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Author Topic: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016  (Read 256249 times)

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Four Inch

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #682 on: August 23, 2017, 11:17:35 AM »

And the one older guy (closer to 50s) I know who had painless clicking and got to 7cm is the very one who has non-union and is being treated with me at NHS.

I'm in this older class of patients.  I was very concerned about non-union, mostly because of my age, but decided to lengthen to the upper end of the spectrum.  Luckily, things appear to be going well at this point (emphasis on luckily); I am going to very angry at myself if things suddenly go south. 

There is a big difference between considered the consequences of lengthening to much and proceeding with the risk and lengthening that occurs entirely by accident.  While Unicorn is deserving of our empathy, I will have deserved apathy and kick in the arse!  My demise will totally be on me and me alone.

I'm rooting for you Unicorn!
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Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #683 on: August 23, 2017, 10:28:37 PM »

I'm in this older class of patients.  I was very concerned about non-union, mostly because of my age, but decided to lengthen to the upper end of the spectrum.  Luckily, things appear to be going well at this point (emphasis on luckily); I am going to very angry at myself if things suddenly go south. 

There is a big difference between considered the consequences of lengthening to much and proceeding with the risk and lengthening that occurs entirely by accident.  While Unicorn is deserving of our empathy, I will have deserved apathy and kick in the arse!  My demise will totally be on me and me alone.

I'm rooting for you Unicorn!

Bravo Four Inch!!!  Keep up the good work!  We still cannot understand why one person fuses while another doesn't.  And in my case, why one leg fuses while the other won't.

My NHS doc thinks it's key to let a leg 'settle' for one week after osteotomy before lengthening begins; which I did for my left leg, provoking the ire of my previous doc. But at least my left leg is now fusing - which isn't happening w the right leg.

Other possible explanations include the nail being contaminated or too big (13mm), bony infection, poor vascular health, NSAIDs etc.

Or perhaps letting my fat cat sleep on my right leg at night cuts off all blood circulation... but how I can blame this face?

« Last Edit: August 23, 2017, 11:35:59 PM by Unicorn888 »
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Four Inch

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #684 on: August 24, 2017, 08:37:14 AM »

Your cat has a "guilty as charged" look.  ;D


Or perhaps letting my fat cat sleep on my right leg at night cuts off all blood circulation... but how I can blame this face?

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Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #685 on: August 24, 2017, 05:04:31 PM »

Your cat has a "guilty as charged" look.  ;D

Definitely guilty!   Caught red handed (pawed) here... stealing from a cripple!  La vergogna gatta mia!


Auron

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #686 on: August 24, 2017, 06:25:01 PM »

Oi oi, flirting is not allowed in this forum!  >:(
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Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #687 on: August 25, 2017, 12:44:45 PM »

Ok, another verdict.

I've taken an xray this morning + seen my NHS doc too.

My left leg which was fractured, fused, rebroken and relengthened is currently showing very good bone consolidation.  It has however runaway as well and lengthened involuntarily by 10mm in the last one month.

My right leg however has ZERO activity.  There are no cysts and even with nuclear medicine, it shows ZERO activity.  The doc asked me to do a white cell count to rule out certain infections.

She says now I've 3 options to which I might resort, if all else fails :

1)  Bone graft with my hip bone + cadaver bone (doubtful it can fuse a 10cm gap)

2)  Change to trauma nails (smaller nail + reaming - might stimulate healing/bone growth)

3)  Change nail to Precice, shorten to zero, wait for callus growth and slowly restart lengthening at a very slow pace ensuring that the calluses are joining before lengthening further each time

Either way, she'll try to avoid operating on my left leg again.  She says I've suffered enough trauma to be subjected to further shortening :'(

So that's that folks!   The reality of lengthening gone wrong.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2017, 01:09:31 PM by Unicorn888 »
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Chris

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #688 on: August 25, 2017, 01:47:56 PM »


You have my sympathy :(
My doctors had to re-cut my left leg in March, and now there is no new callus, so I can feel your pain.
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Body Builder

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #689 on: August 25, 2017, 01:52:09 PM »

The only real solution imo is the third Unicorn.
I don't think you should reach to zero, even at 2-3 cm gap the bone may start to consolidate.

