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[YellowSpike]

Oh I mistakenly thought you were going for tibias! Another inch next year would be heroic.

Yeah I'm starting to have my doubts about another inch. As much as I want it, I have to resolve this horrible hip swaying before I will start to feel "recovered."  It's the only thing getting me down right now. I'm not exactly sure if it's due to tight hip flexors, weak hip flexor muscles or weak glutes (probably a combination). Dr. G hasn't officially cleared me for leg weight training yet, but I've done some very light weight training because I NEED this resolved already.

I'm starting to feel like another inch would be futile because this has taken so damn long. It seems deceivingly easy (compared to this), but now I feel like it will much a lot harder than I realize. I definitely regret looking at some of the more amazing diaries for inspiration, because they are not the norm. This takes much, much, much longer than some diaries would have you believe. Maybe I'll keep the rods in a bit longer while I decide on another inch...I do want it...but this has been horrible. Not sure I could do it again.

Hey Yellowspike,
I've seen the pictures you've posted and proportionwise they look completly normal to me. I know you had longer tibias compared to your femurs by around 5% if I remember correctly. Do you know what exact length your segments had before LL in mm.
Keep us updates
Cheers!

Sorry, I don't know the exact measurements. I just know my tibia/femur ratio was about 79% before the surgery.

[Taller]

Did your tibial muscles also get thinner/weaker from the stretching that occurred in your femurs?

If your dream height is 5'10+, you'll still be dissatisfied with your height at 5'9, won't you? In that case, it may not be worth enduring the pain of LL again, only to find yourself again disappointed. I'd say only do that last inch if 5'9 is your dream height or if it will at least get you to that much sought after state of mind where one really doesn't give a crap about height anymore.

I think putting so much emphasis on the numbers can lead to disappointment. Curing height neurosis is more about a feeling of deriving confidence and relief from becoming "tall enough" for one's own standards, which vary from person to person. Honestly, that's what I'm going for. It doesn't have to be a number, just a feeling that I am finally happy with my height and feel like I am who I am supposed to be, physically which I am currently in every major regard except for height.

[YellowSpike]

Did your tibial muscles also get thinner/weaker from the stretching that occurred in your femurs?

If your dream height is 5'10+, you'll still be dissatisfied with your height at 5'9, won't you? In that case, it may not be worth enduring the pain of LL again, only to find yourself again disappointed. I'd say I nly do that last inch if 5'9 is your dream height or if it will at least get you to that much sought after state of mind where one really doesn't give a crap about height anymore.

I think putting so much emphasis on the numbers can lead to disappointment. Curing height neurosis is more about a feeling of deriving confidence and relief from becoming "tall enough" for one's own standards, which vary from person to person. Honestly, that's what I'm going for. It doesn't have to be a number, just a feeling that I am finally happy with my height and feel like I am who I am supposed to be, physically which I am currently in every major regard except for height.

Fair enough. Despite what I have said on here, it's actually not so much a number. I don't really have a dream height per se, at least not in terms of an exact number (well, I don't anymore). I feel now that my height is very close to being actually average, but not quite. So I think another inch would get me to the point where I genuinely wouldn't care much about height anymore. But I need time to think about it. Because this has taken very long to recover from.

[Taller]

Sounds to me like you're approaching this all very rationally. Good for you. Keep up the hard work on your recovery, but try not to think too much about height, even though the two are related in your case. Like you said, you can decide if you want that last inch later, but now your priority should be recovering. Just think of it as a workout instead of as LL recovery so that you keep your mind off of height and height comparison with others. I wish you all the best going forward.

[YellowSpike]

Sounds to me like you're approaching this all very rationally. Good for you. Keep up the hard work on your recovery, but try not to think too much about height, even though the two are related in your case. Like you said, you can decide if you want that last inch later, but now your priority should be recovering. Just think of it as a workout instead of as LL recovery so that you keep your mind off of height and height comparison with others. I wish you all the best going forward.

This means a lot to me. Thanks man.

I know not too long ago I was really obsessing over my gain/height. Now that I've had the chance to somewhat return to the gym and going out a bit more...5'8" is pretty good. Not great...but ok, and I surely don't think I would have considered LL had I been 5'8" naturally.

