Topic: Bilateral Internal Tib/Fib and Bilateral Internal Femurs with Dr. Mahboubian. (Read 16812 times)

Optimistic1 · « **on:** February 21, 2018, 04:24:24 PM »

Hi Everyone,

I just had my bilateral internal Tib/Fib operation with Dr. M on 2.15.18 and my bilateral Femurs operation is scheduled next month. I’d like to share my experience with everyone who’s interested in pursuing their dream of becoming taller. I’ll provide more information soon.

Optimistic1

MirinHeight · « **Reply #1 on:** February 21, 2018, 04:31:54 PM »

how much are you paying

LAGrowin · « **Reply #2 on:** February 21, 2018, 07:32:39 PM »

Hi Optimistic1,

Good to see you here. Hope that it all is going well with Dr. Mahboubian.

Wishing you a strong and trouble free recovery.

Keep us all posted, firsthand information shared is invaluable. Thank you.

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 22, 2018, 08:31:12 PM »

“how much are you paying”

Mirinheight,

To be safe, put 200K aside.

myloginacct · « **Reply #4 on:** February 22, 2018, 08:53:05 PM »

Do you mind sharing your starting height and your height goal?

I wish you the best of luck through all this, Optimistic1.

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 22, 2018, 10:23:18 PM »

“Do you mind sharing your starting height and your height goal?

I wish you the best of luck through all this, Optimistic1.”

Myloginacct,

I’ll start my journal soon and give everyone my stats. I started one on the makemetaller forum but that site seems dead so I stopped.

I’m 5’5.5. My wing span is 5’7.5. I want to lengthen 8 cm on my Tib/Fib but Dr. M said 6.5 cm is more realistic but he also said let’s see how it goes and we’ll determine this as we go.

I want to lengthen 8 cm on my femurs and Dr. M said it’s doable as femur bone generates faster than Tib/Fib bone. I want to be between between 5’10 and 5’11 at my final height. I think there might be a problem with proportion at this height and my wingspan so that’s why I’m going to watch it very closely. I’ll be buying a lot of cloths and looking at myself in the mirror more often to see if there’s any obvious signs of disproportionality and stop lengthening right away. It’s going to be a tough fight and I’ll try my very best. Thank you.

Optimistic1

Honore · « **Reply #6 on:** February 22, 2018, 11:22:31 PM »

I wish you all the best. I have the same height and also want to do femur and tibia. But I made several mock-ups(with help of board-member Android) and I will not exceed 175cm or 5'9.. max 5cm per segment... Generally perceived as safe limit and proportion-wise "approved" ... although proportions are not the nr1 concern... A good friend of mine has almost the same sittingheight as I have, but he is 6'3(191cm)... all legs!... keep us posted

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 23, 2018, 04:21:28 AM »

Hi Honore,

Thank you for your advise. It’s better be safe than sorry. Any extra inch I can increase in my height is a gain so I’ll be happy with what I can get. First, I have to be able to stretch probably so I can keep on lengthening.

Things are improving since the surgery but I still have this constant ache pain. Whenever I put both feet onto that floor before transferring myself to a wheelchair or walker, I feel a very strong pressure in both legs and much stronger in my left leg, the weaker one. Morning is the worst. Of course, these are without pain meds. With pain meds, I’m fine. Now, I’m trying to get the PT to come to my house as it’s extremely difficult for me to leave my house.

Did you experience this pain during your lengthening? If so, how long did it take for this to go away? Do you have any tips in dealing with it? Thank you.

Optimistic1

MirinHeight · « **Reply #8 on:** February 23, 2018, 05:02:29 AM »

Quote from: Optimistic1 on February 22, 2018, 08:31:12 PM

“how much are you paying”

Mirinheight,

To be safe, put 200K aside.

if you have that much, why not go to paley or rozbruch

mahboubian is good but those two are the best

Honore · « **Reply #9 on:** February 23, 2018, 05:22:26 PM »

Quote from: Optimistic1 on February 23, 2018, 04:21:28 AM

Did you experience this pain during your lengthening? If so, how long did it take for this to go away? Do you have any tips in dealing with it? Thank you.