However lengthening 10 cm in your other leg was not a good choice as 10cm lengthenuing is too much and it will ruin your proportions, your gait and your athletic abilities.
If I was you I'd have stopped at 6-7 cm and shorten the other leg until it consolidates and reaches that amount.

Anyway now only shortening the bone gap can help you and precise is the best for you. Don't lose time with bone grafts, precise 2 is ideal for non unions so that's what the doctors should do on your case.
Insist on that.
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Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #690 on: August 25, 2017, 04:16:35 PM »

The only real solution imo is the third Unicorn.
I don't think you should reach to zero, even at 2-3 cm gap the bone may start to consolidate.

However lengthening 10 cm in your other leg was not a good choice as 10cm lengthenuing is too much and it will ruin your proportions, your gait and your athletic abilities.
If I was you I'd have stopped at 6-7 cm and shorten the other leg until it consolidates and reaches that amount.

Anyway now only shortening the bone gap can help you and precise is the best for you. Don't lose time with bone grafts, precise 2 is ideal for non unions so that's what the doctors should do on your case.
Insist on that.

Thanks!  Lengthening to 10cm was not a CHOICE.  I had stopped lengthening at 7.1cm 

It was involuntary clicks that was a result of a runaway nail (that cannot reverse nor stop) that led to the 10cm height gained.

And it was exacerbated by the fact that NOBODY noticed the 10cm until an NHS A&E medical student decided to measure the gap and discovered that it had reached its maximum.

Nobody should lengthen to 10cm as your soft tissues cannot catch up.  Hence, my severe lordosis, pelvis tilts and genu valgum today :'(
« Last Edit: August 25, 2017, 04:47:10 PM by Unicorn888 »
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Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #691 on: August 25, 2017, 07:59:23 PM »

The only real solution imo is the third Unicorn.
I don't think you should reach to zero, even at 2-3 cm gap the bone may start to consolidate.

However lengthening 10 cm in your other leg was not a good choice as 10cm lengthenuing is too much and it will ruin your proportions, your gait and your athletic abilities.
If I was you I'd have stopped at 6-7 cm and shorten the other leg until it consolidates and reaches that amount.

Anyway now only shortening the bone gap can help you and precise is the best for you. Don't lose time with bone grafts, precise 2 is ideal for non unions so that's what the doctors should do on your case.
Insist on that.

And you're right!  Instead of all the experiments, I should just opt straight for Precice 2.  My left leg would be solid enough to support the non-weight bearing.

And I can shorten the gap enough to wait for calluses to form before restarting lengthening again.

I'll ask for that since it appears that nothing's going to help now.

Thanks Bodybuilder!

Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #692 on: August 25, 2017, 08:30:43 PM »

When we started this process, we didn't understand why the doc would determine how much we can lengthen by checking our flexibility. We were under the impression flexibility meant our lengthening process would be less painful.

So here is my understanding now, having gone through the process twice, separately.

Flexibility determines how much your muscles/soft tissues can stretch to catch up with your lengthened leg.  Without flexibility, your quad, hamstrings, pelvic muscles, IT bands will be too short/tight for your new height.  Hence, that will inevitably cause your body to 'crunch' with an anterior pelvic tilt, lordosis, duck ass.  Your bum sticks out, your back is curved and your tummy is pushed out.

This duck ass will in turn cause your hip to rotate inwards causing knock knees and inward facing toes.

And to recover from the above to regain walking ability and normal gait, you need to be able to stretch and lengthen these soft tissues sufficiently.  And if you can't, that's when further surgeries are needed to release certain soft tissues with no guarantee all can be restored.

In addition, weak glutes and abs will further exacerbate your current predicament.  Hence, the importance to maintain these muscles during the lengthening process by doing the prescribed workouts even if you can't bear weight.

So what makes clicking painful?  It's not the lack of flexibility but how fast one's bones consolidate.  The faster you consolidate, the more painful it becomes to literally 'rebreak' your bones several times daily, every day, in order to lengthen.

