Limb Lengthening Forum
Limb Lengthening Surgery => Limb Lengthening Patients Experiences => Topic started by: m7liam on August 16, 2020, 07:30:24 AM
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Hi all, posting my diary with femurs Stryde with Giotikas. Original height 168cm, aiming for 8cm, male 26 years old.
Apologies I will have to come back and write in more detail my first 30 days as I am now 2.5cm in but to quickly summarise
Surgery to t+4 -> very painful, was juiced up on painkillers for 4 days, could barely move, every leg movement gave me pain. I naively thought that I would be able to go home by myself but ended up having a nurse 24 hours with me for the first week as it was extremely difficult to go toilet or do anything. Hospital food sucked!!
Week 1 - Nurse with me whole week, was basically confined in wheelchair, couldn't move. Apparently I was below average in terms of flexibility and first week out of gate
Week 2 - Started to take first steps with crutches. Baby steps. On t+14, it was my first time out of the house with crutches only (previously I had to use a wheelchair to get to PT). Surgery pain at this point had died down but there was a lot of stretching pain from trying to regain your leg mobility. This meant during week 2 I was taking about 4 100mg tramadols and 8 panadols a day. My left leg was more flexible (i.e., I could flex it ~90 degrees) but my right leg was much stronger (left leg would occasionally have spasms)
Week 3 - Getting stronger, by t+17 I could use 1 crutch to move instead of 2. At the end of week 3 (t+21), I took my first steps with no crutches, however, I was walking like a penguin with huge side to side body swings. Pain was better this week although I was still taking 3 tramadols a day.
Week 4 - Getting stronger again, I now can walk without huge body swings although there is a little bit of body swing remaining. The big change was due to using my legs to move instead of my hips which was previously causing the body swing penguin walk. Taking 2 tramadols a day.
Today (t+32) - Today I went outside and walked 30 minutes without crutches which I thought was pretty good. I can't walk very fast (maybe 0.6kmph) but its slowly improving. I'm now at 2.5cm. Pain shot up last night so had to increase dose to 3 tramadols yesterday.
One major problem I have in the last 2 days is I have wide legs. I.e., 3 days ago, my legs were about 40 cm apart with no discomfort and I couldn't bring them together any closer than 10cm. I did some stretching in the last 2 days and now they are maybe 20 cm apart with no discomfort and I can bring them to touch. However, this is one big thing I have to work on and I am a bit worried as I am only 2.5cm in! Will keep you guys updated
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are you in Athens?
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Saw the doctor today and he implied my wide legs might be self inflicted. Ever since I could walk without crutches I haven’t used them again. But as a result, I have been wide walking for balance.
Very annoying to get wide legs at 2.5cm, not sure if anyone else had it so early.
Also I notice that when I try to move my legs upwards I get a twang in my sides that feels like my muscle is caught on a bone and then suddenly released. Does anything know anything about that?
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Thanks for doing this diary! I'm looking to do Stryde femurs with Dr. Giotikas too (I live in Europe so it's a lot easier).
There aren't many diaries with Dr. Giotikas so it'll be nice to see your progress with him. Although the general impression of him is good, I am worried that his prices are too low. But it's just really convenient for me to go to Greece rather than America
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Saw the doctor today and he implied my wide legs might be self inflicted. Ever since I could walk without crutches I haven’t used them again. But as a result, I have been wide walking for balance.
Very annoying to get wide legs at 2.5cm, not sure if anyone else had it so early.
Also I notice that when I try to move my legs upwards I get a twang in my sides that feels like my muscle is caught on a bone and then suddenly released. Does anything know anything about that?
on the bone on the outer side of your knees?
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Not at my knee, it’s actually higher up near my hip. Feels like a rubber band snap
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While true there aren’t many diaries, there are 5 other guys currently doing stryde femurs or tibias with me, all at various stages of completion. I see them at PT regularly and all are doing well.
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Oh yeah that's normal I felt that too, the muscle is rubbing up against the screws and get stuck sometimes and snap back out of it.
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Did you get it every time you bent your leg to walk?
So if I don’t bend the leg when I’m walking I don’t get it. If I deliberately bent the leg like 45 degrees I get the snapping feeling
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Thanks for this! How much is the PT approximately, and are there any quadrilateral lengthening patients you've been able to interact with there? Any advice on budgeting for food?
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no I wouldn't get it every time I bent my knee, but it would happen some times, not often. Yours seems to be often definitely bring it up to Giotikas.
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Thanks for this! How much is the PT approximately, and are there any quadrilateral lengthening patients you've been able to interact with there? Any advice on budgeting for food?
PT is included in the overall price so I don't know the separate price for it.
Food is pretty cheap in Greece. Maybe like 15 euros a day for UberEasts equivalent.
Yes - we have one quad lengthening patient who is doing it with us. He is an absolute hero - I definitely would not want to do quad lengthening.
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Hi guys - I am at surgery + 45 days at the moment (about 3.7cm in) and things haven't really changed in the last 10 days or so.
I still have wide legs which I have been focused on trying to improve but hasn't really changed much. Pain during the day is usually minimal (taking 2 100mg tramals per day and some panadol). My stretching ability has gone down a bit but I have been very busy with work and study (working and studying full time) hence I will admit I have slacked off.
I saw the feedback on the videos so I'll try to post a video in the next few days when I have time.
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How is the quality of the PT? I was reading some old posts on here that said Greek PT was no good or something lol. Are they taking care of you and the others? Props to the quad patient...do you know how much he is planning on lengthening or how far along he is right now? What's different from his recovery compared to the others?
Glad to hear that your pains down BTW! I'm planning on doing this in the near future with Giotikas so your diary is giving me some great insights...keep up posted!!
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How is the quality of the PT? I was reading some old posts on here that said Greek PT was no good or something lol. Are they taking care of you and the others? Props to the quad patient...do you know how much he is planning on lengthening or how far along he is right now? What's different from his recovery compared to the others?
Glad to hear that your pains down BTW! I'm planning on doing this in the near future with Giotikas so your diary is giving me some great insights...keep up posted!!
PT is pretty good. I hear from the nurse they have changed the PT because of complaints with the old one. I don’t have any reference points but I enjoy going.
The quad patient did 2 surgeries last year about 3 weeks apart and then lengthened 4cm each. Then came back this year and rebroke femurs and is in process of doing the other 4cm. He plans to rebreak the tibias after and go for the remaining 4cm.
I don’t think anything particularly different with him although he did say if he had his time again, he’d do one by one.
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Hi all, posting my diary with femurs Stryde with Giotikas. Original height 168cm, aiming for 8cm, male 26 years old.
Apologies I will have to come back and write in more detail my first 30 days as I am now 2.5cm in but to quickly summarise
Surgery to t+4 -> very painful, was juiced up on painkillers for 4 days, could barely move, every leg movement gave me pain. I naively thought that I would be able to go home by myself but ended up having a nurse 24 hours with me for the first week as it was extremely difficult to go toilet or do anything. Hospital food sucked!!
Week 1 - Nurse with me whole week, was basically confined in wheelchair, couldn't move. Apparently I was below average in terms of flexibility and first week out of gate
Week 2 - Started to take first steps with crutches. Baby steps. On t+14, it was my first time out of the house with crutches only (previously I had to use a wheelchair to get to PT). Surgery pain at this point had died down but there was a lot of stretching pain from trying to regain your leg mobility. This meant during week 2 I was taking about 4 100mg tramadols and 8 panadols a day. My left leg was more flexible (i.e., I could flex it ~90 degrees) but my right leg was much stronger (left leg would occasionally have spasms)
Week 3 - Getting stronger, by t+17 I could use 1 crutch to move instead of 2. At the end of week 3 (t+21), I took my first steps with no crutches, however, I was walking like a penguin with huge side to side body swings. Pain was better this week although I was still taking 3 tramadols a day.
Week 4 - Getting stronger again, I now can walk without huge body swings although there is a little bit of body swing remaining. The big change was due to using my legs to move instead of my hips which was previously causing the body swing penguin walk. Taking 2 tramadols a day.
Today (t+32) - Today I went outside and walked 30 minutes without crutches which I thought was pretty good. I can't walk very fast (maybe 0.6kmph) but its slowly improving. I'm now at 2.5cm. Pain shot up last night so had to increase dose to 3 tramadols yesterday.
One major problem I have in the last 2 days is I have wide legs. I.e., 3 days ago, my legs were about 40 cm apart with no discomfort and I couldn't bring them together any closer than 10cm. I did some stretching in the last 2 days and now they are maybe 20 cm apart with no discomfort and I can bring them to touch. However, this is one big thing I have to work on and I am a bit worried as I am only 2.5cm in! Will keep you guys updated
Thanks for making this diary.
1. How has covid affected the process for you?
2. What did you do for the Visa? I heard Shengen visa only covers 90 days, is that basically guaranteed to be long enough? What would happen if you weren't fully healed in 90 days?
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Thanks for making this diary.
1. How has covid affected the process for you?
2. What did you do for the Visa? I heard Shengen visa only covers 90 days, is that basically guaranteed to be long enough? What would happen if you weren't fully healed in 90 days?
Hi - very minimal effect from COVID. Probably the biggest one is I have to wear a mask everywhere.
I was on the Greek tourist visa which I think was 90 days. However, after 40 days post-surgery, I actually flew to London to complete my lengthening because I have friends here I wanted to meet. Hence I think my 90 days reset when I flew to London.
We had another guy in our cohort who flew back home (another European country) 2 weeks post-surgery.
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Helo sir I dink if u stand more often just standing not even need to walking your wide legs will improve immenslee
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Hi - very minimal effect from COVID. Probably the biggest one is I have to wear a mask everywhere.
I was on the Greek tourist visa which I think was 90 days. However, after 40 days post-surgery, I actually flew to London to complete my lengthening because I have friends here I wanted to meet. Hence I think my 90 days reset when I flew to London.
We had another guy in our cohort who flew back home (another European country) 2 weeks post-surgery.
Dr. Giotikas allows you to continue lengthening in the UK?
When do you plan to fly back to Greece?
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Dr. Giotikas allows you to continue lengthening in the UK?
When do you plan to fly back to Greece?
Yes he does. I don't plan to go back unless something goes wrong. I'll be taking XRAYS at a local hospital and then Skyping with him for my regular check-ups.
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Hi all, as promised - video attached. The video is me today (about 47 days after surgery and 4.0cm in). To be honest, my gait hasn't changed much since day 30 because I've been slacking off and working on my wide legs.
Note that I haven't done as much stretching as I should because I have been working a full-time job during this period. I also flew to London 1.5 weeks ago and haven't yet found a PT (any recommendations?)
Also - at the end, I show my wide legs - first, my "normal" wide legs, and then the effort I need to push my legs together. Also I tried to show my duckass by bringing my legs together but it doesn't appear too noticeable at this stage.
Any feedback on what I can do to improve gait/wide legs is welcomed.
https://youtu.be/xklHLOOyalQ
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Hi, your legs aren't that wide, barely noticeable.
Looks like your right leg is a bit shorter? But it might be the way you walk and I am wrong.
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Nice walk! Can I ask you what’s your weight and which size of Nail do you have (10 - 11,5 - 13)?
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lmao your wide steping just reminded me of this classic sunny bit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HilyOLWzrM
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Dang if you're really struggling to put your feet together like that, I'd be a bit concerned because the IT band isn't a muscle or tendon it's just tissue and it's hard to stretch, I'm not confident Giotikas did the IT band release correctly if at all, I never struggled in putting my feet together or walked with wide likes like that during distraction phase. Hopefully there's a solution to it. Keep pushing, do Self PT mean while, stretching, going up stairs assisted, hip thrusts etc.
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...Note that I haven't done as much stretching as I should because I have been working a full-time job during this period. I also flew to London 1.5 weeks ago and haven't yet found a PT (any recommendations?)
Hi, so you have basically given up physio completely during the last couple of weeks, whilst still lengthening!!!
Have you told your doctor?...Come on dude, don't do this to yourself! You deserve better!
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Hi, your legs aren't that wide, barely noticeable.
Looks like your right leg is a bit shorter? But it might be the way you walk and I am wrong.
The wide leg isn't as noticeable now at the feet as I've been working on it but you can definitely see it at the knees (see how when I walk, the knees remain quite far apart). That is the main cause of the strange gait I have as normally I would walk with my legs close to each other.
Think the leg thing is an illusion of how I walk.
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Nice walk! Can I ask you what’s your weight and which size of Nail do you have (10 - 11,5 - 13)?
I was 65kg pre-surgery and I am using a 10mm nail
Dang if you're really struggling to put your feet together like that, I'd be a bit concerned because the IT band isn't a muscle or tendon it's just tissue and it's hard to stretch, I'm not confident Giotikas did the IT band release correctly if at all, I never struggled in putting my feet together or walked with wide likes like that during distraction phase. Hopefully there's a solution to it. Keep pushing, do Self PT mean while, stretching, going up stairs assisted, hip thrusts etc.
Yea its strange because another patient also has the same issue at the moment. I noticed in your video your legs were always closed together. I will keep pushing and see how I go.
Hi, so you have basically given up physio completely during the last couple of weeks, whilst still lengthening!!!
Have you told your doctor?...Come on dude, don't do this to yourself! You deserve better!
Absolutely, need to go back on the ropes. I've signed up for PT today and have continued stretching. PT is important!
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Hi guys - quick update. I'm about 53 days post surgery (4.5cm).
