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[ChrisIsaak]

After waiting for more than 5 years, my time has finally come to do LL.

I am planning to write simultaneously in this forum, and in the "old forum" as well to access and share my journey with the maximum amount of people. Or, as an alternative, I might start a blog and use the diary in my website as a Q&A section. Please let us not make this "forum vs. forum" thing a point of discussion.

The payment is already made and the nails have arrived from Germany so I'm past the point of return. I'll be lengthening with Dr. Muharrem Inan, from Turkey. I'm currently in Istanbul, my hometown. A few more details..

Method: Fitbone (4th generation nail, previous technical problems are solved)

Cost: About the same as Europe, Betz, Guichet, etc.

Reason: Logistically easy. I'll lengthen at home.

Age: 22

Pros: Being at home, experienced doctor who has trained with Dr. Paley, physiotherapist will come home

Cons: No weightbearing, just like Precice

Date of surgery: Probably immediately following New Year.

More to come up.

[KiloKAHN]

I definitely know what you mean ChrisIsaak. I've waited 5 years as well and finally at the end of this month I'll be able to decide where to do my surgery.

Please continue to update on here. It's your experience and you're free to update however and wherever you wish so this won't become a forum vs forum thing. It would be great to read more about your doctor and keep track of your journey from now until completion.

Wish you all the best.

[Muse]

Great, all the best for the journey ahead.   You'll be one of the lucky ones who can lengthen at home.

[FrankGarrett]

Pretty snowy in Istanbul tonight, the Juventus game was canceled because of it.

Is this the same nail that Betz currently uses, or is it the older one?

[handy]

First of all, I would like to state that I trust SysOP, and I don't care about his patient identity. SysOP literally saved my life a couple weeks ago by telling me NOT to do externals on femurs. I was thinking about doing LON on femurs with a local doctor, and SysOP along with Crazy changed my mind.

This is a quote from Upinthesky on old forum  who is ChrisIssak on this forum. This is no secret since he is literally posting the same information on both forums at the same time. The reason I brought this up is do you know how unbelievably stupid you have to be to think Sysop/Apotheosis saved your life by telling you not to do external femurs. You said you've been researching LL for 5 years. How in the hell did you not know this information already? Hate me if you want but that is utterly pathetic on your part to have consulted with Dr. Paley and Dr. Guichet and you still were considering external femurs and the only people who stopped you from making the dumbest decision in your life were two con men.

Good luck!

[FrankGarrett]

This is a quote from Upinthesky on old forum  who is ChrisIssak on this forum. This is no secret since he is literally posting the same information on both forums at the same time. The reason I brought this up is do you know how unbelievably stupid you have to be to think Sysop/Apotheosis saved your life by telling you not to do external femurs. You said you've been researching LL for 5 years. How in the hell did you not know this information already? Hate me if you want but that is utterly pathetic on your part to have consulted with Dr. Paley and Dr. Guichet and you still were considering external femurs and the only people who stopped you from making the dumbest decision in your life were two con men.

Good luck!

I agree. 3 or 4 months after joining Make Me Taller, I learned external femurs were dangerous. Upinthesky is giving that   too much credit.

[handy]

Pros: Being at home, experienced doctor who has trained with Dr. Paley, physiotherapist will come home

Cons: No weightbearing, just like Precice

Ok. Let me get this straight ChrisIsaak. You like the doctor because he trained with Dr. Paley, and you consulted with Dr. Paley, but you still think that the Precice is not weight bearing. So even though Dr. Paley created the Precice and has said it offers weight bearing with crutches you still believe the lies on old forum  about the Precice not being weight bearing and the Betzbone, Guichet nails being weight bearing even though they constantly bend and break like popsicle sticks. Wow!  This is off to a great start and should make for a very interesting patient experience!

[LLL]

Jesus H. Christ on a stick handy, relax, and show some manners! Let's show this forum is a more welcoming place than the other one.

He is probably referring to the original 6.5 cm PRECICE. The new and for some people weight bearing one has just been released and some may not have been updating themselves about it yet.

Also, he's going to use Fitbone, not Betzbone/Guichet's Albizzia nail variants.

[LLL]

Can't say I have ever read a Fitbone diary, will be interesting. Google it for more info, it seems quite unique.

[ChrisIsaak]

I definitely know what you mean ChrisIsaak. I've waited 5 years as well and finally at the end of this month I'll be able to decide where to do my surgery.

