stuff to read through, I scanned through it, said a prayer (not at all religious) and signed them.
Then, the anesthesiologist comes by and walks you through the process. I opted to go with a spinal block instead of an epidural to avoid the catheter, in hindsight am glad I did.
They put the IV in you, about a half hour later the anesthesiologist comes back and give you the “happy juice”, which contained fentanyl. I’m not here to glamorize drugs but there was in instant hit of immense euphoria, calmness, and a general happy numbness flowing throughout my body…my eyes rolled to the back of my head and a smile formed from cheek to cheek. It was an amazing high. Fentanyl is powerful stuff, and I can see why it’s an epidemic. A few seconds later the lights went out……
Surgery:
Woke up in a new room. Dazed and disoriented. Not knowing where I was, what time or date it was, or why I was there…..until an attractive blonde nurse comes in and informs me my surgery is done and was successful, its late afternoon, and I’m in recovery. I slowly gather my thoughts and am thankful to be alive and healthy. They take my vitals and I’m in good health. A feeling of immense gratitude and positive emotions fills my body.
Pain and other rehab: Virtually no pain. At a stand still pain is a 0. When you move your legs around pain is maybe a 1. The anesthesia lingers in your system for 24 hrs of so. On top of that, you are on a combination of Taradol, Tylenol, and Oxy.
Your lower legs are wrapped in an automated sleeve that intermittently squeezes and applies pressure to promote blood circulation.
Your thighs / femurs are elevated wrapped in ice pad to help with the swelling.
Exercises: The PT comes in and teaches you three movements to help promote blood circulation and stimulate your muscles
1) Toe/heel flexes – point your toes towards and your outwards 20x.
2) Quad stretches- straighten out your leg so that the back of your knee makes contact with the bed (your legs tend to slightly bend.) 20x
3) Squeeze your butt cheeks 20x
I was able to do all the above relatively easy, and did a few leg raises and 90 degree knee bends while laying down. PT and nurse were impressed.
Food: They bring you standard cafeteria food for dinner, a decent mix of protein ( meat), veggies and dessert. I didn’t get any morphine so I didn’t feel nauseous at all and was able to clean my plate. Your body needs calories after experiencing so much trauma, so even after this meal, I was still hungry and ate a protein bar I packed which hit the spot.
Going to bathroom: I was able to urinate on surgery date relatively easy. As I mentioned earlier, I opted to not use an epidural and therefore I did not need a catheter. I felt the urge to pee the night of surgery. At this point the anesthesia is still in effect and your bodily functions are still slowly coming back, so with a little more effort I was able to pee into a urine bottle. Made a little mess but you learn as you go.
Mood / mental state: Post surgery your body is recovering from significant trauma. Although you don’t feel it thanks to the meds, you are constantly dipping in and out of sleep. I would say I’d be awake for 1 to 2 hrs, fall asleep for 2 to 3 hrs, and repeat.
Hospital Care: The nurses are great. They check on you frequently, probably every hour or so, and take your vitals every 4 hrs. My biggest fear for the surgery was fat embolism, and the nurses coming in, checking my vitals, seeing my oxygen levels at optimum levels, really eased my concerns.
Surgery Day Tips:
1) Pack a long phone charging cord, at least 10 ft. Your bed is quite far from the power outlet in your hospital room.
2) Pack tons of snacks and meal replacements. The hospital feeds you decent cafeteria food 3 times a day, but I personally don’t feel like it’s enough. you’ll be starving post op and your body will need calories and protein. I packed a bunch of protein bars and Cliff bars which helped a lot.
3) If you are hiring a care taker, you will NOT need them during your hospital stay as the round the clock service from the nurses is more than enough. You can call the nurses at your will, but they pop in frequently enough that I felt safe and watched over.
4) The nurses won’t proactively provide you with oral hygeine care. Ask them for a tooth brush and mouth wash and they’ll provide.
Wow...didn't expect the surgery day recap to be this long, I'll follow up with recaps on the subsequent days later today....
1. Thanks!!! For people who are not from West Palm Beach (ex: most people don't happen to have a house there), how much money would you budget for the entire process (surgery, apartment cost, everything) etc?
2. Which apartment did you choose in the end and why?
Thanks
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Day 27 Post Op Update - 2 CM
Mobility - Transitioned from a walker to crutches and cane a few days ago. Mobility is much better in terms of speed and endurance. Yesterday I was able to move around my hotel floor, lobby, and pool area on a cane which felt amazing after being glued to the walker for the past few weeks....feeling a bit sore so resting a bit today and staying on crutches.
Pain - Primary source of pain is knee pain occurring 3 to 4 times a day. Would describe as a shooting pain at a level 4 or 5 on top of, and around, the knee cap that lasts for 5 or 10 second- I'm able to get pain relief through icing the knee. Other than that, starting to feel a bit of stiffness but pain is manageable at a 1 or 2. I'm only on Tylenol throughout the day and Tylenol PM before bed.
Sleep - I'm continuing to average 5 or 6 hrs a night. Tylenol PM + heating pads helps a lot.
Physical Therapy - Continuing to stretch 3 to 4 times a day w/ an emphasis on stretching hamstrings and quads. I've eased up on the strength exercises as walking alone feels sufficient for building strength. The Paley Physical Therapists all say my flexibility and strength is above average at this stage. Trying to keep it going.
Mood/ Mindset - Starting to hit that point where days feel a bit monotonous. Life feels like a never ending cycle of stretching, resting, pain management, sleep, repeat. I think it's a rough patch because I'm approaching nearly a month post op which feels like a considerable amount of time, yet don't have the satisfaction of feeling taller yet. I think that will change in the next week as I cross the inch threshold and start to feel taller.
My goal this week is to spend 20% to 30% of my day on productive activities (career, reading, music production) to help feel normal and pass the time.
Adjusting my goal to 7.5CM.....hitting 7.5 CM will be life changing! Everyday is a step closer....
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1. Thanks!!! For people who are not from West Palm Beach (ex: most people don't happen to have a house there), how much money would you budget for the entire process (surgery, apartment cost, everything) etc?
2. Which apartment did you choose in the end and why?
Thanks
1. For bilateral femurs I would budget 150% of the surgery cost for everything (around $150k.) This includes a little cushion in the event you have to pay for unexpected medical costs which would be wise to have. Thankfully everything has been textbook so far for me but you never know. If you are doing this solo in WPB expect to spend anywhere from $7 to $10k on a hotel/housing and another $3k on a caretaker for the first few weeks.
2. I ended up staying at the Homewood Suites out here. Primary reasons were costs and access to shuttle transportation to and from Paley PT. A big bonus is there are a good amount of other Paley patients here that you can hang with for support and to help pass the time.
I don't know how you can sleep on your back with your legs straight, that'd cause me pain, I always sleep with a pillow under my knees otherwise I couldn't. but so far you're doing great man week 4 you'll feel much better keep going bro cheers
You're right bro, I tried the pillow below the knees and it helped a lot. Thanks man!
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1. For bilateral femurs I would budget 150% of the surgery cost for everything (around $150k.) This includes a little cushion in the event you have to pay for unexpected medical costs which would be wise to have. Thankfully everything has been textbook so far for me but you never know. If you are doing this solo in WPB expect to spend anywhere from $7 to $10k on a hotel/housing and another $3k on a caretaker for the first few weeks.
2. I ended up staying at the Homewood Suites out here. Primary reasons were costs and access to shuttle transportation to and from Paley PT. A big bonus is there are a good amount of other Paley patients here that you can hang with for support and to help pass the time.
You're right bro, I tried the pillow below the knees and it helped a lot. Thanks man!
Thanks! " and another $3k on a caretaker for the first few weeks. "
1. Roughly how many weeks of paying for a caretaker is common? 3 weeks? Four weeks?
2. Where do people typically find their caretaker?
3. What advice would you have for choosing a caretaker?
I'm trying to create a giant spreadsheet of everything, just trying to get a rough idea.
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Thanks! " and another $3k on a caretaker for the first few weeks. "
1. Roughly how many weeks of paying for a caretaker is common? 3 weeks? Four weeks?
2. Where do people typically find their caretaker?
3. What advice would you have for choosing a caretaker?
I'm trying to create a giant spreadsheet of everything, just trying to get a rough idea.
1) 2 to 3 weeks depending on the individual as this is the time where you will not be mobile and will need assistance with basic functions like sitting, standing, taking meds, grabbing things, etc. Plus, the risks of things like fat embolism or pulmonary embolism are still there during this time and you want someone around in the unlikely event something unfortunate happens.
2) Paley provided a recommended list of care taker agencies in West Palm Beach.
3) Find one that has had experience with LL patients and who is willing to assist with physical therapy
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1) 2 to 3 weeks depending on the individual as this is the time where you will not be mobile and will need assistance with basic functions like sitting, standing, taking meds, grabbing things, etc. Plus, the risks of things like fat embolism or pulmonary embolism are still there during this time and you want someone around in the unlikely event something unfortunate happens.
2) Paley provided a recommended list of care taker agencies in West Palm Beach.
3) Find one that has had experience with LL patients and who is willing to assist with physical therapy
For the caretaker, how many hours each day do patients typically have the caretaker stick around?
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Can I just lengthening at home (do PT myself)without going to the PT room in hospital
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Hi TheAlchemist
I have been away from this forum for awhile. Wow you have done it!! Congrats on your successful start for your LL journey!
You have already gone through the most difficult time (first month) so it will be just fine. As you have prepared well for this journey, I am sure you will succeed in your goal.
Keep up the good work!
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Keep it up dude! You'll be taller than me in 2 weeks. punk... ;D
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Day 39 - 3.1 CM
Hey everyone, things are moving along these days. Another day another millimeter. All things considered things are pretty cruise control, with pain manageable. The stiffness is starting to kick in. The biggest challenge is time, monotony, and mental stability.
Pain
Pain is manageable. Occasionally I'll experience a shooting knee pain or a mild shin pain a few times a day. There is an ongoing nagging discomfort from my body getting stiff and restlessness taking over that I would describe as more annoying than painful. Occasionally you'll feel parts of your bodies (veins, ligaments) stretched/pulled with a mild pain. I'm only on Tylenol for pain these days.
Based on other diaries and conversation with other LLers here, pain from stiffness / nerve pain will start to kick in at around 5 cm....we'll see.
Mobility
Ambulatory on a cane now. In my hotel room I generally walk cane less. Speed and endurance improves every day. This is where Stryde is a game changer.
Flexibility
Once I crossed 2 or 2.5 CM the stiffness started to kick in. My hamstrings, IT bands and quads get tighter and tighter everyday, and this is compounded by starting to lose the motivation to hit stretching exercises hard as they are starting to feel monotonous. The first month of this surgery I came in super motivated to stretch each day, but that motivation starts to fade.
On the bright side, you do see a direct relationship between the intensity of your stretch and your stiffness pretty much immediately. After every deep stretch, I feel amazing, loose and comfortable, with a much better gait.
I've slightly modified my approach to stretching. I used to do 3 very long (one hour), intense stretches each day, and now moved to 5 half hour stretches per day at a higher frequency. I make sure to do one right before bed and right when I wake up. If you minimize the time in between your stretches, your body never really gets a chance to get super stiff.
Mental State / Mood
The nagging discomfort I described earlier makes it difficult to focus and be productive. I remember going into LL, I thought that all this free time away from work would provide me with endless opportunities to work on side hustles, hobbies, read, etc. I was wrong....
You know how when you have a mild headache or mild tooth ache...that nagging discomfort makes it hard to focus and be efficient and productive at whatever task you have at hand? The same can be said for the LL nagging discomfort that stiffness/restlessness brings along. The pain isn't that bad but it's constant and impossible to ignore, so you just can't focus on anything at 100%. On top of that, every couple of hours you are stretching like it's a full time job, so you can't really hunker down and focus on something for long hours on end.
The message to future LLers is for those of you planning to work through LL, take this into account, you will not be 100% and your work will suffer. Could I work right now? Sure probably remotely, but I would say I would be a shell of my former self and my work performance would definitely take a hit. In hindsight I'm glad I took a leave of absence as working through this would be a challenge.
The days feel long but when you look back at the weeks/months and CMs sometimes it feels like time is flying. By EOW next week I'll be at the half way point....I remember my surgery like it was yesterday.
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Keep it up dude! You'll be taller than me in 2 weeks. punk... ;D
Lol!Hi TheAlchemist
I have been away from this forum for awhile. Wow you have done it!! Congrats on your successful start for your LL journey!
You have already gone through the most difficult time (first month) so it will be just fine. As you have prepared well for this journey, I am sure you will succeed in your goal.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks Ghostfish! Appreciate the support man!
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s
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Let’s GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
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Mental State / Mood
The nagging discomfort I described earlier makes it difficult to focus and be productive. I remember going into LL, I thought that all this free time away from work would provide me with endless opportunities to work on side hustles, hobbies, read, etc. I was wrong....
You know how when you have a mild headache or mild tooth ache...that nagging discomfort makes it hard to focus and be efficient and productive at whatever task you have at hand? The same can be said for the LL nagging discomfort that stiffness/restlessness brings along. The pain isn't that bad but it's constant and impossible to ignore, so you just can't focus on anything at 100%. On top of that, every couple of hours you are stretching like it's a full time job, so you can't really hunker down and focus on something for long hours on end.
The message to future LLers is for those of you planning to work through LL, take this into account, you will not be 100% and your work will suffer. Could I work right now? Sure probably remotely, but I would say I would be a shell of my former self and my work performance would definitely take a hit. In hindsight I'm glad I took a leave of absence as working through this would be a challenge.
The days feel long but when you look back at the weeks/months and CMs sometimes it feels like time is flying. By EOW next week I'll be at the half way point....I remember my surgery like it was yesterday.
Yeah, this journey is a not joke or a sort of break/vacation. Especially after Stryde came to be the power of CLL, many people in this forum think or hope to work or to get back to normal soon after the surgery. I wrote back several times that it is a bad idea to get back to work during lengthening, although it is not impossible. It is just not possible to be productive during lengthening. It is not even easy to keep motivation to finish LL journey.
You just have to be positive and somewhat relaxed to face and to enjoy LL. Another day will pass by. Doing stretches more often with less intensity or less time is a good idea. You will get there soon!!
Best,
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Day 48 - 4 CM
Hit 4 CM last night, it's a great feeling knowing you are at the > halfway point. Locked in and ready to finish strong.
Pain
Started to feel numbness in my shins, accompanied by random nerve pains that feel like brief/suddden electric shocks. Nothing too intense yet, I'd say the electric shocks are around a level 4 or 5 pain and last for a few seconds. I have an appt with the Dr. tomorrow so we'll see if I need to get meds for the numbness/ shocking pains.
The nagging, dull pains continue to persist. Again, wouldn't describe as painful, more annoying, impossible to ignore, and make it difficult to focus on anything that requires cognitive thinking.
Flexibility
I think I hit my peak flexibility around 3 cm, around the time the surgery pains wore off and the stiffness hadn't set in. Now that I'm at 4 CM I can start to feel the stiffness and I have to work harder during PT to fight it off. The good thing is the results of hard work do pay off, at one point my left hamstring got really stiff, I spent a few days doubling down on hamstring stretches and remediated it.
I'm at about 5 stretches a day. 3 major ones (comprehensive set w/ strength exercises) and 2 quick ones (few concentrated stretches focused on quads and hamstrings.) I try to keep the cadence at every 3 hrs during the day. I make sure to do one big stretch immediately before going to bed to ensure that I start my sleeping loose. I think this has helped with sleeping and avoiding being woken up early from stiffness.
Sleep
Not great but not terrible. Averaging about 5 hrs a night. Will get about an hour napping during the day. Taking Tylenol PM as a sleep aid has helped tremendously.
Mood/ Mindset
I gave up on being productive with side hustles, hobbies, reading, etc. The nagging dull pain and stiffness make it impossible to focus and do cognitive work. I've sort of embraced feeling "isolated and useless" and made PT / stretching my full time job and purpose. To kill time I'll watch youtube/netflix/reddit, things that require almost no critical thinking. I think crossing the halfway point milestone will help me get through this.
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You're on your way, buddy. Keep.Going.Strong.
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half way bro! nice the next half will fly by even faster if it's similar to my experience. keep pushing bro ! good luck
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You're on your way, buddy. Keep.Going.Strong.
Thanks IFS! Trying to maintain that mindset. Going back to your diary every now and then for info and inspiration!
half way bro! nice the next half will fly by even faster if it's similar to my experience. keep pushing bro ! good luck
Thanks Movie! Your latest video just got me juiced. Amazing outcome bro and I hope to achieve the same results!
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Hey Alchemis,t, great diary awesome progress you're making! I'm on the same boat in terms of doing this solo, just had surgery yesterday and gotta admit feeling a bit depressed today, it's tough not having any family or friends around at a time like this. I struggled to get out of bed this morning to and could barely walk two steps never felt so pathetic, my legs are in agony. You got any advice?
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Hey Alchemis,t, great diary awesome progress you're making! I'm on the same boat in terms of doing this solo, just had surgery yesterday and gotta admit feeling a bit depressed today, it's tough not having any family or friends around at a time like this. I struggled to get out of bed this morning to and could barely walk two steps never felt so pathetic, my legs are in agony. You got any advice?
Congrats on starting your journey man! I hear ya, doing this solo is a mental challenge. Just know it gets better relatively fast. You've just started your journey, the next 3 weeks will be tough, but it will get better shortly after and you'll back at this and laugh. Avoid idle time where you are alone in your room by yourself where the pain and lack of mobility will get to your head. If you can, talk to other patients, talk to your caretaker if you have one (you should!), distract yourself with movies/shows/videos. Sleep as much as you can to make time go by faster, use sleeping aids as advised by your doctor. Once you get to around the 3 week / 4 week mark, you'll feel better man!