Clicking is also painful if you're using a manual nail (gnail/ISKD types) because you've to rotate a certain degree to find the click/rachet.  It causes quite a lot of stress/anguish during the early days post surgery and becomes easier the more you lengthen... until you hit a point where consolidation makes it painful again. 

It's about striking that delicate balance of both extremes :
Easy clicking = non-union
Painful clicking = pre-consolidation (which requires even more/faster clicking to slow down the fast fusion)

Hence, 2 key factors = flexibility (to recover normal walking gait) and fusion rate (which wld determine pain level)

This is my 2 cents.  Perhaps obvious to everyone but myself... until now
« Last Edit: August 25, 2017, 08:51:08 PM by Unicorn888 »
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Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #693 on: August 25, 2017, 09:36:29 PM »

I'm chatty today but in reality, after this morning's disappointing xrays, I'm scraping the bottom of the (wine) barrel.  As evidenced by my singular forum activity on a warm summer long-weekend Friday evening.

I really thought that my life was hell enough to suffer a fracture that set me back one entire year.  Well that year has come and gone, and I'm nowhere close to healing properly.

In addition to this 'bad luck', how do I even win the lottery of also having ZERO union/bones on my other leg?

What are the chances?

What does this spell for me?  It just means that at 42, I have very little possibility to find love, get married and start a family.  At least the normal dream that most girls have.

I was already running out of time to begin with, and to think that I'll need AT LEAST another year to recover without a career, friends, social life, money even pride and dignity means I've been totally robbed of a life.

Yes, one can comfort me by saying, you can find love and get married at any age.  But I was hoping that I could also lead a normal life with a family as well.  I might just never get there.  And I cannot fathom what the other lonely alternative entails.

When I think about the consequences of my action, I realize that there was a 'God'.  And it came in the form of throwing a ton of obstacles on the day of my surgery when everything went wrong.  It couldn't have been clearer when the doctor called me by the wrong name.

I did pause for a moment and wonder if I was never meant to undergo this surgery, since the endless hurdles struck me as ominous... but then, I chose to ignore the glaring signs and went ahead anyway.

It's like the time I was engaged to be married to a Frenchman who was all wrong for me.  I just thought I'd bear with it since everyone was getting married and I should jump on that bandwagon too.  When asked about how excited I was about my upcoming nuptials, I'd tell my friends, "it's kinda like going to jail".  We were wrong for each other and it was obvious to all.

That said, it took another glaring wake-up call from 'God'.  We were in Jordan and I found myself being sxxually molested in a hotel spa.  The masseur had locked the room with a key and removed my underwear.  My only passing thought was, if I screamed and panicked, he might snuff me with a pillow since he was at least twice my size.

Out of pure desperation, I asked him calmly if he'd prefer coming to my room instead of the uncomfortable clunky massage table.  He was only too excited to comply.  We made a 'date' for 8pm and he let me out.

I ran, tears blurring where I was going, thinking only about the safety of my fiance's arms.  When I got to the room and gasped the story to him between sobs, he retorted, "You should be ashamed of yourself for getting molested.  You asked for it when you allowed a male masseur to touch you.  I didn't come on vacation to spend the rest of my time at the police station.  They throw rape victims in jail here, so you've jeopardized our safety with your stupidity."

I think this was definitely the absolute last reaction I had expected.  Then it  dawned on me, blindingly clear, like a tattoo on my forehead.  Wow!  It has only taken something soooooo drastic for me to see that he was not the guy for me.

And with that, I left him.  I left Paris.  I left my job, our apartment and our planned wedding.  It was one lucky escape.

But maybe this time around, my luck has run out.
« Last Edit: August 25, 2017, 11:09:56 PM by Unicorn888 »
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Auron

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #694 on: August 25, 2017, 10:50:45 PM »


What does this spell for me?  It just means that at 42, I have very little possibility to find love, get married and start a family.  At least the normal dream that most girls have.
Not true. Locking yourself in your room with your cat won't help, the only guys you are bound to marry is the postman and the pizza guy. But anyways, you need to recover 1st and make sure you don't give up on your dream. You are 42, not 84.
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Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #695 on: August 25, 2017, 11:06:48 PM »

Not true. Locking yourself in your room with your cat won't help, the only guys you are bound to marry is the postman and the pizza guy. But anyways, you need to recover 1st and make sure you don't give up on your dream. You are 42, not 84.