Sorry, my LL is planned for 2019... hope the pain goes away

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 23, 2018, 07:47:28 PM »

Mirinheight,

Fortunately, I’m flexible with money so cost is not the only factor. However, I can’t afford much down time and Paley requires his patients to stay within a close proximity for the entire process. He might have changed this now but it’s the protocol when I consulted with him, no exception. With Dr. M, I had my surgery last Thursday and I’ve been home since Wednesday (six days after). The procedure went well and the reason I’m experiencing some pain is because I don’t take pain meds.

For Rozbruch, he works in a city where I know many of the professionals including the staff at the hospital. New York is big city but the professional community isn’t that big. I want to maintain a highest degree of confidentiality of these procedures until I’m mentally and physically prepared to deal with human’s curiosity.

So far, Dr. M is a good doctor.

Optimistic1

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 23, 2018, 07:51:32 PM »

Honore,

Good luck and I wish you the best. The pain is not so bad so don’t be discouraged. The reason I’m experiencing some pain is because I don’t take pain meds. If you take pain meds then you should be fine.

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 23, 2018, 08:47:58 PM »

Hi Everyone,

I can finally post my journal about my Tib/Fib surgery and the early stage of the recovery process. I had my Tib/Fib surgery on 2.15.18, saw Dr. M for my post-op on 2.20.18, got home on 2.21.18 (I live very far from Dr. M), did my first lengthening session today for .75 mm on both Tib/Fib. I'm currently scheduled for my bilateral femurs next month. A little bit about me:

33 years old, turning 34 soon
Pre CLL height: 5'5.5 or 166 cm
Wingspan: 5'7.7 or 171 cm
Sitting Height: Don't know but it's either average or just a little shorter than average.
Goal: 5'10 or 5'11
Location: USA

My dad is around 6 feet tall (this is tall as the average male height for his ethic group is 5'4 or 5'5) but my mom is only 4'9 or 4'10 and she's considered a few inches short for her female ethnic group. My brother is 5'10 and both of my sisters are 5'3. I gave up on sports because I stopped growing taller after my last year of junior high, I was 13-14 at the time. I grew really fast before that and everyone thought I'd grow up to be taller than my dad. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. ;(

I started researching these magical procedures during my first year of grad school and that was 11 years ago. I was 22 years old at the time. I'm very happy that I can finally pursue my dream of being taller. God is fair. You'll be given either a good physical appearance or brain. Rarely do you get both. Some might think they have both but that thinking is subjective. I think he gave me the brain. Lol. I can now enhance my physical appearance and still keep my brain. Lol. I don't think I'd work extra hard to be where I'm today if I were 6 feet or taller growing up. Lol.

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 23, 2018, 08:54:36 PM »

You guys can also look at LAgrowin's journal. I did a great job at putting it together.

2.15.18 at 5:30 am, I checked in at the Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. They took me to the first room to get prepared then to the operation room. I woke up at around 1:30 p.m. feeling a lot of pain in my left leg. They gave me 2 pain shots and the problem was resolved. I felt good that day and pain wasn't an issue because I was coming out of anesthesia. I even felt great and was excited too early. Dr. M came in that evening to tell me the operation went well on my right leg but my bone is soft on my left leg but nothing major. I don't remember the exact terminology he used. He fixed it and it will actually heal faster than the right leg. I felt so good that Dr. M was going to release me one day early.

2.16.18: This day was bad and they put me on morphine but to me pain and suffering is subjective. The nurses felt so bad for me. To me, it wasn't so much about the pain. It's about my inability to pee and had to keep going to the bathroom the entire night but can't pee. I feel bad for the nurses because I kept on pressing the button that night. I'd sit in the bathroom for as long as 60 minutes trying to pee. I had the urges to go but as soon as I sat down, it was hopeless. At some point, I felt my bladder was going to explode. Ask Dr. M if he can put you on dilaudid instead of morphine as morphine can decrease your ability to pee normally. That night, the nurse had to stick the catheter pipe right into my **** and it feels so weird when a girl is doing that while you're awake. She kindly asked if it was okay to do that and I said "at this point, nothing matters anymore, lol." The pee came out and filled up one and a half bag (that's a lot).
I was icing both legs nonstop. My nurse (favorite one) and I came up with an amazing system and Dr. M was amazed when she saw it. Lol.

