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[YellowSpike]

Hey everyone,

I've been posting on the old forums, and have been a lurker here for a while. Have been researching LL for the past year or so.

A little bit about me...I'm 30 years (just turned 30), 5'5.5" (166.5cm), and in great physical shape (although I smoke on average 2-3 cigarettes a day, but quitting next month). I've hated my height since I was in high school, but sort of "got over it" in college. I guess because, back then, I really couldn't do anything about it. I have a very handsome face (have been compared to Hollywood celebs a number of times), so I did fairly well with girls, but my height has still impeded my confidence over the years.

I was in a relationship with a very pretty girl for 5 years, and she broke my heart not too long ago. As I went through the psychological clearance process with Dr. Rozbruch, we discussed this. She believed I'm a great fit, and just thinks that my breakup has only exacerbated my height disphoria (it was always there). I remember feeling trapped in my last relationship...I knew it wasn't gonna work, but part of me stayed because I never thought I could get another pretty girl (mostly due to my height).

The main thing holding my back right now, if I'm being 100% honest, is fear of the physical pain (internal femurs via Precice 2). From what I gather, after 2 weeks, it's not too terrible...but I'm still scared of that first week. It's also hard because my father is very much against this, and I will need my whole family's support to get through this. I'd hire a caretaker to come over a few hours each day to help out, as well. But I still need the emotional support of my family.

Has anyone on here had any difficulty in deciding to do LL or not? For me, fear of the pain and seeing other short guys manage to be happy with themselves both hold me back. I keep thinking to myself "if he can be happy at my height, why can't I?" But I tend to compare myself to other men, and my height has always made me feel inferior, even if other short guys don't feel this way.

I guess I'm just looking for some help in deciding to move forward or not. I've really been agonizing and going through hell over my decision, and it's been the only thing on my mind for the past several months (as sad as that may sound). Thanks for any support.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

The one person I know who had doubts ended up regretting LL.

[ChrisIsaak]

I speak with a lot of prospective local patients almost everyday, and I frequently get two questions: "Is it too painful?" and "Is there risk of becoming crippled?" I maintain my calmness when answering these questions but I also get annoyed everytime. I was prepared to die before going to the surgery room and I was laughing, sure it was a bit stressful and exciting, but I didn't give a damn about any potential pain and I don't remember being hesitant at all. When one is hesitant, I say "Don't do LL" everytime. It's a simple formula - if you have a need to ask others whether if you should do it or not, then you shouldn't do it, period. However, I also have a feeling that you're an exception. You sound like a very logical person, and I think you could greatly benefit from the psychological boost post-LL. Don't worry about pain at all. Just ask yourself how patient you are. LL isn't a "war against pain", it's patience, patience, and patience, because it's a boring, boring, boring process    If you do LL, you'll realize that the pain is very manageable and you'll be surprised, but being immobile for a long time will be mental torture. You should prepare yourself for the right thing.

[YellowSpike]

The one person I know who had doubts ended up regretting LL.

Can you elaborate on this? Why did this guy end up regretting LL? Assuming all went well, I can't imagine he wasn't happy with being taller (though, I guess this also depends on his starting height)? At 5'5.5", doing LL would get me to 5'8", which I think is the bare minimum for evading much of the heighism that goes on.

[YellowSpike]

I speak with a lot of prospective local patients almost everyday, and I frequently get two questions: "Is it too painful?" and "Is there risk of becoming crippled?" I maintain my calmness when answering these questions but I also get annoyed everytime. I was prepared to die before going to the surgery room and I was laughing, sure it was a bit stressful and exciting, but I didn't give a damn about any potential pain and I don't remember being hesitant at all. When one is hesitant, I say "Don't do LL" everytime. It's a simple formula - if you have a need to ask others whether if you should do it or not, then you shouldn't do it, period. However, I also have a feeling that you're an exception. You sound like a very logical person, and I think you could greatly benefit from the psychological boost post-LL. Don't worry about pain at all. Just ask yourself how patient you are. LL isn't a "war against pain", it's patience, patience, and patience, because it's a boring, boring, boring process    If you do LL, you'll realize that the pain is very manageable and you'll be surprised, but being immobile for a long time will be mental torture. You should prepare yourself for the right thing.