My wide legs in the last few days has transitioned into some new form of position. I have bent knees when I stand normally or walk and a very slight ballerina foot. I'm not sure if this is duckass as I don't actually have the duckass. As a result, it is actually more tiring for me to stand up than it is to walk. While my feet are still wide, the width has decreased somewhat. Very strange....
One positive thing. I went on a number of tinder dates on the weekend and one girl said to me after I stood up "you're kinda tall, how tall are you?" I've never had that in my life so that's amazing!!!
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Hi guys - quick update. I'm about 53 days post surgery (4.5cm).
My wide legs in the last few days has transitioned into some new form of position. I have bent knees when I stand normally or walk and a very slight ballerina foot. I'm not sure if this is duckass as I don't actually have the duckass. As a result, it is actually more tiring for me to stand up than it is to walk. While my feet are still wide, the width has decreased somewhat. Very strange....
One positive thing. I went on a number of tinder dates on the weekend and one girl said to me after I stood up "you're kinda tall, how tall are you?" I've never had that in my life so that's amazing!!!
Nice to get that compliment for the first time heh. Do they comment about your gait at all?
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Well I usually pre-empt this by telling them about my sports accident when sitting down and making a joke about my penguin walk. That way by the time I walk they are already accustomed to it and no major comments. Tbh, after leaving the bar with them and half a bottle of wine in me, I walk like a drunk penguin!
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You're not weight bearing or stretching enuf that's why wide legs. This is like how monorail patients walk. Use the stryde to your advantage, and walk more
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Hi guys - quick update. I'm about 53 days post surgery (4.5cm).
My wide legs in the last few days has transitioned into some new form of position. I have bent knees when I stand normally or walk and a very slight ballerina foot. I'm not sure if this is duckass as I don't actually have the duckass. As a result, it is actually more tiring for me to stand up than it is to walk. While my feet are still wide, the width has decreased somewhat. Very strange....
One positive thing. I went on a number of tinder dates on the weekend and one girl said to me after I stood up "you're kinda tall, how tall are you?" I've never had that in my life so that's amazing!!!
I have your same problem! I am at 5,1cm femur stryde and I have bent knee standing (so it’s like I’m shorter) without duckass and I prefer to walk slightly on tiptoes and with wide legs because of the tightness of my limbs. My ROM too has decreased expecially on the left; what about yours?
I was a bit worried but reading your comment I think it’s not uncommon and we are not the only ones
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I have your same problem! I am at 5,1cm femur stryde and I have bent knee standing (so it’s like I’m shorter) without duckass and I prefer to walk slightly on tiptoes and with wide legs because of the tightness of my limbs. My ROM too has decreased expecially on the left; what about yours?
I was a bit worried but reading your comment I think it’s not uncommon and we are not the only ones
Yes I have exactly this problem! When I stand I stand on tip toes as well. Which is why my legs get tired.
I don’t have an issue with ROM though? Do you mean ROM from bending the leg? My ROM is still unchanged for the last 3 weeks. I can bend to about 135 degrees when lying upwards and 100 when lying downwards. Both legs the same
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Yes I have exactly this problem! When I stand I stand on tip toes as well. Which is why my legs get tired.
I don’t have an issue with ROM though? Do you mean ROM from bending the leg? My ROM is still unchanged for the last 3 weeks. I can bend to about 135 degrees when lying upwards and 100 when lying downwards. Both legs the same
Good for you, mine has started decreasing at 4-4,5cm. I mean the range of motion during extension and flexion. For example standing you have lost like me some degrees in extension. By the way my max flexion on the left is ~90 and ~120 on the right.
So you are waking unaided, right?
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Good for you, mine has started decreasing at 4-4,5cm. I mean the range of motion during extension and flexion. For example standing you have lost like me some degrees in extension. By the way my max flexion on the left is ~90 and ~120 on the right.
So you are waking unaided, right?
Ah right understood. Yes, I've lost degrees in extension but not on flexion (although I never fully recovered on the flexion to be able to touch my thigh). Right leg is worse - I've probably lost 10-15 degrees extension on the right.
Yes, I've been walking unaided since 20 days post-op.
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Ah right understood. Yes, I've lost degrees in extension but not on flexion (although I never fully recovered on the flexion to be able to touch my thigh). Right leg is worse - I've probably lost 10-15 degrees extension on the right.
Yes, I've been walking unaided since 20 days post-op.
Yea obv it’s too early to have a good max angle.
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Well I usually pre-empt this by telling them about my sports accident when sitting down and making a joke about my penguin walk. That way by the time I walk they are already accustomed to it and no major comments. Tbh, after leaving the bar with them and half a bottle of wine in me, I walk like a drunk penguin!
Haha good strategy. I’m doing my procedure this winter, so ski accident it is!
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Haha good strategy. I’m doing my procedure this winter, so ski accident it is!
Haha, skiing accidents never go out of fashion :D
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Haha, skiing accidents never go out of fashion :D
Yea plus it scales with your skill level.
Newbie: I couldn’t turn in time and collided with a tree!
Expert: I landed the 40 foot drop at the wrong angle!
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Haha good strategy. I’m doing my procedure this winter, so ski accident it is!
Damn - met a med student last night and she nearly called me out! "I didn't know you could get hip fractures from soccer".
Hahahaha
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Hey m7liam, how are you doing with your wide legs? Is it improving as the days go by? Have you talked to Dr.Giotikas or anyone from his team about this?
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Hey m7liam, how are you doing with your wide legs? Is it improving as the days go by? Have you talked to Dr.Giotikas or anyone from his team about this?
Hi. I got wide legs at 2.3cms and now I am at 5,2cms. The wide legs hasn’t got worse or better during this period. Hence I suspect it must have improved since I have lengthened more.
Dr just says it’s common and I’ll get use to it over time
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Hi. I got wide legs at 2.3cms and now I am at 5,2cms. The wide legs hasn’t got worse or better during this period. Hence I suspect it must have improved since I have lengthened more.
Dr just says it’s common and I’ll get use to it over time
Hi guys - I am at 5.2cms and ~60 days post surgery. Things are starting to get tight. I notice that walking isn't as easy as before due to the tightness. Right now I can only walk unassisted about 250m before I need to sit for a rest.
As mentioned before, wide legs is still the same width (say 30-40 cm's apart) and I am getting some bent leg of 10-15% reduction in extension in the right leg that I am working on. This is severely affecting my ability to stand up and hence I have to sit down after 2 minutes as I get tired easily.
Also in the last few days while lying down my butt is starting to get sore which didn't occur before. I haven't got nerve pain yet but would be expecting it soon.
Am constantly catching up with friends and I have to say it feels amazing to now be as tall or nearly as tall as them. However, I hope I can get through this last stretch quickly and start post-distraction recovery as things are feeling like it will go downhill before going uphill.
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Hi guys - I am at 5.2cms and ~60 days post surgery. Things are starting to get tight. I notice that walking isn't as easy as before due to the tightness. Right now I can only walk unassisted about 250m before I need to sit for a rest.
As mentioned before, wide legs is still the same width (say 30-40 cm's apart) and I am getting some bent leg of 10-15% reduction in extension in the right leg that I am working on. This is severely affecting my ability to stand up and hence I have to sit down after 2 minutes as I get tired easily.
Also in the last few days while lying down my butt is starting to get sore which didn't occur before. I haven't got nerve pain yet but would be expecting it soon.
Am constantly catching up with friends and I have to say it feels amazing to now be as tall or nearly as tall as them. However, I hope I can get through this last stretch quickly and start post-distraction recovery as things are feeling like it will go downhill before going uphill.
Good luck.
You aiming for the full 8cm lenghtening?
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Sir, you should probably get a personal PT and actually rehab way more. You make think I am joking but if you don't fix these issues right now when you are still distracting then once you distract your goal it is over and you will take a long time to recover. Please sir. No longer will I be politically correct. You need to get your as* to PT asap. Not just "muh one stretch a day", that's nothing .This is super super concerning.
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Sir, you should probably get a personal PT and actually rehab way more. You make think I am joking but if you don't fix these issues right now when you are still distracting then once you distract your goal it is over and you will take a long time to recover. Please sir. No longer will I be politically correct. You need to get your as* to PT asap. Not just "muh one stretch a day", that's nothing .This is super super concerning.
Hi Ghkid, can you please clarify what is very concerning to you? As far as I am aware, my progress is pretty similar to most people (except the issue of wide legs which fortunately hasn't gotten worse and is similar to some people but not all).
Re: exercise - I do try to allocate time to it everyday to go beyond just the one stretch per day. Where there have been issues (wide legs, bent right leg) I have been spending significant time to try to fix.
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Good luck.
You aiming for the full 8cm lenghtening?
Yes - that's right. Still aiming for 8cm. God willing
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Hi Ghkid, can you please clarify what is very concerning to you? As far as I am aware, my progress is pretty similar to most people (except the issue of wide legs which fortunately hasn't gotten worse and is similar to some people but not all).
Re: exercise - I do try to allocate time to it everyday to go beyond just the one stretch per day. Where there have been issues (wide legs, bent right leg) I have been spending significant time to try to fix.
Hi m7liam,
Glad things all look promising :) I believe you'll be able to successfully lengthen to 8cm.
I think what mainly concerns ghkid2019, is the widening legs. I think what he meant was that if you spent some PT time on it while distracting, it would save you a lot of time trying to fix it post distraction. I tend to agree with him. Why not trying to fix it while distracting? If the PT is good, he/she should be able to work with you on that, without aggravating nerve pain.
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Hi guys - I am at 5.2cms and ~60 days post surgery. Things are starting to get tight. I notice that walking isn't as easy as before due to the tightness. Right now I can only walk unassisted about 250m before I need to sit for a rest.
As mentioned before, wide legs is still the same width (say 30-40 cm's apart) and I am getting some bent leg of 10-15% reduction in extension in the right leg that I am working on. This is severely affecting my ability to stand up and hence I have to sit down after 2 minutes as I get tired easily.
Also in the last few days while lying down my butt is starting to get sore which didn't occur before. I haven't got nerve pain yet but would be expecting it soon.
Am constantly catching up with friends and I have to say it feels amazing to now be as tall or nearly as tall as them. However, I hope I can get through this last stretch quickly and start post-distraction recovery as things are feeling like it will go downhill before going uphill.
I started taking Gabapentin (two 300mg pills per day) prescribed by Dr. M. I am on day 2. I can't tell if it lowered the pain level. Online info and the experience of our CLL folks here show that it may take a week or two, before it starts suppressing the nerve pain. Please talk to your Dr. about Gabapentin and see if you should start taking it now, so the remaining mm's to 8cm would be easier to achieve.
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Sir, you should probably get a personal PT and actually rehab way more. You make think I am joking but if you don't fix these issues right now when you are still distracting then once you distract your goal it is over and you will take a long time to recover. Please sir. No longer will I be politically correct. You need to get your as* to PT asap. Not just "muh one stretch a day", that's nothing .This is super super concerning.
Doesn't Giotikas, have specific PT instructions if you're lengthening at home? Also m7liam, I have to agree with everyone here. Fixing the issue while distracting seems the most logical thing to do and will definitely speed up recovery time. Please take care now for a couple months and live the rest of the time after free of worries!
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Don't worry about wide legs , with internal method this is quite common if your adductors muscles are not enough strong and IT band is tight
After finishing lengthening 6 to 8 week your legs will become in Normal range
don't try to push your leg hard to make it normal range(avoid Force full abduction) this may cause Hyper loadrosis ( permanent back pain)
There are some excercise You can try ( but don't do forcefully)
1.Isometric adduction with knees bent (ball between both leg)
2.Concentric adduction exercises
3.Resisted exercises with elastic band for adductor muscles
4. Ilio - pesos stretching ( thomas stretch)
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I started taking Gabapentin (two 300mg pills per day) prescribed by Dr. M. I am on day 2. I can't tell if it lowered the pain level. Online info and the experience of our CLL folks here show that it may take a week or two, before it starts suppressing the nerve pain. Please talk to your Dr. about Gabapentin and see if you should start taking it now, so the remaining mm's to 8cm would be easier to achieve.
Thanks. I've been taking 75mg of Lyrica daily since Day 1.
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Don't worry about wide legs , with internal method this is quite common if your adductors muscles are not enough strong and IT band is tight
After finishing lengthening 6 to 8 week your legs will become in Normal range
don't try to push your leg hard to make it normal range(avoid Force full abduction) this may cause Hyper loadrosis ( permanent back pain)
There are some excercise You can try ( but don't do forcefully)
1.Isometric adduction with knees bent (ball between both leg)
2.Concentric adduction exercises
3.Resisted exercises with elastic band for adductor muscles
4. Ilio - pesos stretching ( thomas stretch)
Thanks, this is super helpful. Are there any other exercises you recommend as the ones you mention don't seem to be very forceful? I will try them out though.
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Hello , can you climb stairs up and down easily? Are you able now to walk fast?
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Hello , can you climb stairs up and down easily? Are you able now to walk fast?
Yes I can climb stairs with no issues. Down is a bit harder but still not too big of a deal.
I haven't tried walking fast to be honest given I don't want to fall. But my walking is about the same as before.
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Hi.
Has Giotikas performed and itb release on you?
I've seen many femur patients (regardless of the nail) walking but noone with a so big gap between the knees. I hope it is nothing important but still it doesn't seem very normal to me, especially at too soon (2,5 cm).