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Thanks man appreciate that. Yeah it really is as much a mental challenge as well as physical. I try and distract myself with you tubes videos etc but it's like my mind is not in the mood. You're right it's important to interact with others, although aside from the PT guys I don't really have many to talk to at the moment, just lying in bed like an upturned turtle unable to move ;D I cried like a bitch yesterday after I was only able to walk about two steps. The inside of my hips are really sore is that normal?
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I was mostly accompanied through out my distraction phase that really helped my sanity, honestly the days I wouldn't interact with people would make me feel a little off, lonely ... enhanced the pain and fact that I'm really handicapped during that time lol. but yeah youtube, netflix, movies really come through to kill time, it's very normal to feel the inside of your hips really sore in day 2 Nestor, your hips honestly will feel sore for a while. you should make your diary nestor, best of luck and sending positivity your way.
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Thanks Movie appreciate it dude. I had planned on doing a diary but my mood and energy is so low at the moment, maybe I'll try push myself to do one soon. I think one of the reasons you & the likes of IFS made such good progress is by being surrounded by family, I don't care how tough anyone thinks they are doing something like this alone will test your limits. It's tough going being totally confined to a bed for days, I can't wait to get out of hospital hopefully it might lift my mood a little. The past couple of days all I've been thinking is WTF have I done lol
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Dang I can only imagine being alone in the hospital bed, I at least had my girlfriend for support there with me most of the time. I remember I had similar thoughts but not in a regretful manner, more like "haha I'm crazy wtf did I do, oh well no turning back now, let's get it" got to keep a positive mindset bro that's going to help you improve faster. Make the diary ASAP bro! although you may be alone physically you'll feel the support from the forum even if it's through the laptop screen, don't feel down bro, you'll soon feel much better in a couple weeks, time goes fast!
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Thanks for the support man it means a lot. My PT was just here I walked a few very painful half assed steps but it's an improvement from yesterday at least. He left me sitting on the edge of the bed here to stretch out my quads, can't believe how tight they are! Might not seem much but feels good to not be lying on the bed for a change
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Day 48 - 4 CM
Hit 4 CM last night, it's a great feeling knowing you are at the > halfway point. Locked in and ready to finish strong.
Pain
Started to feel numbness in my shins, accompanied by random nerve pains that feel like brief/suddden electric shocks. Nothing too intense yet, I'd say the electric shocks are around a level 4 or 5 pain and last for a few seconds. I have an appt with the Dr. tomorrow so we'll see if I need to get meds for the numbness/ shocking pains.
The nagging, dull pains continue to persist. Again, wouldn't describe as painful, more annoying, impossible to ignore, and make it difficult to focus on anything that requires cognitive thinking.
Flexibility
I think I hit my peak flexibility around 3 cm, around the time the surgery pains wore off and the stiffness hadn't set in. Now that I'm at 4 CM I can start to feel the stiffness and I have to work harder during PT to fight it off. The good thing is the results of hard work do pay off, at one point my left hamstring got really stiff, I spent a few days doubling down on hamstring stretches and remediated it.
I'm at about 5 stretches a day. 3 major ones (comprehensive set w/ strength exercises) and 2 quick ones (few concentrated stretches focused on quads and hamstrings.) I try to keep the cadence at every 3 hrs during the day. I make sure to do one big stretch immediately before going to bed to ensure that I start my sleeping loose. I think this has helped with sleeping and avoiding being woken up early from stiffness.
Sleep
Not great but not terrible. Averaging about 5 hrs a night. Will get about an hour napping during the day. Taking Tylenol PM as a sleep aid has helped tremendously.
Mood/ Mindset
I gave up on being productive with side hustles, hobbies, reading, etc. The nagging dull pain and stiffness make it impossible to focus and do cognitive work. I've sort of embraced feeling "isolated and useless" and made PT / stretching my full time job and purpose. To kill time I'll watch youtube/netflix/reddit, things that require almost no critical thinking. I think crossing the halfway point milestone will help me get through this.
Man ik that feeling! My goal this yr was to eat 3,000 calories/day to gain weight, even that i said fk it jus gonna focus on recovery
Keep pushing bro trust me its well worth it in the end
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Day 57 - 5 CM
Just hit 5 CM. I'm just a hair under 5'11 in the morning and around 5'10.5 in the evening. At this stage I'm starting to count down the days to finishing distracting (goal is 7 to 8 cm). It's a battle everyday but I'm locked in and trying to finish strong! Let's get it!
Pain
The numbness and nerve pain in my left shin has persisted. Numbness occurs throughout the day and a painful shooting burning / electric shock pain (level 6 or 7) occurs a couple times a day for a few seconds. The pain is aggravated when I'm in certain positions (e.g. when my feet are dangling). I've been taking Gabapentin, a nerve medication prescribed by the doc, for the past few days and hoping this helps, will keep you guys posted.
Everything feels a lot stiffer.....quads, hamstrings, hip abductors, and groin and I feel like it's going to get tougher and tougher down the final stretch. As a result my gait has gotten a bit more robotic and I tend to waddle due to the tightness of my hips and weakness in my glutes.
The general nagging, dull pain persists which consists of a combination of the stiffness, random muscle/ligament pains throughout my legs, and the nerve pain. Probably a 2 or 3 at its worst, but very challenging as it is impossible to ignore and leaves you uncomfortable throughout the day.
PT pain is certainly there and can go up to a 4 or 5 in a deep stretch but I don't mind it as it's a concentrated and controllable pain. I go into each PT session with the mentality that pain is my b1tch and go through the motions. The nagging, dull pain throughout the day, although much lower, is by far a lot worse than the PT pain because it never goes away and is impossible to ignore.
Flexibility
Every day everything gets stiffer. It's hard to stay motivated and stretch but I've pushed through and upped my stretches to 6x a day- consisting of 3 big ones that involve both strength and stretching, and 3 little ones that focus on stretching hamstrings and quads.
I try to keep a cadence where I do a stretch every 3 to 4 hours during the day. I find that if you take a long break from stretching, your body gets stiff really quick, and it's difficult to catch up and PT becomes an uphill battle. Increasing the frequency of stretching keeps things loose. Seems like common sense but I've met LLers who do 3 stretches in the morning over a 3 hour span and call it day and complain about stiffness.
PT said I'm doing well and my range of motion is good, going to try to keep it going.
Sleep
Averaging about 5 hrs of sleep a night. Tylenol PM still does the job. Heating pads help me ease into the deep sleep. I continue to make sure to do a stretch session right before going to bed to keep me loose through the night.
Mood / Mindset
Definitely the hardest part. The monotony and general boredom gets to you. I would love to engage in a mentally stimulating activity or hobbie but as I've said in previous entries, the dull nagging pain makes it hard to focus on anything or perform cognitive work. I would say at 5 CM, knowing I'm > the half way point helps me stay positive. I can't wait to get out in the real world again although I know I'm far from it.
Although I'm only at 5 cm, I can happily say that the height dysphoria is fading away. Going from 5'9 to 5'11 is huge as I've transitioned from being statistically just under average to just on the verge of becoming tall. 90% of women are all shorter than me, and 6 ft guys, who used to feel like giants, all seem within range. I used to wear lifts every day and don't see the need to going forward....great feeling. I look in the mirror and am happy with my height. My overall body proportions feel better, I've always had a longer torso/longer arms. My leg proportions definitely look as though my femurs are on the longer side, but I don't mind as situations where this would come up are rare.
I still have another inch to go so I'm looking forward to the final outcome.
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Hahaha I like the mentality you go into PT sessions with ;D
I'm glad you're starting to see the light at 5 CMS bro! a bit more and you'll be right at your goal in no time, keep pushing bro I'm at day 11 of consolidation and already the nerve pains lowered significantly, you got this!
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Amazing dude 5cm means you’re ONLY 20-30 DAYS FROM BEING DONE!! Don’t think of it as counting down the days.. this is an opportunity you will never get back again. You have 20-30 days of opportunity left. I highly recommend you go to 8cm because it is safe to do so and you will recover
Idk if u r but try sleeping on ur sides, two pillows in between ur legs (one between theighs one betweens feet) and one pillow near ur side to kinda “hug” it helps me sleep like a baby even with night splints on
What is your stretching routine? I found that last year i only had to stretch 4x/day sometimes 3x/day and i hit 8cm pretty well!
You got this brother i believe in you! I just hit the 5’9 range hoping to get close to your 5’11 range
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Keep it up dude! Almost there.
The side sleeping like myevol stated was good for my rotation as well.
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Day 68 - 6CM - 5'11+ height
Reached 6CM last night! Getting closer to that distraction finish line and I'm locked in on finishing strong. I'm setting my goal at 7.5 cm to 8 cm now so just 2 to 3 weeks of distraction left. Counting down the days and knocking out the stretches!
6 CM feels amazing. I feel like a strong 5'11+ in the morning now. At this height I can comfortably say I'll never wear shoe lifts again for the rest of my life. This is a huge deal for me because my height dysphoria manifested itself through randomly putting lifts in my shoes a couple of years ago. At 5'11+ I feel an amazing sense of FREEDOM from that insecurity that I can't describe or put a value on.
Pain
The nagging dull pain from general tightness in the hamstrings, quads, glutes, and hip increases the more you lengthen. About a 2 level pain throughout the day that is impossible to ignore. At times, I'll feel a sharp shooting level 6 or 7 pain in my knee that will last a few seconds.
The nerve pain and numbness persists in my left leg and has creeped down to around my ankle area. I still get sharp burning / electric shock pains (level 3 or 4) a few times a day.
I've increased my Gabapentin dosage to 900 mg / day which I believe has helped minimize the super painful burning nerve pain episodes.
Still taking Tylenol for overall pain.
Walk, Stretching and Physical Therapy
I'm putting in that work and stretching 6x a day! Guys...outside of individuals who are naturally super flexible and/ or young.....your success in LL is directly related to the amount of work you put in with stretching. Make stretching and PT your number 1 priority during LL. It's been an uphill battle for me, pre op I was average to below average in flexibility and I've had to put in countless hours of stretching to battle through this but let me tell you that it pays off! My Physical Therapists tell me that I'm ahead of the curve in terms of flexibility and strength at 6 CM.
As for my walk/gait, I continue to use a cane for balance and minor weight distribution. Inside my hotel room I usually walk independently. After a PT session when I'm loose, I can walk well, feet together, heel to toe action, and minimal waddle/swaying.
Mood / Mindset
Locked in with the mindset of finishing out this distraction phase strong. Each day is the same...stretch, eat, sleep, repeat. It's mechanical and monotonous but knowing the end of the distraction phase is approaching feels good. The tightness is an uphill battle. Once you cross 5 CM every millimeter gets you soooo tight and you have to respond with even more rigorous and dedicated stretching. The last inch of distraction is the true test of LL, your ability to push through it makes the difference.
Since I've kept LL private from friends, family, and co workers, I'm mentally preparing myself for reintroducing myself to them at 6 ft. I'm hoping most won't notice since I've been wearing 2 inch lifts for the last couple of years lol.
That's about it guys. To my fellow LLers going through it, keep pushing! Let's finish strong!
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Wow! It sounds so good! Keep going man! Just a few days left! Btw if you have any latest x-rays would you post them? Because I'm doing some research n it would really be awesome if you could....
Also how are you surgery incisions? Have they recovered?
And what is Dr. paley's opinion about femur lengthening...did he say you can be back to normal in terms of walking and running if not intense sports?
What did Dr. Paley say about fat embolism?
It would be so cool if you could answer these....
Best of luck, keep going!
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Wow! It sounds so good! Keep going man! Just a few days left! Btw if you have any latest x-rays would you post them? Because I'm doing some research n it would really be awesome if you could....
Also how are you surgery incisions? Have they recovered?
And what is Dr. paley's opinion about femur lengthening...did he say you can be back to normal in terms of walking and running if not intense sports?
What did Dr. Paley say about fat embolism?
It would be so cool if you could answer these....
Best of luck, keep going!
Private person so won't be posting x rays, sorry man!
Surgery incisions are all healed up. Still have visible scarring.
Paley believes that at around 6 to 7 months post op sports / running is achievable if the patient is disciplined with physical therapy.
Paley said fat embolism does happen but is rare. There are preventative and detective measures that he exercises to help mitigate the risk.
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I wanted to share my thoughts on an LL buying guide. These items were absolutely essential to survival during my LL journey. I didn't include certain things that I assume you'd receive from the hospital (e.g. walker, crutches, cane, etc.)
1. Laptop Desk for Bed- Important for working, laptop use, and eating while laying down comfortably in bed. You will be laying in bed A LOT during the journey. Sitting down in a chair is difficult beyond 30 min and is not a great position for your IT bands. Highly recommend this to make the most out of your lying in bed experience.
2. Leg Strap for Stretching - Important for hamstring and quad stretches
3. Stretching Table / Massage Table - Way more effective than stretching on a bed. You need a hard, comfortable, raised surface to get the most range and stability during you stretches. While the bed will work....you tend to sink into the bed which works against you during certain stretches.
4. Extension grabber - Reaching for things can be difficult (e.g. things you dropped or things up high).
5. Raised Toilet Commode - Sitting down in low positions (e.g. toilet) is tough and especially painful during the first month post op.
5. Heat pads (pain relief for legs) - These were life savers. I sleep with them on. The heat really helps manage the pain. Also works to help loosen up your legs before a stretching session. Would recommend using after first month post op or as dr. advises as you don't want to heat fresh surgical wounds and risk infection.
6. Ice Pads- Helps with post surgery wound swelling and pain. Incredibly useful during the first month post op.
7. Loose fitting clothing with zipped pocketing - Baggy shorts / pants that are easy to put on and don't constrain movement. Zipped pockets are good for transporting stuff securely. Pain in the ass when you drop something and need to bend down to pick it up while in pain....use secure pockets.
8. Bathroom mats / traction- Your footing will be compromised during this journey. Put bathroom mats in the bathroom to help prevent slipping and falling.
9. Loofa with long arm- Helps to reach down low when washing your body.
10. Bath wipes - first couple of weeks is tough to shower. Bathroom wipes help keep you clean and smelling fresh.
11. Convenient efficient food sources high in protein and other essential nutrients - No time or energy to cook, clean and do dishes during LL...efficient calorie assumption such as Soylent, meal replacements, and protein bars are great.
12. Portable water jug and Brita Filter- Drink tons and tons of water during LL!
13. OTC meds and vitamins- Tylenol extra strength during the day and Tylenol PM during the evening. Zzzquil as a sleep aide. Vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium for bone health.
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Thanks man....awesome post!
You said you are a private person and don't want to reveal any details....I totally respect that, and I would be doing the same if I was in your place....bt I'm still not sure of x-ray will reveal anything about you....I mean x rays are just some black and white images of your bones and how would those invade your privacy......finally it's your decision.....bt I would insist you to post the x-ray as they will help me a lot in my research abt bone formation and alignment....though it won't cause any harm to your privacy!
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Great list dude! Do you find the Zzzquil makes a real difference? I might give them a try, I'm getting almost no sleep with leg pains each night
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If X-rays are out here, doctor or staff will know who he is
Some people don’t like that
There’s been lots X-rays in the forum already, they can be helpful to learn about callus
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Great list dude! Do you find the Zzzquil makes a real difference? I might give them a try, I'm getting almost no sleep with leg pains each night
Oh you haven’t been taking sleeping pills
How about oxycodone? Many take oxycodone when pain is too strong to sleep
Better to control pain and do harder rehabilitation than doing easier rehabilitation due to pain
Some even receive shots just before the vigorous PT sessions
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Nah I've been taking no sleeping pills at all, just Tramal and paracetamol. Is it safe to take sleeping pills with the other medications? I haven't had a proper nights sleep in about 3 weeks and it's taking it's toll. I work hard in physio but it's hard to recover when you're not getting enough shut eye
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About mixing of pills, better to consult your doctor
At least I know many take oxycodone for strong pains
Sometime tramadol is not strong enough I heard
For sure it’s hard to do strong rehabilitation with pains and not enough sleep
Some people are worried about oxycodone addiction but if it’s for a several weeks of controlled dosage, no problems
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Also some get better pain control with tramset than tramadol
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Just hit 7.4 CM guys. I've decided I'm going to try to max this nail out and hit 8 CM!! I'm very happy with my height right now, just at 6ft in the morning so the remaining 0.6 cm will be a plus.
The last phase of this journey to 8cm is going to be a battle. At around 7 CM I started to get pretty tight and I had to limit my daily distraction rate down from 1 mm/day to 0.75 mm/ day, and then down to .5 mm/day over the past few days. I feel much better now but I really want to finish this by 12/15 so I'm going to go back to 1mm / day straight through the remainder of this week.
It's going to be tough and I know I'll get tight but I'm going to try and power through. Going to stretch 5x a day and use meds as needed. The journey through distraction has been a hellish trip but I can see the finish line. Wish me luck guys.
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Hey The Alchemist, just wanted to let you know you've been very helpful and inspirational for a lot of potential LL lengtheners out there! I did my consultation a few weeks ago with dr paley and am scheduled for surgery in the summer. I'm a little scared but I hope in the end the whole process will pay off. Hope you finish strong and reach the 8 cm!!! Please please keep on updating us
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Good stuff dude. Max the hell outta thing and never look back.
Where are you most tight?
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Good stuff dude. Max the hell outta thing and never look back.
Where are you most tight?