Thanks "Up!"  I've read your diaries, and you remind me of myself in a number of ways. I'm glad your LL journey has been successful so far!

It's not so much that I'm asking others "should I do it?"...I guess I just need to get over some residual reservations I have. I'm prepared for the mental torture of being alone. I'll have the internet, netflix, HBOGo, and videogames to get me through that. Plus, my family lives quite close to me, and I know they'd come visit. My dad, while totally against this, said he'd sleep over a few nights for the first 2 weeks.

I guess I just see other short guys who manage just fine, and wonder why I can't just "get over it." I also learned from my breakup that I don't EVER want to rely on having a pretty woman by my side to be confident...I want to be 100% confident on my own. I already have a pretty good career/salary (though I'm by no means rich), a very handsome face, master's degree, good personality...but my height, in my mind, "overrides" all of these positives.

I kinda feel like LL is just a matter of time for me. I just need to get over the fear. I broke my left ankle when I was younger, and had it set while I was wide awake. That was the worst pain I've ever felt, though it was only for a few seconds. So I try to prepare myself that that's what the first week will be like, though less severe but constant.

[ChrisIsaak]

Thanks, Yellowspike! 
5'8 is a very sweet spot, trust me!
I really doubt you would regret doing LL with Dr.Rozbruch.
Everything else seems to be going so well for you.. Which is great! Perhaps the only thing left missing is doing this, as it was in my case.
Cheers,
"up"

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Can you elaborate on this? Why did this guy end up regretting LL? Assuming all went well, I can't imagine he wasn't happy with being taller (though, I guess this also depends on his starting height)? At 5'5.5", doing LL would get me to 5'8", which I think is the bare minimum for evading much of the heighism that goes on.

He ended up regretting it because of the pain and the time spent doing it.  He had a good life before LL and things didn't really change that much for him afterwards.

[YellowSpike]

He ended up regretting it because of the pain and the time spent doing it.  He had a good life before LL and things didn't really change that much for him afterwards.

Thanks for the clarification. Do you know what method he did and with what doctor (just out of curiosity)?

My life is pretty good right now as well. But I guess the height thing has always been there for me. It was very "quiet" in my mind when I had a pretty gf...and I don't like that. I want to be happy with myself regardless of being single or not. And I've always wanted to just be taller than the average woman (my age).

[Medium Drink Of Water]

He did external tibiae with Dr. Mitkovic.

[Disobedient]

well think about things you might have and lose/or suffer if you did LL

1- time, I guess with internal you'd suffer for couple of months (3-4) then I think you'd be fine by the time.. so usually you wouldn't  take long time to walk normally again ..

2-Suffer? yeah maybe, but there is always pain killer, and internal method less pain full

3- money, well, you decide whether it's better to invest money with something else..


if you can manege to tell everyone else in your family but your dad then it's not problem.. otherwise you should hide the whole thing from your family off course this just my opinion ..

but hey.. you don't expect to have your dream height without any pain or suffering,don't you? .. you can always make it less painful.. but it will never be pain-free,,, you should be strong to go through this journey

..


 

[jerry]

Yellowspike, I can relate to what you wrote about agonizing over whether to do LL or not.    The pain level of  Precice 2 should be manageable and easier than traditional external methods.  Remember it's short term pain.   If you are paying for the surgery then nobody should object because you are the person who has to live with that height everyday.

[amatan]

My advice - do it.  The sooner you do it, the sooner you can enjoy the benefits. People may disagree with me, but I think getting limb lengthening for below average height men who can afford it is *scientifically, objectively* a good choice. 