That being said...I suppose the knowledge of "well, I've already done it once, and the rods inside my right now are good for another inch" makes it seem very tempting. But the main issue for me now is to resolve this pesky hip swaying. I can deal with other side effects and even some occasional pain, I just want to be able to walk outside without feeling like an embarrassment.

[maximize]

But the main issue for me now is to resolve this pesky hip swaying. I can deal with other side effects and even some occasional pain, I just want to be able to walk outside without feeling like an embarrassment.

That's a minor issue. It's just muscle tightness. It will resolve on its own over time with activity/stretching. Of all the problems LL can cause, if that's your biggest one you've done perfectly. You've gotten through all the high risk aspects of the surgery. This is just the "settling phase".

[YellowSpike]

That's a minor issue. It's just muscle tightness. It will resolve on its own over time with activity/stretching. Of all the problems LL can cause, if that's your biggest one you've done perfectly. You've gotten through all the high risk aspects of the surgery. This is just the "settling phase".

It's minor from a medical standpoint, yes...but not being able to be confident simply walking outside (especially now that it's summer) really sucks man. I've been stretching a lot but it hasn't seem to help much so far. Not sure what I have to do to resolve it.

[maximize]

There's nothing else you can do to expedite it. Tendon and ligament growth is exceedingly slow as they have very poor blood supply. It will just take time. You can't rush it any faster than the tissues can adapt.

It's for the same reason fractures often heal much quicker than sprains/strains. Bone is quick. Ligaments and tendons are not.

[Uppland]

Hello Uppland

It is hard for me to sprint from a standing still position and run fast.. I think it is because muscles in some way loose the ability to coordinate... Remember all soft tissues around the femur are overextended and the muscles below your knees stay the same..I guess its a condition you  might overcome with  time or with lots of  kinesiotherapy..

Oh, I see. Does this influence your everyday life?

Do you feel weaker and/or clumsier than other people who naturally grew to your new height?

Thanks for answering mate.

[crimsontide]

you shouldnt read  diaRies and get discouraged
 the process is long for most people. give it up to 12 months total to sort of feel normal.

[YellowSpike]

you shouldnt read  diaRies and get discouraged
 the process is long for most people. give it up to 12 months total to sort of feel normal.

Oh I know. The major mistake I made while researching LL was reading some of the more epic diaries and thinking I could pull that off. I certainly commend them, but they are not the norm. Far from it. My recovery, as long as it's taking (at least, to me) is actually fairly average for 7cm.

I can totally deal with other weird side effects. For instance, I still have hip pain on my sides (sometimes pretty bad too, but nothing too crazy for the most part), and I have numbness on my left knee area. Those are fine, I'm tough, I can handle pain. I just want to be walking decently and not feel ashamed just to walk down the street. Maybe it's not as bad as I think it is, but it's to the point where I sometimes will stop walking and let people pass me (where there's a lull in the crowd) so as few people as possible see me.

[crimsontide]

I understand, and it's definitely normal to not filly recover for 1-2 years

The numbness is something I have too, bit weird, but might go away when I get left leg corrected

If you're like me, you can technically walk, but it's not the same as before, and  you don't wanna go out for a walk because it's srange... also takes a lot longer

I'm thinking I'll be  good after correction, but tightness,etc,  are things that take a while to really feel good about

[YellowSpike]

Yeah technically I've been pretty much crutch free at least a month now. So that's fine. Walking is just an embarrassment for me at this point, and that's what sucks.

It's just frustrating. I really would like to do a bit more...but now I'm having doubts about how "easy" another inch would be. Dr. G said I'd only have to click for like 2 weeks...but would recovery take another 12 months? LOL...

[Uppland]

The idea that neither yellowspike nor clarence is satisfied with their new height is discouraging. Would you say it was worth it so far yellowspike?

[YellowSpike]

I wouldn't say I'm not satisfied...just not as satisfied as I would like to feel. But then again, I haven't fully recovered yet. It's hard to tell. In terms of the gain, it's a big improvement. But I feel like I'm now annoyingly close to average but not quite. Based on being back at the gym and seeing a lot of familiar faces, I feel closer to average. If I had another inch under my belt, I think I'd be fully satisfied. Just blows to think I gotta do this sh*t again, but one day at a time.

Keep in mind my starting height was objectively bad. So those of you who are already at least 5'7" will probably more than likely be happy with one surgery.

[microman]

My starting height is worse at 164.