Thanks man! Definitely my hamstrings and to a lesser extent my quads. Been doing stretches that focus on those areas. Also walking a bit more to stretch those out as well.
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Thanks man! Definitely my hamstrings and to a lesser extent my quads. Been doing stretches that focus on those areas. Also walking a bit more to stretch those out as well.
I can tell you it gets infinitely better once you stop lengthening. Like immediately a day after stopping the distraction, I felt my hamstrings opening up a bit!
Hopefully it goes by quick for ya man! Good luck
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You got a diary here? Ez?
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Day 89- 8 CM!!
I reached 8 CM last night!! What an amazing feeling. Not going to celebrate just yet.....I reached 8 CM per my ERC machine....tomorrow I have my x rays and follow up appointment at Paleys and will look to confirm that everything is aligned at 8 CM...if so I will finally be done with distraction!! Will report back then!
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Congrats dude hell of an achievement! Hope all goes well with the x-rays
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Congrats bro!
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It's official, today I had my x-rays done and my last check up with the doc, both legs are perfectly aligned and I maxed out the nail at 8 CM!!! I am 3.15 inches taller! I'm walking away with a new height of 6 ft and it feels amazing!
This has been one of the most powerful experiences of my life. The journey was incredibly challenging and pushed me to the limit both mentally and physically. I've put in 100's of hours of disciplined stretching, 100's of hours of meditation and concentrated pain management. I've sacrificed so much of my professional career and personal life. I can honestly tell you it was worth it.
After dealing with height neurosis over the past 5 years I finally feel free. After a 5 year addiction to shoe lifts I can throw them all away- No more shoe lifts. I can now walk barefoot freely without a second thought. I can have sxx in the shower lol. I feel reborn. I couldn't be happier with the outcome. This has changed my life.
Next steps for this diary: I'll try to update my journey through consolidation. I'll try to add a video in the next week or so of my walk. It's been about 48 hours since my last distraction turn on the ERC and I already feel much looser. I'm going to continue to do daily PT through consolidation and work hard to get my walk/gait back! The journey isn't over yet....
Side bar: Paley and the PT team were great. The Stryde nail is an incredible piece of technology and a complete game changer.
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It's official, today I had my x-rays done and my last check up with the doc, both legs are perfectly aligned and I maxed out the nail at 8 CM!!! I am 3.15 inches taller! I'm walking away with a new height of 6 ft and it feels amazing!
This has been one of the most powerful experiences of my life. The journey was incredibly challenging and pushed me to the limit both mentally and physically. I've put in 100's of hours of disciplined stretching, 100's of hours of meditation and concentrated pain management. I've sacrificed so much of my professional career and personal life. I can honestly tell you it was worth it.
After dealing with height neurosis over the past 5 years I finally feel free. After a 5 year addiction to shoe lifts I can throw them all away- No more shoe lifts. I can now walk barefoot freely without a second thought. I can have sxx in the shower lol. I feel reborn. I couldn't be happier with the outcome. This has changed my life.
Next steps for this diary: I'll try to update my journey through consolidation. I'll try to add a video in the next week or so of my walk. It's been about 48 hours since my last distraction turn on the ERC and I already feel much looser. I'm going to continue to do daily PT through consolidation and work hard to get my walk/gait back! The journey isn't over yet....
Side bar: Paley and the PT team were great. The Stryde nail is an incredible piece of technology and a complete game changer.
Congratulations bro! Happy for you....Waiting for your video!
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Day 8 of Consolidation
Update after just over a week since my last distraction. I'm staying/hiding out in Florida to recover before I head back home. I want to return home with a normal walk / gait by March 2020 and I'm going to work hard over the next few months to accomplish that. Here are my observations so far:
1) Pain levels have improved. I still have a bit of tightness in my hamstrings and quads as well as persistent nerve pain throughout my left shin and ankle (about a level 1 or 2 out of 10) but every day it gets a tiny bit better. I'm still taking Tylenol PM (mainly as a sleep aid) and Gabapentin for the nerve pain.
2) I'm doing self physical therapy 2x a day. As many others have mentioned, the strategy around PT changes as you transition from distraction to consolidation - with the emphasis moving from stretching and now onto regaining strength.
The biggest obstacle towards a normal walk and gait is my weakness around my gluteals and hip abductor muscles, areas where you lose a lot of strength after the surgery trauma and general lack of walking and movement. Weakness in the gluteals and hips creates the "waddle" walk and slight APT as well as fatigue after walking small distances. I've put together a gluteal and hip abductor strength program that I do each day.
As for stretching, I still do it daily but have toned it down a bit as I generally feel much looser now as each day your body naturally slowly adjusts to the new length. The fact that I had a rigorous stretch routine during distraction helps a lot as I'm relatively loose compared to other patients who have started consolidation.
3) Consolidation is a true test of patience. During distraction you're deep in the trenches and you are in a battle against tightness and pain as you fight to get taller, it keeps you occupied and gives you a distinct purpose and you just take each day at a time.
During consolidation you feel much better and you find yourself desperately wanting to get back to your normal, old life but you are still limited due to your abnormal walk/gait and need to consolidate so I'm trying to practice patience and focus on recovering. With that said consolidation is incomparably better than distraction and the feeling of getting better each day is amazing.
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Pretty much hit it on the nose, this is how I feel Alchemist.
Question, do you mind sharing your glutes/ hip strengthening program?
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Pretty much hit it on the nose, this is how I feel Alchemist.
Question, do you mind sharing your glutes/ hip strengthening program?
Awesome, good to know we're on par with each other and what we're feeling is normal!
Here is my glute/hip workout.
1) Squats (non weighted) 3 sets, 15 to 20 per set.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_HDus7RZFA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_HDus7RZFA)
Knees just in front of toes, feet just about shoulder length, back flat and straight while you are leaning forward, weight on heels, squat down and hold for 10 to 15 seconds, and while squeezing your glute/butt, push back up.
2) Clamshell exercise 3 sets, 15 to 20 per set
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ9Rmst88iE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ9Rmst88iE)
3) Side leg raises 3 sets, 15 to 20 per set
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgh6sGwtTwk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgh6sGwtTwk)
4) Laying flat on stomach - straight leg raise - 3 sets, 15 to 20 per set
Couldn't find a video on this. Lay on your stomach. With your legs straight, raise one leg up about 5 to 7 inches off the ground and hold while squeezing your butt/glute.
You can also do this while standing, similar motion as if you were doing this on your stomach, with a focus on avoiding leaning forward so you are working your butt.
5) Side steps (without resistance band for now, can progress to it with one once strength is regained) - In a slight squat position with knees slightly bent and back straight, weight on heels with glutes engaged, walk side ways. I do this for 3 to 5 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqZgvMJhGr0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqZgvMJhGr0)
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Thank you for the great journal and I hope you are doing well. I met with Dr. Paley and Dr. Robbins for consultation couple of weeks ago and Planning on doing the surgery after the high season so I don't pay higher room rates. ....Below are some questions:
1. I go to the gym and lift weights 5 days a weeks. I have strong upper and lower body. Different journals suggest that it is easier during lengthening session for individuals who have skinnier legs. Should I stop doing leg workouts and concentrate on upper body only?
2. I stretch an hour a day. What other measures should I take before the surgery so I am more ready for the surgery and have a successful lengthening?
3. I am very independent and also private. How many hours a day should I hire the care taker the first couple of weeks after the surgery? Do I need them 24 hours a day?
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Thank you for the great journal and I hope you are doing well. I met with Dr. Paley and Dr. Robbins for consultation couple of weeks ago and Planning on doing the surgery after the high season so I don't pay higher room rates. ....Below are some questions:
1. I go to the gym and lift weights 5 days a weeks. I have strong upper and lower body. Different journals suggest that it is easier during lengthening session for individuals who have skinnier legs. Should I stop doing leg workouts and concentrate on upper body only?
2. I stretch an hour a day. What other measures should I take before the surgery so I am more ready for the surgery and have a successful lengthening?
3. I am very independent and also private. How many hours a day should I hire the care taker the first couple of weeks after the surgery? Do I need them 24 hours a day?
Thanks for reading my diary! Best of luck on your journey. My responses:
1. This is purely anecdotal but yes I would recommend avoiding working out thigh muscles (quads and hamstrings) as it seems like patients with more leg mass and muscles in that area got tighter and had a much harder time stretching during physical therapy.
One guy who was a body builder with massive tree trunk legs got super tight at around 4 cm, to the point where he couldn't straighten his knee, was in painful agony during physical therapy (screaming), and was forced to stop lengthening by Dr. Robbins before reaching his goal due to tightness.
I believe working out non thigh muscles like the glutes and hip abductors pre surgery would be a good idea because they shouldn't impact PT flexibility and you lose those muscles fairly quickly and are the hardest to get back.
I would highly recommend working out the upper body as you will rely on your arms and core for mobility for the first 3 to 4 weeks after surgery.
2. Train yourself to sleep on your back with your legs straight. It's difficult to sleep on your sides post surgery and it's best to not bend your knee while sleeping to avoid tightness in your IT band. Many people struggle with sleep because they are only able to sleep on their sides with knees bent. I'd also recommend starting to take vitamin D supplements for bone health.
3. I would recommend having a caretaker 24 hrs/day for at least the first 3 days or more after hospital release. There is still a small risk of a severe complication like fat embolism occurring those first few days so you want someone with you in the event of an emergency. Afterwards you could probably reduce for a few hours a day for the next week or so. I found that after the first week, the caretaker became more a of a huge convenience that was helpful rather than a necessity.
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Thank you TheAlchemist for the detailed suggestions and will start following your advice so I can have a successful lengthening. Merry Christmas!
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Day 15 of Consolidation, Day 103 Post Op
Just over 2 weeks from distraction and things continue to get better every day, little by little. Was able to walk around public places like malls, bars, etc with a cane (mainly for balance and support when fatigued.) Was at a bar the other night and left my cane at the front and walked around with a beer in my hand. I'm starting to get used to the height when in front of the mirror now, I'm only reminded of how much I've changed when in the context of other people.
Don't feel much pain at all. The feeling of tightness remains but is only a matter of discomfort when getting up from a chair or laying in bed after an extended period.
I'm still stretching 2x a day and when going through the motions I can feel my flexibility improving every day.
Sleep is normalizing to about 7 hrs a night now. I still take Tylenol PM but I think I can start to lay off it soon.
The biggest obstacle continues to be regaining strength in my glutes and hip abductors. I can tell this is going to be a long process that will take months of daily work to finish.
Mentally I still haven't gotten back into my productive/ cognitive mindset yet. I'm still "hiding" out from friends/co workers as my plan is to return once I've recovered my walk/gait to a reasonable level. I think the laziness lingers as a result of just recently recovering from the painful stage of distraction, physical limitation from weak muscles, and that weird time in between the holidays.
Reflecting on my stretch of time during LL, it feels unreal. I did this alone. It's feels like a blur in between liminal spaces, like airport layovers. No concept of time exists. I wake up when I want. Go to bed when I want. I had ice cream for breakfast. You are your own god. It feels nice but I want to get back on my purpose around my career and hobbies. I've gotten way more comfortable with leisure solitude but I'm eager to get back to work and being productive again. I'll have to update my diary with a focus on the mental aspect of this as it's one of the more unique and fascinating parts of this journey.
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Going from 5’9 to 6 ft....fking awesome dude.
Do you often feel like the tallest in a room of people?
Since everyone thinks they’re 6 ft these days, how often do you see 6 footers in your day to day life? Only 13% of people in America are 6 ft and over.... do you think that’s accurate?
You will get the “DiD yoU GeT TaLlEr Or SoMeThInG”, how do you plan on handling that with close friends/relatives?
I wear shorts a lot, and hiding the scars on your knees is pretty tough to do. I had a close call with a friend who saw the scar and asked and I just replied with it’s a scab. My heart honestly dropped because this dude was peppering me with questions. He probably knows something is fishy but whatever Lol. Be very wary of that!
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Going from 5’9 to 6 ft....fking awesome dude.
Do you often feel like the tallest in a room of people?
Since everyone thinks they’re 6 ft these days, how often do you see 6 footers in your day to day life? Only 13% of people in America are 6 ft and over.... do you think that’s accurate?
You will get the “DiD yoU GeT TaLlEr Or SoMeThInG”, how do you plan on handling that with close friends/relatives?
I wear shorts a lot, and hiding the scars on your knees is pretty tough to do. I had a close call with a friend who saw the scar and asked and I just replied with it’s a scab. My heart honestly dropped because this dude was peppering me with questions. He probably knows something is fishy but whatever Lol. Be very wary of that!
5'9 to 6 ft is amazing man - life changing and most importantly got rid of my own personal issues with my height neurosis. I truly feel free.
Yeah I've noticed that the majority of the time I'm the tallest person in the room. When I'm out in a crowded area like a bar, I'm almost always taller than all women now, even in their heels, and I'm probably in the top 20% in height around men.
You're right, I'm probably going to get the "“DiD yoU GeT TaLlEr Or SoMeThInG” from friends and relatives, especially since a lot of them were around my original height. One thing that will help is that I started wearing 2 inch shoe lifts every day about 5 years ago that my family, friends, and co workers have been conditioned to. I plan on throwing those shoe lifts away, so my effective height gain will be just over an inch.
I also plan on getting a haircut, I've had a pretty vertically high (about 3 inch) side part quiff hairstyle (kinda Johnny Bravo ish) and I plan on getting a short buzz cut that should hopefully give off the illusion of less height, or at the very least distract people away from my height and re focus on my new hair. I'm hoping the combination of the removal of shoe lifts and shorter hair cut will distort people's perceptions and memory but I wouldn't be surprised if curiosity and stares persist to which I'll just brush it off, smile, and say I've been working on my posture. I think my ex girlfriends would likely notice and possibly my parents. Not too concerned other than my parents worrying about it/freaking out about my health.
Thanks for the reminder with the shorts! I love shorts these days as my primary goal has been staying comfortable but I'll be sure to ditch them when I get back home.
How has your experience been with integrating back at home with family/friends outside of that close call with your friends in shorts? Have people consistently called you out on the height?
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Man I’m so happy for you...
I Only told immediate family of the procedure.
I starting seeing friends towards the end of my lengthening and it’s been annoying with the comments. Every single one of my friends has obviously noticed and i just awkwardly blame it on these hideous shoes that I’ve been wearing with a bit of a heel until I stop getting pestered with questions. Or I blame it on shoe lifts for my back
Most people have no clue this procedure even exists, so they’re just in a confused state as to how it happened anyways. Oh well. Lol.
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Interesting take away from all of this is realizing how distorted everyones perception of height is. I've measured myself at home as exactly 6 ft. It's crazy when I'm out...the handful of girls I've talked to all think I'm over 6ft, one girl thought I was 6'3.
I've realized that women's perception of height is distorted because in general men inflate their height by a couple of inches or at least tend to round up to the next inch. I wouldn't be surprised if most guys who claim 6 ft are actually 5'10 or 5'11 barefoot. Hell I'm guilty of this, pre-LL I was around 5'9, maybe just under in the evening, and I self listed myself as 5'10 on my drivers license. Bottom line is women with shallow height standards probably perceive "6 ft" as a guy who is 5'10 or 5'11 in real life, hence their superficial standard of "only dating guys over 6 ft."
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I am really happy for you guys. Cant wait to see y'all land safely.
We will cross this finish line around the same time. (give or take 1 to 3 weeks)
#Alpha
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Hey alchemist....
Any updates??
Hope you are doing good!!!
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Thanks for writing this diary! How are you doing now?
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Interesting take away from all of this is realizing how distorted everyones perception of height is. I've measured myself at home as exactly 6 ft. It's crazy when I'm out...the handful of girls I've talked to all think I'm over 6ft, one girl thought I was 6'3.
I've realized that women's perception of height is distorted because in general men inflate their height by a couple of inches or at least tend to round up to the next inch. I wouldn't be surprised if most guys who claim 6 ft are actually 5'10 or 5'11 barefoot. Hell I'm guilty of this, pre-LL I was around 5'9, maybe just under in the evening, and I self listed myself as 5'10 on my drivers license. Bottom line is women with shallow height standards probably perceive "6 ft" as a guy who is 5'10 or 5'11 in real life, hence their superficial standard of "only dating guys over 6 ft."
Nearly EVERYONE lies about their height. I'm 5'7.5" and NO ONE believes me, everyone thinks I'm taller, sometimes I even get people guessing I'm 5'10" or 5'11" makes me laugh. Flattering though. Just goes to show how everyone inflates their height. When i do LL and God willing I become 5'10.5" I'm gonna say I'm 6'0" might as well since that's what everyone else does. I'm probably gonna wear boots with a thick heel anyway to bring me to 6'0" when I'm outside. Mostly gonna say I'm 6'0" for dating purposes above all else though. Women percieve you so much more differently when you say 6'0" as opposed to 5'11". I'm sure being an even 6'0" barefoot after being 5'9" must be great. Definetely a lil jealous of you. IMO 5'9" is the perfect height to do LL, you basically go from being percieved as average to being tall, I'm glad you're loving life, and hope to be right there with you in a year and a half.
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UPDATE: 151 days post op, 63 days post distraction
Life is good. My focus continues to be regaining strength in the glutes and hips along with a bit of stretching each day. My walk ranges anywhere from 70 to 90% depending on a variety of factors. On a full tank of energy, with my legs warmed up, my walk looks fairly normal. If you were to look really closely you might notice just a bit of an arch down my back (duck ass) and a very slight waddle. For context, in public people don't seem to notice anything off about my walk, and I've been on a handful of dates and they didn't mention anything about the walk.