2.17.18: I decided to stay for another day as I was previously scheduled for. This day was great. I didn't feel much pain and by 9:00 am I was very okay. I think because I was able to get some sleep the night before. I was able to pee and had some bowl movement. You'd find this weird what I'm about to tell you how I was able to pee but whatever you can do to make it work, do it. Lol. Like I said earlier, nothing matters at that time. So I was sitting on the toilet and place both of my hands on the toilet seat and moved my body up and down. That created the urges to pee. The other method I did was leaning forward and rest my hands and shoulders on the walker. The last method is using my middle finger and push it against the part right above my****. Do that gently and keep doing it. If one of these methods works, then just use that method. I hope I don't gross you guys out.

I was put on dilaudid and only needed 2 shots. I was on only Norco from that point on. I was released on February 17 at 2:30 pm. Before I left, I asked for a shot of dilaudid to deal with the possible trauma of transportation. I used Affinity and the van has a ram to roll my wheel chair up and into the van. It's only $55.00 for one way. It's worth it.
I arrived at the hotel around 2:50 pm and my private nurses were already there waiting for me (you don't need this service if have someone to help you. I, personally, don't like to bother anyone). I gave one nurse a grocery list to buy and the other one started to help me bathing and shaving, etc... I'm feeling fine now with very little pain. I didn't feel I needed my Norco but took it anyways.

Tips:
1. Bring anything that you normally need to the hospital because the supplies at the hospital are just the basic.
2. Ask Dr. M if you could be put on dilaudid instead of morphine but I think each person reacts differently to pain medication. For me, I was having diarrhea instead of constipation like most people do.
3. Just relax as it will get better every day. The second day (the day after the surgery) is the worst but you'll likely get much better on the third day.

I'm aiming for 8 cm but Dr. M said 6.5 cm is a more realistic goal for the tib/fib. He also said just wait and see how it goes. Complications are inevitable with these surgeries so I'm going to follow Dr. M's instructions religiously and hope for the best. I might have had a good start but there's no guarantee it's going to stay that way throughout the entire lengthening process. I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best. I will update everyone with any changes.

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #14 on:** February 23, 2018, 08:56:51 PM »

4th day: Today is my fourth (4th) day since the surgery date of 2.15.18. I feel better today than I did yesterday. I can perform most ADL by myself including icing and putting pillows underneath my feet to elevate them. No noticeable problems so far but I'll keep everyone posted.

5th day: 5th (fifth) day since the surgery (2.15.18) and I'm getting better every day. It's amazing how you can witness your body recovering and improving everyday from such a major operation. I'm down to only 1 Norco every 5- 6 hours now. Pain is more manageable. I can raise both my legs up without using my hand. My left leg is slower and weaker than my right leg. The left leg is the one with soft bone that Dr. M discussed with me after the operation. I don't experience the sharp shooting pain in my left ankle every time I move it anymore. I slept for 9 hours last night (2 hours +3 hours + 4 hours because I woke up in between to use the restroom). When I woke up at 7:00 am, I felt very good and didn't feel any pain at all. I felt I could reconnect with all of my nerves in my legs and no more drowsiness feeling from the pain meds.

I became excited too early so I went back to sleep for another 2 hours. When I work up at 9:00 am, I started feeling the pain in both legs as the last time I took one (1) Norco was over 5 hours ago.

There's nothing exciting today. I just took my meds, ate, washed myself, brushed my teeth and used the restroom. I'm doing all these things on my own the nurses are just on standby. Getting in and out of bed is much easier now that I can raise my legs up. I will try to get some ice on my own instead of using room service. I think I'm going to tell my nurses that their service is completed.

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #15 on:** February 23, 2018, 09:00:08 PM »

6th day: Saw Dr. M and he said everything looks great. He took my bandages off and said I can shower. Oh boy, it feels so good to finally shower.