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Hi.
Has Giotikas performed and itb release on you?
I've seen many femur patients (regardless of the nail) walking but noone with a so big gap between the knees. I hope it is nothing important but still it doesn't seem very normal to me, especially at too soon (2,5 cm).
Giotikas is not that much SKILL doctor . He is still in learning phase ( in my opinion)
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Thanks, this is super helpful. Are there any other exercises you recommend as the ones you mention don't seem to be very forceful? I will try them out though.
If you are interested my PT suggested me even to raise all the straight limb by 30-40cm doing meanwhile isometric contraction of the quad.
I have solved the bend knee and a light valgus coming back with the nail extension, it has been very useful because I’ve given my tissues some more time to grow and extend.
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Giotikas is not that much SKILL doctor . He is still in learning phase ( in my opinion)
Don't be so unfair to Giotikas when @m7liam has already admitted that he practically abandoned physio after he left Athens! Giotikas is currently one of the most experienced LL doctors worldwide, practicing distraction osteogenesis since 2012 in two of the most serious hospitals in the world (Cambridge and Oxford). He is not just "anyone" in my opinion and this is proven by his instant success when he started his Athens clinic.
To be honest, I am really surprised that @m7liam is doing so well despite his luck of comittment. Maybe this has to do with the quality of surgery and physio that he received whilst in Athens.
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Don't be so unfair to Giotikas when @m7liam has already admitted that he practically abandoned physio after he left Athens! Giotikas is currently one of the most experienced LL doctors worldwide, practicing distraction osteogenesis since 2012 in two of the most serious hospitals in the world (Cambridge and Oxford). He is not just "anyone" in my opinion and this is proven by his instant success when he started his Athens clinic.
To be honest, I am really surprised that @m7liam is doing so well despite his luck of comittment. Maybe this has to do with the quality of surgery and physio that he received whilst in Athens.
Without wanting to be unfair or rude, I don't see from the videos to do very well.
From other LLers the walking looks much more normal at the same amounth of lengthening.
That said, if after lengthening the walking becomes normal, then it doesn't matter at all. But till then, i don't think that walking is exactly as it should.
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m7liam, remember the surgery is about you. Don’t take too much critique from this site and make sure you’re communicating with the doctor and I know you’ll be fine! I have a few questions for you maybe I can PM you regarding Dr. Giotikas. I’m planning to go late October!
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Hi I wanted to ask you about the nail you have. The 10mm one has a max 68kg weight limit and with you at 65kg it's real close to being at max limit. If you were to land heavy on the ground for whatever reason are you then at risk of breaking it?
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Hi I wanted to ask you about the nail you have. The 10mm one has a max 68kg weight limit and with you at 65kg it's real close to being at max limit. If you were to land heavy on the ground for whatever reason are you then at risk of breaking it?
It’s 68kg per leg I think so if I’m standing the weight is distributed. Imagine there’ll be some safety margin (just like an elevator limit is 4 people but can hold 8). And I’ve lost weight since surgery.
But yes got to be careful. I’m not running or jumping
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I was trying to upload my xrays but can’t do it from the phone.
I’ve been lengthening at 0.75mm last few days. Had a session with doctor who told me my bone growth is good maybe too good. So I will be resuming 1mm per day going forward
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Very easy to upload x-ray www.imgbb.com
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Please check your PM m7liam. It would help me out!
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How are you doing now with your gait? And how much have you lengthened now? From my calculations(horrible) you should be done in a couple of weeks? Hope recovery is going stellar and would be nice to see any progress on the walk via video if you can of course
AFB
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How are you doing now with your gait? And how much have you lengthened now? From my calculations(horrible) you should be done in a couple of weeks? Hope recovery is going stellar and would be nice to see any progress on the walk via video if you can of course
AFB
Hi apple and all. As a quick update.
I’m now at 6.1cm’s. in terms of gait, my gait has stayed the same as before and I suspect it won’t improve until after lengthening is done. My wide legs funny enough has improved slightly over the last few days (whereas before I stood/walk with 40cms apart I am now standing/walking with 20cms apart). Not sure why but it may have to do with the few days I was lengthening at 0.75mm per day.
Yesterday I went on a big shopping session outdoors where I walked about 10k steps without crutches (obviously with breaks in between). Felt like a long hike. Thought today my muscles would be aching throughout but I’m strangely fine. So probably fair to say I feel quite strong (vs 2 weeks ago).
Still have a slightly bent right knee but it hasn’t gotten worse which is good. I also have a quite sore right bum when I sit too long or lie down which is annoying. Otherwise there is some tightness but still manageable.
I have not got any nerve pain yet. I’m consistently taking one pill of lyrica of day. Not sure if strange. At this rate I may finish without any nerve pain.
I should be done in 3 weeks which is fantastic. Pushing towards the end. I will try to upload a video in the next few days.
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Please check your PM m7liam. It would help me out!
I believe I responded but let me know if you didn’t get my response
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It's amazing in today's age we can go shopping and walk 10k steps without crutches while in the lengthening phase and still distracting. That's crazy.
3 more weeks sir. And then the hardest part will be over :)
Cheers
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It's amazing in today's age we can go shopping and walk 10k steps without crutches while in the lengthening phase and still distracting. That's crazy.
3 more weeks sir. And then the hardest part will be over :)
Cheers
Yes it is. Thats why I keep saying that Stryde is a revolution for LL and the best we will have for the next many many years.
M7liam I really hope you'll have a great result. You are almost there.
Keep strong.
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Guys - checking if anyone else has ever had a sore bum. I have a sore bum whenever i sit or lie down and I'm not on tramadol. Its annoying as hell?!!
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Guys - checking if anyone else has ever had a sore bum. I have a sore bum whenever i sit or lie down and I'm not on tramadol. Its annoying as hell?!!
Find a soft chair lol. I've never heard about this kind of pain
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Guys - checking if anyone else has ever had a sore bum. I have a sore bum whenever i sit or lie down and I'm not on tramadol. Its annoying as hell?!!
I believe I saw a video on Movie's diary where he had some pain sitting down early on in his journey. Might wanna check that out.
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Video of me at 6.2cm. The limp is due to the slight bend in the right knee (x-rays confirm both legs are the same length)
https://youtu.be/6i_8rHHnLPA
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Here's another video where I walk a bit slower and consciously try to put my legs closer
https://youtu.be/LTVyTz1c0sA
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Looks fair. You'll probably make 8cm
Wide legs hopefully will settle down after distraction is over. Tons of hip sway but that's normal given the limited range of motion
How much u walking a day btw
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Looks great! Thanks for the diary!
I’m planning to go with Giotikas as well once the COVID situation calms down.
Are you able to do upper body exercises at all (eg. chest press, bicep curls, etc.)? I figured if I’m stuck in lengthening for 3 months, I might as well do upper body exercises to maintain fitness & upper-body strength. Thanks!
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You walk better than before. Thats very good.
Keep strong.
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Are you sure to have lengthened your femur? Your tibia looks long ;D Great proportion!
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Are you able to do upper body exercises at all (eg. chest press, bicep curls, etc.)? I figured if I’m stuck in lengthening for 3 months, I might as well do upper body exercises to maintain fitness & upper-body strength. Thanks!
Yes - no issues doing upper body although I have not done any.
Are you sure to have lengthened your femur? Your tibia looks long ;D Great proportion!
Yes haha. I suspect its because the shirt I'm wearing is quite long (goes past my bum) hence a bit deceiving.
You walk better than before. Thats very good.
Keep strong.
Thank you!
How much u walking a day btw
I would say on average about 100-200m a day. But highly variable. Some days much more, some days almost nothing.
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Did giotikas do it band release in you. Tight it band is cause of wide legs btw. I dink giotigas did a small release not enuf but it's ok wide leg will resolve eventuly
Stretch the hell outta it band asap. Also stay consistent with your exercises, try to do daily and get yourself out of bed wen u feel good and it will increase chance you'll get out when u feel bad
If you feelin lazy at stretching just stand for long periods of time mindfully try to reduce the wide legs slowly it is still very gud
U have about only 3 more weeks to go that is 3 sets of 7 days you can do it!!!
U will be 176cm, literally an amazing height compared to the 168 you were before. At this height you will have confidence boost by literally 2000% and probably very likely you will stop caring about your height for the rest of your life. You can feel like a grown áss man 🙂 excuse my languwidge
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Thanks for the reply! Please keep recording your journey and showing us the videos until your walk returns to normal (and hopefully even after so we know the long-term results). We often hear about people’s experiences but we rarely get to see what it actually looks like. Your recovery would be a great inspiration to a lot of people.
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Hey bud, hows ur recovery now? A couple of questions
1) do you think Giotikas pain management is up to the mark? When I see Debiprashad dairies, they don't seem taking way too much.
2) do you think LL was worth? Like you feel that there are too many trade-offs?
3) now you have longer femurs, do think they will f*up your knees?
4) excluding surgery cost, how much money should we reserve for complications and living expenses.
5) do you think you will be pre-LL after 3 years and so?
Thanks for sharing your experience again... hope you get through this ASAP
Best regards
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Hey bud, hows ur recovery now? A couple of questions
1) do you think Giotikas pain management is up to the mark? When I see Debiprashad dairies, they don't seem taking way too much.
2) do you think LL was worth? Like you feel that there are too many trade-offs?
3) now you have longer femurs, do think they will f*up your knees?
4) excluding surgery cost, how much money should we reserve for complications and living expenses.
5) do you think you will be pre-LL after 3 years and so?
Thanks for sharing your experience again... hope you get through this ASAP
Best regards
I don't think the pain was too bad. Although I am sensitive to pain. I have been taking 2 tramadols and a few panadols per day pretty consistently.
Yes I absolutely think it was worth it, now that I am nearly 3 months in. I don't think about height anymore.
Not sure. Will have to let you know post-lengthening.
Maybe $5k or so for living expenses. Complications up to you I guess, maybe $10-20k
I'm aiming to be pre-LL within 6 months (except for running). Let's see.
Thanks for the reply! Please keep recording your journey and showing us the videos until your walk returns to normal (and hopefully even after so we know the long-term results). We often hear about people’s experiences but we rarely get to see what it actually looks like. Your recovery would be a great inspiration to a lot of people.
Thank you, I will!
Did giotikas do it band release in you. Tight it band is cause of wide legs btw. I dink giotigas did a small release not enuf but it's ok wide leg will resolve eventuly
Yes I think he did. The reason I think so is 1) my wide legs never got worse after 2.5cms, and 2) I have no duckass. Doctor said that you can get wide legs from other muscles being caught during the lengthening. But it could be that he could have done it more, IDK.
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I'll be at 7.0cm's tomorrow.
I definitely feel tighter in the last few days as I approach the end. The tightness is affecting my walking ability.
Still no nerve pain. Nerve pain was one of my biggest fears. Hilarious!!!
Wide legs and bent right knee still persist but haven't got worse. Still got a sore right bum. Strangely enough left knee is completely fine.
10 more days to go!!!
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X-Rays at 5.5cm's below. I'll be getting new x-ray's tomorrow so will send around 7cm's as well. Note that doc said I was consolidating faster than normal.
(https://i.imgur.com/qXFu2mo.jpg)
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X-Rays at 5.5cm's below. I'll be getting new x-ray's tomorrow so will send around 7cm's as well. Note that doc said I was consolidating faster than normal.
(https://i.imgur.com/qXFu2mo.jpg)
Nice callus. Unfortunately in these XR you can’t see the magnet to make the double check about the distraction length. I think that it’s the most precise way to measure it.
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Yea that's very good callus
By the way why is your femur like that. On the edge of the thighs lol. Maybes the camera angle? Femur I would've imagine was in the centered of thigh.
Anyways good callus good bone.and you basically have less than 2 week left it is almost over
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The right callus is stronger than the left and thats maybe why you feel more pain when you lengthen right foot.
That said, these calluses are far from preconsolidation so I wonder why doctors don't let patients to lengthen at a slower rate than 1mm after 3-4cms to have an easier and safer lengthening and a faster consolidation.
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Your right femur is angular which not good at all , if you post whole femur x-ray will be seen clearly,
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Hi @m7liam, nice x-rays and a very good consolidation, congrats!
Keep it going till you are all done.
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Hi all, I did x-rays yesterday. Turns out my left leg is at 5.5cm and my right at 6.5cm when I expected both to be 7.0cm.
Looks like I have been very lazy with my lengthening technique in the last 2 weeks and the machine hasn't been connecting properly.
A 10 day setback but I guess it is what it is. Partly explains why my left leg was feeling completely fine lol.
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Hi all, I did x-rays yesterday. Turns out my left leg is at 5.5cm and my right at 6.5cm when I expected both to be 7.0cm.
Looks like I have been very lazy with my lengthening technique in the last 2 weeks and the machine hasn't been connecting properly.
A 10 day setback but I guess it is what it is. Partly explains why my left leg was feeling completely fine lol.
Oh no! Sorry to hear. Hope things get better for you. Keep us posted on your results. Not a big setback. How is everything else otherwise
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Can't figure out how this could happen? Does the machine sometimes malfunction?
I hope you will be ok
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Hi m7liam,
Do you know which ERC device you are using? I believe the ERC1 is the most accurate device, but it doesn't automatically stop like the ERC4 (the purple one) does when the magnet doesn't align properly (I think, I'm not sure).