I'll be going from 164 to 169, I have walked around the world at 170 via lifts and I'd be happy post op. to be 169 w/ 4cm lifts to 173.

I'm surprised your not happy with your new height, i walked out today at 170 and the first guy i walked past was 168, then next guy 172, overall i felt pretty normal at 170.

so you say you are 174, here in uk that is merely 3cm below the male average.

have you considered a 3cm lift?

http://www.tallmenshoes.com/elevator-shoes-fy003.html

this is currently the best one and only one that is low top as well, this is likely the shoe i will be wearing post op.

[YellowSpike]

I'll be going from 164 to 169, I have walked around the world at 170 via lifts and I'd be happy post op. to be 169 w/ 3cm lifts to 172.

I'm surprised your not happy with your new height, i walked out today at 170 and the first guy i walked past was 168, then next guy 172, overall i felt pretty normal at 170.

so you say you are 174, here in uk that is merely 3cm below the male average.

I'm close to 5'9" in the morning (like 174.7), at night I shrink down to right around 5'8" or slightly above/below it sometimes (like 172.4?). I'm HAPPIER...it's a big improvement, as I have said. I'm just not entirely satisfied, right now. This might very well change. We'll see. I'd love another inch. I think I'd be done with the height thing forever at that point.

I hate lifts. They must make me feel that much worse about my height. I've used them in the past...and they become addictive. And then when they come off, you feel horrible about yourself. So no lifts for me.

[microman]

fair enough then, I love 4cm lifts and under as they feel like flats, I hate the 6cm ones as they feel like high heels, the 6cm ones are the ones I wear at the moment to judge my height post op.

my height barely changes in the morning or night, strange how your changes by a whopping 2cm!

[YellowSpike]

fair enough then, I love 4cm lifts and under as they feel like flats, I hate the 6cm ones as they feel like high heels, the 6cm ones are the ones I wear at the moment to judge my height post op.

my height barely changes in the morning or night, strange how your changes by a whopping 2cm!

Yeah, I lose like .75 inches sometimes...I thought that was about the norm? I read somewhere that most people lose .5-.75 inches throughout the day. Whatever!

Yeah lifts aren't my things for reasons I've already explained. If anything, I'll just wear a shoe/sneaker with a decent heel.

[microman]

maybe you should re-check, do you have a stadiometer, I do and I measure myself in morning and night, its pretty much always 164.5 or 164.3.

yeah the sneakers you mention are lifts, they are just 1cm lifts, its still a lift of sorts, you get them from formal wear shoes, some boots and some sneakers.

Im getting some 9cm lifts soon and at that point i should be able to see your new height and maybe I can judge a little better.

but do you not feel guilty about not being fully happy with your height when you see guys that shorter than you all the time?

I am thinking maybe it's because you lived a life of being a 5' 6" short man and now you want to even the score, to have a one up on a lot of men by only being fully happy with your height at 177, i have a feeling if you naturally got to 172 then you would't give a thought to your height.

[YellowSpike]

Lol, I was more like 5'5 1/2" my friend, possibly a bit lower than that. I agree with you...I think if I were naturally what I am now, I wouldn't care as much and I doubt I would have done LL. I think for me it's the mentality of my height being very borderline right now...like, I'm right on the threshold of where "short" begins. And I want a little more height as a buffer to that. We'll see. Maybe someday before I die I will make it happen. Have to recover from this one first, though.

[Uppland]

Feel a bit embarrassed myself as I am quite tall for an LL-prospect.

I wake up at about 179,7 and shrink to somewhere in the 178 range before I go to bed. Consider myself 178CM though because I'm the kind of guy that rounds down.

I'd like to be 186 at night (dad's 186,5 at night) but that's too much in one surgery in my opinion. I'm also something of a proportion nazi and so I would rather be going for 6-7CM in actual height increase.

Do you guys think it's possible to permanently increase torso length by maybe 5mm?

In that case I could lengthen 6,8-7CM which would translate to an actual height increase of maybe 6,5CM. I would be 185CM at night which isn't really tall (in N. europe) but respectable and normal for a young man which really is all I could ever ask for. Perhaps in the future I might be able to gain an extra CM and finally see eye to eye with my father.

What do you guys think?