7th day: I flew back home and the experience was horrible. I felt like both of my legs were exploding even after taking 2 Norco. My recommendation is DO NOT fly unless you need to. I got home and my nurse came over to assist me. Nothing much.

myloginacct · « **Reply #16 on:** February 23, 2018, 10:01:25 PM »

Quote from: Optimistic1 on February 23, 2018, 08:47:58 PM

Hi Everyone,

I can finally post my journal about my Tib/Fib surgery and the early stage of the recovery process. I had my Tib/Fib surgery on 2.15.18, saw Dr. M for my post-op on 2.20.18, got home on 2.21.18 (I live very far from Dr. M), did my first lengthening session today for .75 mm on both Tib/Fib. I'm currently scheduled for my bilateral femurs next month. A little bit about me:

33 years old, turning 34 soon
Pre CLL height: 5'5.5 or 166 cm
Wingspan: 5'7.7 or 171 cm
Sitting Height: Don't know but it's either average or just a little shorter than average.
Goal: 5'10 or 5'11
Location: USA

My dad is around 6 feet tall (this is tall as the average male height for his ethic group is 5'4 or 5'5) but my mom is only 4'9 or 4'10 and she's considered a few inches short for her female ethnic group. My brother is 5'10 and both of my sisters are 5'3. I gave up on sports because I stopped growing taller after my last year of junior high, I was 13-14 at the time. I grew really fast before that and everyone thought I'd grow up to be taller than my dad. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. ;(

I started researching these magical procedures during my first year of grad school and that was 11 years ago. I was 22 years old at the time. I'm very happy that I can finally pursue my dream of being taller. God is fair. You'll be given either a good physical appearance or brain. Rarely do you get both. Some might think they have both but that thinking is subjective. I think he gave me the brain. Lol. I can now enhance my physical appearance and still keep my brain. Lol. I don't think I'd work extra hard to be where I'm today if I were 6 feet or taller growing up. Lol.

Thanks for sharing that. That last bit was actually somewhat inspirational to me. In the end, it's all about perspective, right? We can either let ourselves be overrun by our human condition or find the strength to overcome it.

Also, your brother is pretty inspirational too... in a way. I didn't think it was possible for someone to get so lucky with height.

I hope you get a smooth lengthening and a great recovery, Optimistic.

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #17 on:** February 26, 2018, 03:02:50 AM »

Hi everyone,

Today is the 11th day since my bilateral tib/fib operation. Pain is manageable and I'm down to 1 norco every 6 hours. I don't really feel much pain. It's just the uncomfortable feeling in both legs that I have. I finally gave in and called my mom. She came 2 days ago with my sister and they have been cooking very good and healthy food for me. I figured if I were going to do my femurs within a month, I needed to be in an extremely healthy condition and only mom my can help me with that. The nurses can only cut the fruits and prepare some light meals, they can't cook the way my mom does. I also told my chef to take a break.

Today is also my 3rd day of lengthening my tibs/fibs. I lengthen 3 times a day and .75 mm each time. I don't feel anything during and after each lengthening. One time, I had a burning feeling on my calves but it went away shortly. I'm not going to take any x-ray until March 1st so I don't even know whether everything is going good. I want to feel excited that I started lengthening but at the same time I don't even know if everything is working. I sleep better now and my appetite is good.

I just let my employees know that I'm coming to work tomorrow. I'm just going to brief them and go home. I haven't told them what happened yet. I only told them I'm back from my trip and I can't walk and am heavily on pain meds. They asked me happened but I told them I'm okay and I'll see them tomorrow. I've always come across as an extremely tough guy to them, almost emotionless. Well, that's what the business world is like and they need a strong leader who is capable of hiding all his pains and struggles.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Android · « **Reply #18 on:** February 26, 2018, 03:55:50 AM »

Sounds like you're doing well so far, thanks for keeping us in the loop. And yes, no one can cook like mom.

I'm about your age and height, your goals are close to mine as well, just not as affluent! Best of luck on your journey.