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How u know it's not preconsolidation. Did doctor take x-ray on spot, then lengthen a whole 1cm, then take another x-ray to see if it moved that any, then reverse back 1cm obviously
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I had similar problem with Erc1. Post an RX pic if you like. If it's already consolidated you have to go back with the other one. Using the device is very important the height of the thigh, for the rest it is a strong magnet.
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I’m using the old ERC machine, it’s black in colour, this one definitely doesn’t detect if it touches the magnet.
Doctor said based on my bone callus, it’s not preconsolidation.
2 weeks of not lengthening actually makes sense since I changed hotels 2 weeks ago and the power plug is a bit further away. So I don’t press down when I lengthen the leg. Also I’ve been just using one hand and playing the phone while lengthening.
The left right discrepancy might be due to the power plug being on my right side and so the cord is tightened when I move to left side.
Who knows I guess.
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I’m using the old ERC machine, it’s black in colour, this one definitely doesn’t detect if it touches the magnet.
Doctor said based on my bone callus, it’s not preconsolidation.
2 weeks of not lengthening actually makes sense since I changed hotels 2 weeks ago and the power plug is a bit further away. So I don’t press down when I lengthen the leg. Also I’ve been just using one hand and playing the phone while lengthening.
The left right discrepancy might be due to the power plug being on my right side and so the cord is tightened when I move to left side.
Who knows I guess.
In many pics of his patients Paley shows them using the Erc1 on the trousers, even if it’s quite weird. What I can say for sure is that even a difference of few cms going down in the thigh can prevent the device to work properly. The suggestion I can give you (even if it can sound a bit rude) is to lengthen a bit more than usual to check if you feel pain. That should be the confirmation, in this way you don’t risk. You could even measure the thigh length or the discrepancy but it’s way difficult to be precise.
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In many pics of his patients Paley shows them using the Erc1 on the trousers, even if it’s quite weird. What I can say for sure is that even a difference of few cms going down in the thigh can prevent the device to work properly. The suggestion I can give you (even if it can sound a bit rude) is to lengthen a bit more than usual to check if you feel pain. That should be the confirmation, in this way you don’t risk. You could even measure the thigh length or the discrepancy but it’s way difficult to be precise.
Thanks man. I can actually tell my legs were uneven. By sitting down on the bed and pulling up your legs. But I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me.
I’m lengthening 2mm on the left and 0 on the right for the next few days. Until it equalises. Having uneven legs has been affecting my walking (which is why I had a limp in the previous video).
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Thanks man. I can actually tell my legs were uneven. By sitting down on the bed and pulling up your legs. But I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me.
I’m lengthening 2mm on the left and 0 on the right for the next few days. Until it equalises. Having uneven legs has been affecting my walking (which is why I had a limp in the previous video).
That way is ok but the bed is not an hard surface so sometimes there can be some mistakes. I suggest you even to raise you thigh only while doing a Dip or do the same thing you were trying on the bed but on the floor. Another trick is push as much as possible your back to the wall while sitting in a cube, so you can check your knees. I use all these ways. I have a leg discrepancy too actually and I should solve it in the next days.
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Today's video at what I think is 6.7cms.
https://youtu.be/KY7oYBRaH9Q
Much lesser limp given my legs are more equal although they still differ by a little.
I feel great to be honest, almost no pain and limited tightness compared to the prior week when I was lengthening my right to 6.5cms. Right knee has become much better over the last week given I've been lengthening less.
No nerve pain.
2 more weeks to go.
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Right leg is in great condition but even left is not bad at all. Generally you make lengthening looking so easy.
How you can be sure that nails were moving? Did you feel it? Even when lengthening 2 mm/day
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m7liam,
Thanks for updating us. You're moving well! Super glad to know that you're feeling great and that pain/tightness is actually going down. Awesome!! Keep it up.
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Right leg is in great condition but even left is not bad at all. Generally you make lengthening looking so easy.
How you can be sure that nails were moving? Did you feel it? Even when lengthening 2 mm/day
Thanks man.
I'm pretty sure the nails are moving because I can see the physical discrepancy lesson each day.
I don't usually feel much when lengthening so can't tell by the nails moving.
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2 weeks bubba. Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel
Congrats dude
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Hi M7liam,
Give us some good news.... hows ur gait ? Distraction completed ?
Regards
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Hi guys. Bad news. Unfortunately when I went to xray last week, my left hadn’t moved much at all. I think the right was 7.2cms and the left was 6.0cms (this was last Wednesday).
Now issue was my left mark was 1.5 cms lower down on my leg than my right mark. So I have been lengthening higher up this week.
Will do another X-ray on Monday. If it still hasn’t lengthened I will need to fly to Greece next week to find the mark.
I do think it’s moved because this week I’ve been taking daily measurements. My gait remains unchanged as I think the extra time has offset the slower progress.
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Do you not have the ERC that only runs if it detects the nail? I'm not sure it that would prevent issues like this.
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Hello, There is a magnet inside the nail and you can use a magnet to locate the mark on top of your leg....Just a suggestion
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Do you not have the ERC that only runs if it detects the nail? I'm not sure it that would prevent issues like this.
No I dont, I have the old one that runs anytime. So that's a contributing factor
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Hello, There is a magnet inside the nail and you can use a magnet to locate the mark on top of your leg....Just a suggestion
Are you sure about this? How can I do this?
I thought the magnet was the machine and the nail is just magnetic. So it won't be able to tell which part of the nail can spin and which one can't?
I think what would be helpful is if I knew the exact position of the spinning part of the rod. Then I could measure it out using xrays.
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Just curious as I've not done femurs before. But from your x rays (mainly the first one), the top bone and the bottom bone doesn't look as straight as I thought it would be. Like the top half sort of points outwards while the bottom half points upwards.
Is that normal? I thought the top and bottom were suppose to point towards each other.
(https://i.imgur.com/CvzWeng.jpg)
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Yep. I see what you mean.
The issue looks less obvious in my latest x-rays done 1.5 weeks ago (see below). Hence I'm not too concerned.
I'm not sure if normal.
(https://i.imgur.com/eZJy73W.png)
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Ah.. you might wanna put a black circle in the middle there :P can see your privates
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The guy who trained me how to use the ERC machine @Paley institute told me he uses a magnet outside of the leg to locate the mark if he needs to locate the exact location of the mark. There must be a magnet inside the rod. You can also call Nuvasive directly and a rep will contact you. There was a phone number outside of my ERC machine for Nuvasive. I called that number once after hours and a Nuvasive rep called me back within couple of hours. Hope this helps
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Yep. I see what you mean.
The issue looks less obvious in my latest x-rays done 1.5 weeks ago (see below). Hence I'm not too concerned.
I'm not sure if normal.
(https://i.imgur.com/eZJy73W.png)
Ok first of all the nails are bending.
I don't remember every old news you wrote here, what the size of the nail? (10 - 11,5 - 13)mm
The strangest thing is that your left femur is clearly less distracted compared to the right one, but the femoral head is definitely higher.
You should done an XR standing to check if you have any other discrepancy in the lower limb, remember that the most important thing is not how much your femur is long but how much is long all your lower limb.
The main problem right now is to be sure the nail is still working, because they are bending, unfortunately i can't say you what's the exact moment when it can fails in the distraction due to bending; i suggest you to contact your doctor about it.
After that the most important thing is to have a good view of all the femur, possibily of all the lower limb too.
Unfortunately the magnet is not seen in these pics, it's due to the machine used for these XR.
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This is a 10mm
Do you mean the bend at the top? I thought that was normal, I believe it was there from day 1. Or are you talking about the very slight bend in the nail.
The reason it doesn’t look symmetrical is cos I was doing this one lying down. So it was shot slightly angular
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The guy who trained me how to use the ERC machine @Paley institute told me he uses a magnet outside of the leg to locate the mark if he needs to locate the exact location of the mark. There must be a magnet inside the rod. You can also call Nuvasive directly and a rep will contact you. There was a phone number outside of my ERC machine for Nuvasive. I called that number once after hours and a Nuvasive rep called me back within couple of hours. Hope this helps
Good idea!! I’ll do that
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This is a 10mm
Do you mean the bend at the top? I thought that was normal, I believe it was there from day 1. Or are you talking about the very slight bend in the nail.
The reason it doesn’t look symmetrical is cos I was doing this one lying down. So it was shot slightly angular
the bend at the top, regardless of whether you mean the upper part of the nail or the alignment of the upper part of the femur, it's totally normal.
I'm talking about the straight part of the nail, as you can see now it is curve. At the beginning the nail was "I", not it is "(", expecially the right one.
Ok, if you were lying down i understand, your hip was crooked. Standing you can evaluate very well the limbs simmetry, obv everyone should do it at least at the end of the distraction.
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Good idea!! I’ll do that
m7liam, I am disappointed that you were not told by anyone after the surgery that you can use a compass (provided in the ERC package) to locate and mark the magnet!
On a positive note, I think if you quickly figure how much each side must grow, you may be able to still go for it; this is because I don't think the bone is consolidated. Please talk to your doctor asap and if necessary fly there and be there for a few days if necessary. It's definitely worth all the costs you may face!
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Hey man, how are you doing?
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"compass (provided in the ERC package) to locate and mark the magnet! "
Thanks for the post about the magnet. Can you please explain how this works? What was the mistake m7liam made by accident and what did he need to do with the compass to detect his uneven lengthening faster?
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"compass (provided in the ERC package) to locate and mark the magnet! "
Thanks for the post about the magnet. Can you please explain how this works? What was the mistake m7liam made by accident and what did he need to do with the compass to detect his uneven lengthening faster?
Sure. The rod where the cut is has a strong magnet and that helps with locating where the ERC device should be positioned. You would be in a sitting position where your legs are bent. That's how the ERC guy and Dr. M. told me to mark. You would make sure nothing magnetic (like metal objects, etc.) would be around to disturb the marking.
You would keep the compass (which looks like a small compass with N and S and an arrow) at the outer side of your left thigh and then right, right and move up towards your butt and down towards your knees; to find where exactly the arrow points at your thigh, perpendicularly. I should emphasize that cause of the marks of the surgery you would have a rough idea where it is, so you don't need to browse through butt to knees area all. Thanks to the strong magnet in the rod, as you move the compass the arrow moves and tries to point at it. When the arrow is perpendicular to your thigh, you would draw a line aligned with that arrow on your thigh. So from the top view while you are looking at your thigh you would see a line going from outer side towards the inner side and perpendicular to your thigh.
The first time you'd be presented and given the ERC device in Dr.'s office, an ERC person shows up and explains how to use the ERC device including the marking. My doctor had also showed me that, so it was like a repetition. While showing the marking process, they would draw the line themselves. Since the marker does not easily erase, you would have it for a few days, especially if you don't take shower much during the first few distraction days. However for me, since I used how water as a way of pain management I had to redo the marking almost every one or two hot showers or hot bathtubs.
One more thing: While using the ERC device (there is a line on the ERC device and you'd make sure you'd put the line right on top of the line you drew) I kinda pushed the ERC device down onto my thighs. No one told me that, but I though if the magnet is supposed to make the rod move, I better keep the ERC closer to that rod magnet as much as I can, so I pushed it. I think that worked, cause my distraction and reaching 8 CM was not behind the schedule.
I also wanted to add that since the CLL doctors typically take x-rays of the patients every two to three weeks during the distraction phase, I they would notice any discrepancy between left and right early enough to get it fixed (e.g., by slowing down on the taller leg, so the shorter leg catches up) or the potential for premature bone consolidation due to fast callus growth (e.g., in my case I had extreme growth and Dr. M. set me for two weeks of fast [1.3mm] daily distractions to avoid premature consolidation).
I hope this helps.
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Hi all, just wanted to give you an update.
As you might all know, I was in London and had an issue with finding the magnet location. This issue started at 5.5cm (before 5.5cm, I was lengthening as normal at 1mm per day) and was especially an issue on the left leg. I tried to find the magnet by myself by adjusting the location mark, but after 3 times of back and forth (i.e., adjusting the magnet, lengthening for 2 weeks, and then doing an x-ray), I failed to find the magnet. At that point, my left leg was 6.6cm and my right was at 7.6cm.
I then decided to fly to Greece and have Dr Giotikas help me find the magnet again. He does this by doing a special x-ray. This was about 2.5 weeks ago. And then I started lengthening again, thinking that I was now on target. However, what happened was the left leg was not lengthening like I thought it would. I didn't feel any pain at all, and so last week I was quite worried. I discussed with Dr Giotikas after doing an x-ray and confirming the left was not lengthening properly despite me putting the machine at the right magnet spot. He said that it was probably due to a combination of 1) slight bend in the nail, 2) tight muscles, and 3) I had good bone regrowth.
Fortunately for me, the left was still lengthening, just very slowly. Roughly 30% of the amount I was lengthening was being lengthened. So if I lengthened 1mm, the actual lengthening amount was 0.3mm. If it was not lengthening, then I would have had to 1) reduce the right leg to match the left, or 2) go back to surgery to fix it up. Thank the lords the left was still lengthening.
And so in the last week, I had the daily limit on the machine lifted and was for a few days doing 5mm per day on my left leg to quicken it up. I believe I am now finished (and I can tell my legs are now even again) but will confirm via x-ray tomorrow.