Too late, I'm already in love with my Amazon delivery guy...  but I know it's unrequited love.

He accuses me of cheating on him with Alibaba.

Auron

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #696 on: August 25, 2017, 11:26:33 PM »

Too late, I'm already in love with my Amazon delivery guy...  but I know it's unrequited love.

He accuses me of cheating on him with Alibaba.
If it was an unrequited love he wouldn't care about you cheating. I think that relationship of yours is worth a shot!
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Body Builder

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #697 on: August 25, 2017, 11:46:00 PM »

Unicorn don't think about all these. Your aim now should be only to fix your legs and be completely functional again. Then everything is up to you and trust me, a sweet lady with a good body is never undetectable from males even at your age.
So focus your mind on your legs and do whatever you can best to be again functional and healthy and then, at your new height, your self esteem will boost and everything will come much easier.
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Datum

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #698 on: August 26, 2017, 12:40:18 AM »

Don't think about all these problems unicorn. You will be functional again thanks to your new doctors and you will find a good man. I would marry you ASAP ... and have children to fight LL moneymakers!
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jojo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #699 on: August 26, 2017, 05:18:27 AM »

https://www.facebook.com/ScienceNaturePage/posts/1148097078655882


If anyone can click this link.

It some kind of stem cell bone reg. Maybe it's for u ?
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Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #700 on: August 26, 2017, 08:35:56 AM »

https://www.facebook.com/ScienceNaturePage/posts/1148097078655882


If anyone can click this link.

It some kind of stem cell bone reg. Maybe it's for u ?

Thanks Jojo!  I'll contact U of Leicester to see if they're in need of one more guinea pig :)

Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #701 on: August 26, 2017, 09:03:03 AM »

If it was an unrequited love he wouldn't care about you cheating. I think that relationship of yours is worth a shot!

As for Auron, Bodybuilder and Datum,

Thanks for trying to cheer me up!   I had worked so hard, bearing weight nonstop to try grow bones, exogen, ingesting every kind of supplements, short of growing bones on a voodoo doll.  To no avail.

I guess I'm going through the 5 stages of grief :)

Denial (Aug'16) = when I thought I'd just need a 2nd surgery to fix the nail/fracture and I could continue lengthening again from my 32mm gained height, hence, walking perfectly by christmas 2016 (achoo! delusional idiot!)

Anger (Feb'17) = when the doc cancelled my surgery last minute that cracked my rose tinted glasses

Bargaining (Summer'17) = when I'd try anything plus sign a deal with the devil to reclaim my life (and consumed enough chicken feet to bankrupt KFC)

Depression (Aug'17) = Drowning in an inconsolable stupor when I extrapolate my life trajectory as quasimodo

Acceptance = May I never get there

IwannaBeTaller

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #702 on: August 26, 2017, 09:53:06 AM »

This is a very difficult time for you, and most of us here, who haven't done LL, cannot fully comprehend your struggle, even if we try. Yet I can only tell you: bear up with this. It will get better and seeing that you are now in better care than you were with that controversial LL doctor, you will recover one day. As well can all see, the consequences of your surgery were very grave, and you might wish that you had never done it. But nobody could've known these consequences beforehand, and what you did was simply making this decision based on your best assessment with all the information you had during this time. It sucks a lot, but there's not much that could've been done beforehand given the information you had. Please forgive yourself for this.

And I truly believe you still have the chance to find a good guy and start a family. Even with your current state, there are guys out there who could look past it and be able to see all the beautiful, good things about you, which I estimate there are many of. I concede they are very rare, but I'm confident they exist. And your recovery is not complete yet, so that's not even factoring in that you might be fully mobile one day in the future.

That's what I can say, from my own judgement. I hope you will keep fighting as you are doing so bravely. All the best to you.
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doomsday

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #703 on: August 26, 2017, 11:26:59 AM »

Ok, another verdict.

I've taken an xray this morning + seen my NHS doc too.