I had my 1 month consolidation x rays reviewed and the doctor says I'm progressing as expected. I should be fully consolidated at the 3 to 4 month post consolidation mark, or in other words the 6 to 7 month post op mark. In the mean time I'm avoiding any running, jogging or high impact activities.
Mental and cognitive abilities are at about 90 to 95%, almost normal. I believe that cognitive abilities are a bit limited throughout consolidation as your body still needs to dedicate resources to regenerating the bone. Libido and sxx drive is at about 70% due to bone not consolidated and fatigue.
My height dysphoria is completely gone. Pre LL I was consumed with thoughts about height for at least 1 to 2 hours a day, and now I'm completely free of any body dysphoria.
Areas for Improvement
-Stamina - After walking at about the 2 mile mark fatigue starts to set in due to the weak glutes and hips. I'll either have to take a quick rest or resort to a bit of a waddle walk. When the fatigue sets in I would describe my walk at about 70%, some waddle with a wider gait.
-Strength - Glutes and hips are still a bit weak. A few practical real life scenarios where this comes out is getting up from seated positions where I still use my hand to push off. Another example is going up and down stairs where I still need to use the hand rails for support.
-Stiffness - I feel tight after getting up from a seated position throughout my hips and quads and as a result have a bit of a waddle walk. After walking for about 10 to 15 seconds to warm up the legs my walk begins to normalize.
-Speed - My normal walking pace is about 80%. Although it looks normal, I can't walk as fast as I did pre- op. It's fine for casual settings. For example, I went on a couple dates and the pace of my walk was fine in a relaxed environment where me and the girl were just casually walking around and enjoying the scenery, but in other scenarios that require a speedy walk, for example, crossing a cross walk when the meter is counting down or speed walking to and from meetings, is tough.
- Nerve pain / numbness - Unfortunately still have a bit of nerve pain and numbness in my left shin lingering around. It's improving every week and barely noticeable now. I suspect it will be completely going in the next few weeks.
Overall, I'm still very happy with the outcome and am thankful that I did this, pushed through the pain and conquered my dysphoria. Freedom of height dysphoria is a powerful thing. At times I still have those random moments where I say to myself "this was crazy, I can't believe you did this....." but for the most part the whole experience starts to become a distant memory and you get used to the new height fairly fast, life goes on and you just feel normal in your current state.
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I just love this feedback, so accurate !
Thank you and well done
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I can relate so much to the “I can’t believe I just did this” aspect.
I wish I can tell my story sometimes, but then remember the negativity on the other side. We have such a unique story to tell lol.
Glad you’re on track brotha!
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Nearly EVERYONE lies about their height. I'm 5'7.5" and NO ONE believes me, everyone thinks I'm taller, sometimes I even get people guessing I'm 5'10" or 5'11" makes me laugh. Flattering though. Just goes to show how everyone inflates their height. When i do LL and God willing I become 5'10.5" I'm gonna say I'm 6'0" might as well since that's what everyone else does. I'm probably gonna wear boots with a thick heel anyway to bring me to 6'0" when I'm outside. Mostly gonna say I'm 6'0" for dating purposes above all else though. Women percieve you so much more differently when you say 6'0" as opposed to 5'11". I'm sure being an even 6'0" barefoot after being 5'9" must be great. Definetely a lil jealous of you. IMO 5'9" is the perfect height to do LL, you basically go from being percieved as average to being tall, I'm glad you're loving life, and hope to be right there with you in a year and a half.
Do it man! I think it'll be as life changing for you as it was for me.
I just love this feedback, so accurate !
Thank you and well done
Thanks man!
I can relate so much to the “I can’t believe I just did this” aspect.
I wish I can tell my story sometimes, but then remember the negativity on the other side. We have such a unique story to tell lol.
Glad you’re on track brotha!
Thanks brotha! Really happy for you too. I totally know what you mean about wishing we can tell our stories. The LL journey becomes such a huge part of who we are, beyond just the pure length, the journey from conceptualizing our new height all the way through enduring the pain and pushing through to the finish line to actualize our height makes us mentally tougher and builds so much character. Every time I meet someone and they ask about what I've been up to I keep LL private, that's why I value my LL friends that I met at Paleys so much, as well as this online community, because we have a deep connection through this rare, unique experience.
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Awesome update! I love reading LL success stories like this. Glad it turned out well
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Quick update: Just tried getting up from a seated position independently without using my hands to push off the seat and I did it. Also, last night had dinner with a few friends and was able to climb up a few sets of small stairs without using the handrail.
Never thought something so simple like getting up from a chair or climbing stairs independently could feel so good. Could have probably done it sooner but stayed cautious.
Guys, I'd highly recommend doing stretch and strength exercises during consolidation with the same amount of dedication and intensity as you did during distraction. I myself have slacked off, during distraction I did physical therapy 5 to 6x a day, and now I only do it 1x a day and I wish I did more. Life goes on fast and during consolidation we tend to want to integrate back to our normal lives again and slack off on the physical therapy but I believe dedicated physical therapy is still a worthy investment of our time at this stage. I believe that I'd be in even better shape now if I had a more rigorous routine throughout distraction. Keep pushing!
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I was looking back, but unclear -- how long was it post-lengthening before you could walk without a cain?
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I was looking back, but unclear -- how long was it post-lengthening before you could walk without a cain?
I started walking without a cane during distraction/lengthening. Here's a rough timeline:
During distraction 5 cm to 8cm - Walked without a cane for very short distances with abnormal gait (e.g. room, kitchen, around hotel lobby etc.) otherwise took cane with me everywhere
3 weeks post lengthening - walking without a cane for up to a quarter of mile with an 80% decent gait. Only brought cane with me when going out for precautionary safety purposes and when walking > a quarter mile.
5 weeks post lengthening - walking without a cane with normal ish 90% gait for up to a mile.
7+ weeks post lengthening - walking without a cane with normal ish 90% gait for up to 2 miles.
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Bro I totally feel you on wish we can tell our story and can't believe I did it sometimes, I think to myself I'm crazy with a smile on my face, because I'm the good kind of crazy... the crazy that doesn't let fear stop me from conquering my wildest dreams and desires, the crazy that knows I can achieve anything I want really, I've confirmed that to myself by doing LL lol. Only LL brothers might relate, I'm happy you're progressing I remember the first time standing up with my own two legs again, it's awesome, keep pushing bro. Rooting for ya
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Bro I totally feel you on wish we can tell our story and can't believe I did it sometimes, I think to myself I'm crazy with a smile on my face, because I'm the good kind of crazy... the crazy that doesn't let fear stop me from conquering my wildest dreams and desires, the crazy that knows I can achieve anything I want really, I've confirmed that to myself by doing LL lol. Only LL brothers might relate, I'm happy you're progressing I remember the first time standing up with my own two legs again, it's awesome, keep pushing bro. Rooting for ya
Movie I feel you bro! We are the good type of crazy that does whatever it takes to self actualize our dreams and desires.
To have gone from short, to bed ridden in pain, to a gimp, and now just simply tall to the untrained eye is wild. LL is a powerful, life changing experience. I remember conceptualizing the idea of being tall back when I was 5'9, to now walking around tall at 6 ft, having girls tell me I make them feel small and petite, is mind blowing.
I'm more confident and excited about the world than I have ever been in my entire life. Not so much due to the height, but more so having conquered my dysphoria, putting in the immense amount of work every day and night, and fighting through the pain to get here. It takes a ton of mental and physical strength, pain tolerance, discipline, dedication and faith to successfully do LL and the gift you get in return is the confidence and mindset that you can do anything you put your mind to!
Before LL I would have described myself as a risk averse person, always taking the safest route, always opting for deferred gratification instead of living in the moment, the guy who would work his ass off just to say he will wait to enjoy it all in retirement in old age...LL changed me, doing something as crazy as this makes you realize that we should all live a life that is true to our purpose and dreams. I can't wait to see what the next chapter of my life brings....
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Update: Regressed a bit these past few days.
Overworked my glutes and hips with too many side leg raise exercises and strained my hip abductor muscles. Muscle is sore and weak now to the point where I'm waddling a bit more again.
Going to rest for the next few days and recover. Going forward I'll listen to my body more and do exercises in moderation.
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Similar thing happened to me couple of weeks ago, overdid it with squats and somehow managed to injure my knees and hips, feel like it's set me back about 2 months in terms of mobility. Like you say it's soooo important to listen to your body and not push beyond its current limits, it's not like exercising when your body is normal, you really have to be super careful.
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Recently met with immediate family members and some other acquiantances and didn't get a single comment on height. I attribute this to the 2 inch lifts I've been wearing for the past 5 years that are now in the garbage :)
I ended up telling my immediate family and they were of course initially shocked, but ultimately supportive.
Felt amazing finally sharing this secret that I've been living with for the past 6 months with my family. Once they knew what I had done they looked at me again and registered the increase in the height. They explained that they initially thought something was different about me but in a good way, possibly lost weight or was more confident......
For those prospective LLers worried about friends, families, and coworkers noticing your height increase, I'd suggest wearing 2 inch lifts for at least a year before your surgery. Ideally you want to gradually increase the lift height (1 inch, 1.5 inch, 2 inch) over time to ease into it. Post LL get rid of them and you'd have a good chance of hiding it and even then if someone registers an increase in height you can probably get away with explaining it away as an improvement in posture.
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Recently met with immediate family members and some other acquiantances and didn't get a single comment on height. I attribute this to the 2 inch lifts I've been wearing for the past 5 years that are now in the garbage :)
I ended up telling my immediate family and they were of course initially shocked, but ultimately supportive.
Felt amazing finally sharing this secret that I've been living with for the past 6 months with my family. Once they knew what I had done they looked at me again and registered the increase in the height. They explained that they initially thought something was different about me but in a good way, possibly lost weight or was more confident......
For those prospective LLers worried about friends, families, and coworkers noticing your height increase, I'd suggest wearing 2 inch lifts for at least a year before your surgery. Ideally you want to gradually increase the lift height (1 inch, 1.5 inch, 2 inch) over time to ease into it. Post LL get rid of them and you'd have a good chance of hiding it and even then if someone registers an increase in height you can probably get away with explaining it away as an improvement in posture.
Awesome man....when I read something like this, somehow I get a feeling that ....bro it's possible....the dream height that I have been wanting to have all these years...maybe I can fit into the world the way I want to...maybe it's all possible.....
Happy for you man!
Wanted to ask about your physical status....
Are you back to normal...like w.r.t. walking and running?
Would be really nice if you could give an elaborate answer to that!
Congratulations!
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Awesome man....when I read something like this, somehow I get a feeling that ....bro it's possible....the dream height that I have been wanting to have all these years...maybe I can fit into the world the way I want to...maybe it's all possible.....
Happy for you man!
Wanted to ask about your physical status....
Are you back to normal...like w.r.t. walking and running?
Would be really nice if you could give an elaborate answer to that!
Congratulations!
Thanks man! It IS possible! I remember last year being on the other side and questioning the decision to possibly do something as drastic as LL, analyzing all the "what ifs", all the possible negative outcomes, worrying about what OTHERS might think, many times I felt overwhelmed by it all and talked myself out of it. Looking back now it was one of the best decisions of my life.
In its entirety the LL journey almost seems impossible, but when you break it down to its core processes, and design a system where you can chip away at it one day at a time, little by little, it's definitely possible with the right mindset, dedication, and consistency. I hope you get to experience your dream height one day man!
As for my physical status (Day 170 post op, 82 days post distraction) I'm great! It gets incrementally better each day. My walk is normal on a full tank of energy with my legs warmed up.
If I've walked over >2 miles fatigue will start to set in and my walk declines to about 70% (wide gait, bit of a waddle) due to weak glutes and hips.
When I get up from a chair or when I wake up first thing in the morning my walk is a bit stiff, but it normalizes within minutes. I haven't tried running or jogging yet because I'm still waiting on Paley's review of my second set of x rays, but I feel like I can lightly jog right now. Playing it safe though so I'll keep you guys posted once I hear back on the x rays.
I'm still actively working on the above by stretching and doing light glute and hip exercises every day. Overall it's been great and I'm at a point where there are times that I forget I've had anything done.
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Interesting take away from all of this is realizing how distorted everyones perception of height is. I've measured myself at home as exactly 6 ft. It's crazy when I'm out...the handful of girls I've talked to all think I'm over 6ft, one girl thought I was 6'3.
I've realized that women's perception of height is distorted because in general men inflate their height by a couple of inches or at least tend to round up to the next inch. I wouldn't be surprised if most guys who claim 6 ft are actually 5'10 or 5'11 barefoot. Hell I'm guilty of this, pre-LL I was around 5'9, maybe just under in the evening, and I self listed myself as 5'10 on my drivers license. Bottom line is women with shallow height standards probably perceive "6 ft" as a guy who is 5'10 or 5'11 in real life, hence their superficial standard of "only dating guys over 6 ft."
This is the funniest thing I noticed after LL. I became 5'9" and a lot of people said I looked 6ft. I lot of dudes who said they were 6 ft (and I assumed they were) were suddently my height now. Its hilarious that you noticed this too.
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Thanks man! It IS possible! I remember last year being on the other side and questioning the decision to possibly do something as drastic as LL, analyzing all the "what ifs", all the possible negative outcomes, worrying about what OTHERS might think, many times I felt overwhelmed by it all and talked myself out of it. Looking back now it was one of the best decisions of my life.
In its entirety the LL journey almost seems impossible, but when you break it down to its core processes, and design a system where you can chip away at it one day at a time, little by little, it's definitely possible with the right mindset, dedication, and consistency. I hope you get to experience your dream height one day man!
As for my physical status (Day 170 post op, 82 days post distraction) I'm great! It gets incrementally better each day. My walk is normal on a full tank of energy with my legs warmed up.
If I've walked over >2 miles fatigue will start to set in and my walk declines to about 70% (wide gait, bit of a waddle) due to weak glutes and hips.
When I get up from a chair or when I wake up first thing in the morning my walk is a bit stiff, but it normalizes within minutes. I haven't tried running or jogging yet because I'm still waiting on Paley's review of my second set of x rays, but I feel like I can lightly jog right now. Playing it safe though so I'll keep you guys posted once I hear back on the x rays.
I'm still actively working on the above by stretching and doing light glute and hip exercises every day. Overall it's been great and I'm at a point where there are times that I forget I've had anything done.
First of all thanks for the reply man!
Its people like you who inspire me day in and day out....on some days i question myself...is this life worth living.....then i think about people like you movie and puru....and i think....yeah! its something more than that.... ultimately its in our hands to make this life worth living for.....
congratulations once again on your progress...a few months from now you will be jogging and sprinting....also it would really be nice if you could keep us updated about what paley thinks on your progress and xrays....and yeah... would it be too much if i ask you to post the xrays...?.....its like im very curious to see how the bone looks like at this point of recovery!!!
btw im very happy that you replied! congrats once again and best of luck!
RESPECT.
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This is the funniest thing I noticed after LL. I became 5'9" and a lot of people said I looked 6ft. I lot of dudes who said they were 6 ft (and I assumed they were) were suddently my height now. Its hilarious that you noticed this too.
There was a study once of drivers licenses height that found that people reported a height of something like 1.5-2 inches higher than their actual height.
That said, I think I've yet to be mistaken for being six foot. :)
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This is the funniest thing I noticed after LL. I became 5'9" and a lot of people said I looked 6ft. I lot of dudes who said they were 6 ft (and I assumed they were) were suddently my height now. Its hilarious that you noticed this too.
There was a study once of drivers licenses height that found that people reported a height of something like 1.5-2 inches higher than their actual height.
That said, I think I've yet to be mistaken for being six foot. :)
It cracks me up man! It's interesting across genders as females tend to accurately report their barefoot height on things like driver's licenses and dating apps whereas men tend to overstate lol.
I'm going to do a social experiment and round DOWN to the next inch on my height whenever it gets brought up in social settings to distort it the other way lol.
First of all thanks for the reply man!
Its people like you who inspire me day in and day out....on some days i question myself...is this life worth living.....then i think about people like you movie and puru....and i think....yeah! its something more than that.... ultimately its in our hands to make this life worth living for.....
congratulations once again on your progress...a few months from now you will be jogging and sprinting....also it would really be nice if you could keep us updated about what paley thinks on your progress and xrays....and yeah... would it be too much if i ask you to post the xrays...?.....its like im very curious to see how the bone looks like at this point of recovery!!!
btw im very happy that you replied! congrats once again and best of luck!
RESPECT.
Thanks man! Will try to post x rays when I get my third set done in April. The X ray files are huge and have to be downloaded to CD so I actually don't have pics of my previous set right now, but I'll take some pics of the upcoming third set.
As for my second set I finally heard back from Paley and my bone is healing as expected so I think I'm on track to be fully consolidated at the 6 to 7 month post op point I hope! For those interested in the x rays to date, for the most part my consolidation look similar to others at this point (2 months post distraction) and its pretty much textbook average, not exceptionally great or bad.
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Pleasant surprise when I went to the hospital to see my general practitioner for something non LL related today.
They took my height and weight and of course were surprised when they needed to update my height in their records. I didn't tell them about LL and just said "whoops must have been a typo before."
What caught my attention was my height at the hospital from before LL recorded in early 2019 was listed in their database as 5'9.25 or 176 cm. This was measured barefoot in the afternoon. If you read the beginning of my diary I listed myself as 174 cm or 5'8.5 in the evening which was per Paley staff measurement during my consultation.
I think there is a pattern of Paley staff measurements being a bit off, or at least a bit understated during the consultation stage, I've read other diaries who had the same experience. Not a huge amount and height fluctuates throughout the day but just something I figured I call out for those going to Paley.