So unfortunately that was my complication which effectively meant that what was meant to be a 3 month distraction phrase turned out to be a 4.5 month distraction phase. To give you guys some stats - I actually lengthened 8cm, but if all my lengthenings had actually occurred, I would be at 12.5cms! This translated to ~0.64mm per day rather than 1mm per day, and roughly 0.36mm per day for the last 2.5 cms after 5.5cms. The flipside is that 1) I don't think it was that big of a complication, and 2) I generally had limited pain towards the end because I was lengthening so slow.
So now I am finally finished distraction and I can look forward to the next stage of recovery. I won't post a video because my walking gait is pretty much exactly like the previous video (no improvement and no getting worse) but will post videos as I recover over the next period.
So maybe time for some afterthoughts and wrap-up. And sorry guys my diary has been lacking in terms of personality - I've just been so busy (I'm working full time and studying full time at the same time) so it's taken a while to get to this.
Before the surgery, I was generally pretty successful in all parts of life. I have an amazing career where I am pretty much at the top of my field, I make a ridiculous amount of money for someone my age (I'm 27 and I make more than some CEO's), I dated a lot of girls including a few who were taller than me, I was blessed with copious intelligence, I have way more life and travel experience than those around me, and I had a lot of friends all around the world. It is definitely possible to succeed without being tall as long as you put the drive into it. Your height does not determine your worth. Although I was short, height was something that I thought about occasionally rather than on a continuous basis BECAUSE I made sure to make up for it with strengths in all my other parts of life.
Unlike a few people on this forum, I didn't plan this surgery much. Originally, I was in Korea in June, chilling during COVID and newly single, and I was debating about what to do with my life. I decided "fk it" and was going to do plastic surgery given I was in South Korea but the plastic surgery doctor told me that there wasn't anything he could really do for me as my face looked fine (!!). Then I remembered the leg lengthening forums, read the site for a few days, call Giotikas the next day, asked to book in for the next slot he had (in 2 weeks time) and then within the next week I arrived in Greece.
So why did I do it? It came down to a few things. First, I'm a pretty greedy person by nature and I want to be the best at everything and so I did not want my height holding me down - sad but true. Second, because of COVID, for the first time in my life, I didn't have to be somewhere on a Monday 9am (i.e., I could work remotely) + I had the money + I was single. Third, I was travelling during COVID and my tourist visa in Korea was ending and Greece was one of the few countries that was open with no border restrictions and no quarantine. Everything just magically fell into place.
Looking back on the whole experience, would I do it again? Absolutely. I no longer have to be afraid of a girl turning out to be taller than me, I no longer have to look up to people when talking, and I no longer think about "what if I was taller" anymore. This was one of the hardest things I've done in my life (and I've done a lot) and a crazy 4.5 months with a bunch of pain and tears throughout (especially the first 3 weeks or at any of the PT sessions), but in the end, I really do think it was all worth it. I feel like a new person. I'm moving to a new country this weekend - fingers crossed for the next phrase of the recovery and the next chapter of my life.
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What is your current height now? Do you like your proportion? And do you think it's worth it, and any plan on doing the tibia?
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Nice update. A bit of a roller coaster there at the end of your distraction phase, but I'm glad it's all done now.
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"...and they lived happily ever after!" :)...Congratulations and my very best wishes for -what promises to be- a bright future in your life, well done!
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That's awesome m7liam! best of wishes on your next chapter and hopefully you recover fully from the surgery promptly, how's the wide legs? did Giotikas say anything about that?
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Congrats m7liam and wishing you a speedy recovery!!
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Hey m7liam,
I am happy to see that the issue is resolved and you are now in the recovery phase! Take care brother.
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That's awesome m7liam! best of wishes on your next chapter and hopefully you recover fully from the surgery promptly, how's the wide legs? did Giotikas say anything about that?
Thank you all!
My wide legs have largely recovered. There’s a little bit but when I walk I can put my legs together.
However my body swings still remain the same. Hopefully that can recover soon
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What career makes you so much cash m7liam, are you in IT?
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Hey m7liam!
Thanks for making this diary!
1. If you were flying out from D.C. to Athens for the first consultation (let's say it was on a Friday), when would you leave D.C. to be safe for the flight?
2. When would you leave Athens to go back to D.C. to be safe for the flight?
3. What are the most important questions to ask the doctor/staff in the first consultation solely in terms of finding out knowledge for tangible that the patient needs to do next to proceed with the leg lengthening?
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What career makes you so much cash m7liam, are you in IT?
No, I work in private equity. Basically investments.
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Hey m7liam!
Thanks for making this diary!
1. If you were flying out from D.C. to Athens for the first consultation (let's say it was on a Friday), when would you leave D.C. to be safe for the flight?
2. When would you leave Athens to go back to D.C. to be safe for the flight?
3. What are the most important questions to ask the doctor/staff in the first consultation solely in terms of finding out knowledge for tangible that the patient needs to do next to proceed with the leg lengthening?
Hi, I would make sure you try to get in the night before the consultation.
In terms of getting back, I would say that one month post-surgery you would be fit enough to fly back (if you wanted). That’s what I did with going back to London. Of course, the flip side is if something happens (like what happened with my slow lengthening) you might have to fly back.
Key thing during consultation is getting yourself comfortable with all the risks. I had the doctor explain the main ones and give me guidance on how I was thinking to feel comfortable. It took a long time!
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Hi all, a quick update (roughly 1.5 weeks post distraction).
My wide legs has disappeared. I notice my flexibility had gone up - specifically I can now do a doggy style position in bed whereas before I couldn’t although I still can’t thrust.
I actually got a bit of nerve pain in the last 0.5cms but it has largely resolved now.
My walk is still like a penguin. Hasn’t really improved but will give more feedback later.
One other thing - as mentioned in some of the other posts and you can see it slightly in my xray, my stryde nail has a little bit of a bend. This was mentioned by my doctor and probably a consequence of walking too much and putting too much weight. He said it’s not an issue as long as it doesn’t get much worse but I should be light on walking exercises. As such, I’m not going to do stairs etc until my bones consolidate more (approx 4-5 weeks).
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So happy to hear the wide legs are gone finally
Hopefully doctor saids u can at least stand in place indefinitely. I think that'll help consolidation alot if u can't walk as much. But safety over speed if nail truly is bending
Just read ur backstory and I really loved your "fxxk it just go for it" mentality spur of the moment to get LL. Living life on the edge
Congrats u
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I'm sorry m7liam, but I can't agree with what your doctor is saying ... Stryde nail was designed to weight bare and a lot of people's nails didn't bend, mine included, and we walked significantly and did PT during distraction. I noticed your nails being a bit bent since early on your journey I don't think you were walking a lot to make the nail bend during that time ... I'd say that's just Doctor incompetence ... I don't know I hope he's right and it won't be an issue and won't affect you and your quality of life, but I'd personally be pissed if I paid that much money to have my legs turn out bent/ crooked.
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I said they were bent since more than a month.
The nail was clearly blocked because it’s way too bent, there’s no a straight space for the internal magnet to slide in.
That’s The only Reason why it’s not distracting.
I’m trying to spread this message for everyone, Stryde is not supposed to allow you to walk unaided during distraction. It’s way too risky for the most.
Movie, you had The 11,5mm nail if I remember well, you have been lucky and have had more freedom compared to most of the <1,70 guys, Who have The 10mm one.
Almost every XR I’ve seen of people walking during distraction shows that the nail is at least slightly bent.
For the m7liam situation, now I think the best possibility is to accept this leg discrepancy or, if he preferes to solve this problem, go under another surgery to fix the problem with an orthopedic nail. I don’t think the bending is going to be worse than now, you already have a good amount of bone, but most of the damage has already be done.
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Thanks guys. I agree it is a bit annoying but will check how the healing goes.
If my walking or life is any less than perfect as a result, I’ll look to get it fixed. At the moment, I can’t really see how having slightly bent femur bones will affect my quality of life (remember, it’s not like my legs themselves are bent).
Dr G mentioned 1) the bone builds more on the area where the pressure is, so that will offset some of it and 2) the femurs are normally bent anyway (especially when looking from behind).
But yes, in hindsight probably would have gone with the 11.5mm. I didn’t realise it’d make difference cos I was 65kg pre surgery and probably under 60kg post surgery.
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its not like you can ask for a nail size of your choice. the doctor decides whats best and thats the best. too small is not good and too big is not good.
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The main problem in my opinion is not the bending in itself but the fact there's a discrepancy.
Most of the people in the world have a discrepancy of some mm in the legs, and that probably 10% have a discrepancy close to 1,5cm, maybe it's a shame that now there's this problem because there was the possibility to be almost perfectly symmetrical with this surgery.
The bending degrees in both legs are very similar, so it's not making the legs among them so different, even if it accentuates valgus knee, but it's up for the most to your original articulation (you could be normal, slightly varus, valgus etc before surgery)
Dr G 1) it's true but you seem to have a good bone growth 2) Idon't know what he means with this lol
Btw i hope you don't feel these problems so much and hope best recovery in these months with your new height 8)
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Hi Tartar - what do you mean by discrepancy?
I did an x-ray 2 weeks ago (my final checkup) which showed that the gap was ~8cms each (to be precise, we measured ~7.8cms which could have been due to the bend) and he also did a measurement of the whole femur bone (so measuring from the knee to the hip) which showed they were the same length.
So I'm relatively confident the legs are the same length. I probably did lose 0.2cm's from the bend but they are the same length.
Cheers mate! Focused on walking properly now, I just want to go out and dance!!!
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I remember you lengthened the right femur much more than the left one and you never solved the “locked distraction”
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Oh no it was solved in the end haha. It was lengthening, just very slowly. I wrote a long post above.
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Hey m7!
I heard some people complain about the PT in Greece. What are your thoughts on common specific mistakes a patient can make in doing his therapy or choosing the PT?
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Hey m7!
I heard some people complain about the PT in Greece. What are your thoughts on common specific mistakes a patient can make in doing his therapy or choosing the PT?
I think they changed the PT to a new location this year. I personally really liked the staff at the PT place (they were super friendly) and also it was a great socialising time because all the other patients were there doing it at the same time. I would honestly say it was the best part of my day given I didn't really like Athens all that much and so most of my time was either at PT or at home.
They also pushed you hard at PT which I thought was good. I tried out a few places in London when I was there but it was rubbish because the guys wouldn't use much force on you.
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I think they changed the PT to a new location this year. I personally really liked the staff at the PT place (they were super friendly) and also it was a great socialising time because all the other patients were there doing it at the same time. I would honestly say it was the best part of my day given I didn't really like Athens all that much and so most of my time was either at PT or at home.
They also pushed you hard at PT which I thought was good. I tried out a few places in London when I was there but it was rubbish because the guys wouldn't use much force on you.
So do you regret that you left Athens early?...or what would you have done differently, if you knew then what you know now?
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So do you regret that you left Athens early?...or what would you have done differently, if you knew then what you know now?
Nah. I would have died of boredom in Athens.
At least when I was in london I was going out, meeting friends, drinking etc.
Athens I was sitting at home getting depressed. Time passes so slowly
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Thanks so you paid for a small van or something to bring you over to the PT place with your crutches/cane/wheelchair each PT session?
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Thanks so you paid for a small van or something to bring you over to the PT place with your crutches/cane/wheelchair each PT session?
With Stryde I'd be surprised if you needed that many mobility tools. You'll likely be able to use a walker by your first PT session.
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With Stryde I'd be surprised if you needed that many mobility tools. You'll likely be able to use a walker by your first PT session.
Even a walker is a bit much. In Athens they only use crutches; wheelchair for longer distances only.
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Thanks, what did you think was the hardest part/most likely to get lost or delayed when going from the airport to finding Giotikas's office?
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You’ve got such a YOLO attitude. It stands out on this forum where every1 is so tepid.
1. What the scars like? Very curious particularly since you have quite fair skin. Could post a photo?
2. how’d you lengthen under your friends eyes in the London segment? How does that work? What were your excuses to family and friends. I’m sure they will notice you 8cm taller.
3. Any mental health implications you fear down the line? It’s quite a fkin frankenstein-ish thing to do. Do u think it’ll damage your deep rooted self image?
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(https://i.imgur.com/1ndTdNv.jpg)
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You’ve got such a YOLO attitude. It stands out on this forum where every1 is so tepid.
1. What the scars like? Very curious particularly since you have quite fair skin. Could post a photo?
2. how’d you lengthen under your friends eyes in the London segment? How does that work? What were your excuses to family and friends. I’m sure they will notice you 8cm taller.
3. Any mental health implications you fear down the line? It’s quite a fkin frankenstein-ish thing to do. Do u think it’ll damage your deep rooted self image?
1. Posted. As you can see not great, but not my main focus right now as not noticeable in day-to-day. Main focus is to walk normally again
2. I've told every single person that I met. Pretty much all of them were happy for me and a lot that were on the shorter side (especially the ones who used to be taller than me) questioned me to the point I suspected they wanted to do it as well.
To be honest, I have found it a little strange that people here want to hide it from their friends because to me (and based on the responses I got), there was nothing embarrassing about it.
To me, the much bigger embarrassment would be to sit my whole life dissatisfied with myself when there is something that I know I can do to fix that issue.
The people who didn't know me well complimented me for doing something so drastic, while the people who knew my personality type already knew that I was the type to chase after something if I want it.
The exception to this is my parents who I haven't told because they are worrywarts and they don't live in the same country as me. I'll tell them in person next time I see them.