My left leg which was fractured, fused, rebroken and relengthened is currently showing very good bone consolidation.  It has however runaway as well and lengthened involuntarily by 10mm in the last one month.

My right leg however has ZERO activity.  There are no cysts and even with nuclear medicine, it shows ZERO activity.  The doc asked me to do a white cell count to rule out certain infections.

She says now I've 3 options to which I might resort, if all else fails :

1)  Bone graft with my hip bone + cadaver bone (doubtful it can fuse a 10cm gap)

2)  Change to trauma nails (smaller nail + reaming - might stimulate healing/bone growth)

3)  Change nail to Precice, shorten to zero, wait for callus growth and slowly restart lengthening at a very slow pace ensuring that the calluses are joining before lengthening further each time

Either way, she'll try to avoid operating on my left leg again.  She says I've suffered enough trauma to be subjected to further shortening :'(

So that's that folks!   The reality of lengthening gone wrong.

If I was you I would go for option number 2.
A New trauma nail plus shortening and match the  left leg. Reaming seems quite successful and also 10 cm is a huge amount of lengthening.  I dont wanna make you pessimistic or anything but considering your short limbs especially women's short tibia 10 cm seems freaking huge. Im not sure how this will affect bio-mechanics but I know that Tall from the old forum did 11cm (while being 178cm or something) and had knee problems etc. It might seem like BS but tibia to femur ratio is way out of proportion(im not talking about aesthetics).  Also If the left nail is still lengthening I would put that leg in a cast but that's what I would do.
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Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #704 on: August 27, 2017, 09:17:44 AM »

If I was you I would go for option number 2.
A New trauma nail plus shortening and match the  left leg. Reaming seems quite successful and also 10 cm is a huge amount of lengthening.  I dont wanna make you pessimistic or anything but considering your short limbs especially women's short tibia 10 cm seems freaking huge. Im not sure how this will affect bio-mechanics but I know that Tall from the old forum did 11cm (while being 178cm or something) and had knee problems etc. It might seem like BS but tibia to femur ratio is way out of proportion(im not talking about aesthetics).  Also If the left nail is still lengthening I would put that leg in a cast but that's what I would do.

Hi Doomsday,

Thanks for the suggestions :)  Firstly, yes, I've to wear a long leg brace to stop the accidental clicking :)  But it was discovered after it has runaway to 9.7cm, so if the cap is fitted properly, it'll stop clicking completely at 10cm anyway :)

But yes, there are absolute pros and cons to all the options presented whether it's replacing nails or bone graft or relengthening with Precice II.

In the meantime, I'm desperately seeking alternatives to will my leg to fuse  ;D

-  Alternate heat and ice packs to promote circulation
-  Massaging with fir, cypress and helichrysum oils
-  Taking double boiled tien chi (reknown chinese herb for bone healing) - see instagram
-  Might look at Forsteo to boost osteoblast power (will beg doc)
-  Exogen light radiation to stimulate bone healing - see instagram
-  Taking whey protein isolate daily - see instagram
-  Supplements of D3, magnesium, zinc, calcium, vitamin C
-  Chinese double boiled white fungus - see instagram
-  Frog legs, chicken feet, pig trotters (the chinese believe, whatever you're missing, eat that animal part directly to heal :o)
-  Beef bone marrow
-  Algaecal - see instagram
-  Cycling to promote circulation
-  Acupuncture to increase chi flow to my right leg and promote circulation
-  More walking and weight bearing (maybe I've to stand on the unfused leg all day like a flamingo? or get a job on a conveyor belt? 8))
-  Getting sufficient uninterrupted sleep
-  Talking, caressing and doling unlimited TLC to my right leg, who justifiably might have felt totally left out when all attention was focused on the fractured and relengthened left leg.  I'd go on strike too if I were a member of Team Right!

I can't think of what else I can do to grow bones without resorting to further surgeries and inevitable complications :)  My left femur is fusing beautifully, so I can imagine something's working and/or the right leg/nail has an isolated problem.

It's such a puzzling conundrum  :)
« Last Edit: August 27, 2017, 11:01:15 AM by Unicorn888 »
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Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #705 on: August 27, 2017, 09:42:50 AM »

WHAT IS PAIN?