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hey man,
did Dr. Paley prescribe xarelto or give you aspirin instead.
I think I read somewhere that Paley gives Asprin instead of xarelto as blood thinners when it comes to lengthening with Stryde. Since stryde allows early weight bearing and xarelto can cause major internal bleeding
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hey man,
did Dr. Paley prescribe xarelto or give you aspirin instead.
I think I read somewhere that Paley gives Asprin instead of xarelto as blood thinners when it comes to lengthening with Stryde. Since stryde allows early weight bearing and xarelto can cause major internal bleeding
Baby aspirin (81 mg dosage) taken 2x a day. With Stryde I was moving around on a walker/crutches first few weeks and cane thereafter.
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Baby aspirin (81 mg dosage) taken 2x a day. With Stryde I was moving around on a walker/crutches first few weeks and cane thereafter.
thanks man.
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I think I read somewhere that Paley gives Asprin instead of xarelto as blood thinners when it comes to lengthening with Stryde. Since stryde allows early weight bearing and xarelto can cause major internal bleeding
Yeah, I had two operations at Paley's -- I was prescribed Xarelto when I had the Precice rods, and Aspirin when I had Stryde.
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does Dr. Paley clarify how long in between taking the aspirin doses. Just curious because aspirin has half life of 3 hrs
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does Dr. Paley clarify how long in between taking the aspirin doses. Just curious because aspirin has half life of 3 hrs
Dr. Robbins just had me take one in the AM as soon as I woke up and one in the PM around dinner. I was fairly active during the day with Stryde so the risk was pretty low IMO.
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Update: Day 182 Post Op, Day 94 Post Distraction
It's been 6 months from my surgery date. Life is good.
I remember during my consultation with several LL doctors over a year ago, the general consensus was that 6 months post op was the magical milestone date where patients return to normal life (walking, running, sports, fitness, etc.)
Am I back to being 100% normal? Nope. Have I made significant progress? Yes, every day.
Unfortunately due to COVID 19 I won't be getting my x rays until next month at the earliest so my consolidation progress is TBD.
The Good
-My walk looks perfectly normal and my endurance has improved to the point where the fact that I had LL is undetectable up to 3 miles, at which point fatigue sets in with my glutes and hips and my walk declines to a hybrid walk/waddle.
-Strength has improved. I can go up and down stairs naturally. I can get up from a seated position independently without pushing off with my hand.
-I feel normal. No significant physical pain. Sometimes I go through the day forgetting I did LL.
-Before the surgery I was worried about friends, family and colleagues noticing my height. So far only one friend has noticed and it wasn't a big deal. I've learned that most people don't really care about you as much as you think they do, and for the people that do truly care about you, they will love and support you unconditionally through LL anyways. I own it.
-New sense of confidence. LL was really hard. Mentally and physically. After you do it you feel a sense of accomplishment. Now when life throws problems at me I think back to LL as a source of strength and confidence to carry me through.
-My height dysphoria is completely gone. No more shoe lifts. I wear shoes that I like, not shoes that make me taller. I never think about height anymore whereas I used to obsess about it daily for hours on end. This freedom has gifted me way more time to spend on other more meaningful areas of my life.
The Not So Good
-Nerve pain / shin numbness (left leg.) Still dealing with this. From the friends I made at Paleys, about half of them had nerve pain or numbness during distraction, and of those folks, about half of them are still experiencing it at about 3 to 6 months post op into consolidation. The pain isn't bad at all, just annoying. I'm stretching more in hopes that it improves.
-Athleticism. I can't run, jog, or play any active sports despite being told so at 6 months post op during my consultation. I think this varies by patient, but in general, most won't be returning to sports at 6 months. People like Movie have amazing athletic recovery outcomes and have definitely earned it, but I would call those out as impressive exceptions, not the norm.
-Lingering stiffness that occurs early in the morning after getting up from bed or getting up after having been seated for > 30 minutes. This goes away after warming up for a minute or so.
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Hey brother,
Awesome update, very true and 100% authentic. You have described my general feelings almost precisely as well. LL is a fascinating and challenging process, yet rewarding and incredibly life changing at the same time. I hope that you stay active on this forum years down the line just to update the community as to how you have recovered long term. I plan to do so myself because I know that years ago when I searched for long term outcomes and effects of this surgery, this information was incredibly difficult to find because people forget and move on.
Anyway keep up the great progress and I'm looking forward to your next updates. Cheers my man!
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Nice update bro, I'm glad everything is returning back to normal in due time. the shin numbness and pain are annoying they will subside though.
Thanks for the shout out bro! let's not forget I'm a month and a half ahead of you in recovery however, that's a huge difference lol, maybe a month and a half from now you'll be able to jog as well (: keep it up bro, best wishes.
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Hey brother,
Awesome update, very true and 100% authentic. You have described my general feelings almost precisely as well. LL is a fascinating and challenging process, yet rewarding and incredibly life changing at the same time. I hope that you stay active on this forum years down the line just to update the community as to how you have recovered long term. I plan to do so myself because I know that years ago when I searched for long term outcomes and effects of this surgery, this information was incredibly difficult to find because people forget and move on.
Anyway keep up the great progress and I'm looking forward to your next updates. Cheers my man!
Thanks tiggy! 100% I will stay active on the forum for a while. I remember being on the other side, before my operation... the diaries that provided a rare glimpse into the long term outlook of LL, well beyond the nail removal stage (shout out to Programdude, YellowSpike, Purush, and many more) were so helpful in my journey. I want to give back to the community by sharing my experience all the way through passed the nail removal stage.
Nice update bro, I'm glad everything is returning back to normal in due time. the shin numbness and pain are annoying they will subside though.
Thanks for the shout out bro! let's not forget I'm a month and a half ahead of you in recovery however, that's a huge difference lol, maybe a month and a half from now you'll be able to jog as well (: keep it up bro, best wishes.
Thanks Movie! You set the gold standard in recovery and you earned it through hard work! All those stairs, training, stretching and the love of soccer really came through for you. You're right.... I hope that in a month and some change I can catch up to you bro! Cheers
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What are the scars like? Did you ever consider spreading the 8cm out over both femur and tibia for proportionality?
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What are the scars like? Did you ever consider spreading the 8cm out over both femur and tibia for proportionality?
Scars are still visible, I avoid wearing shorts due to the IT band related scars located slightly above the outside areas of my knee. I'm ignoring the scars for now as I plan on re-opening the wounds again anyways when getting the rods removed in early to mid 2021. Shortly after that I plan on getting laser treatment for scar removal.
I did consider doing femurs and tibias to maintain ideal proportions but the additional time, costs, health risks and pain did not seem worth it IMO. Looking at myself in the mirror today, my knees do look a little low but nothing out of the ordinary that the average onlooker would take note of. The human body, especially the femur/tibia ratio, varies pretty significantly across individuals and I've embraced that.
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Nice one mate. So glad to hear your well. Seriously impressive.
1) do you think your recovery has been luckier than most or just average? Can the average person expect to recover as well as you with not much by way of complications so far?
2) does everyone have that scar above the knee? I thought they insert and remove the rod from the hip at Paley’s clinic? From what I read you had to get an additional procedure because of tight IT bands... which is why that scars there. What about the scar from the actual ll procedure itself?
3) I’m planning on doing 3-4cm on femurs at most. Do you think I will need any alteration of my IT bands? Do you think my recovery will be quicker because of such small lengthening or same as the guys doing 5cm+?
4) if I want to lengthen 4cm and let’s say finances aren’t an issue, taking everything else into account how much more risky do you think it would be to do 2cm tibia and 2cm femur as opposed to all 4cm femur? I know u said it was riskier doing both but since mine are such small amounts on each do you think it would mitigate the risk?
5) out of curiosity did Paley mention the forum at all or ask you to post or is this completely your own volition? Appreciate your thoughts on this in general as it would help my research and judging what I should believe onn here. A lot of posters seem to be sponsored either by Nuvasive (company that makes stryde and precice) or doctors themselves
Thanks so much for your time. 1 on 1 time with people actually undergoing the procedure is a commodity not to be taken for granted so I appreciate your help
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Nice one mate. So glad to hear your well. Seriously impressive.
1) do you think your recovery has been luckier than most or just average? Can the average person expect to recover as well as you with not much by way of complications so far?
2) does everyone have that scar above the knee? I thought they insert and remove the rod from the hip at Paley’s clinic? From what I read you had to get an additional procedure because of tight IT bands... which is why that scars there. What about the scar from the actual ll procedure itself?
3) I’m planning on doing 3-4cm on femurs at most. Do you think I will need any alteration of my IT bands? Do you think my recovery will be quicker because of such small lengthening or same as the guys doing 5cm+?
4) if I want to lengthen 4cm and let’s say finances aren’t an issue, taking everything else into account how much more risky do you think it would be to do 2cm tibia and 2cm femur as opposed to all 4cm femur? I know u said it was riskier doing both but since mine are such small amounts on each do you think it would mitigate the risk?
5) out of curiosity did Paley mention the forum at all or ask you to post or is this completely your own volition? Appreciate your thoughts on this in general as it would help my research and judging what I should believe onn here. A lot of posters seem to be sponsored either by Nuvasive (company that makes stryde and precice) or doctors themselves
Thanks so much for your time. 1 on 1 time with people actually undergoing the procedure is a commodity not to be taken for granted so I appreciate your help
No problem man!
1) I think my recovery was slightly ahead of the curve based on a small sample size of about 15 patients that I kept in touch with from Paleys. My surgery was textbook, my flexibility, ROM and strength was above average thanks to dedication towards PT, and my bone consolidation was only average. I think there is a good chance an average person can expect to recover as well as me or even better (see Movie diary) with the right mindset and discipline towards PT.
2) Yes every femur patient has the IT band scar as Paley does an IT band release for all femur patients. The scar from the nail implant (and eventual removal) is in the hip area as you mentioned. I've decided to defer all scar removal procedures post rod removal.
3) Yes Paley does IT band release for all femur patients regardless of length. 3-4 cm is a worlds apart from someone doing 5 cm+, your recovery will be incomparably faster and easier at 3-4 cm. A general rule is recovery to decent walking is 2 to 2.5 days for every mm you lengthened. Soft tissues got really tight and things got exponentially more difficult once I crossed the 5 cm threshold, so I think regaining flexibility, ROM, and strength will be much faster for anyone doing less than 5 cm. I think you could be walking decently about 3.5 to 4 months post op. Furthermore, I believe anyone doing less than 5 cm has a decent chance of full athletic recovery.
4) I believe doing quadrilateral (both femurs and tibias) is more risky due to the surgery itself, not so much the amount you lengthen. There is a very small risk of surgery complications like a fat embolism happening, and with 4 bones broken instead of 2, the risk of such a complication is higher, but overall still low. Furthermore, the quadrilateral guys I met at Paleys reached an ambulatory state much slower than bilateral patients, they were in wheel chairs longer due to having way more trauma after having two surgeries three weeks apart....the slower you get to walking and weight bearing the slower your bones consolidate and muscles strengthen.
5) Completely doing this at my own volition to give back to the community as the older diaries were so valuable to me leading up to my operation. Paley never mentioned the forum. Totally understand the skepticism, I was the same way when I was doing my research but I think most American doctors (Paley, Rozburch, Mahboubian) have enough experience to let their skills speak for themselves, IMO I would be cautious of any diaries for international doctors, doctors with a history of complications, or new doctors looking to market their practice.
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Been getting a steady stream of PM's from people trying to decide if LL is right for them so I decided to create a Step by step framework on how to decide if you are a good candidate for LL.
LL was life changing for me but I'm a firm believer that if you are struggling with height neurosis LL should be the LAST RESORT in your journey towards resolution.
Step 1: Reflect on whether the core areas of your life outside of height (friends, family, career, wealth, romance, purpose etc.) are healthy. LL will NOT fix all of your problems. It can only fix height neurosis and enhance an already good life. If you're depressed or if you're not satisfied with your life beyond just your height, you will remain depressed and unsatisfied after LL and doing LL would be like pouring a glass of water into a forrest fire. Invest in YOURSELF first before you invest in lengthening your legs.
Step 2: Ask yourself why you are doing LL. Are you doing it for any one person or thing? Are you doing it because some random bimbo said you were short? Are you doing it because you think it'll get you a promotion at work? Other people's opinion of your height is none of your business. Those people don't matter. Forget them. Don't do this for anyone else other than you. Do it because you don't want to let height neurosis get in the way of you actualizing your fullest potential.
Step 3: Try to resolve your height neurosis through therapy before you consider LL. You might find that the source of your height neurosis is deeply rooted in other mental issues buried deep in your mind and seeing a therapist may provide you with a way of addressing it. Perhaps try meditation. These are healthier and far more economical ways to resolve height neurosis than LL.
Step 4: Ask yourself how important athleticism is to you. Results may vary but the large majority of LL patients who do > 5 cm in any segment will not recover 100% of their athleticism. You have to be at peace with sacrificing a considerable amount of athleticism. If competitive sports are a major part of your life you may want to reconsider LL.
Step 5: You wouldn't buy a car unless you test drove it first right? So don't do LL unless you do a tall trial run. Wear lifts for a couple months that puts you at your desired LL height. Try an inch, try two, then try three. See how it makes you feel. Happier, more content, in a state of nirvana? Or indifferent, or the same? Update your virtual identity with your desired LL height on your online dating profile and observe if it's made a meaningful difference in the dating world. You might be surprised.
Step 6: Don't worry about what other people will think or if they might notice you taller. I worried about this a lot before doing LL and it gave me a ton of anxiety and guess what.... after doing LL I realized it doesn't really matter, people don't really care about you as much as you think they do.
Step 7: Plan for the worst and hope for the best in the context of finances, your health, and timeline. If your operation is $100k, make sure you have at least $200k in savings. One thing is for certain with LL, it will not turn out how you planned. There will be unexpected costs, unexpected changes in recovery timeline, and at worst potential complications. At the very least this is a 6 month journey, a lot can happen in that time frame, you could lose a job, lose a romantic partner, lose friends, and you need to be ready for the world to change and move on as you lay in bed crippled with rods in your legs. Make sure you have money in the bank, liquid, you need to have at least a 12 month operating expense runway.
Step 8: Make sure you are mentally strong. This journey will test you in ways you never imagined. Beyond just the physical pain. There is the isolation. The solitude. Deep loneliness. Lack of sleep. It can break you down. You need to have the ability to shift your perspective when things get tough. It's a super power. I remember every time I hit a low point and was about to break down due to the excruciating pain and loneliness... I had to dig deep and shift my perspective towards expressing gratitude about how lucky I was to have the rare opportunity to get taller. This is not for the weak minded.
Deciding to do LL is a deeply personal one. It's a drastic decision towards fixing height neurosis and it should be the last resort to fixing height neurosis. Although I am very happy with my decision to do this I still believe prospective LL'ers need to deeply reflect and meditate on their decision to do LL before they make that decision. Best of luck to all!
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Does anyone have a link to movie's diary/recovery story?
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You mentioned athletics,
What particular athletic ability will you like to go back to?
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You mentioned athletics,
What particular athletic ability will you like to go back to?
Biking and basketball. With biking I think it's very much possible to get back to 100% recovery. With basketball I think my agility, quickness, and hops will never get back to what it was. Hopefully I can make up for that with my added height :)
I've always played sports casually and I'm in my mid 30's so the loss of athletic ability isn't going to have a big impact on the quality of my life.
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Biking and basketball. With biking I think it's very much possible to get back to 100% recovery. With basketball I think my agility, quickness, and hops will never get back to what it was. Hopefully I can make up for that with my added height :)
I've always played sports casually and I'm in my mid 30's so the loss of athletic ability isn't going to have a big impact on the quality of my life.
I know LL isn't for sports, but how fast do you think it would take to get back to sports if you did extreme physical therapy with stryde?
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I know LL isn't for sports, but how fast do you think it would take to get back to sports if you did extreme physical therapy with stryde?
I can't say for sure as I'm still recovering and at close to 7 months I'm still not ready to get back to sports. Based on my current rate of recovery I'd say I'd be able to play light sports (non competitive) no earlier than 12 months post op. I'd guestimate that it would be at least 1.5 to 2 years post op where I could comfortably play basketball at a decent competitive level.
Note that most docs will claim that one can return to sports/jogging/running at 6 months post op. Results may vary. I'd say this is only true of bone consolidation as you should be fully consolidated at around 6 months post op, however your soft tissues, muscle atrophy, and biomechanics will still not b 100% and likely set you back a couple more months till you could truly play sports again.
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I mean it's obvious you are a very eloquent writer and speak well. Congrats, you're 6 feet now! You have passed the 99% difficult part, now you are just more annoyed than suffering. I'll take that anyday to cure height neuroses. Great diary, I am cheering for you!
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Heya Alchemist,
It’s been 1 month since.
How are you feeling and any updates, improvements or annoyances?
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Heya Alchemist,
It’s been 1 month since.
How are you feeling and any updates, improvements or annoyances?
Hey OverSixFeetTall:
Day 231 Post Op (Just shy of 8 months post op), Day 143 Post Distraction.
Life is good!
The Good
-Walk feels and looks good up to about 3 miles at which point fatigue sets in due to recovering glutes and hip abductors.
-Stairs without hand rails no problem.
-Getting up from seated position without hand pushoff no problem.
-APT / duck ass about 90% resolved. Just a slight arch at the lower back, not noticeable unless I'm shirtless.
-Legs and ass are starting to grow from scrawny chicken legs to normal looking.