LAGrowin · « **Reply #19 on:** February 26, 2018, 06:13:37 AM »

Glad to hear that you're well Optimistic1. I've learned to accept help from my mother and father as well, I didn't want to bother them, but they've helped tremendously. Bless them

Did I understand correctly that you're lengthening 3x a day at .75mm each time? It is that the days total ?

Things will slowly get better as tele weeks go by.

All the best!

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #20 on:** February 27, 2018, 06:12:00 PM »

Hi Everyone,

12th day post surgery: It's getting better every day. Whenever I don't want to deal with the pain, I take 2 pills Norco but I'm afraid I might run out. I was prescribed and filled 80 pills but I'm down to only 16 now. I just emailed Dr. M's assistant to ask for more. I don't know if he's going to prescribe me more. If he doesn't, I'll be screwed. I think it's healing at the incision sites so it's really itchy and I can't stop scratching. I put on some cream and it helps for a couple of hours. I'll be getting my stitches out tomorrow.

I've been doing PT exercises prescribed by the intake PT person on my own. I will be officially working with my PT today at 11:00 am. I relayed to the intake PT person about my condition and asked that she send someone who truly understands what I am going to. She said she would send someone good. She said she has never heard of, let alone worked with, someone with my condition. CLL is relatively a new concept. Let's see if my PT guy knows what's he's doing. I'll test him and if he fails, I'll get someone else. This is important so I leave no room for error.
I went to work yesterday for 3 hours. It wasn't too bad and I forgot about the pain the moment I started working. I only brought 1 Norco so when I started feeling tire, I had to call my sister. All I did at work yesterday was going through my mails, endorsing checks, and signing documents. Very easy work but I was still exhausted because the pain came back. I also had a staff meeting and everyone kept telling me how skinny I'm and that I needed to go home. Employees love it when the boss is not around so I will try to go to work whether or not I can do anything.
I've lost so much weight. I haven't weighed myself but it's possible that I lost between 15-20 lbs. I'm getting better thanks to my mom's fantastic cooking. I started working out on my upper body again now. I'll consult with my PT on what I can or can't do. I feel a little more ready for my bilateral femurs procedure day after day. Hopefully, I can be both physically and mentally ready soon. I'm still lengthening 3x a day at .25 mm each time. I don't know if the machine is working properly or not. The Tib/Fib procedure involves breaking 4 bones, not just 2, so it's more complicated. I have read diaries from other LL where the fibula bone consolidate faster than the tibia bone. I'm not getting my x-ray until March 1 so I'm worried every day. I think this is typical for other LLs as well. I'll update everyone with anything new.

Android,
Thank you for the best wishes and you're correct that no one can cook like mom. You need to pursue your dream. We only have one life to live so live it. When you did you have your CLL done or have you had it yet? What doctor did you have your CLL with? While money is important, it's not the only factor when it comes to CLL. Many CLL focuses so much on the costs. Just give yourself time and save up a lot of money. For me, it was finding the right time to do it because of my work schedule and other life matters. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

LAGrowin,
I don't like bothering anyone but sometime when they offer and you really need, you just have to take it. This is an important procedure so I leave no room for error. Currently, I'm lengthening 3 times a day and .75 mm each time. Today is my 5th day of lengthening. I haven't noticed anything so I don't know if it's working properly. I think this is the one concern that many LLs have and hopefully there will be some way to tell whether or not the person is lengthening properly in the future even before taking the first x-ray. How's everything with you? Are you feeling any pain still? Are you back to work?

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #21 on:** February 28, 2018, 05:14:48 PM »

Hi everyone,

13th day post surgery: I had my first official PT session yesterday. The guy is nice and experience but said he had never worked on CLL patients before. He said the concept is similar to other types of injury recovery and he had heard of LL for limb deformity correction, not for cosmetic reason. I told him to do some more research about CLL.

He said I improved a lot from the report the intake PT person gave him. I told him I have been exercising religiously. I do 5 exercises before each lengthening session. I was able to use my exercise bike yesterday for the first time for 10 minutes but I was very slow. I did 2 more sets on all the exercises and 20 more minutes (10 minutes each) on the bike after he left.

