This is going to be a very important, long message for all the people who want to do LL and are not 100% sure whether they should proceed. I have been a member for more than 3 years on this forum and I was away from this site for almost a year. Long story short, I cancelled my surgery which was scheduled early July 2015 with Dr. Paley.
I am here again, on this site, still depressed about my height... HOWEVER... As mentioned on the title, I did not regret my choice of backing out the last minute and not doing LL. I believe that if I did the surgery I would be more sad and in a much worse situation... Here are various reasons why I believe so, and please, if you are the type of person who thinks like me and cares a lot about their body or athletic skills, take into consideration what I will mention below because LL might not be for you.
>>>The cons (disadvantages) I would personally face if I did LL:
1) Complications! A very logical reason and LL's complications are something you should take seriously since you never know what to expect and each body is different. Just because Dr. Paley was going to be my surgeon, nobody guarantees to me that my LL will succeed. Obviously, the less developed a country is, the more likely LL will be risky.
2) Being crippled for a LONG time. You need a lot of patience, and you have to endure a lot of PAIN for years. You might have pain for the rest of your life because at the end of the day, they are literally cutting your bones in half.
3) You need to be psychologically prepared for this and you definitely need support, or else the whole journey is ten times harder than you expect.
4) Very expensive (probably the most expensive and dangerous cosmetic procedure).
5) Time consuming. You waste too much time from your life, away from home, work, friends, spouse etc... Depending on where you go.
6) Dis-proportionality on your legs and your body as a whole. I hate to admit this, but a disproportional body is not the most attractive thing you would like to see on someone and it can look really ugly...
7) Your body weakens and loses its fitness. Your legs/ass become thinner/flatter and if you care a lot about your body this can be extremely frustrating. Gaining something (height) and losing something else. You could work out but there is a chance to lose motivation and it takes great skill.
8 ) Regret. Realize that the whole thing wasn't worth it in the first place and you are trying to convince yourself that you are happy when in fact you are still not. I spoke to some people who admitted this to me.
9) There is a chance you could still not be satisfied with your height. A second surgery might be needed... Double the costs, double all the above I mentioned, and of course, become even more disproportional.
10) Judgement from people. This surgery is not approved by many people and it is very controversial. You will be criticized.
11) Having kids. Your kids will definitely not have the height you have after your surgery and if you are not planning on telling your wife (or husband) the truth, then that's not a very trustworthy relationship is it?
12) Pain, as mentioned in number (2). Taking painkillers all day isn't the most healthy thing.
13) Your body will never be as it was before surgery. You will never be able to run as you could before LL for example.
>>>The pros (advantages) I would face from LL:
1) Gain height. Maximum 7-8cm if my body even accepts the outcome. Guess what! I still wouldn't be satisfied with my height and I would still be considered short so in other words, this isn't even an advantage for me (and for some others).
2) Your height dysphoria MIGHT be cured.
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Please take into consideration my advice. I do not want to scare anybody or prevent someone from doing LL if they wish to do so. I just want to make sure you guys think if this surgery is even worth it at the end of the day. I know how it feels to have height dysphoria, trust me... I know how you guys feel, it can be an exasperating experience.
Thank you so much for reading, and you guys can ask me anything, I will gladly help if I can.