-I've met up with a few more family / friends (way less than anticipated by now due to COVID.) So far, only 2 people have explicitly registered any difference in height. One friend called out "dude you look taller" and a family member said I looked "skinnier." I think most people see me and register something different about me, but can't quite pinpoint what it is. I attribute this mainly to the 2 inch lifts I wore pre LL (that I've since removed) and the fact that LL is not mainstream.
-I am still very happy with the outcome and 100% do not regret this decision. My height neurosis is completely gone, that alone has made this life changing. In many ways, it was one of the best decisions of my life. Not just the pure physical height gain, but the confidence gained from conceptualizing something outrageously ambitious and actualizing it.
The Bad
-I still have numbness and nerve pain in my left shin. It gets slightly better each week but it still persists. Compared to my Paley peers, I'm one of the few patients who is still recovering from the nerve pain issues so I guess I'm behind the curve here. More annoying than it is painful so not the worst thing. The resolution seems to be stretching and waiting more than anything.
-I haven't ran or tried sports yet. Part of it is due to not having my x rays done due to COVID and I want to see a consolidated bone before I do anything drastic. I feel like I could jog or even jump, but I don't want to risk it. Hoping I can get X rays once COVID clears up so I can green light sport activities soon.
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Hey OverSixFeetTall:
Day 231 Post Op (Just shy of 8 months post op), Day 143 Post Distraction.
Life is good!
The Good
-Walk feels and looks good up to about 3 miles at which point fatigue sets in due to recovering glutes and hip abductors.
-Stairs without hand rails no problem.
-Getting up from seated position without hand pushoff no problem.
-APT / duck ass about 90% resolved. Just a slight arch at the lower back, not noticeable unless I'm shirtless.
-Legs and ass are starting to grow from scrawny chicken legs to normal looking.
-I've met up with a few more family / friends (way less than anticipated by now due to COVID.) So far, only 2 people have registered any difference in height. One friend who explicitly called out "dude you look taller" and a family member said I looked "skinnier." I think most people see me and register something different about me, but can't quite pinpoint what it is. I attribute this mainly to the 2 inch lifts I wore pre LL (that I've since removed) and the fact that LL is not mainstream. My original expectation was that the height would be obvious to everyone but I've been pleasantly surprised so far. Again, interaction with old friends and family has been limited due to COVID so we'll see once things open up again.
-I am still very happy with the outcome and 100% do not regret this decision. My height neurosis is completely gone, that alone has made this life changing. In many ways, it was one of the best decisions of my life. Not just the pure physical height gain, but the confidence gained from conceptualizing something outrageous and actualizing it.
The Bad
-I still have numbness and nerve pain in my left shin. It gets slightly better each week but it still persists. Compared to my Paley peers, I'm one of the few patients who is still recovering from the nerve pain issues so I guess I'm behind the curve here. More annoying than it is painful so not the worst thing. The resolution seems to be stretching and waiting more than anything.
-I haven't ran or tried sports yet. Part of it is due to not having my x rays done due to COVID and I want to see a consolidated bone before I do anything drastic. I feel like I could jog or even jump, but I don't want to risk it. Hoping I can get X rays once COVID clears up so I can green light sport activities soon.
Thanks for the update. Did you slow down your lengthening during the lengthening period? People said that slowing down to 2 increases a day solved nearly all nerve pain during the lengthening. Obviously it doesn't matter anymore for you, but maybe there's a post lengthening side effect of nerve pain if the patient lengthened too quickly and didn't slow down during the lengthening period.
Glad to see youre happy though
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Thanks for the update. Did you slow down your lengthening during the lengthening period? People said that slowing down to 2 increases a day solved nearly all nerve pain during the lengthening. Obviously it doesn't matter anymore for you, but maybe there's a post lengthening side effect of nerve pain if the patient lengthened too quickly and didn't slow down during the lengthening period.
Glad to see youre happy though
I did slow the rate of distraction down from 1 mm / day to just 0.5 mm / day towards the end at around 7cm and it made a world of difference in my nerve pain. Leading up to that my shins were completely numb and I'd experienced sharp shooting electrifying nerve pains (pain about a 6/10) every other hour. Once I slowed the rate of distraction the nerve pain dropped significantly.
Even with the rate limiting I still have lingering nerve numbness/slight pain 8 months post op.
I think over time, at the rate it's been improving, it should resolve itself, I'm just a bit behind the curve. All things considered, not the worst thing, and I'm still overwhelmingly satisfied with the outcome to not be at all upset about it.
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That's great Alchemist! pain nerve if you notice is improving there will come a time where it'll resolve itself, it'd be worrisome if you weren't improving.
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About the tendon release surgery what did the doctor told you about biceps femoris. It band. Did you meet an older patient
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Any updates?
This was by far the best diary I’ve followed.
Would love to read about your recovery by now?
Also I recently watched a Paley video. He says that with a dedication to PT a return to normal within 6 months should be expected.
Do you believe you’ve not experienced this for the above reason?
How good did you find the PT at the Paley Institute btw.
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Hello there,
Are you able to run now ?
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Hi Alchemist,
Like you, I plan to do LL with Paley by end of 2020 or beginning of 2021.
Your diary is truly inspiring. After reading, however, my biggest concern is regarding nerve pain. Are you still experiencing nerve pain or have you fully recovered?
I'm trying to decide if I want to go the full 8cm or just stick with 5cm. I'm starting at 5'9". Any advice you have is hugely appreciated.
And thank you again for sharing your LL journey. Hope you are loving life at your new height!
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Hi Alchemist,
Like you, I plan to do LL with Paley by end of 2020 or beginning of 2021.
Your diary is truly inspiring. After reading, however, my biggest concern is regarding nerve pain. Are you still experiencing nerve pain or have you fully recovered?
I'm trying to decide if I want to go the full 8cm or just stick with 5cm. I'm starting at 5'9". Any advice you have is hugely appreciated.
And thank you again for sharing your LL journey. Hope you are loving life at your new height!
Thanks for the kind words! I'm loving life at the new height. I'm glad the diary has helped provide you with insight into the experience. Unfortunately, yes I'm still experiencing a slight numbness in my lower left leg and occassional mild nerve pain that I would describe as barely noticeable and more annoying than painful. It's dissapointing from the perspective that I'm dealing with an issue nearly 11 months post op when my original goal was to be 100% healthy with no lingering issues at 6 months post op, but on the bright side it is something I could definitely live with and does not compare at all to the joy of having freedom of height neurosis. Trying to share more data, of the 15 or so friends I kept in touch with from Paleys, 2 of them still have similar mild numbness / nerve pain.
At 5'9, I think both 5 cm or 8 cm would be an amazing, life changing gain. With 5 CM you'll end up at 5'11, a great height and "tall or slightly tall" with a good chance of recovering functionality at 100%. With 8 CM at 6 ft, you'll be at an even better height and "distinctly tall" (personally I think every inch leading up to 6'2 is meaningful whereby everything afterwards starts to diminish in value) however you will definitely sacrifice some functioanlity at the competetive athletic/sports level for those last 3 CM. Whether the trade off is worth it is a personal decision. For me, since my current lifestylf does not involve any kind of intense physical activity, I am 100% happy that I went the full 8 cm, absolutely no regrets. However if athletics were a big part of my life I could certainly see how the trade off wouldn't be worth it.
Hello there,
Are you able to run now ?
Honestly I haven't attempted any running or jogging as I haven't gotten any x rays since Feb 2020 due to COVID 19. I defnitely feel like I can jog or run, just playing it safe until I see those bones fully consolidated. I've been biking/cycling just fine.
Any updates?
This was by far the best diary I’ve followed.
Would love to read about your recovery by now?
Also I recently watched a Paley video. He says that with a dedication to PT a return to normal within 6 months should be expected.
Do you believe you’ve not experienced this for the above reason?
How good did you find the PT at the Paley Institute btw.
Thanks for the kind words and I'm glad this diary has been insightful for you. I think a return to normal at 6 months is achievable depending on your definition of "normal" and how much you lengthen. If you lengthen femurs < 5 cm and work incredibly hard at PT, I think there's a chance you can return to normal at 6 months, which includes atheltics / sports. However if you lengthen > 5 cm, with dedication to PT I believe that at 6 months one can function with every day activities such as walking, going to work, hiking, running errands, etc however any kind of athletic / sport activites at a level of high intensity won't be possible mainly due to soft tissues still being tight and biomechanics still adapting to new proportions.
I was a big fan of the Physical Therapy team at Paleys. I found Paley's system of attending PT daily 5x a week just put me in a positive environment with an optimistic mindset that kept me disciplined and accountable as it almost felt like a boot camp where I was getting tested and assessed daily. Consistently showing up and sticking to the plan is the name of the game for LL, and Paley's system helps keep you on that path.
Sorry for the delay in updates, I've honestly just been enjoying life. I'm almost 11 months post op and still as happy as ever with this decision, truly life changing for me, and outside of the aforementioned numbness/mild nerve pain, I often go through hours and days forgetting I ever did LL. I've been busy with work and life but I'll try to find some time in the coming weeks for a more detailed update.
Take care everyone!
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wow you too bro? E Z, and BoneStretching are all around the 1 year post op mark and having pains. I'm having pains too specifically in the right knee definitely no numbness but I do get a sharp pain in the top shin under the knee when driving lately, it's weird though because I was soaring without pain from monnth 6 until month 11 post OP and then pains came unexpectedly.
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wow you too bro? E Z, and BoneStretching are all around the 1 year post op mark and having pains. I'm having pains too specifically in the right knee definitely no numbness but I do get a sharp pain in the top shin under the knee when driving lately, it's weird though because I was soaring without pain from monnth 6 until month 11 post OP and then pains came unexpectedly.
Sorry to hear bro. Not having any knee pains, just numbness and minor nerve pain in my left shin. Occasionally I'll get slight hip soreness after long walks or hikes but I think that's mainly muscle fatigue. Have you consulted Dr. M on the knee pain? Curious to get his thoughts. Hope it gets better brotha!
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Hey Alchemist! So great to hear you're doing well. You mentioned in a previous post that you noticed your knees are slightly low compared to your overall leg length. You also mentioned that it's not something anyone would ever notice. That being said, do you mind me asking what your starting tibia to femur ratio was? I had a consultation with Dr. Paley this last week and I believe the standard ratio tiba/femur ratio typically falls between 78-82%
I don't know if you recall your tibia/femur ratio. I'm just wondering because my ratio is at 82% which means my tibias are much longer than my femurs (which makes me a great candidate for femur lengthening). Appreciate your thoughts!
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Hey Alchemist! So great to hear you're doing well. You mentioned in a previous post that you noticed your knees are slightly low compared to your overall leg length. You also mentioned that it's not something anyone would ever notice. That being said, do you mind me asking what your starting tibia to femur ratio was? I had a consultation with Dr. Paley this last week and I believe the standard ratio tiba/femur ratio typically falls between 78-82%
I don't know if you recall your tibia/femur ratio. I'm just wondering because my ratio is at 82% which means my tibias are much longer than my femurs (which makes me a great candidate for femur lengthening). Appreciate your thoughts!
Thanks! I was on the bottom end of the range of normal pre - LL at 78% so you are a much much better femur candidate that I was. Even at 78% pre LL the proportions post LL do not bother me at all- nobody has mentioned anything off. You will be even better off than I was at 82%.
If proportions continue to be a concern for you I'd suggest you do some photoshop mock ups. I remember pre LL I did do some photoshop mock ups msyelf to stress test it and it helped prep me for what was to come. Good luck!
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Thanks a million, Alchemist! Photoshop mockups. I hadn't thought of that. Awesome.
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How is it going Alchemist? I was wondering how things were almost a year out from surgery? Do you still have any lingering pains from LL? When were you able to return back to a normal life (work, driving, etc.)? How far can you push yourself athletically now? Great diary btw.
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Thanks for the diary, TheAlchemist.
I'm also debating doing LL surgery with Dr. Paley, but my biggest concern is scars as I'm in an industry where scarring might negatively impact my career. I'd love to know how you feel about the scars and if they're very noticeable.
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Is it too much to ask for some scar pics?
I know you are deferring laser until hardware removal.
Would like to get an idea.
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Everytime I read your diary Alchemist I just cry inside for you a little bit. One of the best diaries I've read. It's also this diary that made my original stance on "average height people wanting LL is crazy" change to "height neurosis is a thing that can exist for everyone and everyone has their own personalized struggle". Your height neurosis was probably worse than mine despite me at 165 in USA.
Happy for you again Alchemist. I think I'm gonna do what you did, 5x PT at Paley's. I think the hardest part is the mental aspect. Just making yourself get up daily and go out and exercise esp with other people can make the biggest difference.
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Hello TheAlchemist,
Thank you so much for sharing your journey and for all the tips and information! This is very helpful for us who are going to do the surgery. I found a piece of myself in your story.
I will be reading your diary again for tips and other clues to remember. I plan on lengthening femur by 8 cm ideally in September 2021 with Dr. Paley.
I have two questions. Do you think it was a good idea to lengthen femur by 8cm proportion wise or 6-7 cm would be better? And, was it worth it considering the pain and other things?
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Also, how are you doing one year from now?
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Damn man, how did you do this? How were you able to break your legs go thru that process? I mean all of these people here. A person must be very tough to do this. I am shivering as I write this and my legs act as im getting the surgery now. I wish I had your courage.
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Hey everyone - Sorry for being MIA, life's gotten busy with work and life in general. Thanks for reaching out, I appreciate all the great questions - long story short, life is good and everything in relation to LL has overall been great so far. I'll try to carve out some time later this week to respond to all of the questions and give a more detailed update as to my LL recovery, LL next steps, and life in general post LL and post height dysphoria!
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Thanks Alchemist. I actually have a question on biomechanics and athleticism and I was wondering how your body has been able to adapt to your new legs and if there are any limitations based on sports/activities that you think you might have from LL. Looking forward to your updates!
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Thanks alchemist, will be waiting for your update.
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Yeah that’s great things are picking up for you.
I’m always wondering about athletic recovery.
Since we have similar stats.
Do you plan on doing jogging? boxing? swimming? biking?
And did Paley tell you when you can start doing cardio or overall exercise again?
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whadup with that update tho? Alchemist my man we appreciate you going thru this, we might too... tell us please if this is worth it. if your proportions aight. if you recommend it for short guy 170 cm. my beach is the same height as me. i want to be better
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I LIKE YOU ALCHEMIST. I HOPE YOURE REAL AND NOT A DOCTOR OR SOME .
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Hey do you mind elaborating in this:
Step 6: Don't worry about what other people will think or if they might notice you taller. I worried about this a lot before doing LL and it gave me a ton of anxiety and guess what.... after doing LL I realized it doesn't really matter, people don't really care about you as much as you think they do.
Keeping it hidden is currently the single main drawback stopping me grim doing LL. I want there to be 0% chance of it being detected. Don’t ask why, it’s just what it is. I have an alibi etc, it’s just the return to the family home that is nauseating. If I could find a way to do it with 0 chance of detection I would be over the moon, filled with joy. Like you, I have a lot of anxiety about this point leading up to my decision. If family found out and they were accepting of it, this still wouldn’t be a good outcome for me. I just don’t want them to know at all.
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I find your words, the ones I quoted above, very comforting. However I fear that that’s all they might be, words of comfort, not actually how I should rationally think. If what you say is true that’d be great. But I wear even 4cm lifts and I feel taller standing next to my fridge, standing in my bathroom, reaching for the tv remote. I just imagine going for 6 cm (the maximum possible amount I would consider lengthening and the absolute dream best case scenario).... not a chance. I wonder whether it is just tricks playing on my mind... it seems to good to be true to be able to get away with it. The perfect heist.
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Hey do you mind elaborating in this:
Keeping it hidden is currently the single main drawback stopping me grim doing LL. I want there to be 0% chance of it being detected. Don’t ask why, it’s just what it is. I have an alibi etc, it’s just the return to the family home that is nauseating. If I could find a way to do it with 0 chance of detection I would be over the moon, filled with joy. Like you, I have a lot of anxiety about this point leading up to my decision. If family found out and they were accepting of it, this still wouldn’t be a good outcome for me. I just don’t want them to know at all.
I find your words, the ones I quoted above, very comforting. However I fear that that’s all they might be, words of comfort, not actually how I should rationally think. If what you say is true that’d be great. But I wear even 4cm lifts and I feel taller standing next to my fridge, standing in my bathroom, reaching for the tv remote. I just imagine going for 6 cm (the maximum possible amount I would consider lengthening and the absolute dream best case scenario).... not a chance. I wonder whether it is just tricks playing on my mind... it seems to good to be true to be able to get away with it. The perfect heist.
I understand your concern. I felt the same way leading up to my procedure- I spent countless hours and many sleepless nights worrying, stressing and over analyzing how I would manage and escape detection.
Leading up to my operation I wore shoe lifts that were just under 2 inches. So the net effect of LL, after doing the full 8 cm, was roughly 1.5 inches in additional height.
The reality is people will notice something different about you. In my case, even at just 1.5 inches increase net of my shoe lifts there were some people who still noticed. You can't control that and you will need to accept this. However you can control how you react and respond to their observations and curiosity.
I would say roughly 50% of people have noticed and explictly said that I look taller/skinnier/different. I'd imagine more people registered something different about me internally but did not vocalize the difference or just dismissed it as something odd about me.
It's important to emphasize that someone noticing you taller is very different than someone accusing you of getting cosmentic LL surgery to get taller. Everyone I've met since doing LL were none the wiser to a surgery being involved, even if they did notice me being taller.
What you will realize is even though LL and your height change are at the forefront of your mind, the same isn't true for those around you, even those who do register a change in height. Because LL is not mainstream peoples minds will automatically brush it away, thinking they are misremembering, you somehow grew, your posture got better, or ironically, even started wearing lifts. Remember, you are your own worst critic, people don't actually care or think about you as much as you think they do.