1) The reason so many short men are seemingly ok with their height is because they live in ignorance of the positive effects height has for the quality of life of all men everywhere, in any position.  Whatever your occupation, whatever your race, whatever your social status, it is amazing how research has shown that height has roughly the same positive effect.  My father tried to convince me not to do this surgery (he is one of those short men who is seemingly ok with his height), but when I started showing research on the disadvantages short men face in life, he changed his mind. 

2) Women have more options for mates these days and can be (and are) pickier than EVER.  And yes, prettier girls can be even choosier, which means they usually take height into account even more than your average woman.

3) With the PRECICE, the pain is very tolerable post surgery, especially if you use painkillers, and it's only for a minority of patients  that had bad pain, and only for a few days post op.  The only times I had pain during the entire process was during the first week when I had to move (transferring to chair and bathroom was pretty painful, but only for a few seconds) and during PT.  Lengthening there is only slight pain (really none if you lengthen after PT/stretching or take painkillers) and there was next to no resting pain all through lengthening.   

I would guess that there isn't a single person in the world who used the PRECICE with a good doctor who regrets his decision to do this procedure.
   

[Sweden]

Don't be a wimp. You're a grown man and start acting like a tall confident man.
Pain is weakness leaving the body and real men don't need any emotional support to endure pain.

You will be happier walking down the streets taller tan before.
But you will feel   if athletic ability is something you care about.

I regret my LL bc I can't do sports like before and that sucks so bad for me.
But I certainly do not regret it when I'm out in night clubs or meet new people.

I was 5'8 before and always, ALWAYS felt like a child. Now I'm slightly below average here in Sweden which makes me want more height. Another 5cm+

[Carter]

Compare to the poor bastards who have to suffer pin cuts and infection in the external frames for almost a year....Precice 2 is like a walk in the park.  No pun intended.

[Blackhawk]

Don't be a wimp. You're a grown man and start acting like a tall confident man.
Pain is weakness leaving the body and real men don't need any emotional support to endure pain.

You will be happier walking down the streets taller tan before.
But you will feel s**t if athletic ability is something you care about.

I regret my LL bc I can't do sports like before and that sucks so bad for me.
But I certainly do not regret it when I'm out in night clubs or meet new people.

I was 5'8 before and always, ALWAYS felt like a child. Now I'm slightly below average here in Sweden which makes me want more height. Another 5cm+

Do you regret going to India and Sarin for LL?  If you had to do it over would you have saved up for a couple more years and gone with a different doctor?

[Sweden]

Do you regret going to India and Sarin for LL?  If you had to do it over would you have saved up for a couple more years and gone with a different doctor?

No, I needed to get it done.
I had more money. It wasn't about that.

[alps]

Sweden, that makes no sense. Are you saying Sarin did nothing bad to you? You regret LL but not going to Sarin for it?

[HelloThere]

So many good opinions and thoughts in this thread from people who have gone through LL... so glad you made the thread, YellowSpike!

[Sweden]

Sweden, that makes no sense. Are you saying Sarin did nothing bad to you? You regret LL but not going to Sarin for it?

I knew Indian doctors were very skilled in their field of work. They don't have a bad reputation around the world except for maybe the hospitals.

The Swedish LL-cases I found weren't even as good as my own.

I planned for doing external femurs too in India later on. But I will do internals, probably in Ukraine.

Dr Sarin treated me very good and helped me whenever he could, even 3 am in the night when I couldn't breathe.

The only thing I can question is when I asked him about why my feet are pointing outwards when my knees are straight. He said it will be fine, don't worry.
It was X-legs and could have been prevented.
I really hate the X-legs. Hate hate hate it. It looks terrible and people speak about it.

He could have treated ballerina much better too but that was also very much Harry's field of work. He could have said to us that we needed to stand up more.
Trying with your entire body to press the feet back is insane and not good for anything. He had such a poor education about physical therapy.

Dr Sarin is a highly competent doctor and if he just pulled his act together and listened more to the patients he would be the nr1 place to go to. Not taking more than 10 patients at a time and have group sessions all together 1 day in the week would help a lot.

