I have used this forum extensively in the past mostly as a lurker and finally did leg lengthening around 7 months ago. I used the precice 2 nails and achieved only 5cm of height in my femurs. I was around 5 foot 4.5 inch and ended up around 5 foot 6.5 inch.
After spending years trying to decide whether to do LL or not (it was torture, the months of indecision and anxiety as I was about to commit to the surgery) while living life in limbo having suspended every long term decision because I knew I had to LL someday soon but just wasn't getting the courage to do it. One of the main reasons I did was because I couldn't tolerate being in that undecided state. I knew I would never rule out LL in my life, so I just wanted to be done with it. Because of this I even kept my expectations of recovery pretty minimal.
I just wanted to give back by summarizing some of the prominent feelings I felt after lengthening.
Good -
1) My height dissatisfaction is gone even though I am well below average. I think it partly came from gaining perspective from being disabled for months. I know I am still short, but I don't really feel bad about it. I am ok with my body now.
2) I have recovered quite well. At first after lengthening, I used to constantly check my "abilities" and whether it "pains" in different places. I later decided to just get on with my life and not think about whether I recovered or not. At this point, I think I can lead a fully functional life. I might be worse off in high level sports but I don't really want to think about it. What is done is done. I would have never exploited my physical abilities to the fullest even I hadn't done the surgery anyway. Apart from some little morning stiffness and loss of flexibility I don't have any other problems.
3) I look better. Earlier I used to look very "stocky" after I put on weight from gymming and I hated it. Now I look much better. Proportions are not a problem even though I am out of the 80% tibia:femur norm.
Weird -
These are things I did not expect.
1) I wish I did not involve my family during lengthening. My family was quite traumatised seeing me go through all this and I used to feel extremely guilty to have put them through this. I sometimes think I should have dealt with it all alone.
2) No one really cared about my absence for 6 months. Some noticed I was taller but leg lengthening is thankfully too extreme for anyone to even fathom. I did only 5cm so maybe that was also why.
3) 5cm feels like a lot to me. I feel much taller than I thought I would.
4) The pain during LL was too much but I underestimated how much I could tolerate. Looking back I don't remember any of the physical pain but just remember only the mental anguish (boredom, guilt, anxiety) more.
5) I feel sort of scared of whether my legs are normal or not even though they feel normal. I am sort of inclined to spotting any tiny ache in my legs and blaming it on the surgery. This is probably just mental though.
Bad -
I feel bad for having taken a back seat in my career and friendships and relationships and feel a strong impatience to get those areas moving fast.
To do or not to do LL
This was the million dollar question that ate my soul for years. I know it's easier said than done, but if possible don't get hooked on to the forums except to gain some breadth of objective information. There is too much emotional drama here from people in anguish which really adds no value. There are some fake diaries and there are some fake "do-gooders" who try to dissuade people from doing LL. This forum is not a "happy" place so to speak and so everything kind of comes with a negative perspective. We are not the mentally healthiest bunch. Try to stay rational while reading.
Please go see some good doctors and meet their patients if possible. Read research papers on the surgery.
And if you do decide on doing it, you probably simply cannot be calm. You might want to cancel the surgery every moment. That is normal. Learn to accept the anxiety. I would avoid having a far off surgery date for this reason. Once you decide, try and stay away from the forums until the operation. Studying minutes before an examination doesn't help anyway.
Good luck! Remember you can always look at everything in life from a negative perspective. Make peace with the fact that you are a short person and there is only one extremely difficult way to change it. "could have been", "should have been" thoughts are pointless and a waste of time. You cannot argue with facts.
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Topic: Experience with 5cm femoral lengthening with Precice (Read 907 times)