Please continue to update on here. It's your experience and you're free to update however and wherever you wish so this won't become a forum vs forum thing. It would be great to read more about your doctor and keep track of your journey from now until completion.

Wish you all the best.

Thanks a lot, Kilokahn!
I hope to copy-paste the things I wrote on both forums, but both diaries might take a different shape, naturally, depending on the questions I get from fellow forum contributors. I sincerely hope to continue sharing until the end, even after recovery. I will do bilateral lengthening and will be on a wheelchair for quite a while, so the boredom will probably ensure that I'll hang out on the forum!    I hope to collect a heap of comic books/magazines (the old EsseGesse ones in particular, Italian and French cartoons mostly), get a computer game (heard that GTA V isn't produced for PC yet, so I might get IV, as well as Sims 3.. dang, I feel like I'm young again. I haven't played a video game for more than 5 years), my Fender Strat, and a couple of books as well as a set of dumbbells for exercise before the surgery.

Great, all the best for the journey ahead.   You'll be one of the lucky ones who can lengthen at home.

Thanks mate!

Pretty snowy in Istanbul tonight, the Juventus game was canceled because of it.

Is this the same nail that Betz currently uses, or is it the older one?

I literally LAUGHED at this post. You're awesome 
As an avid Gala fan, I was watching the game till it stopped. I think the referee made a bad decision.. It could've went on..
Dr. Betz uses the Betzbone, his own version of Albizzia.
Fitbone is still used throughout Europe, especially by Professor Baumgart in Germany. He used to work with Betz.
Fitbone doesn't have a "ratcheting" mechanical system for clicking, it has an electrical lengthening system with a remote control.

This is a quote from Upinthesky on old forum  who is ChrisIssak on this forum. This is no secret since he is literally posting the same information on both forums at the same time. The reason I brought this up is do you know how unbelievably stupid you have to be to think Sysop/Apotheosis saved your life by telling you not to do external femurs. You said you've been researching LL for 5 years. How in the hell did you not know this information already? Hate me if you want but that is utterly pathetic on your part to have consulted with Dr. Paley and Dr. Guichet and you still were considering external femurs and the only people who stopped you from making the dumbest decision in your life were two con men.

Good luck!

Guys, please don't. Please let us not get into this forum vs. forum thing.

As for the explanation handy, I'll be honest about one thing.
I still don't know if external femurs (LON) is a terrible idea or not.
Yes, I've read about LL for 5 years.
Yes, I've done research on my part.
Yes, SysOP and Crazy +6 claim that external femurs is a terrible idea. Crazy can attest to this, having done it himself, and I've seen his recent walking video, and felt terribly sorry for the guy.
However, I've actually seen good doctors doing LON on femurs.
I've seen cases where I hope it will work, and seen cases where it hasn't.
If I can get in contact with a patient who is doing LON on femurs at the moment (I know of one, but I haven't tried to contact him) I will definitely let you know about how he's doing.
All I know is that he couldn't afford internals and he's lengthening with monorails on his femurs at the moment.

Another doctor (and I prefer not to give out his name) offered to do LON on femurs, and wanted $50,000 for it. He gave another price to another patient. Naturally, I was pissed off. After talking to that patient, I saw that he was in terrible pain. He discontinued to lengthen at an early stage, and removed the monorails. When I learned about this from him on Skype, I was grateful to the guys on old forum  for warning me. HOWEVER... That surgery wasn't his FIRST one on the femurs. And I thought MAYBE that's why things didn't work out the way he wanted. Maybe he pushed his body too far.

[ChrisIsaak]

Ok. Let me get this straight ChrisIsaak. You like the doctor because he trained with Dr. Paley, and you consulted with Dr. Paley, but you still think that the Precice is not weight bearing. So even though Dr. Paley created the Precice and has said it offers weight bearing with crutches you still believe the lies on old forum  about the Precice not being weight bearing and the Betzbone, Guichet nails being weight bearing even though they constantly bend and break like popsicle sticks. Wow!  This is off to a great start and should make for a very interesting patient experience!