I was discussing with one of my current classmates recently about our lengthening process and how it might have differed if we went to an experienced Precice doc.  I had also been in touch with one of those rare patients who had done lengthening with 2 doctors, one of which includes Paley and had used both a manual racheting ISKD type nail and remote clicking Precice nail.

What strikes me as interesting is the fact that my classmate forgot that his lengthening was painful  ;D  And I had to resend him the text messages we had sent each other right after surgery and he suddenly remembered the agony  ;D   This is what I've often observed with myself and all patients.  Our brains tend to block out painful and traumatic memories and it's probably a survival mechanism to help us cope and move on.  Hence, sometimes, LL pain is under reported due to our survival instincts kicking in (sugarcoating the memory), peppered with some preservation of pride.

I've noticed too that there's a fair share of testoterone fuelled competitive spirit amongst my male classmates.  While the girls retreated into their shells and suffered in silence, the men tend to treat the lengthening process as a spartan contest of stunts, lengthening speed and recovery.  There were copious videos flying around within our whassap group of who can complete the elliptical earliest, quad squatting exercises, jumping, jogging, salsa dancing, moonwalking... with each stunt increasing in risk, heroic pain tolerance and sating a basic human need for recognition.  And while most were not necessary for recovery, they were perhaps vital for healing the wounded ego.  We sometimes compared this peculiar male dynamic to the initiation rituals that boys had to undergo to reach manhood ;D

I remember the first time I went to see the NHS doc, she had given me a survey to determine my pain level and on a scale of 1-10, my result was 1.  But they had observed me grimacing and wincing whenever I had to move or get up or do physio.  My doc sat me down one day and said, "you might think that you're just enduring normal aches and pains and it's not a big deal.  But this is not a way to live and we consider achy bones a form of pain."  So she asked me to take paracetamol every 4 hours because she says that if my head is constantly petrified by pain, my physio therapy and extreme stretching exercises might be compromised.  I was surprised at the starkly different approaches to pain btw both doctors.

Our previous doctor was not a fan of any painkillers besides tramadol/codeine for 2 weeks post-op and afterwards, we were instructed to wean ourselves off and exercise whenever there was pain.  That caused many of us to stoically suffer post-op pain in addition to completing the manual racheting process on schedule.  No wonder NHS uses Precice on children, because they cannot reasonably be expected to have the willpower and sufficient pain bearing mechanisms to manually rotate and rachet when they're already in so much post-op pain.

It really makes me wonder whether my old doctor's 'minimal painkiller' regime is wise.  The reason I'm saying this is because one of those rare LLer who had undergone both ISKD type nail and Precice had revealed that the pain level/clicking process btw both nails are as different as night and day. Precice and adequate painkillers made the entire lengthening procedure much less traumatic.

So perhaps when all of us are discussing pain levels, we are comparing apples, oranges, pears and cats!  We in London might have gotten the short end of the stick with both minimal painkillers + a manual racheting nail (+ astronomical prices).  No wonder all of us can't agree on how painful LL is...

Just my 2 cents from speaking to a ton of people and their respective experiences.

« Last Edit: August 27, 2017, 11:05:59 AM by Unicorn888 »
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helloworld

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #706 on: August 27, 2017, 06:42:57 PM »

Don't think about all these problems unicorn. You will be functional again thanks to your new doctors and you will find a good man. I would marry you ASAP ... and have children to fight LL moneymakers!
If you are 42 and you would liek children I would take action now, as from 42 onwards every additional years makes a big difference in terms of fertility. Consider making appointment with London Women's Clinic and getting your eggs frozen. That is if you want to get it done in London. Otherwise Czech Republic offers best value for freezing eggs.
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1,80 -> 185
185 wingspan
surgery Nov/Dec 2016, stopped lengthening April 2017
Dr. Monegal patient

Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #707 on: August 29, 2017, 03:41:46 PM »

If you are 42 and you would liek children I would take action now, as from 42 onwards every additional years makes a big difference in terms of fertility. Consider making appointment with London Women's Clinic and getting your eggs frozen. That is if you want to get it done in London. Otherwise Czech Republic offers best value for freezing eggs.

