ummmm please don't call me fat. i'm not fat. i bench press 300 pounds and squat 400 easily. in my humble opinion "fat" is equivalent to being "obese" which i am not. so i think the term we use here in America for my body type is "husky" lol. i'm a husky boy that drinks his milk. started at 179cm 227lbs. currently 6'1" 215lbs.
i am now 5 1/2 months post fixator removal. contracture went away very quickly after i started walking. personally, i wouldn't kill yourself in PT after surgery. just do your best and forget the rest! your contracture goes away when you WALK.
upon arrival back in america...i went from wheelchair to regular walker. then i would experiment and take baby steps without walker. then i graduated to a rolling walker and then on to crutches. finally i went to a cane and then no cane. and then in the last 2 days huge improvements in regards to walking very fast without a limp. all these steps were approved by Dr. Uysal upon seeing my x-rays. i really like dr. uysal he's a good dude. i loved my physical therapists and i had a good time with afa. there were a couple of mishaps but that was due to one particularly unprofessional person and does not reflect on afa.
this week i started on the treadmill!! speed @ 2.5-3mph at an 11% incline for 10 minutes. it was tough but made me so happy. i've come so far. i also walk as much as i want throughout the day. no problems here. if i get tired i go home, shower, eat and call it a day. you get tired even without any surgeries. it's life.
despite my big size i think my frame actually helped me in regards to recovery. i've played sports all my life in grade school, high school and college. i have lifted weights since i was 16 and i'm in my late 40s. compared to all the other patients i was in rehab with i've had the least complications and i think it's because i've ALWAYS pushed my body to the extreme. i ski, i swim, i lift weights 4 days a week and i even bicycled across america in 47 days.
to my knowledge only 2 guys in my graduating class didn't have any complications: myself (the oldest and largest patient they ever had) and a really young fella. if i were to guess, i think 2 things were working in our favor: his extreme youth and ability to regenerate quickly...and my big frame.
what is a big frame you may ask? well, without blowing smoke up my own ass, years before LL surgery i saw a doctor and she immediately asked "are you and athlete?" my thighs are very similar to a pro rugby players. my shoulder are extremely broad. both my brothers are 6'2" and played division 1 high school football. my shoulders are larger than theirs. i wear 44R-46R suit jacket and it's very tight. i wear XL tee shirt since high school. my pants are 34/32 and thighs and calves are always bulging through pants so i usually get them altered after buying new.
prior to surgery i was slightly overweight but not fat and not obese. once upon a time, i had considered power lifting but was plagued by recurring shoulder injuries. currently i have lost a lot of muscle. MOSTLY in my legs. pants that were always tight in the thigh and calf areas are now huge on me. before they fit like skinny jeans and now the same pants look like pajamas. bench press is WAY down to about 205lbs. depressing but i'll get it back soon enough.
i was not in a calorie surplus while lengthening. i had very little appetite and had to force myself to eat. so i lost fat quickly and then all the muscle in my legs. it was shocking but i really did the best i could with eating, PT, vitamins, rest etc etc. it just happens and there's nothing you can do about it so you should take everything you read on these forums with a grain of salt and a bit of speculation. your experience is your own. it will depend entirely on you, your history, your body type and your mindset. hopefully by reading my posts you can gauge for yourself how similar/dissimilar we are and it will give you an idea of what you can expect. honestly, my mind set was horrible. i was very lonely in turkey and i lost my computer at the airport. so i had NO entertainment. i cried almost daily and wanted to go home.
hope this helps and good luck on your journey!
Author
Topic: LON Femur questions (Read 889 times)