He said there are 2 types of patients: 1 he has to push them and 2 he has to tell them to slow down and I belong to the latter group. He said 2x a week of manual PT is sufficient and allows my tissues to heal and I can do the exercises myself at home. Therefore, we scheduled my PT sessions for 2x week.

Last night, I woke up at 2:00 am with some pain and it was manageable so I didn't take any pain meds. I woke up again at 4:00 am in a lot pain. I think it was from the strenuous amount of exercise I did the day before. It was so bad that my mom has to massage my feet until the pain meds kick in. I was able to fall asleep about 30 minutes after. I woke up this morning with some pain so I took 1 Norco before the scheduled time. I just did my 5 exercises and lengthened .25 mm. I'll ride my exercise bike for 10 minutes, take a shower, and head to work. I have an appointment with my primary care doctor today to have my stitches removed. I'll update everyone with something new later.

Android · « **Reply #22 on:** February 28, 2018, 06:56:39 PM »

Quote from: Optimistic1 on February 27, 2018, 06:12:00 PM

Android,
Thank you for the best wishes and you're correct that no one can cook like mom. You need to pursue your dream. We only have one life to live so live it. When you did you have your CLL done or have you had it yet? What doctor did you have your CLL with? While money is important, it's not the only factor when it comes to CLL. Many CLL focuses so much on the costs. Just give yourself time and save up a lot of money. For me, it was finding the right time to do it because of my work schedule and other life matters. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

Definitely will turn dream into reality soon, gears are in motion. Haven't started my journey yet, but will talk more about it soon once it's set in stone. As for timing I'm quitting my job and taking a year off; not planning on moving back to the city I'm in now since I'm kinda over it anyway.

Glad that PT it going smoothly, I think it's good that you're in the latter group. Mentally easier to cut back than ramp up!

LAGrowin · « **Reply #23 on:** March 01, 2018, 04:04:44 AM »

Quote from: Optimistic1 on February 27, 2018, 06:12:00 PM

LAGrowin,
I don't like bothering anyone but sometime when they offer and you really need, you just have to take it. This is an important procedure so I leave no room for error. Currently, I'm lengthening 3 times a day and .75 mm each time. Today is my 5th day of lengthening. I haven't noticed anything so I don't know if it's working properly. I think this is the one concern that many LLs have and hopefully there will be some way to tell whether or not the person is lengthening properly in the future even before taking the first x-ray. How's everything with you? Are you feeling any pain still? Are you back to work?

Hi Optimistic1,

Happy to read that you are slowly progressing.

I am still feeling pain, but nothing too bad, it's day by day, the days where PT is more aggressive naturally leaves me in more pain through the day and night. I am starting to get out to my office for only 3-4 hours per week and then handling certain things from home. It is challenging but my work set up has made it doable.

You're blessed to have your mother helping you. It is amazing that even in my forties with my condition my mother has stopped by to massage my feet while I fall asleep. It is times like these we realize how important family is.

Again, happy to hear that things are moving positively for you. It certainly gets better with every passing week.

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #24 on:** March 03, 2018, 06:26:55 PM »

16th day post-surgery: I'm feeling better every day. I no longer experience the pain and pressure in my legs when I put them down onto the floor while transporting myself from my bed to the wheelchair. I don't experience a lot of pain waking up in the morning after a long night of sleep without any pain meds. I'm taking 1 Norco every 4 hours plus half a pill of Ibuprofen. This really helps with the pain after every PT session. I have PT every Tuesday and Thursday. My PT guy said it's better to have it 2x a week and let the legs heal first plus I exercise 3-4x a day on my own so it should be sufficient. I've been coming to work for 3-4 hours and it's not easy. I think it will get much better soon but then I will be having my femurs done around that time. I haven't done my femurs and my experience with tib/fib is not too bad.