He told me I didn't need the surgery.

I enjoy being taller, I really do but the surgery had a huge downside.
From being a professional sportsman to considered crippled is a huge psychological trauma - for me.

My life is seriously messed up bc of it, compared to before. I actually had it all and I lost most of for gaining barely 7cm of height.
Can't say it was worth such a sacrifice - for me that is.

I believe it will get better, I have to.

[alps]

I understand.
But what really is the matter with your legs?
Ballerina shouldn't give you aches in the morning when you wake up.
X-legs shouldn't cause pain in the ankles and feet.

What exactly has been the issue with your extremely slow recovery?
Is your soft-tissue simply not adapting because your body is like that? I guess then it's no one's fault. 

[YellowSpike]

I appreciate everyone's responses. I'm very much leaning towards just going for it, because I just don't see the height issue ever going away.

I see other short guys I know (my size, and even smaller) be happy. I'm sure they'd all love to be taller, but they've got careers, gfs/wives, kids, etc. I often think to myself "why can't I just be happy with the way I am?" I also sometimes wonder about how this may impact a future relationship. Even if I fully explain to the girl why I did it (for MYSELF), I wonder if she will look at me differently. I mean, I know, a woman who leaves a guy for doing the surgery isn't worth having anyway, but I can't help but think about this.

Finally, I have to consider my career. I got my Master's a while ago, and have been looking to make a move. I worry that doing this now will set me back, because once I"m recovered and interviewing, they may think "why did you take so long to make a move." I have the tuition reimbursement excuse to fall back on, but that ends very soon. I also have a supportive boss right now (who will let me have 2 months disability, and 2 months working from home), and I probably wouldn't have this in the future. I also have to consider my finances. My insurance should help get the costs down to manageable levels, and if all goes well, I should still have enough cash on hand to look into buying something.

I guess I just feel all this pressure as man to be competent in all areas (height, bank account, career, etc.). And I just don't want the surgery to set me back too much in other areas.

I'm not that afraid of the pain anymore, fyi. Someone on here (I think Sweden) said "pain is weakness leaving the body," and that helped

[Medium Drink Of Water]

If I could've been like you without the surgery, I never would've done it.  LL was a life changing endeavor for me that affected all aspects of my life afterward, not just height.  You seem to have a lot going for you even as a short man.

[LLL]

If I could've been like you without the surgery, I never would've done it.  LL was a life changing endeavor for me that affected all aspects of my life afterward, not just height.  You seem to have a lot going for you even as a short man.

Just curious - why couldn't you have been like him (and he's 5'5") when you were 5'7", and what can you do now after the surgery that you couldn't have before, specifically?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

LL game me the self confidence to go out into the world and start achieving.  Girlfriends, money, college degrees... I had none of that.  It was a mental wall I put up because I hated myself.

[YellowSpike]

I was just going to ask what old forum PartyLeaks just did.

Yes - I have a good amount going for me now. I have a master's degree from a great school, have a nice bank account/401K for my age, a very good looking face, in shape, pretty good career (but definitely not rich). But I've always felt like my height is the one thing that overshadows everything.

I didn't think much about my height during college, because at the time, this was simply not an option. I just tried to "get over it." Then I got a pretty gf post college and was with her for a long time, so I guess I felt secure. But my height disphoria came back big time when we broke up. And I started going to the gym hardcore, and just find that I always compare myself to other men (and hate when women are taller than me at 166.5).

I may very well be able to have a very good life without LL, but I feel like the height thing will always be there (even if it's more "quiet" if I get a pretty gf and start a family, etc.).

[YellowSpike]

The self confidence to go out into the world and start achieving.  Girlfriends, money, college degrees... I had none of that.  It was a mental wall I put up because I hated myself.