My advice is to just own it mentally. Don't go into each interaction with a defensive mindset. If someone mentions you growing, a confident/ happy "Oh yeah? Can't complain about that" response is a lot better than being hesitant and bashful. If they dig deeper, just look at them like they're crazy, they'll just as likely start to think that they may have gotten shorter. If they keep pushing, you can say you've been working on posture. As long as you own it mentally and maintain a confident, succinct position around any kind of comments, you'll be just fine.
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Thanks for your reply, appreciated.
Where can I find some of your pics and vids? Before during and after. Can you link me a google drive :)
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Hey everyone - Sorry for being MIA, life's gotten busy with work and life in general. Thanks for reaching out, I appreciate all the great questions - long story short, life is good and everything in relation to LL has overall been great so far. I'll try to carve out some time later this week to respond to all of the questions and give a more detailed update as to my LL recovery, LL next steps, and life in general post LL and post height dysphoria!
Any updates on ur pains?
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Hey man ,any updates?
What's your current status with respect to gait? Is it back to normal? What about sports? Can you run in a park and no one can suspect a thing? Is it back to normal as in, nothing ever happened kind of normal?
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Would also like an update on this, but more specifically on the social aspects. AKA how has your social life changed? Both how others view you (more verifiable info like dating apps) and how you view yourself.
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Hey man, it's been a long time since your last update..
I'm sure you are doing great! Would like to hear abt your new improvements since last update..
How's life in general? I'm sure u r enjoying it new height....how's ur athletic abilities?
Would like to hear from u
Best wishes!
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Just jumping in without Alchemist asking : )
We met and did LL around the same time period. He's doing well.
Similar to me - gait, walking all good for all intents and purposes.
I don't think any of us can say our athletic abilities are anywhere near what they were pre-LL until we get the rods out.
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Wow, that's good to hear....!
So like, the gait....it's unnoticeable? Absolutely normal?
I'm sure you will get back to all your atheltic abilities after rod removal...
Bt for now, do you guys jog or something? If so , how's the pace, the gait?
Say you are jogging in park.....
Can anyone notice there's something off with your gaitor anything like that????
Like tell me whatever you can...would love to get a perspective....
Also, do u have a diary over here? If yes, I'll surely read it!
Thanks for the previous reply....
Best wishes!
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Hey LL fam,
I just wanted to quickly jump in and say I have my nail removal scheduled later this month and I'll update everyone here on that process as I approach my operation in mid June.
Sorry for the lack of updates- I've been busy w/ work and life in general. It's true when the LL veterans say that leading up to, and during the actual lengthening process, LL is this all encompassing thing that consumes your entire life.......but once you finish and recover it becomes a distant memory and blip in time. I try to remind myself how important and informative this community was for me leading up to my operation so I will make sure to update this diary with the nail removal experience.
I will also try to carve out some time with a more detailed, in depth update on life (physical, psychological, emotional) post LL to keep everyone here informed but to quickly summarize- life is good and I'm still more than satisfied with my decision to have gone on this LL journey!
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Great to hear from you Alchemist!
It’s awesome to read that after distraction and recovery, you begin to not think about LL and be consumed with it because I most admit now that I near the end of distraction, I have been consumed by LL by such a large extent that I am looking forward to the day I can enjoy my new height and not think about it 24/7 - really needed to hear that so appreciate it.
Congrats on your grea outcome and wishing you all the best for the nail removal!
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Congrats bro!! where are you getting them removed? I'm looking to remove mine too ASAP
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Great to hear from you Alchemist!
It’s awesome to read that after distraction and recovery, you begin to not think about LL and be consumed with it because I most admit now that I near the end of distraction, I have been consumed by LL by such a large extent that I am looking forward to the day I can enjoy my new height and not think about it 24/7 - really needed to hear that so appreciate it.
Congrats on your grea outcome and wishing you all the best for the nail removal!
Thanks RB! You are in the home stretch, congrats on your progress on the journey so far - the worst is behind you! That glorious day of height neurosis freedom will come sooner than you expect!
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Congrats bro!! where are you getting them removed? I'm looking to remove mine too ASAP
Sent you a PM!
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Hey LL fam:
Rod Removal Update!
I had a successful bilateral femur Stryde removal yesterday on 6/16/21 with Dr. Debiparshad here in Nevada.
Why Dr. Debiparshad ?
I had my original operation w/ Dr. Paley back in September 2019 and I couldn't have been happier with the results of my surgery and the lengthening process itself w/ Dr. Paley and his world class team. If I had to recommend a doctor to a prospective LLer he would be the first on my list.
I ended up going with Dr. D for a variety of reasons:
-Care and convenience- I'm lucky to have family in the Nevada area that have been nice enough to host and care for me throughout this removal process. I trust and value their care way more than any paid care taker service - this has easily saved me thousands of dollars in lodging and care fees had I done the operation independently in Florida.
-Cost and risk - Dr. D's nail removal price is ~20% lower than Paleys. I would have been more confident and comfortable going back to Paley as I'm familiar with him and his team, but given the relatively low(er) risk of the rod removal procedure (out patient proceure, less invasive surgery) I felt the 20% lower fee was justified relative to risk.
-Quality and experience- So far I've been very impressed with Dr. D and his team at the Limbplastx institute in Nevada - Dr. D has demonstrated deep knowledge and experience with this procedure and his team is fantastic.
I'll follow up this post with a recap of pre-op, op day, and post op day 1 later this evening - in short everything is going well!
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Great news bro!!! good stuff congrats! ;D
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That is outstanding news to hear and congratulations on the removal of hardware. I would greatly appreciate to hear your feedback on the overall experience. Dr. D performed Stryde femur surgery on me 11/20/20 and I am fully prepared for removal this December so would be very thankful to know more about your overall experience. Thank you!
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Wow rods removed that’s a big accomplishment!
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Pre Op (1 day before Rod Removal Surgery)
-Arrived at the LimbpastX Institute in Henderson Nevada. Impressed with the modern facility and robust team on site.
-The team measured me at 6 ft and a quarter inch in height- pleasant surprise as I've always thought I was barely 6 ft in the morning. I'll take that extra quarter inch.
-X Rays - went through the standard femur x rays at which point Dr. D came in to tell me my consolidation looked text book great and we're ready to get these things out.
-Dr. D then went through the procedure and the potential risks.
1) Surgical site infection- there are 3 incisions made on each leg (incisions at the lower and upper femur to unscrew + the rods are pulled out of the same incision that they were inserted)
2) Stryde Nail can break
3) Stripped Screws
4) Fractures
5) Surgical site pain
Dr. D assured me that the risks above are unlikely but could happen. After chatting a bit with Dr. D and his team, I thanked him for his time and headed home.
Mood: 90% excited, 10% nervous (going under anesthesia again + the thought of experiencing post surgical wound trauma again). Comparing and contrasting with my original surgery, I was much more relaxed and eager to get this over with in line with my expectation that for rod removals....in 1 to 2 weeks I'd be back to normal again.
Rod Removal Operation Day
-Woke up in the morning feeling fairly relaxed and eager to get the procedure done.
-As soon as I got to the surgery site I began the process of filling out paper work. Although the langauge in the paperwork was just as morbid as the language in the original operation, I was much less nervous this second go round.
-The nurses started to shave my hairy legs down around the incision sites and then proceeded to put the IV in me.
-Met more nurses, an anesthesiologist, and PAs. Unlike my experience with Paley, I was still wide awake when they rolled me into the operation room. There was a team of about 6 people with their own distinct roles all around you - pretty amazing to see so many trained professionals here just for you with the mission of getting these rods out. The high $ fee starts to make more sense.
-The anesthesiologist starts giving me some happy juice and I slowly fade away.
-Suddently I wake up in the hospital and the team is gone, with just one lone nurse by my side. I ask "Am I still alive?" and the nurse smiled and said "you did great." I felt immense gratitude and relief that everything went as planned.
-I immediately recognize the lower half of my body as sore, in trauma, and "heavy". I can move my feet, heels and toe, but my quads, hips, and buttocks are incredibly sore.
-I am able to get out of the hospital bed and onto a wheelchair where I was then wheeled off to my family.
-Dr. D prescribed me Xarelto blood thinner and Percocet pain killers.
-Once I arrived home I immediately felt the physical limitations of the surgery. I could barely walk without support and experienced moderate pain levels (3 to 5 out of 10). At one point I threw up, probably a side effect of nausea after the anesthesia. I took a percocet which helped manage the pain. At this point, it was just a matter of resting and letting time do its thing. I took another percocet and passed out.
-Key takeaway - On day 1 of the surgery, the pain levels are relatively high and you are not ambulatory on your own - I advise that folks have some form of care taking to help assist you through that first day or two after the surgery. Things like getting up and down from a seated position, to walking without support, are incredibly difficult on your own. In addition we are also a bit hazy as the anesthesia is still wearing off. Results may vary, as I've seen other diaries where patients bounced back immediately after the surgery, however in my case, post op surgical site trauma was bad enough that in hindsight, I'm thankful I had family around to watch over me.
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Update! Happy to report that, similar to the other LLer's rod removal experiences before me, there is significant day over day improvement in the days following your rod removal operation. At this rate I'd expect to be in good shape 7 days post op, with a targeted plan to fly back home about 10 days post op.
Day 1 Post Op - Rough Shape
-Rough shape. Still dependent on family/care. Not ambulatory on my own and relying on crutches/cane to get around. Getting up and down from a seated position take a lot of work and/or assistance from others.
-Pain level ranging from 2 to 5 out of 10. At a stand still, pain is minor, but any movement of legs triggers pain (3 to 5 out of 10) at the surgical wound sites, glutes, and quads.
-Managing pain through either percocets or tylenol.
-Had to take a quick work call and was not 100% there when it comes to cognitive analytical thinking. I think this was a combo of the minor pains, fatigue, trauma, and meds.
-Focus is on resting and letting time do its thing.
Day 2 Post Op - Rough but getting better
-Great day over day improvement (at least 20 to 30%). Independent and ambulatory without the need for crutches or cane - I'd describe my walk at about 70%, with hip sway and waddling. Able to get up and down from a seated position on my own, however I need to use my upper body (triceps) to push up and down.
-Pain level averaging about 3 out of 10. At a stand still, pain is non existent, with any movement of legs triggering pain of 3 out of 10 at the surgical wound sites.
-Reducing my pain management to 2 percocets a day.
-Focus is still on resting and letting time do its thing.
Day 3 Post Op - Feeling much better
-Great day over day improvement (at least another 20%). Able to get up and down from a seated position on my own without the need to use my upper body. My walk is about 80% now, my first few steps after getting up still sway/waddle, but after about 5 to 10 steps I'd say my walk appears 95% fine and undetectable to the average observer.
-Pain level getting better and averaging about 2 out of 10. At a stand still, pain is non existent, with any movement of legs triggering pain of 2 out of 10 at the surgical wound sites.
-Reducing my pain management to just tylenol. No more need for percocets.
-Focus is still on resting and letting time do its thing. However, my cognitive analytical thinking is back to normal now, and I'm able to function with work just fine.
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Day 4 Post Op - Feeling better
-Not much to update here other than ongoing day over day improvement (at least another 10%).
-Walk looks about 90% normal now however I've been limiting my daily walk to about 0.5 mile. I'd imagine if I went any further fatigue and soreness would set in.
-Pain level getting better and tolerable without any meds. The wounds feel like minor scrapes/bruises at this point.
-The one thing that I didn't mention was sleep - just ok, averaging about 6 hrs a night. Similar to the original surgery, it's dificult to sleep on your side given the surgery wound at the hip so you have to be comfortable with sleeping on your back.
I have a follow up appointment with Dr. D in a few days (post op day 8 ) and I'll definitely circle back then, but for now it appears its smooth sailing assuming this rate of improvement continues.
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Thumbs up ;D
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Thank you for the very detailed review of your experience. I really appreciate knowing what to expect in the very last steps of this ordeal. Good luck man, you're doing great!
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That is outstanding news to hear and congratulations on the removal of hardware. I would greatly appreciate to hear your feedback on the overall experience. Dr. D performed Stryde femur surgery on me 11/20/20 and I am fully prepared for removal this December so would be very thankful to know more about your overall experience. Thank you!
Thanks man. He's been a great doctor so far. Will keep everyone posted throughout the process.
Wow rods removed that’s a big accomplishment!
Thank you!
Thumbs up ;D
Thanks brotha!
Thank you for the very detailed review of your experience. I really appreciate knowing what to expect in the very last steps of this ordeal. Good luck man, you're doing great!
Of course. Rod removal diaries are not as common so thought I'd share my experience for future LLers!
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Hey brother
Congrats
Can you update if there was any corrosion in nails and if you had one year post pain or any issues with nails corrosion like everyone is making it out to be
Once again awesome news
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Hey brother
Congrats
Can you update if there was any corrosion in nails and if you had one year post pain or any issues with nails corrosion like everyone is making it out to be
Once again awesome news
Thanks! Great question. Very curious about this too. I had requested the nails be returned to me (my understanding is the raw material cost itself was nearly $40k to every patient) and Dr. D confirmed they would be shipped back, however, all nails are sent back to NuVasive in Irvine, CA for review/inspection before they are sent to us. Once I get them back, probably fall 2021, I'll report back and provide pics.
As for one year post op pain, honestly I didn't have significant issues. Less than a handful of times, I'd have random knee pains, (probably 2 or 3 times, lasting 5 seconds) at around the 1 year mark. It's been nearly 2 years and haven't consistently experienced any kind of pain to date. The one unfortunate outcome of this, is ongoing, persistant, numbness of my left shin, that I still feel till this day.
I'm going to ask Dr. D if he could let me know if he observed any corrosion/rust with m nails at my post op check up later this week.
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Thanks brother
Paley has scheduled me to have nails out by Nov that’s 10 month mark
I am hoping I am consolidated by then
It’s awesome you didn’t have much pain except shin pain. I had patient come to visit paley in poland asking about same shin pain and he suggested some excercises. Maybe you can ask paley too for same ?
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Day 8 Post Removal Surgery
Happy to report that things continue to get better at just over a week post rod removal surgery.
I came in to see Dr. D for a post removal follow up w/ x rays yesterday. The x rays looked good- due to the 4 small holes in the femur where the rod screws were once held Dr. D recommended no high impact sports or heavy lifting for at least another 2 to 3 months. He mentioned during that time frame, the bone will begin to regenerate within the screw/hole area, at which point you should be clear for high impact/running/lifting, however expect to see the holes fully filled in within a 6 to 9 month month time frame. Really looking forward to playing sports, working out, and jogging again in about 2 months!
Recovery wise I continue to progressively get better each day, although I'm not 100%. My left leg is probably 90 to 95% recovered, just minor stiffness and post surgery wound pain (pain level minor at aroun 1 / 10), but my right leg is noticably worse at about 80% recovered due to soreness/discomfort at the hip area where the rod was removed. Spoke to Dr. D about it, and he mentioned it's likely because the right Stryde rod was more difficult to remove, causing a bit more surgical trauma. He mentioned this is temporary and will likely subside in the next week or two.
I was also able bring my Stryde Rods home! Nuvasive is no longer requiring that they are shipped back to HQ for review. I would take pictures and share but not much to report here, there was very minor rusting/corrosion observed around where the telescopic rods met and the screw area, Dr. D mentioned my Stryde rods were on the low end of corrosion/rust since the recall. It's a bit surreal holding these rods in your hands, knowing how they've been with you on this crazy journey and changed your life, a bit of a trophy. They've got some weight to them (would estimate a pound to 2 pounds) so having them out does make a difference in our biomechanics- my legs, even with the lingering post surgery soreness, feel lighter and I feel more nimble on my feet.
All positive so far however one thing I didn't take into account was intimacy post rod removal surgery. Plannning for the removal, I thought it would be a quick in and out in a week type process, and in many ways it was, however, at a week out, I still have my bandages/dressing on (Dr. D recommended waiting a few more days to take off), legs shaved around the surgery sites, and I'd imagine, scarring and stitches at the surgery site. I've been actively dating someone who has no idea I had this surgery done and thinks I've been away for a little vacation. Heading home in a few days and not sure I can hide this from her, especially if she wants to get intimate/physical. Bit of advice if you are actively dating someone who doesn't know about the surgery, likely no sxx or physical intimacy at least a few weeks out or a month post rod removal surgery.
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Thanks brother
Paley has scheduled me to have nails out by Nov that’s 10 month mark
I am hoping I am consolidated by then
It’s awesome you didn’t have much pain except shin pain. I had patient come to visit paley in poland asking about same shin pain and he suggested some excercises. Maybe you can ask paley too for same ?
I believe you will get there (full consolidation) at the 10 month mark! Good call on the shin exercises, honestly, after the rod removal, the shin numbness feels a bit better. Will ask about stretch exercises that can help! Wishing you well brotha!
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I’m so glad your nails turned out to have minimal corrosion. I also read a post from TinyTL saying the same thing and he had his nails in for 2 years.
At this point, a good question to ask the big 3 American doctors (Paley, mahboubian, deprishad) would be what percentage of the nails they’ve removed ended up having a significant amount of corrosion?
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I’m so glad your nails turned out to have minimal corrosion. I also read a post from TinyTL saying the same thing and he had his nails in for 2 years.
At this point, a good question to ask the big 3 American doctors (Paley, mahboubian, deprishad) would be what percentage of the nails they’ve removed ended up having a significant amount of corrosion?