Day 9 of lengthening and so far so good but I still don't know if everything is good as I haven't taken my x-ray. Dr. M said I should take it on March 8, 3 weeks after surgery. I don't know what my bone consolidation rate is in either the tibia bone or fibula bone. As I have previously provided, Dr. M. stated that the tibia bone takes at least 4 weeks to show any sign of consolidation. However, I have read diaries on here and the old forum where some CLL experienced early consolidation in the tibia bone. Let's hope I don't have this problem. Currently, I'm taking Vitamin D3 2000iu, Calcium 600 mg, Vitamin C 1000mg, Vitamin B12 5000mcg, and Biotin 10,000 mcg. I also resume taking my Fish Oil and Viviscal (to promote hair growth). You don't have to take all of these. I used to take all of these even before CLL.

I think because I'm still in my very early stage of lengthening to experience any sign of ballerina feet and other issues. I do experience stiffness but maybe because of the swelling and the effect of the surgery. My PT said my flexibility is very good and almost as a normal person. I will continue to stretch and eat healthy. I do experience some breakout on my face. I think it is because I'm taking a pain meds every day. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have. I will try my very best to provide you with as much information as possible so may adequately prepare for your own journey. I'd like to thank those who posted their diaries on the forum and provided me with a huge amount of information about CLL. Of course, you should always do your own research.

short2tall · « **Reply #25 on:** March 03, 2018, 09:46:12 PM »

Hey Optimistic, sounds like you're doing really well. I just had my femurs done by Dr. Mahboubian on March 1st, and everything went well. I did not experience the extreme pain that some people do. I'm very happy with Dr. Mahboubian so far, good luck on your femurs.

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #26 on:** March 04, 2018, 04:15:58 AM »

Hi Short2tall,

Thank you and congrats on your femurs. Have you been released from the hospital? Today is your third day so you should have been released by now. There’s another gentleman by the name LAGrowin who just got his femurs done not so long ago. He’s put together a very detailed journal. I think everyone reacts differently to these procedures. Some experience more pain while others can tolerate it pretty well.

It’s not so bad for me on the tib/fib. The biggest problem I had while I was in the hospital was that I couldn’t use the portable urinal or commode so I had to constantly walking to the restroom and spending hours in there trying to pee. If I didn’t have this problem, it wouldn’t have been so tough. I’ve been practicing peeing in the urinal for my femurs. I’m improving so far.

What’s your pain level now? How many Norco are you taking now and how often? What are the biggest problems you’re facing now? What tips do you have coming into this procedure? Are you having problems sitting on the toilet? Are you living by yourself or having help? Sorry for asking so many questions. I hope I should be 60-70% recovered by the time I do my femurs. Thank you.

short2tall · « **Reply #27 on:** March 04, 2018, 05:41:37 PM »

Hey, no problem, ask away. And yes, I've been following LAGrowin's diary as well. I was actually released after the first night because I was doing so well. I didn't have an issue using the urinal, but the catheter removal certainly was painful. I have yet to try to sit on the toilet but I intend to at least practice lowering myself down onto it. As far as my caretaker situation, I got really lucky. I found someone who is both a caretaker and a physical therapist. She's been great so far, and is spending about 4 hrs a day with me right now. I'm from the east coast and I'm staying in a hotel here in LA for the duration of the process. So far the only painful part of the femur surgery has been the screws holding the precise 2 in the upper part of my right femur, near my hip. I can sometimes feel a sharp pain there, especially when I first stand up with the walker. You have to be very careful when making any kind of turning motion, as Dr. M will tell you, so at least the pain reminds me to take it really easy when turning or transferring. I have been taking one Norco when I wake up, maybe one more during the day, and then one before bed. I also tend to take one if I wake up in the middle of the night to help me go back to sleep. Sleep has been pretty good. Are you worried about experiencing any additional swelling or anything in your lower legs after you get the femurs done? I've seen where some others have mentioned blood flow,etc, to the still broken tibias could be compromised when you have the femurs done afterward?