See, this is exactly as I am now. Yes, I have achieved these things in the past...and I want to move on with my life. But I've sort of been "mourning myself" since the breakup, if that makes sense. Dating is very hard as a short man, and while I did quite well when I was trying (using online dating), I just don't want to always have this handicap over me. I don't like feeling like I have to be "perfect" in all other apsects of life to compensate.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

You've got to factor in the risk of complications, too.  Is the risk of being crippled worth the reward of being a couple inches taller, with all the other stuff you already have going for you?

Maybe it is.  It was for me.  In the end, only you can answer that question for yourself, though.

[Claude]

Yeah there is no answer to your question, what is sure is that you could be happy without doing it if you are strong enough in your mind but only a few are really strong (im not).
Dont pay too much attention to girls because you will be deceived one way or another, just do it to "feel good" would be my advice.

[YellowSpike]

Well, if I do it with Dr. Rozbruch, I'm not at all worried about risks and complications. I trust him and HSS fully. I highly doubt I'd end up crippled lol.

Claude, as far as what you said, yeah, I don't know if I'm strong enough to just "get over it." I have other good things in my life, yes...but for the past year or so, this height thing has greatly hindered my overall confidence. And I'm not so much worried about what women will think, but I feel like I'd have a guilty conscience about it, you know? But I try to separate women from the equation, this surgery will be for me, and me only. I want to be a "catch" all around, and I just don't feel like I am right now because height is just too important.

[Sweden]

I understand.
But what really is the matter with your legs?
Ballerina shouldn't give you aches in the morning when you wake up.
X-legs shouldn't cause pain in the ankles and feet.

What exactly has been the issue with your extremely slow recovery?
Is your soft-tissue simply not adapting because your body is like that? I guess then it's no one's fault. 

Tight ankles. It hurts in the mornings and sometimes during the day.

The ankle flexibity is still far from what it once were.

I don't see my recovery as slow. This is what happens with LL.

[spirit]

I feel I'm in the same place as you.  I have so much going for me- in a decent financial situation, young and healthy, have a loving and supporting family, even have a good looking face and a lean/fit body, and am considered quite well dressed.  The only thing holding me back, I feel, is my height. 

At 165cm I feel I'm at such a disadvantage when it comes to attracting the opposite sex, and where I live the ladies are often a pinch taller than me.  I think I'm already considered somewhat of a 'catch,' according to close friends, but mentally I cannot fathom this myself because of my shortness. 

I think there's this fear that no matter how much you work towards being successful/attractive, you're still "ruined" by your height.  The notion sounds absurd- why dismiss a person for having one undesirable physical characteristic- let alone a characteristic they cannot change besides going through a painful, costly, one-time (or possible two-time) surgery? 

But when the undesirability of short men is constantly reinforced by the media as short guys are always getting subsidiary, nonsexual and sometimes demeaning roles in TV/movies, and how it's become commonplace for others to make light of a man's shortness, and seeing as how it's quite rare for shorter guys to be dating ladies taller than them... how does a short male avoid feeling undesirable at times?  I'm always rooting for short fellows who prove the myriad assumptions people have of short men wrong, who aren't at all bothered by their height, but as someone who experiences these feelings daily, it feels like LL might be a meaningful avenue to explore, very likely something to be done in the future. 

I also want to make a point about about some really strange, contradictory feelings that I have in having good looking features but being short.  Waiting at the train station the other day I parked myself one seat over to allow a woman to sit next to me.  As I get up to board the train she hastily glances over to me and says "hi."  It's a pretty novel occurrence for any complete stranger to approach me, but furthermore she was an absolutely stunning lady.  My socially maladroit self didn't really figure out a proper response before stepping foot on the train, but more to the point it was an incredibly rare instance in my life that gave me pause.  Had she known I was short before I got up from my seat, would she have expressed the same level of interest in talking to me?  How much more attractive am I sitting, with my relatively longer upper body (that happens to look considerably bigger than average height guys, especially those with bad posture), than I am when I'm standing?  Specifically, how much is my height dogging me down in terms of my attractiveness- or conversely how much more attractive could I be at 5'8?

Just some thoughts I thought I'd share, since maybe you've been in similar situations, or maybe have felt similarly before.