Whoa, slow down buddy.
First of all, I was referring to the first version of Precice. The 6.5 cm version.
I haven't followed up much lately regarding Precice 2.0. I don't know its weightbearing capabilities. There's been much discussion and debate going on about that.
Second, I would agree that the Betzbone appears a bit shady to me at the moment, after what happened to some patients at Germany. However, I haven't heard of a case where the Guichet nail broke. I met a French patient while I was in Milan and he was exercising on a stationary bike one day after the surgery. He will be able to stand on his feet with crutches soon.
I have heard that the Precice nail does break too. It's a thing about its diameter. So you probably don't have the whole picture. I've spoken with more than 5 doctors. So I believe that I know a few things that aren't written on the forums.
But I wouldn't want to go deeper with that discussion. Better ask Dr. Paley about the track record of the Precice, and I'm sure he will give you a clearer answer. He's a straightforward guy.

@old forum PartyLeaks

Thank for the support mate!
Cheers.

[Carter]

Excellent, you mention having consultations with several doctors (Guichet, Paley) so you did research the options.   

May  I know what's your current height and how much you want to gain?   How long do you expect the recovery to take with the Fitbone?

Thanks
 

 

[ChrisIsaak]

Excellent, you mention having consultations with several doctors (Guichet, Paley) so you did research the options.   

May  I know what's your current height and how much you want to gain?   How long do you expect the recovery to take with the Fitbone?

Thanks
 

Oops, did I forget to mention those? My bad.

Current Height: 165 cm  (5'5 for Americans)

Target Gain: 8 cm  (Final height 173 cm, 5'8 for Americans)

Recovery Phase: Immediately after lengthening, my doctor will perform a second operation and insert titanium rods on my bones (without removing the Fitbone nail inside the bone). This will make me able to walk slowly with crutches even though the bone bridge won't be formed yet. I hope to be able to walk completely normally and resume most physical activity in September, 8 monts post-op. I would be happy if I could manage it before that, but September is an important time for my career. So I'm giving myself time to heal.

[Rivers]

Recovery Phase: Immediately after lengthening, my doctor will perform a second operation and insert titanium rods on my bones (without removing the Fitbone nail inside the bone).

Please explain!

[ChrisIsaak]

Please explain!

I don't know how I can. If I could only draw it..

It's a titanium sheet (maybe I shouldn't call it a rod) that fortifies the bone and allows one to bear weight carefully.

I'll post a pic of it when I complete lengthening.

[FrankGarrett]

Galatasaray 1 - 0 Juventus

I would have watched if I had have known it kicked-off this afternoon.

[Disobedient]

Being in home while doing LL.. is really great thing in all aspects .. and it will cut down the cost for sure,,
Good luck Chris  .. but doing LL in the winter isn't it torture

[ChrisIsaak]

Galatasaray 1 - 0 Juventus

I would have watched if I had have known it kicked-off this afternoon.

Was an epic game 
(manly tears)

Being in home while doing LL.. is really great thing in all aspects .. and it will cut down the cost for sure,,
Good luck Chris  .. but doing LL in the winter isn't it torture

Thanks. Why do you think it would be torture? Basically I will be indoors, 7/24. I absolutely love winter as a season (way more than summer), but it doesn't make a lot of difference for me since I'll be indoors all the time. Now torture would probably be a nice definition of what I went through during the years in which I didn't do LL, and waited and waited. High school, college, had some amazing memories back in those years but the height thing hindered a lot of fun.

I'm focused on being able to walk normally in May (there's a concert I'd like to play in with my old band), watch my girlfriend's dance showcase, and be fully fit for September/October for work in the acting industry (see, height matters in my business as well). Oh, and have a nice summer holiday as well, perhaps in Italy. But one step at a time 

By the way, surgery date confirmed: October 6th.

[BilateralDamage]

Grats Chris, I'm excited for you. 

Make sure to remember us short people when you're all the way up there! 

[ChrisIsaak]

Correcting a little mistake..

For the surgery date, I meant January 6th. Five days after the New Year.

Grats Chris, I'm excited for you. 

Make sure to remember us short people when you're all the way up there! 

Thanks 
If things go well, I'm only going to be 173 cm ( 5'8 ) though.
That's the average male height in Turkey,
And slightly below average in the United States.
Nevertheless, it's good enough. I'll be content with that much.

[ChrisIsaak]

Something that's been on my mind pre-surgery is this:

When I spoke with Dr.Paley in Florida a year ago, I recall him telling me that whatever I did after surgery, it would be likely that I'd be losing weight. Why? Because the body spends so much extra energy to heal itself and adjust to the shock of the surgery.

However, there's another parameter: No weightbearing for three months. In other words, three months on a wheelchair. Minimum movement. Much less calories burned than usual. And this parameter would mean gaining weight, instead of losing.