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #28 on:** March 05, 2018, 05:32:25 AM »

"Are you worried about experiencing any additional swelling or anything in your lower legs after you get the femurs done? I've seen where some others have mentioned blood flow,etc, to the still broken tibias could be compromised when you have the femurs done afterward?"

short2tall,

Yes. This is one of my main concerns in additions to the double pain from the recovering tib/fib and the incoming pain from the femurs. Also, I don't know how weak my legs will be when both my tib/fib and femurs are broken.

The swelling in my legs are almost gone, except for the bruises. I stopped icing and/or sleeping with pillows elevating my legs anymore. I don't know anyone who had done tib/fib and femurs within a month period for me to consult about the possible problems. I've sent Dr. M an email about this. I hope that my swelling in my lower legs will be completely gone by the time I do my femurs. I read your journal. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Let me know if you have any questions and do keep us posted. We want to hear how you do.

Optimistic1

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #29 on:** March 05, 2018, 06:07:20 AM »

17th day post surgery: I feel more pain now than before. I think maybe because I've been overworking myself with PT and riding the exercise bike. I do 20 minutes on the exercise bike 3 times a day. I drive to and from work and other places. I also do 6 different exercises 3 times a day. By night time, I'm all exhausted and in pain. Instead of taking 2 Norco, I take 1 plus half a pill of Ibuprofen. This helps a little bit but I still experience some mild pain in the left region of my right knee.

I don't know if I'm overworking myself but I like exercising. My flexibility is much better now and I can ride my exercise bike comfortably with no pain. I read about ballerina feet and duck a** problems as the lengthening passes certain centimeters. Some LL didn't experience this and I'm trying my best to avoid this if I can. If anyone of you have any tips, please share. Thank you in advance.

I woke up with a lot of pain this morning so I took 1 Norco plus half a pill of Ibuprofen. My mom massaged my feet for about 30 minutes. I took a shower then took her out for breakfast then we went grocery shopping. Yes. I drove my mom around today. I've been driving to and from work for several days now. I only live about 15 minutes from work. When I got home, I was exhausted and in pain so I took a Norco before my scheduled time.

Everything else is good. I'm still lengthening 3x a day and .25 mm each. I haven't noticed changes. I can't wait to take my x-ray on March 8 which is this Thursday. Hopefully everything is fine. I will try to find a way to post my x-ray on here. One thing, when I was transferring from my wheelchair to my car today in the parking lot, my left hand slipped because I didn't tape down my cushion so I almost fell. I put my left leg onto the pavement and applied a lot of weight to it to prevent myself from falling. I experienced some light pain for a couple minutes in my left calf. I hope I didn't break the rod in my left tib/fib bone. I'll update everyone with new information soon.

Just a minor thing. Many of you on here are very nice and polite when asking questions. Please keep up the good work. Remember, we don't have to do this and we're not getting paid doing it. It increases my pain when I sit in front of my computer typing my journal but because I want to help I try not to think about it. I truly appreciate those before me who underwent their procedures and shared their first hand experience. They are my source of encouragement. I feel I owed them to pass on the torch. I haven't experienced first hand anything bad about Dr. M. My surgery went well and I'm recovering properly. Even if I hear something bad, which I haven't, I still have to investigate and perform my own research before reaching a conclusion.

Optimistic1

Optimistic1 · « **Reply #30 on:** March 09, 2018, 05:33:02 AM »

3rd week post-op: Everything seems to be the same. I stopped biking as of today to see if the pain would go away. I can't seem to sleep at night lately due to pain.

I had my first x-ray yesterday and I thought I saw some early bone consolidation and my fibula bones are not in alignment. I emailed Dr. M some of the images and asked for his opinion. He said everything looks fine and my bone is generating at an ideal rate. The x-ray place has already mailed him the complete set of images. He'll go over everything with me at my 2nd post-op appointment which is also my pre-op appointment for my femur surgery. I will try to upload some of the images here.

My physical appearance has changed so much. I lost a lot of weight. My face is breaking out. I feel I'm losing a lot of hair now. Well, I will continue to eat healthy food and ride this wave through the end.

Limb Lengthening Forum

Author Topic: Bilateral Internal Tib/Fib and Bilateral Internal Femurs with Dr. Mahboubian. (Read 16812 times)