Hi Helloworld,

Thanks for the suggestion :)   Yes, I've had my eggs frozen before I went for LL in the eventuality that something went wrong and my body got polluted by too much chemicals.  So yes, the eggs are ready for hatching :)   Or the buns are ready for baking in the oven!

Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #708 on: August 29, 2017, 06:02:04 PM »

You have my sympathy :(
My doctors had to re-cut my left leg in March, and now there is no new callus, so I can feel your pain.

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your message!  I've just read through your diary.  You're so resourceful, resilient and positive.  Don't let the naysayers get to you.  You've been courageous and focused enough to undergo this procedure on your own.  Just on this basis, you're my hero!

Healing might be slower than we wished, but I'm very confident it will happen or you'll find a solution.  This ain't going to be the story of your life, you've many more years to chalk up more memories that will make this one something to laugh at some day.  Trust me.

Four Inch

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #709 on: August 30, 2017, 10:17:33 AM »


You're so resourceful, resilient and positive.  Don't let the naysayers get to you.  You've been courageous and focused enough to undergo this procedure on your own.  Just on this basis, you're my hero!

Healing might be slower than we wished, but I'm very confident it will happen or you'll find a solution.  This ain't going to be the story of your life, you've many more years to chalk up more memories that will make this one something to laugh at some day.  Trust me.

That's more like it Unicorn!  Your response to Chris is the type of resilience you to need to focus on while taking on your challenge. Don't let this thing take you down for the count; you have plenty of life ahead of you.  Focus on your health; relationships and love have a funny way of falling into place when you least expect it.
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helloworld

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #710 on: September 02, 2017, 03:14:26 PM »

Hi Helloworld,

Thanks for the suggestion :)   Yes, I've had my eggs frozen before I went for LL in the eventuality that something went wrong and my body got polluted by too much chemicals.  So yes, the eggs are ready for hatching :)   Or the buns are ready for baking in the oven!
Good decision! You are a smart girl!
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1,80 -> 185
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Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #711 on: September 15, 2017, 04:04:04 PM »

Hi everyone,

Just a small little update.  I had some free time and wanted to tally up how much it has cost me to undergo LL surgery and its continuing complications for over 13 months.  Here's a breakdown by category which I find super eye opening :

Transportation = £8k
Pharmaceuticals/meds = £3.6k
Delivered Meals = £10.4k
Paraphernalia/accessories = £2.4k
Tests/xrays/scans = £7k
Nurse/help = £17.5k
Treatments/chiro/therapist = £4k
Groceries = £1.2k
Interests = £1k (from outstanding credit card balances)
Household = £2k (including cleaning)
Entertainment = £2.2k (including Kindle, Netflix, Sky)
Guichet invoice = £100k

GRAND TOTAL = approx £155k out-of-pocket, not forgetting NHS is completely FREE and I already live in London (so no extra accommodation costs factored)

... and my nightmare is far from over since I've zero bones/non-union on my right leg at 10cm length :'(



« Last Edit: September 15, 2017, 06:43:09 PM by Unicorn888 »
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The Dreamer

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Re: UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
« Reply #712 on: September 15, 2017, 04:36:44 PM »

Hi Unicorn,I'm checking your progresses when I have time on your instagram profile.
155k£ are a lot of money,no doubt....I don't know what to say,besides the huge ammount of money,in my opinion your doctor had the worst behaviour I have ever seen.I hope he will get the right punishment that he deserves (maybe losing potential patients after you experience)
By the way you are a so strong girl that you will made it.
I like your hacrapags (I remeber "iwillwalkagain" and "heightneurosissuck") and your determination.
I saw a comparison picture of before and after and you have made improvements.
For your right leg,have you tried a bone stimulator machine like is doing now Rgkey ? I guess bone graft is not enough for 10 cm of discrepancy
I have read almost all of diaries(including yours) but I don't remeber all details,so sorry if I'm asking nonsense questions
Edit:i rembered some details,and there is also the option of relenghtening with the Precice system
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●Do LL but do not let it obsess you
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