I'm wondering which parameter will be stronger. My basal metabolic rate is around 1900 calories daily. This means that for any day lesser than 1900 calories intake, I lose weight. For a while, I worked with a dietitian, and she prepared a 1700 calorie protein-focused diet. Now I'm wondering whether if I should keep on doing the same diet following surgery.

3 months on a wheelchair = Also a good opportunity to lower body fat and workout the upper body? We'll see.

[Taller]

Remember that you will be losing tons of muscle in your legs, and muscle weighs much more than fat.

[ChrisIsaak]

Less than two weeks for the surgery. (12 days left).

I don't feel stressed anymore. I'm only angry. I'm very angry at the world and society that has forced me to make this decision. I'm angry that I'm still making my family sad over this decision, but I had no other choice. At the end, I'd rather be anything but a short male. I'm beyond disgusted by society and their shallowness. At the end, I'm getting what I want, but I don't know if the bitterness will ever go away. I can only hope it will.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Less than two weeks for the surgery. (12 days left).

I don't feel stressed anymore. I'm only angry. I'm very angry at the world and society that has forced me to make this decision. I'm angry that I'm still making my family sad over this decision, but I had no other choice. At the end, I'd rather be anything but a short male. I'm beyond disgusted by society and their shallowness. At the end, I'm getting what I want, but I don't know if the bitterness will ever go away. I can only hope it will.

I can definitely relate to that.  I wish it would've never come to this, but it did.

[KiloKAHN]

When I start to feel bad about everything I like to go to the tumblr blogs The Social Complex or F*ck Yeah Short Guys.

http://thesocialcomplex.tumblr.com/
http://fkyeahshortguys.tumblr.com/

The first one has good social commentary from the blog owner, Geoffrey Arnold, and it really gets you thinking. Some things are depressing, like when the Exposing Heightism twitter posts are re-posted to show the spiteful messages women post on Twitter about short guys (though it's funny how most women openly expressing such vile comments are often ugly or obese), but often times it helps get me through another day.

The second one is mainly just short men posting pictures of themselves and stating their height and it's all of a positive nature. It's a good upper.

[ChrisIsaak]

Hookay,

So here are a few pics showing my current proportions pre-surgery. Yeah, they're not perfect shots, I had to take 'em from an angle. But at least can give you an idea.





I'll try to post more/better ones soon. Feel free to photoshop, play with it (the proportions, I mean..), jerk off to it if you'd like to (but please don't tell us), or give your valuable opinions about proportions.

[BilateralDamage]

Good long arms and torso, you're a great candidate for LL.    How tall are you and what are you aiming for?

[ChrisIsaak]

Good long arms and torso, you're a great candidate for LL.    How tall are you and what are you aiming for?

Good to hear 

I am 165 cm ( 5'5 )
Aiming for 173 cm ( 5'8 )

[BilateralDamage]

Almost the same height as me, I'm 167 cm and aiming for 173-174 after my first PRECICE lengthening.

Then I'm gonna go back and do another 6 cm on my tibia to hit 180 cm!

What's your wingspan and arm length?  Also sitting height?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

I think femurs are the right choice for you.  Your femurs look disproportionately short, especially compared to your long arms and torso.  I think you'll look more proportional after LL.  Hope everything goes well for you between now and then!

[ChrisIsaak]

Almost the same height as me, I'm 167 cm and aiming for 173-174 after my first PRECICE lengthening.

Then I'm gonna go back and do another 6 cm on my tibia to hit 180 cm!

What's your wingspan and arm length?  Also sitting height?

Good luck! Where do you plan to go for LL?

I also plan to come back and hit the tibias later, but it would be wise to think of it one step at a time.

Unfortunately, I don't know what my wingspan/arm length/sitting height is. Never really bothered to measure those.

However, while I was in yoga class a couple weeks ago, a guy from the college basketball team was sitting next to me. We were on our knees, sharing the mattress. I realized that we almost had the same torso length.

I think femurs are the right choice for you.  Your femurs look disproportionately short, especially compared to your long arms and torso.  I think you'll look more proportional after LL.  Hope everything goes well for you between now and then!

I told this a thousand times to people who worried that LL would mess up my proportions. I always told them that I was already disproportionate. You know, that bull  idea of "God made you perfect the way you are". Nah. I think I'll pass.

Thanks, I hope so too. I wouldn't mind bad things happening to me, but I can't bear to see my family getting sad over this. I promised them that I'd be fine.