3. No, on the contrary, it's actually really improved my self-esteem. To give you an example, I saw a friend last weekend who I hadn't seen since pre-surgery. I was now taller than him. He recognised it at once (first thing he said was "are you wearing stilts") and then was in shock all night. He kept explaining how shocked he was to another guy who used to be my old height. Looking at the other guy, I remember just thinking "Damn, he is short. Is this how I looked before?"
Most importantly, I never have to worry about a girl being taller than me, whereas previously there was maybe ~10-20% of girls who were my height or taller. I can't explain the relief I get out of that.
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Thanks. What are some things you wish you knew about Athens and what to bring with you?
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you said the wide legs problem got better after distraction, is that completely back to normal now? what did you do in particular to fix that issue in particular, like was it hard physio or did it just resolve naturally? thanks
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Well said. Totally makes sense.
Are those scars you see in the photo the only ones? Or are there others?
Can’t believe you told your friends. Honest question: if I want to get 5cm femur lengthening do you think I could fly to another country, do it all and return to my life (however many months later) without it being noticeable? For some reason this point about LL bothers me. I want close to 0 chan of any one picking up on it. Do you think it would be possible? Bare in mind I only want 5cm
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you said the wide legs problem got better after distraction, is that completely back to normal now? what did you do in particular to fix that issue in particular, like was it hard physio or did it just resolve naturally? thanks
Yes. I don’t have wide legs anymore. But my gaits not back to normal yet. Still waddling.
I didn’t really do much on the wide legs, think it was just natural.
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Thanks. What are some things you wish you knew about Athens and what to bring with you?
Not really anything to bring but I found Athens very boring as a city. You have to really like history. The food on the Ubereats equivalents also really sucked. I basically ate kebabs breakfast lunch dinner for 2 months cos I’m not a cooker.
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Well said. Totally makes sense.
Are those scars you see in the photo the only ones? Or are there others?
Can’t believe you told your friends. Honest question: if I want to get 5cm femur lengthening do you think I could fly to another country, do it all and return to my life (however many months later) without it being noticeable? For some reason this point about LL bothers me. I want close to 0 chan of any one picking up on it. Do you think it would be possible? Bare in mind I only want 5cm
These scars are the only ones on one leg. I’ve got the same scars on the other leg.
I think it is possible for most people. Most of my friends in London when they first saw me just kept commenting that I looked thinner (before I told them). Keep in mind though I hadn’t seen them in 3 years.
The exception are close friends who were about your height. They will probably notice it. Might be able to use shoes as an excuse.
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i see my father every day who is my same height. just wondering if i can squeak in 5cm without him noticing.
how much did it cost you all up? surgery, airfare, accommodation, etc? how much cheaper is it than paley for taking the risk of going to Greece?
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if you had the time and money would you ever have considered splitting the amount you lengthened up between femurs and tibias, half half? might have been better for proportions if you were really seeking aesthetic perfection. plus if its split between two its harder to pick up on, 3 cm on each and you probably look exactly the same.
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do you personally know of anyone who got it done apart from the people you met at the clinic? apparently its more popular than people think and in actuality, celebrities, politicians, models and half your co workers probably have it.
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if you had the time and money would you ever have considered splitting the amount you lengthened up between femurs and tibias, half half? might have been better for proportions if you were really seeking aesthetic perfection. plus if its split between two its harder to pick up on, 3 cm on each and you probably look exactly the same.
The main cost was the surgery itself which was ~45k euros from memory. The rest would have added a few $k on top. I didn’t count costs too much but Athens is not expensive.
I doubt you would be able to shift 5cm past your dad who sees you everyday. I definitely think my dad would notice. It’s only easier to notice for someone your height.
No I wouldn’t. I think my proportions look fine, I’m not too picky, and I was probably more about the risks of complications with two surgeries than getting it 100% right proportionally. Everyone I’ve met who has commented on my proportions say they look great.
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do you personally know of anyone who got it done apart from the people you met at the clinic? apparently its more popular than people think and in actuality, celebrities, politicians, models and half your co workers probably have it.
No, I don’t. Most people I told didn’t know of the surgery or had very outdated notions of it
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Thanks for making this diary, m7liam!
1. If you were allergic to nuts, sesame seeds, shrimp/crab/lobster, peanuts, what are some common foods in Greece to watch out for?
2. What are some other foods to consider buying common in Greece that are cheap, nutritious, taste good and are easy for someone who has trouble walking/standing to prepare?
Thank you in advance
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Hey bro, your diary is amazing! The way you pushed through the whole distraction phase is nothing short of INSPIRING!
I myself plan to do 6.5cm femurs around this time next year and I wanted to know how I can prepare physically:
*stretches that would be useful if trained now?
*I heard weighted squats are bad as too much muscle around the quads and hamstring are bad?? Slim runner's legs is more optimal?
*Any other physical preparations?
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Is it true that scarring from internal tibias is worse?
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It would mean a lot if you reply to this
Hypothetical question: Assume you wanted 3cm femur and 3cm tibia (quad lengthening). Just take it as fact for now, ignoring whether it’s a good idea or not. You were fully motivated on getting this done, just as you have done with your actual lengthening which has just taken place, and plotted out the best path to achieve this in the shortest time possible. By my count from your diary, you would’ve stopped lengthening femur at day 37 or so (when you hit 3cm mark). Now with the benefit of hindsight, based on your general recollection and if you were to approach the hypothetical with as much motivation and efficiency as you have done with your actual procedure, do you think you could have, at this 37 day mark (once lengthening of your femur hypothetically concluded), gone in for the second (tibia) surgery and commenced the 3cm of lengthening on your tibias. If not, how long would you have waited and why?
Very curious to hear how you would have approached this as your motivation to get things done and over with from start to finish, and the general efficiency with which you approached this, is something I want to emulate. I need to have my procedure (the hypothetical which I’ve posed to you) over and done with, and be as close to back to normal as possible, within 6 months. Though it might sound ridiculous I’m hoping it’s possible given the minimal lengthening and the motivation which I have to get it done and over with (similar to yours actually).
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Knowing the state you’re in now, a month and a half after finishing lengthening, perhaps you would chose to do tibias now? How do you feel about that? Bear in mind that you would have technically been done with lengthening for 4 months by now having stopped femurs at just 3cm (end of August) in accordance with our hypothetical so you would’ve had an extra 2.5 months to recover.
That aside though, curious to hear when you personally think is the soonest you could’ve gone in for the second surgery if you had stopped at just 3cm. Whilst still staying on track with the efficient recovery and return to normal which you’ve been aiming for.
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I feel bad that you have to sift through all of that writing so I’ll just summarise my question here in case you can’t be bothered to read all of that.
If had instead decided to quadrilaterally lengthen 6 cm, 3 on femurs and 3 on tibs, how would you have gone about it if:
- You commenced at the same time (first OP July 15)
- You approached it all with the same level of motivation and commitment to getting it done and over with and returning to normal as soon as possible
What would have been the most efficient way to go about this that you would have been comfortable with?
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I feel bad that you have to sift through all of that writing so I’ll just summarise my question here in case you can’t be bothered to read all of that.
If had instead decided to quadrilaterally lengthen 6 cm, 3 on femurs and 3 on tibs, how would you have gone about it if:
- You commenced at the same time (first OP July 15)
- You approached it all with the same level of motivation and commitment to getting it done and over with and returning to normal as soon as possible
What would have been the most efficient way to go about this that you would have been comfortable with?
I don't want to hijack m7liam's journal, but the first 3cm of Stryde femurs are probably the easiest. However, doing any surgery is still going to be tough, and I can't imagine hitting 3cm and stopping, and then wanting to do an additional tibia surgery when you could just go 3 more cm on femurs. I can't imagine any scenario where it would be worth the cost, time, and most importantly the extra suffering to do two surgeries for 6cm. One lengthener I know is worth over $100M and he only did one segment. I will also note that I'm at 3.7cm right now and I don't feel any taller, so you might want to consider the actual effect of the additional height before you decide on a lengthening amount. I also don't feel like my tibia:femur ratio is disproportionate at all yet.
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One lengthener I know is worth over $100M and he only did one segment.
did he go with dr D? thats ultra reassuring that a) dr D is a world class doc and b) the procedure itself is reasonably safe
Ive been trying to find normal successful people irl who got this done and this stuff reassures me.
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While I appreciate your input, I’d still appreciate a response from m7liam as to the original question.
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did he go with dr D? thats ultra reassuring that a) dr D is a world class doc and b) the procedure itself is reasonably safe
Ive been trying to find normal successful people irl who got this done and this stuff reassures me.
He did it with Paley years ago, before Stryde was available.
I remember seeing one of the lengtheners in one of Dr. D's media videos driving a Lamborghini Urus lol.
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Thanks for making this diary!
a. If you were flying from D.C. to get to Athens, Greece, probably with an intermediate stop in between, how many days total would you budget for the consultation including which to leave D.C. and how much time to leave just in case your flight gets delayed?
b. What are the most uncomfortable things about sitting at a desk and using a computer when you are doing LL?
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Wonder how he’s going 🧐
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As mentioned thnks for yr diary. Love the brevity, no fluff here.
Regarding this vid do you have a pre-LL walking vid to compare this to? Not sure if just me, or perhaps u had skinny legs before, but it looks like the 4cm has transformed u lol. Would love some perspective by way of an old walking video if u have one.
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Sorry just to confirm this is the video I was referring to
Hi all, as promised - video attached. The video is me today (about 47 days after surgery and 4.0cm in). To be honest, my gait hasn't changed much since day 30 because I've been slacking off and working on my wide legs.
Note that I haven't done as much stretching as I should because I have been working a full-time job during this period. I also flew to London 1.5 weeks ago and haven't yet found a PT (any recommendations?)
Also - at the end, I show my wide legs - first, my "normal" wide legs, and then the effort I need to push my legs together. Also I tried to show my duckass by bringing my legs together but it doesn't appear too noticeable at this stage.
Any feedback on what I can do to improve gait/wide legs is welcomed.
https://youtu.be/xklHLOOyalQ
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Congrats on finishing your adventure in Athens!
If you could do it over again, what do you wish you had known or would have done differently?
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Thanks for making this diary, m7liam!
1. If you were allergic to nuts, sesame seeds, shrimp/crab/lobster, peanuts, what are some common foods in Greece to watch out for?
2. What are some other foods to consider buying common in Greece that are cheap, nutritious, taste good and are easy for someone who has trouble walking/standing to prepare?
Thank you in advance
I'm not allergic sorry so can't really answer the first question.
For the 2nd - there are normal groceries out there that you can order all your food from. You can stand up to prepare food from week 2 onwards. I was time poor so I ended up just ordering food off eFoods (deliveroo equivalent) everyday. Unfortunately selection there is much more limited - basically kebabs, greek salads, mcdonalds, or pasta.
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Hey bro, your diary is amazing! The way you pushed through the whole distraction phase is nothing short of INSPIRING!
I myself plan to do 6.5cm femurs around this time next year and I wanted to know how I can prepare physically:
*stretches that would be useful if trained now?
*I heard weighted squats are bad as too much muscle around the quads and hamstring are bad?? Slim runner's legs is more optimal?
*Any other physical preparations?
Hi mate - I did no preparations whatsoever since I decided to do this surgery almost on the spot. I was also told by Giotikas I had average flexibility prior to surgery (I could not quite touch my toes before the surgery).
Based on the guys who did it with me, I do think that the people with more muscles suffered the most. The guy who did the best (basically no pains and was walking pretty much normal as soon as he hit 8cm) was skinny as hell and the guy who had pains everyday and didn't quite finish 8cm (think he made it to 7cm) owned a gym and was built like Hulk.
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Is it true that scarring from internal tibias is worse?
I think it would be similar. You would just have the scar marks lower on your leg.
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It would mean a lot if you reply to this
Hypothetical question: Assume you wanted 3cm femur and 3cm tibia (quad lengthening). Just take it as fact for now, ignoring whether it’s a good idea or not. You were fully motivated on getting this done, just as you have done with your actual lengthening which has just taken place, and plotted out the best path to achieve this in the shortest time possible. By my count from your diary, you would’ve stopped lengthening femur at day 37 or so (when you hit 3cm mark). Now with the benefit of hindsight, based on your general recollection and if you were to approach the hypothetical with as much motivation and efficiency as you have done with your actual procedure, do you think you could have, at this 37 day mark (once lengthening of your femur hypothetically concluded), gone in for the second (tibia) surgery and commenced the 3cm of lengthening on your tibias. If not, how long would you have waited and why?
Very curious to hear how you would have approached this as your motivation to get things done and over with from start to finish, and the general efficiency with which you approached this, is something I want to emulate. I need to have my procedure (the hypothetical which I’ve posed to you) over and done with, and be as close to back to normal as possible, within 6 months. Though it might sound ridiculous I’m hoping it’s possible given the minimal lengthening and the motivation which I have to get it done and over with (similar to yours actually).
Yes. It definitely should be possible. There were multiple people at Giotikas who did it with me who did quads with the 2nd surgery scheduled ~3 weeks after the 1st surgery. I know some of them after the 2nd surgery also lengthened the femur and tibias simultaneously as well (so they were lengthening at 2mm per day). I personally didn't do it because I didn't want to risk a 2nd surgery when I didn't really care about proportions. But it should be possible. Just keep in mind the speed of tibias lengthening is slower than femur lengthening - we had a few guys who had to drop their tibias speed lengthening to 0.5mm or 0.75mm.