Thanks man! Would love to hear this too - hopefully they can release some data. Great to hear from you E Z, we started our journeys around the same time- are you planning on getting the rods out? How's everything else?
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How did ur family react when u told them u got surgery? Weren't u keeping it hidden?
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Day 8 Post Removal Surgery
Happy to report that things continue to get better at just over a week post rod removal surgery.
I came in to see Dr. D for a post removal follow up w/ x rays yesterday. The x rays looked good- due to the 4 small holes in the femur where the rod screws were once held Dr. D recommended no high impact sports or heavy lifting for at least another 2 to 3 months. He mentioned during that time frame, the bone will begin to regenerate within the screw/hole area, at which point you should be clear for high impact/running/lifting, however expect to see the holes fully filled in within a 6 to 9 month month time frame. Really looking forward to playing sports, working out, and jogging again in about 2 months!
Recovery wise I continue to progressively get better each day, although I'm not 100%. My left leg is probably 90 to 95% recovered, just minor stiffness and post surgery wound pain (pain level minor at aroun 1 / 10), but my right leg is noticably worse at about 80% recovered due to soreness/discomfort at the hip area where the rod was removed. Spoke to Dr. D about it, and he mentioned it's likely because the right Stryde rod was more difficult to remove, causing a bit more surgical trauma. He mentioned this is temporary and will likely subside in the next week or two.
I was also able bring my Stryde Rods home! Nuvasive is no longer requiring that they are shipped back to HQ for review. I would take pictures and share but not much to report here, there was very minor rusting/corrosion observed around where the telescopic rods met and the screw area, Dr. D mentioned my Stryde rods were on the low end of corrosion/rust since the recall. It's a bit surreal holding these rods in your hands, knowing how they've been with you on this crazy journey and changed your life, a bit of a trophy. They've got some weight to them (would estimate a pound to 2 pounds) so having them out does make a difference in our biomechanics- my legs, even with the lingering post surgery soreness, feel lighter and I feel more nimble on my feet.
All positive so far however one thing I didn't take into account was intimacy post rod removal surgery. Plannning for the removal, I thought it would be a quick in and out in a week type process, and in many ways it was, however, at a week out, I still have my bandages/dressing on (Dr. D recommended waiting a few more days to take off), legs shaved around the surgery sites, and I'd imagine, scarring and stitches at the surgery site. I've been actively dating someone who has no idea I had this surgery done and thinks I've been away for a little vacation. Heading home in a few days and not sure I can hide this from her, especially if she wants to get intimate/physical. Bit of advice if you are actively dating someone who doesn't know about the surgery, likely no sxx or physical intimacy at least a few weeks out or a month post rod removal surgery.
That's definitely good news for you Alchemist, you're recovering quickly ! Yikes, that's going to be an interesting situation.
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How did ur family react when u told them u got surgery? Weren't u keeping it hidden?
100% supportive. They had no idea I was doing the surgery and I went off to Florida for LL alone. I saw them about 6 months post op after I had recovered / fully consolidated with a normal walk/gait. Once they saw that I was happy and healthy, they didn't care and were just happy to see me. If they saw me while I was going through distraction they would have freaked out lol - which is why I kept it a secret until I recovered.
That's definitely good news for you Alchemist, you're recovering quickly ! Yikes, that's going to be an interesting situation.
Thanks Movie! Yeah the rod removal recovery isn't so bad!
One other comment I have, I am very happy with my decision to go with Dr. D for the removal. While I still have tremendous respect for Paley and his team, I don't believe the premium price was justified for the rod removal procedure (lower risk, less invasive, out patient when compared to the original LL surgery and distraction process) and I am glad I realized cost savings of >20% for the removal. Dr. Dr has been impressive so far.
If I had to do LL all over again, I would do ithe initial surgery and distraction with Paley, but for those of you guys exploring who to go with for the rod removal procedure.....I would optimize cost and risk and I think any US doctor would be a good choice - go with the one with the lowest cost.
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Hey TheAlchemist! When you started dating were your scars already faded or did you have to come up with some excuse for them? My scars are still pretty dark compared to my skin and very obvious which is making me hesitate on going out on dates right now.
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Hey TheAlchemist! When you started dating were your scars already faded or did you have to come up with some excuse for them? My scars are still pretty dark compared to my skin and very obvious which is making me hesitate on going out on dates right now.
I started dating women again about 5 months post op - my scars were starting to fade, but still noticable, specifically my IT band scar.
Luckily none of the women I slept with commented on them. This is primarily due to me having pretty hairy legs. Advice I can offer, that might have helped me, was try to plan for sex in the evening, turng the lights off or dim the lights low, and optimize for sex positions like doggystyle where you are behind her.
If it came up, (which it never did, even with my consistent GF), my pre-prepared excuse is biking accident years ago.
Sorry if this is TMI for folks!
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Haha not TMI bro this is invaluable info and advice ;D
but I second that, I've had about 6-7 new partners since my surgery and not once has it been brought up. most of them don't even notice, but that's because I do the same thing Alchemist mentioned, lights dim, positions she doesn't see your scars, although I didn't have a made up explanation for the scars before but not I do thanks to Alchemist ;) haha
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Hey guys
I am craving alcohol again
When is it safe to start drinking again ?
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Try to wait until a few weeks after consolidation. Hang in there
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Full consolidation before removing nails
Or 6 months average mark of consolidation
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Re: Scars
Good to know. Looks like I need to start getting out there again. The pandemic isn't really an excuse anymore here. My leg hair isn't dense enough to hide the scars unfortunately. The scars for my IT band and lower screw are much darker than the others, which have faded some. I'm thinking it might be due to sunlight exposure when I'm wearing shorts indoors. Looks like I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and see what happens. I guess it might be awkward for the other person to bring them up as well.
Re: Drinking
I've had a few drinks here and there. First time was about 6 weeks after finishing lengthening. I'm not taking any painkillers and my callus has been growing on each X-ray so I don't think it should be an issue. Who knows though, maybe I'm slowing down my consolidation.
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Full consolidation before removing nails
Or 6 months average mark of consolidation
Purely anecdotal, can't offer any kind of medical opinion here but I had the occasional drink about 5 months post op (2 months post lengthening). I was keeping it light on alcohol as I was taking it easy on my liver after taking all the meds and pain killers through distraction plus I didnt want to risk getting too drunk to the point where I could risk falling/injuring myself.
Re: Scars
Good to know. Looks like I need to start getting out there again. The pandemic isn't really an excuse anymore here. My leg hair isn't dense enough to hide the scars unfortunately. The scars for my IT band and lower screw are much darker than the others, which have faded some. I'm thinking it might be due to sunlight exposure when I'm wearing shorts indoors. Looks like I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and see what happens. I guess it might be awkward for the other person to bring them up as well.
Good luck man! Who knows, if it ever does come up, some women find scars sexy....could work in your favor!
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Update: 12 days post nail removal:
Quick update- things continue to improve, but wanted to circle back on the discomfort/pain in my right hip. I finally took off the surgical wound dressing/ bandages this past weekend and observed way more dark, surgical bruising around my right hip area as compared to my left hip. This is consistent with what Dr. D had communicated to me, during the surgery he mentioned he had more difficulty removing the right rod due to excess bone consolidation around the cap of the rod, basically he had to yank the rod out of the femur with a bit more force and as a result there was more surgical trauma in removing the right rod as compared to the left.
I can definitely feel the difference, my left leg feels almost perfect, I'd say 95%, very minor, barely noticeable stiffness/wound discomfort at the surgical site.
My right hip is still at about 80%, just feels slightly bruised / sore. At a stand still it feels totally fine, only when getting up from different positions do I feel the tenderness/soreness, and even then it lasts just a few seconds. Each day gets better and I suspect at this rate I should be totally fine in a week or so.
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Thank you very much for sharing your experience here. :)
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3 Weeks Post Rod Removal
Hey LL Fam!
Today marks 3 weeks post rod removal. I feel amazing. Outside of very minor, barely noticeable, temporary stiffness after being in a position for too long (lasts 1 minute at most), I feel 100% fine.
Here’s the recap of my rod removal experience:
Days 0-2 -> Rough. Pain level up to a 5/10- reliant on pain meds. Not ambulatory on my own - needed support from crutches/cane to move around. Highly recommend having an aide or family watch over you.
Days 2-4 -> Exponential improvement. Can now walk independently, albeit slow with an awkward waddle. Pain level improving to a 2/10. Only Tylenol needed.
Days 5-7 -> Exponential improvement. Walk looks normal, however speed limited. Pain level barely noticeable (only when pressure is applied to surgical wounds.)
Day 7 and on -> Exponential improvement in surgery wound trama healing and strength. Everyday you’re so much better. Right hip had slightly more bruising and couldn't sleep on sides, otherwise I felt great.
Day 14 and on -> Ongoing improvement, slight soreness/bruising in right hip gradually resolved itself through remainder of week. Able to sleep on both sides. Can walk for miles each day with a perfectly normal gait.
The fresh removal scarring is healing up nicely. Putting on aquafor daily.
I'm limiting my activity to just walking (no gym/heavy lifting, no running) until 6 to 8 weeks post removal op per the doc's guidance (still have 4 screw holes in our legs that need to fill in.)
I receommend all LLers remove their rods/hardware as soon as their doctors allow them. The benefits are real beyond any placebo effect. My legs feel lighter and my body feels more agile- I have my rods in hand and they have some weight to them. The minor discomfort I'd feel with the screws in my hips are now gone. There is a substantial improvement in mobility and agility. I honestly feel like I did pre-LL, which I couldn't say w/ 100% certainty for the past year and a half after LL. It's an awesome feeling.
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3 Weeks Post Rod Removal
Hey LL Fam!
Today marks 3 weeks post rod removal. I feel amazing. Outside of very minor, barely noticeable, temporary stiffness after being in a position for too long (lasts 1 minute at most), I feel 100% fine.
Here’s the recap of my rod removal experience:
Days 0-2 -> Rough. Pain level up to a 5/10- reliant on pain meds. Not ambulatory on my own - needed support from crutches/cane to move around. Highly recommend having an aide or family watch over you.
Days 2-4 -> Exponential improvement. Can now walk independently, albeit slow with an awkward waddle. Pain level improving to a 2/10. Only Tylenol needed.
Days 5-7 -> Exponential improvement. Walk looks normal, however speed limited. Pain level barely noticeable (only when pressure is applied to surgical wounds.)
Day 7 and on -> Exponential improvement in surgery wound trama healing and strength. Everyday you’re so much better. Right hip had slightly more bruising and couldn't sleep on sides, otherwise I felt great.
Day 14 and on -> Ongoing improvement, slight soreness/bruising in right hip gradually resolved itself through remainder of week. Able to sleep on both sides. Can walk for miles each day with a perfectly normal gait.
The fresh removal scarring is healing up nicely. Putting on aquafor daily.
I'm limiting my activity to just walking (no gym/heavy lifting, no running) until 6 to 8 weeks post removal op per the doc's guidance (still have 4 screw holes in our legs that need to fill in.)
I receommend all LLers remove their rods/hardware as soon as their doctors allow them. The benefits are real beyond any placebo effect. My legs feel lighter and my body feels more agile- I have my rods in hand and they have some weight to them. The minor discomfort I'd feel with the screws in my hips are now gone. There is a substantial difference in mobility and agility. I honestly feel like I did pre-LL, which I couldn't say with full honesty for the past year and a half after LL. It's an awesome feeling.
Congrats on removal! Out of sheer curiosity, could you weigh the rods?? As someone who has had my Precice rods in for 7.5 years now, I am super curious how much they weigh. Also, I feel a huge difference in flexibility and athletic performance since I got my bottom (distal) screws removed last year, it is like night and day. I wonder how much better it will be when I get the whole deal removed.
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Congrats on removal! Out of sheer curiosity, could you weigh the rods?? As someone who has had my Precice rods in for 7.5 years now, I am super curious how much they weigh. Also, I feel a huge difference in flexibility and athletic performance since I got my bottom (distal) screws removed last year, it is like night and day. I wonder how much better it will be when I get the whole deal removed.
Thanks!
Did a rough weigh in of the rods and they were each just about a pound. Doesn't sound like much on their own, but day in and day out over time you can feel the difference of a pound on each leg.
To add to that, as a fairly skinny person, the screws at the hip site would press up against my skin and caused mild discomfort whenever I slept or laid on my side, with the screws out it feels way better.
This is anecdotal but I feel more flexibible now too. I believe our bones have a natural ability to slightly bend and flex with various bodily motions, however with the steel Stryde rods in, where steel is much less flexible, your bones + rods don't have as much flex to them....with them out it feels better. Again purely anecdotal and obviously haven't been flexing my bones much so far....but will report back if this is truly the case over time.
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Super awesome that you feel like pre-LL after just a mere 3 weeks!
wow the body truly is an amazing machine.
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Super awesome that you feel like pre-LL after just a mere 3 weeks!
wow the body truly is an amazing machine.
Thank you bro! Agreed it's amazing what our bodies can do!
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Totally agreed Alchemist. Getting the rod out makes you feel better. I’m not sure of the exact science of it but it definitely makes a difference. Glad you’re doing well. You, me and Movie were going through this about the same time....It was helpful to refer to your experiences at the time. All the best!
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Totally agreed Alchemist. Getting the rod out makes you feel better. I’m not sure of the exact science of it but it definitely makes a difference. Glad you’re doing well. You, me and Movie were going through this about the same time....It was helpful to refer to your experiences at the time. All the best!
Likewise - your diary and videos were helpful for me as I navigated through this crazy LL experience. I feel a sense of brotherhood w/ you, Movie, the rest of the forum folks, and all the friends I made at Paleys back in late 2019. I'm so glad you are doing well. Cheers brotha!
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Hey man! So great to hear from you!
I request you, please keep updating every now and then...it's very helpful , and gives us motivation !
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Any before and after photos?
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Hey man it's like 4 months post removal....how are things going? Are you back to pre ll stage in terms of strength, flexibility? Is there lingering pain, tightness or numbness? Also, weird question, have the nail holes started healing back? And btw what did doctor say, do our muscles and soft tissues grow after LL or they just stay there permanantly stretched? Are you back to running/jogging?
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Give ist an update Bro. I am very interested:)
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4+ Year Update.
In summary, I'm fully satisfied and thankful I did LL. It is one of the most bizarre, risky, challenging, crazy, yet rewarding and transformative things I've done in my life.
I originally made this diary to share my experience and try to provide raw insights into the LL journey to help prospective LLers decide if LL is right for them. Was feeling a bit nostalgic on New Years and decided to drop by and share my experience 4 years post op to give folks a very long term view of this experience.
Life 4 years after LL
I am 100% free of height dysphoria to the point where I never think about height. At all. Thinking back to life 4 years ago, height dysphoria and LL went from being this all consuming thing that defines your life to now, being just a blip in your past. A distant memory. Life truly goes on and so do you.
My height is now just another normal, boring part of my identity. I used to be 5'9. I'm now 6 ft. I don't even remember being 5'9. I don't even think about being 6 ft now. This is just who I am and it feels normal.
I'm now in a long term relationship with a great girl. I don't think I'd have this kind of relationship today had I not done LL. Not because I'm taller now and therefore conventionally more attractive, but because when I had height dysphoria, I was so self consumed in my own personal height neurosis that I wasn't in the right state of mind (i.e confident) to be in a healthy relationship with another person.
Family, friends, and coworkers who knew me before LL definitely register something different about me post LL. Again I did the maximum femur amount allowed by Paley of 8 cm / 3 inches. I would say 30 to 40% of them vocalize it, while others just stare for a bit. Although LL has become more mainstream in recent years, I still believe people don't presume you had LL, it's just not at the forefront of their mind when they see you. Rather, they think to themselves they may be misremembering, you've lost weight, etc. I usually just shrug it off and smile about it if it comes up (rare). I remember worrying about people noticing so much pre LL, and now I realize people don't think about you as much as you think they do, or, I just don't care.
Physical Status:
Day to day life: I feel completely normal on a day to day basis (e.g walking around town, working, sitting, standing, hiking, etc).
Athletic abilities: I would estimate I have about 70% of the athletic ability I had pre op although I'd attribute a portion of that to aging as I go through the middle aged stage of my life. My glutes are probably my weakest area. The biggest athletic decline would be my reduced ability to burst/ sprint during sports and my reduced stamina.
Scarring: Unfortunately my scars are still visible which is partially just a result of my ethnicity and skin color. I have other friends who did this who have had much better scar healing. I'm considering doing laser treatment. It's not terribly noticeable, although I've had a few intimate partners ask me where the scars came from.
Numbness in my shin has completely gone away
Financial Status
I am in the best financial health of my life. Before I did LL, I was concerned the pause in my career and cost would set me back. 4 years later, I've hit an all time high with my net worth, and have exceeded the financial goals I had originally set out for myself for this age. My salary earnings are the highest they've ever been, and I've consistently invested in equities and real estate since doing LL which has potentially set myself up for an early retirement.
The cost of LL was relatively high but insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Interestingly enough, I believe in a way I've "profited" from LL because I was able to reallocate a significant amount of time that I spent dealing with severe height dysphoria (countless hours) towards my career, investing, diversifying my income streams, and mental health.
My advice to prospective LL candidates
Life is too short to spend your precious time on this planet worrying about being too short. However, this doesn't mean I am always an advocate for doing LL. I recommend freeing yourself of something as debilitating as height dysphoria by any means necessary.
I think LL is an extreme, relatively risky, high commitment, high cost procedure that should only be done as a last resort after careful consideration of the risks and benefits. You should first try to address height dysphoria through therapy or self improvement, and if that doesn't work, well only then consider LL.