[YellowSpike]

LOL yeah Uppland you are quite tall for this...but if you want to be as tall as your dad...if it really bothers you that much...just know that LL is really hard, really long, and the recovery period can seem like forever. I mean...I don't have tall siblings, a tall father, or live in a tall country...so I can't comment on how I'd feel in your situation. But if it bothers you that much, then go for it.

I also round down, so I take my evening height as gospel. I still have some duckass (a fair amount, actually), but not counting on it to help at all. I'm fine with saying I'm 5'8" because some days my evening height is a bit over, some days a bit under. It's fine for now. At worst, I suppose I consider myself a very slightly weak 5'8", which isn't too terrible.

I honest to God think I would feel 100% satisfied at 5'9" or even like 5'8.75" evening height. To me, that's on the lower end of average, but still safely within the average zone and above that critical 5'8" mark (which I'm right on the line right now). If you've done half as much online dating as I have, you see the following three thresholds a lot: 6ft, 5'10 and 5'8. I'll never see 6ft or 5'10, but as long as I'm safely over 5'8/pushing 5'9"...I can totally live with that.

[microman]

id say 172 is a weak 5' 8", 174 is 5 8.5".

well i guess it's how you feel at the end of the day, but i would look at other people in the world rather than a figure you see in your head as what you think is a good height, and in that case you will notice many men shorter than you, and at that point, you will realise you are a good height, I think.

yeah Uppland wow 178, I wouldn't do LL even if it was for free at that height, even 174 i wouldn't do it. i know like 10 guys at 170, none of them care about their height.

YellowSpike you said LL is a long and hard process, if you did 5cm would you feel the process isn't that long, the length of time it takes along with the mental strain etc. is my main reason to go for 5cm over 7cm, keep in mind i will be doing external tibia.

[Descreteuser]

upland go for it.. i had the same reason as u. i have tall siblings. there something that can really bother certain people about feeling belittled by people in their family. and getting out of ur head is near impossible. if you are serious enough about it its a small sacrifice that , yes will be tough at the time, but you will be glad uve done it in the long run. people shorter than you are naturally going to say that they wouldnt do it at your height, but u have to remember they arent you. 5'10 to one person can be completely different to another person. everyone told me i was crazy for doing it at my height but at the end of the day your doing it for yourself. noone else

[Uppland]

Yeah well obviousy it does bother me, a lot. That said I couldn't say if lengthening my legs is really the way to go, it's a tough decision and right now it feels as if I'm fukked either way. My shrink says I should forget about it which had the opposite effect, still I'm not very old so this might be an immature response.

Maybe I could do the surgery and then recover to a point where I can forget about it, I feel uneasy permanently changing my body though -especially since it's for the worse in many ways.

Enough about all that though, this is yellowspikes diary after all. Have you tried running yet mate?

[Uppland]

upland go for it.. i had the same reason as u. i have tall siblings. there something that can really bother certain people about feeling belittled by people in their family. and getting out of ur head is near impossible. if you are serious enough about it its a small sacrifice that , yes will be tough at the time, but you will be glad uve done it in the long run. people shorter than you are naturally going to say that they wouldnt do it at your height, but u have to remember they arent you. 5'10 to one person can be completely different to another person. everyone told me i was crazy for doing it at my height but at the end of the day your doing it for yourself. noone else

How tall were you then, and how have you recovered?

Oh, and thanks! I usually have my parents to confide in but I dare not tell them since I'm afraid they would dismiss the idea out-right.

[Descreteuser]

181 to 185.. im 2.5 months post op, finished lengthening a week ago.. im currently stretching out my ballerina which is very minor and gradually getting flexibility back in my legs.. walking with walker at this stage. on track to have frames off in 4.5 to 5 months

[Descreteuser]

oh and i am also doing this secretly.

[microman]

I thought you only got ballerina if you did 6cm or more?

it will always be beneficial to be taller if your under 6 1, overall there is not much a man can do other than get taller to improve himself, so i would say go for it, but given what you have to go through to be taller i wouldn't do it if i was 5' 8" or up, maybe if it took only 4 months with minimum pain, but not 8 months and a lot of pain.

but that's for another matter.

[Uppland]

181 to 185.. im 2.5 months post op, finished lengthening a week ago.. im currently stretching out my ballerina which is very minor and gradually getting flexibility back in my legs.. walking with walker at this stage. on track to have frames off in 4.5 to 5 months

Godspeed man, why did you lengthen such a small amount though?

I'm thinking about going for 185 as well.