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Knowing the state you’re in now, a month and a half after finishing lengthening, perhaps you would chose to do tibias now? How do you feel about that? Bear in mind that you would have technically been done with lengthening for 4 months by now having stopped femurs at just 3cm (end of August) in accordance with our hypothetical so you would’ve had an extra 2.5 months to recover.
That aside though, curious to hear when you personally think is the soonest you could’ve gone in for the second surgery if you had stopped at just 3cm. Whilst still staying on track with the efficient recovery and return to normal which you’ve been aiming for.
The quad patients at Giotikas did their 2nd surgery 3 or 4 weeks after their 1st surgery. I don't think it would have been possible to do the surgery any sooner than that. Week 1 you basically can't move.
I would not have done a 2nd surgery as getting exact proportions wasn't important to me and I probably had decent length tibias to begin with. The only situation I would do a 2nd surgery is to get another 4cm or 5cm above and beyond the 8cm femur lengthening - but for now, I am focused on recovering from femur and enjoying the benefits.
As some have posted from their experiences, the impact of going from 169cm to 177cm has been nothing short of world-changing for me as well.
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Thanks for making this diary!
a. If you were flying from D.C. to get to Athens, Greece, probably with an intermediate stop in between, how many days total would you budget for the consultation including which to leave D.C. and how much time to leave just in case your flight gets delayed?
b. What are the most uncomfortable things about sitting at a desk and using a computer when you are doing LL?
a) I would budget a few days for consultation and delays... this is a 3 month minimum journey. A few days earlier won't hurt. Plus it'll be good to visit the historical sites in the city which you wouldn't be able to post-surgery.
b) There's nothing uncomfortable about sitting at a desk and using a computer. You don't feel pain when doing that. The pain only exists when you move (for week 1) or are walking.
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As mentioned thnks for yr diary. Love the brevity, no fluff here.
Regarding this vid do you have a pre-LL walking vid to compare this to? Not sure if just me, or perhaps u had skinny legs before, but it looks like the 4cm has transformed u lol. Would love some perspective by way of an old walking video if u have one.
Wonder how he’s going 🧐
Sorry all for the delay! Have been busy settling into my new city. I don't have an old video of me walking.
Here is an updated video (6 weeks post-distraction). Note that due to slightly bent nails, I didn't want to risk training too hard in the first few weeks and bend the nails so stayed off strength exercises until last week.
I'll note:
+My walking gait has improved considerably, particularly in the last week, although still a bit stiff. Most noticeably, I don't have as much of the penguin body swings and wide legs anymore. Most of the improvement has happened in the last week and has been due to a mixture of flexibility and strengthening exercises
+As others have pointed, I start to do body swings again if I get tired
+I weigh 65kg now, which is about the same as my pre-surgery weight and 6kg higher than my post-surgery weight (think I was at 59kg at the bottom)
+I have resumed going to PT a few times a week after 4 weeks
+I can stand up continuously without feeling tired. I don't need to sit down after a while
+I can probably walk 500m-1km without any issues (but haven't really tried)
+I can now do stairs up and down with no big issues
+I can get up from a chair with just my legs now (although with effort)
+I cannot put underwear on without holding onto something although hopefully this will improve soon
+I cannot do doggystyle thrusts properly yet, the pelvic area remains tight
+I cannot touch my toes (about 5 cms off)
+I cannot run yet
https://youtu.be/q6piCqvRTTg
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double post
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Wow the walk looks awesome mate! It's crazy how quickly things seem to improve once the consolidation phase begins. If I can walk like that at 6 weeks consolidation I will be extremely happy! Look forward to seeing your continued recovery.
Do you feel any pain when you walk at all?
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Thanks!!
What's Giotikas's policy on doing nerve decompression during the first surgery and how much extra does it cost? I know Dr. Janet Conway does nerve decompression preemptively to prevent nerve problems later
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https://youtu.be/q6piCqvRTTg
Hi m7liam,
Congrats. on the major progress. Keep up the great work!
Also since there was some negative discussions here, I'd like to share my honest opinion as well! You look handsome as hell man! like blockbuster movie hero handsome! I bet you have a great personality too. Please don't get negative energy from negative posts.
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That's amazing progress. Can't believe you look this great walking so quickly.
P.S. you might want to edit the video because you didn't blur it correctly and there are mirrors.
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Did most patients who were doing both segments stay in Greece for the 3-4 weeks in between to go to the PT center/see Dr. Giotikas in between surgeries?
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This dudes a poster boy. Ironically I actually liked his walk a little better before in those vids he posted with the Darth Vadher mask. It was aesthetic in a boss man kinda way. Obviously the legs were too wide though and this is a noticeable improvement on that front. My only constructive criticism about as is shown in this new vid is that it looks a little un-natural. This will improve with time. Real potential here, as if enough improvement hadn’t been made already!
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Wow bro you look very aesthetic having done the entire 8cm! Absolute congratulations, wish you the healthiest recovery! Can't wait for my turn December when I grow in height, starting point 175cm ;D
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1) don't notice proportions literally at all in fact you give off a natural 176cm vibe
2) you are very handsome eyebrows on fleek
3) walk looks great and a huge step up from before
Thank you for the video and good luck m7
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Hi guys - really bad news.
I did x-ray's yesterday and one of my 2 screws on the right hand side has broken. Which means the structure is now reliant on a single screw.
I would like to hear options to get this fixed from anyone who might have experience.
It seems the alternative is to basically stop all walking and get back onto crutches for the next 3 months until my bones fully consolidate which is not attractive....
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Hi guys - really bad news.
I did x-ray's yesterday and one of my 2 screws on the right hand side has broken. Which means the structure is now reliant on a single screw.
I would like to hear options to get this fixed from anyone who might have experience.
It seems the alternative is to basically stop all walking and get back onto crutches for the next 3 months until my bones fully consolidate which is not attractive....
The screw is broken after ur completely done lengthening? How does that happen? Were u lifting weight or something? Pretty concerning, what did ur doc say?
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They screwed and gave him the 10mm nail.
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They screwed and gave him the 10mm nail.
Yeah it broke after lengthening.
I didn’t lift any weights but I did do stair climbing and light exercises.
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Stair climbing results in effective weight bearing of more than 1.5x body weight to up to 4x body weight depending on how you walk up and how much sway. It is about the worse activity you could do on weak weightbearing nails. Probably 250 lbs of stress just by going up stairs is a good average estimate. Even standing on one leg may kiss the stress threshold or go slightly above a 11.5 nail, so think about how 10 nail would do. Even just walking is stressing the nail. Over time this is what causes bending and eventually stress breaking of the nail or screw. Considering the stress threshold of the 10mm nail is a measly 150lb, you would need to be literally underweight and anorexic to safely stair climber with the 10mm nail, and even then should be handrail holding and support alot. I strongly condemn any doctor who does 10mm for men and still allow full weightbear. Only women petite should get this nail. And considering your nails are already bent, the effective weight bearing limits is even less than the allowed numbers, as it assumes a straight nail. you gotta be really careful careful
I am sorry m7 you had to go through this, I highly recommend to start using Walker or crutches, avoid all stairs, if you need movement. And stand for extended periods of time while partial weightbearing to get the callus growing asap. Like hours a day. No moving. Frankly this isn't even safe considering there is only one screw. Ideally would be an emergency operation to fix the screws. I'm just saying this not Medical advice. A re-operation is my best recommendation, but obviosuly not everyone wants that or can afford that.
Paging @ Michael J. Assayag, MD to help, he is by far the most qualified active user on this forum, I will try to get him here
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Well, at least it has happened after lenghtening, you will have to be careful for a while but it could be worse... sorry mate
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Well, at least it has happened after lenghtening, you will have to be careful for a while but it could be worse... sorry mate
Thanks GHDKid very helpful. So far it looks like my options are 3:
1) basically don’t move for 3 months until full consolidation. I’m not sure how feasible this is. Also this doesn’t fix the bend and I’m concerned that the bend may mean other complications down the line.
2) go to Korea to Dr Lee to get screw surgery (since I’m in Asia at the moment not Europe). I’m not adverse to getting it as the thoughts of the other screw breaking is an awful situation
3) go to get full surgery. Ie take the stryde out and insert a stronger nail with new screws and at same time fix the bend. Go through pretty invasive surgery again and will require a month to heal.
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Very sorry to hear that. Unluckily stryde is not always a full weight bearing, these problems can occur quite easily.
Anyway, last time I've seen your Xray the nails were bending, are at the same status or getting worse?
If you have no discrepancy as you told, a bending like that is still tolerable. I would avoid another surgery if possible, if your last screw is in good condition i would prefer to use crutches. You should be already almost done with consolidation, if you like to have an opinion you could show the last XR.
To know if the bending could lead to your posture, standing XR are needed.
Thanks GHDKid very helpful. So far it looks like my options are 3:
1) basically don’t move for 3 months until full consolidation. I’m not sure how feasible this is. Also this doesn’t fix the bend and I’m concerned that the bend may mean other complications down the line.
2) go to Korea to Dr Lee to get screw surgery (since I’m in Asia at the moment not Europe). I’m not adverse to getting it as the thoughts of the other screw breaking is an awful situation
3) go to get full surgery. Ie take the stryde out and insert a stronger nail with new screws and at same time fix the bend. Go through pretty invasive surgery again and will require a month to heal.
these proposal Giotikas said you, right?
Paging @ Michael J. Assayag, MD to help, he is by far the most qualified active user on this forum, I will try to get him here
I don't think is very nice/right to ask a doctor about another doctor's work...they are colleagues
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Honestly, man a couple of months is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Take this from a 7-year post-LL vet. If you gotta rest for a couple months, do it. It goes by quick, LL is a long game.
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I don't think is very nice/right to ask a doctor about another doctor's work...they are colleagues
Thanks, that's right. But I would love another doctor's opinion on next step. I know it's only a few months but I thought I had just left it all behind to be suddenly pulled back and told I have to effectively sit in bed for another 3 months is extremely frustrating.
I am basically going to scared of putting any weight on my right leg for the next 3 months hence why I am seriously considering a screw replacement surgery if it isn't that technically difficult. It would at least give me comfort that I can do normal walking. However, I was told that another incision would need to be made to extract the broken part of the nail out.
X-Ray's below:
(https://i.imgur.com/OCdBrLA.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/lgsHXLP.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/FdTNvEi.png)
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On second reflection, there are 2 upper screws holding the structure in place, not just the 1 bottom screw. So 3/4 still working?? Maybe I don't need another surgery as long as I avoid all stairs??? Zzzzz!!!!
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As I told you months ago it's not that bad even if it could be better. Bending seems to have not gotten sensibly worse.
In my opinion the bone is forming slower than before, in 3 months there is not much progress in the callus but it was good at the beginning, it needs still a bit to heal.
The screw is a problem not only for weight bearing but for its removal too, half of it could be kept inside the bone if it get worse bending, right now I think it's still removable quite easily.
If i were you I would start using crutches, until you can heal and don't have major deformities it's better to avoid any other surgery. You need patience.
Screw replacement is an option but I don't know if it's worth it, because even after that you'd need to use crutches anyway to avoid others bending. I think doctors could have differnt thoughts among them about it, you can ask to Dc Lee, Giotikas or others doctors in Europe, up to you.
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Hi m7liam,
just wanted to ask here: Could it be that the nail bending/broken screw can have come as a result of wrong placement (even if just a few mm) in the bone during surgery?
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M7liam, remember that all you need is that one single other screw on the bottom to break on the bottom for you to end up in the hospital like Unicorn with your rod sticking through your skin and 2 year recovery timeline.. DONT DO anything without weight bearing helper tool like crutch or walker and eventually wheelchair. Just lay in bed don't even stand anymore. Act like your rod is about to break, because frankly, it is about to break.
Do not weight bearing without assistance.
I would consult around and get the screw replacement surgery ASAP. Donghoon is great
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M7liam, remember that all you need is that one single other screw on the bottom to break on the bottom for you to end up in the hospital like Unicorn with your rod sticking through your skin and 2 year recovery timeline.. DONT DO anything without weight bearing helper tool like crutch or walker and eventually wheelchair. Just lay in bed don't even stand anymore. Act like your rod is about to break, because frankly, it is about to break.
Do not weight bearing without assistance.
I would consult around and get the screw replacement surgery ASAP. Donghoon is great
Is this right though?? Cos I thought unicorn was because the nail itself broke? Not the bottom screws breaking.
Maybe stupid thinking but if the bottom screw breaks I still have the top screws right? So it doesn’t crash the structure with the bones basically slamming together where the consolidation hasn’t happened. Although obviously not great if bottom part of nail is floating around in the bone cavity.
Of course I am going to take care but just wondering if that’s right.
I have sought opinions from others.
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Hi m7liam,
just wanted to ask here: Could it be that the nail bending/broken screw can have come as a result of wrong placement (even if just a few mm) in the bone during surgery?
Don’t think so mate. Think it’s because I started doing stair exercises in the last few weeks naively thinking my bones were ready to support
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You shoulnd't had been walking without helping devices like crutches under the lengthening period. Stuff like this will happen if you are not careful. Just because it's weightbearing, doesnt mean that you can walk unaided as soon as the surgery is done. It might be a bummer but everything else seem to be fine, don't let others stress you out. 3 months is nothing in the grand scheme of things. And for the people to compare this to unicorn, go read unicorns diary before you scare the living f*** out of this guy. If you guys dont know what you are talking about, just dont talk ffs. I would recomend you to fly to Greece as soon as possible to change the broken screws or let Lee change them for you. Chill mate, you just have to be extra careful for 3 months in the worst case. This is a minor complication, just chill and be careful. Dont let this stress you out.
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You shoulnd't had been walking without helping devices like crutches under the lengthening period. Stuff like this will happen if you are not careful. Just because it's weightbearing, doesnt mean that you can walk unaided as soon as the surgery is done. It might be a bummer but everything else seem to be fine, don't let others stress you out. 3 months is nothing in the grand scheme of things. And for the people to compare this to unicorn, go read unicorns diary before you scare the living f*** out of this guy. If you guys dont know what you are talking about, just dont talk ffs. I would recomend you to fly to Greece as soon as possible to change the broken screws or let Lee change them for you. Chill mate, you just have to be extra careful for 3 months in the worst case. This is a minor complication, just chill and be careful. Dont let this stress you out.
No one's saying it's comparable to Unicorn at this immediate moment. M7liam is absolutely fine right now if he plays it safe and gets a re-op asap. If that bottom screw breaks, yeah, it'll have the same repercussions as Unicorn and end you in the emergency room, even if it's not a snapped femur like unicorn or just a completely unscrewed loose rod leaving to completely destroy 3 months of non-strong bone callus- the end is still bad.. will end up with a huge recovery timeline.. Yes I was being slightly hyperbolic- but this is not minor in my opinion. Very bad things can easily happen.
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"2) go to Korea to Dr Lee to get screw surgery (since I’m in Asia at the moment not Europe). I’m not adverse to getting it as the thoughts of the other screw breaking is an awful situation"
I'm really curious. What are the pros and cons of Dr. Lee for screw surgery over USA doctors? I wonder b/c maybe USA insurance can help to cover some of it if an American goes to a doctor in the USA?
The only thing I'm aware of is that his facility has an underwater exercise setup
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Unicorn, had a bunch of problems. First of all, the nail that was fitted in her bone was way to big for her. Second, her nail was a runaway nail that continue to extend even though she wasn't doing anything to extend it. Third, that twisting motion that you do to extend that nail, has been shown to have a negative effect on bone growth+ a bunch of other stuff. Her case was basically a sh*t show. When things happen to some members, we have to remember their situation. We cannot bring up the most negative case in all of the cases here to remind the patient to be careful. This forum can get very negative really fast.Be mindful of the patient and their situation please and only bring up relevant information that can help.
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Hi guys, an update on my thinking.
In order to get screw surgery, I would need to go to Greece or Korea which would involve 2 weeks quarantine minimum and then probably at least a week to organise. So 3 weeks minimum time and probably another week recovery time.
I had a chat with Giotikas and he thinks that if the second screw were to break, based on his experience what would happen is that the leg would compress by up to 1cm. It is very unlikely that my leg would snap like Unicorns unless blunt trauma affects it. In that scenario, I would need to do screw replacement surgery anyway, and then do distraction so I regain my 8cm again.
Given the relatively low consequences of the second screw breaking and long time to do screw surgery, I think it makes sense to ride it out for the next 2-3 months until my bone consolidates and I can walk again.
Open to thoughts.
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Unicorn, had a bunch of problems. First of all, the nail that was fitted in her bone was way to big for her. Second, her nail was a runaway nail that continue to extend even though she wasn't doing anything to extend it. Third, that twisting motion that you do to extend that nail, has been shown to have a negative effect on bone growth+ a bunch of other stuff. Her case was basically a sh*t show. When things happen to some members, we have to remember their situation. We cannot bring up the most negative case in all of the cases here to remind the patient to be careful. This forum can get very negative really fast.Be mindful of the patient and their situation please and only bring up relevant information that can help.
Apologies, and I agree man, I just want to remind m7 to be careful. I will refrain from being overtly pessimistic, the truth is I just truly care about m7 right now and hope he stays safe and healthy.
@m7
Have you tried contacting a local CLL surgeon in your current residence or nearby? Maybe even regular orthopedic limb lengthening surgeons could potentially know how to do the surgery
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Apologies, and I agree man, I just want to remind m7 to be careful. I will refrain from being overtly pessimistic, the truth is I just truly care about m7 right now and hope he stays safe and healthy.
@m7
Have you tried contacting a local CLL surgeon in your current residence or nearby? Maybe even regular orthopedic limb lengthening surgeons could potentially know how to do the surgery
Thanks both of you.
Unfortunately I’m in Hong Kong so no well known CLL I have heard of. Or even someone with CLL experience.
Giotikas specifically mentioned that to get the broken nail out, surgeon would need to drill a new hole from the reverse side to fish it out. The new hole would go near the main artery in the leg, so god forbid someone inexperienced accidentally cuts it!!!
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@ghkid2021 GAMESTONK
Np mate ;)
@m7liam
What does Giotikas think is the best option for you? You could ride it out, but how will the bone growth develop? By not being able to put any weight on that leg for 2-3 months, you might delay the bone consolidation. Will those few weeks that you save on not going to Greece actually extend your time frame for healing? Talk to Giotikas again if you have not asked these questions. Btw i dont think that the timeframe for bone consolidation will extend that much, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Keep safe and continue to chill ;)
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Giotikas thinks waiting it out is best as he thinks little chance of screw breaking. Even if it breaks, the consequences are not disastrous. He thinks after 4-8 weeks I should be ready to weight bear, 3 months to more full consolidation.
I have asked Dr Lee and he thinks I don’t need to do screw surgery as well.
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Giotikas thinks waiting it out is best as he thinks little chance of screw breaking. Even if it breaks, the consequences are not disastrous. He thinks after 4-8 weeks I should be ready to weight bear, 3 months to more full consolidation.
I have asked Dr Lee and he thinks I don’t need to do screw surgery as well.
Exactly what I said
Anyway at the beginning, in october, I remember I was surprised for your huge bone growth
Do you do lateral X-ray too? I’ve seen anterior views only
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Great then! Relax and wait now. You will probably be very bored and annoyed , but that is a small price to pay for what you are getting in return. Read some books, play some video games or if Giotikas approves it, get a power wheel chair to get you around in your city.
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Hey m7, how's it going
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Hey m7, how's it going
I've been using crutches for the past 3.5 weeks. During the weekdays, I usually don't leave the hotel (I'm living in a hotel) unless for like small groceries or occasionally stretch the legs. On Friday/Saturday nights and sometimes during lunch, I use crutches to go out drinking / dinner / partying. But mostly use taxi's to travel around.
The second screw in my right leg so far as I can tell has not broken (based on my two leg lengths still being equal). I'm due for an x-ray next week so I'll post it once I get it.
Also my walking gait sadly has reversed given I basically haven't walked or stretched for 3.5 weeks.
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They screwed and gave him the 10mm nail.
So has 10mm nail thinner screws compared to 11,5mm nail? Are you saying that wouldn't be happen with 11,5mm nail?
Why they didn't give 11,5 nail to m7laim?
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I've been using crutches for the past 3.5 weeks. During the weekdays, I usually don't leave the hotel (I'm living in a hotel) unless for like small groceries or occasionally stretch the legs. On Friday/Saturday nights and sometimes during lunch, I use crutches to go out drinking / dinner / partying. But mostly use taxi's to travel around.
The second screw in my right leg so far as I can tell has not broken (based on my two leg lengths still being equal). I'm due for an x-ray next week so I'll post it once I get it.
Also my walking gait sadly has reversed given I basically haven't walked or stretched for 3.5 weeks.
Darn dude. Glad the screw is fine and your gait will be much better once this whole consolidation is done. You'll get there man and it's good your still going out on Fridays that's good mentally. Hopeful for a fast recovery 💪🏻
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Did x-rays yesterday. Links below (right side is yesterday, left side is 4 weeks). To be honest, I cannot see any difference at all before and after but Giotikas says there are clear signs of progression. He says I should stay on crutches for another 6 weeks after which I can probably get off.
Crutches is now driving me insane as I cannot walk outside properly.
(https://i.imgur.com/KWk7iRs.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/ZMh1tko.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/OQfp0Gr.png)
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Dam bro all up this is taking some time. Not the speedy chance recovery after all
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Dam bro all up this is taking some time. Not the speedy chance recovery after all
Hi everyone, my bones are consolidated and so I have been given approval to get off crutches. Thank the lord. So back to normal life. X-rays below - not sure what happened in the last 4 weeks but much quicker than the previous 4 weeks.
(https://i.imgur.com/MpxsYw1.jpg)
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congratulations! sucked that you had to have that screw break but now its all good
good luck in the rest of consolidation it looks good so far!
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Congrats, m7liam! At the level of consolidation in those X-rays are you approved to start jogging or running as well?
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Congrats, m7liam! At the level of consolidation in those X-rays are you approved to start jogging or running as well?
Not yet. Doctor said one more month for running.
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Not yet. Doctor said one more month for running.
Congratulations m7liam! you are almost done.
I suggest walking fairly fast for a minimum of 4 miles per day and then increasing that if your body feels right with long walks (and of course after you get your doctor's approval) to speedup the final stages of recovery.
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Hi M7liam,
I hope things are going well! Any updates on your progress? Are things back on track?
This was an extremely useful diary and helped me make the commitment to the surgery this year. Thanks for sharing your progress!
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Hi M7liam,
I hope things are going well! Any updates on your progress? Are things back on track?
This was an extremely useful diary and helped me make the commitment to the surgery this year. Thanks for sharing your progress!
Hi there, I actually don't go much on this forum but today was bored and opened it up again. See below a video of me (now 10.5 months post-surgery) and ~2 months since getting off crutches.
Physically, I reckon I am 80% of the way back. My normal walking gait is mostly recovered and I believe unnoticeable (although if I sit too long, when I stand up and walk immediately there is a bit of a weird walk for the first few steps). I have started with leg exercises, and I have no issues with climbing stairs etc. I still cannot run, although this is because I have not tried anything other than very, very light jogging for fear of going to fast and breaking something else. But I imagine in the next few months I'll be able to run properly. Putting underwear on is still something that while I can do, is not a smooth action.
From a psychological sense, it's been nothing short of amazing. I never think about height on a day-to-day basis anymore. I never worry about showing up to a date and the girl having to be taller than me. I never think about how I am the shortest out of my friends. While I was confident before, I am probably more confident now. Would I have done it again, knowing the complications that ended up occurring (uneven lengthening and breaking of screw)? Absolutely!!!
https://youtu.be/t2H1dXKNvs0
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Woah! That's fantastic progress! Congratulations.
Glad to hear you are so happy with the outcome too. I am also looking forward to simply not having to think about height as an issue going forward. It wastes a lot of bandwidth that could be spent on more valuable things.
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Now having gone through it, do you think you could have hidden the whole thing from friends and family? I’m planning to tell them I’m travelling for a year while I do LL back to recovery to the point of unnoticeable.
How much time start to finish (walking normal, however you perceive that) if you do it properly and on-site in Athens - without the complications that you experienced?
How much all up for expenses? Can you give me a breakdown.
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Now having gone through it, do you think you could have hidden the whole thing from friends and family? I’m planning to tell them I’m travelling for a year while I do LL back to recovery to the point of unnoticeable.
How much time start to finish (walking normal, however you perceive that) if you do it properly and on-site in Athens - without the complications that you experienced?
How much all up for expenses? Can you give me a breakdown.
I travelled about a year as well before heading back. Definitely not family. I hadn't told my mum and she recognised it in 2 seconds. I told all my close friends beforehand but I think they would have recognised it as well. Acquaintances / not close friends would be easier to pass off - a lot of people I bump into on the street said I lost a lot of weight.
I think without the complications, it would be 3 months for lengthening (at which point you're still walking like a penguin), and then another 6-8 weeks before you start to walk more normal.
Most of my expense was the surgery itself since Athens is pretty cheap + renting out a 24/7 nurse for the first week (additional $1k). Probably costed like $1k per month for food / accommodation.
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What about surgery related expenses?
My main requirement in doing LL is for it to be unnoticeable to even my close family - as such I’m lengthening less than you. How many cm’s do you think I can get away with? 2-3cm?
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What do you do for work m7?
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What do you do for work m7?
Hi there - I work in private equity / investing
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Will stryde likely be available in late 2022? About year or more from now
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Hey m7liam,
Can I ask if you were working full-time while doing the lengthening or did you take time off work?
I'm thinking about lengthening while WFH, but I'm not sure if it would be feasible. Many people who's done lengthening that they won't be be able to handle any kind of work, mental or physical, while undergoing lengthening and am wondering if you also found this to be the case.
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Will stryde likely be available in late 2022? About year or more from now
No idea sorry. Best ask the doctor
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Hey m7liam,
Can I ask if you were working full-time while doing the lengthening or did you take time off work?
I'm thinking about lengthening while WFH, but I'm not sure if it would be feasible. Many people who's done lengthening that they won't be be able to handle any kind of work, mental or physical, while undergoing lengthening and am wondering if you also found this to be the case.
Yes I did full time work (and actually full time study as well) throughout the whole process with the exception of the ~3 days post-surgery I was stuck in hospital. There was no way I could have done work in the first 24 hours post-surgery due to the pain but afterwards it wasn’t an issue.
After the first 3 days, the only time you will get pain (assuming you are taking your meds) is when you are moving your legs. Hence there was 0 pain when working in a seat. Actually the tramadol made the work pretty enjoyable.
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i wanted to know that you still feel any pain?