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[Rocky]

so when is the next x-ray? and are you going to avoid posting it here?

Hello tlannister

We did a CT scan on day 59. That's why I knew exactly my height in my earlier update. We are going for another CT scan on 2nd of July.

But I didn't post it on purpose because I don't want my head to be filled with negative energy from some of the non qualified comments from some of the members in here. This is the last thing I need while I am fighting this LL fight. I need to keep my spirit high.

Life tought me to filter away any negative energy while aiming for a goal.

[myloginacc]

Are you American, Rocky?

Do Americans call plain X-rays "CT scans" or are all these CLL doctors doing regular CT scans in the process of CLL?

[Rocky]

Are you American, Rocky?

Do Americans call plain X-rays "CT scans" or are all these CLL doctors doing regular CT scans in the process of CLL?

Hey myloginacc

I am not American.

We have done X-Rays before but they were for rough evaluation. After crossing the 5 cm, we started with CT Scans because they are more precious. We do it based on my request and whenever the Doctor feels its time to get a feeling where we are standing. They show the gap distance from both sides of the broken bone and the length of the femur bone in total. The doctor can also rotate the bone in 3D on the screen. Its very impressive to look at.

[Rocky]

Important


Dear members

I would kindly and sincerely ask you to not be sarcastic about others nationalities (not even religion or gender) in my diary and stick to facts within the Limb Lengthening topic. If you have something that adds value to others or myself, be my guest. If you want to ask a question for the sake of knowledge and experience sharing, you are most welcome to do so. We are here to help each others and learn from each others journey, rather than humiliating each others directly or indirectly based on our nationality or similar, etc.

There was an childish and sarcastic comment about Americans the other day, which I have ignored on purpose to not sink to a low level in the discussion. It just showed the level of immaturity of some members in here. Frankly speaking my wife who is following this diary is American and she was offended and hurt by this comment. The comment didn't add any value neither for the writer, other members or myself.

So please going forward, show some respect for other nations and be a bit mature if you want to be part of my diary and journey. Any childish behavior that is not suitable for this respectful forum and does not add any value to anyone will simply be ignored and left unanswered.

I can't force you to choose your language. But remember that your communication skills and wordings represent nothing else than your self as an individual. So for your own sake, be respectful to others to be respectful to your own individual person and as a human being.

With that said, I wish you all a successful LL journey and for those who are not there yet, I hope you will get a successful path in the future.

All respect for everyone regardless of their nationality, religion or gender from my family and myself.

May God protect and bless you all.

[doomsday]

If she's offended maybe find her a safe space if you're a SJW worrior.

[Rocky]

If she's offended maybe find her a safe space if you're a SJW worrior.

Dear doomsday

You missed the main point

[Rocky]

Day 65 Update:

So... Now that we don't have more childish comments (yet) we can go back to the main daily updates and stick to the main topic 

I thought about sharing some few things I have experienced so far, and I guess LL veterans have been through it and know all about it.

From 0 to 5 cm: It was not that challenging. Yes, there were some tension/pain here and there. There were some ups and downs but you just think: "Was it really it?"

From 5 to 7 cm: To be honest it is a fight now. I am not sure if it has to do with my age. This is where I am standing now.

I can already tell that reaching 8 cm as the ultimate goal is not going to be a walk in the park. That's for sure. If it ever happens

Few things happened to my anatomy and musculature structure that I didn't see coming. Personally I am experiencing two major changes:


Bending knees: First of all, you will notice that your hamstrings become very tight and force you to bend your knees when you walk. Professional/Daily physio therapy and massage is a blessing and I strongly recommend it. It will not make your knees fall back to where they were before overnight, because you lengthen and increase the tension every day. It just relieves the muscles.

Sticking rear: Secondly, which I paid attention to by looking at the mirror lately, your rear starts to stick backwards. I was told that it is called "Duck ass". As I understood it has to do with your hips muscles in this case. Again, physio therapy and massage is a big relief but will not do miracles overnight.

My walking started to look like a robotic machine while using the walker. It doesn't look "linear" anymore. I started using the stepping machine rapidity for 2 or maximum 3 minutes at a time during the day. It keeps me always on the "run". If I sit and watch a movie and work on the computer by accident for 2 hours or more without breaks, my knees become tense.

I experience also the tension in my knees every time I wake up in the morning. It takes me 1 to 2 minutes to relief the tension before getting out of bed. 

So far I eat healthy but my sleeping rhythm is not stable anymore. I sleep 1-2 hours at a time, multiple times during a full day. So all in all, my body gets the needed sleep but not in one shot. Its not because of pain, but due the tension in my hamstrings. They keep me occupied. By the way, I didn't experience all that while I was below 5 cm on my femur.

That was my personal experience so far. I hope it will enlighten some members in here.

[tlannister]

Hello tlannister

We did a CT scan on day 59. That's why I knew exactly my height in my earlier update. We are going for another CT scan on 2nd of July.

But I didn't post it on purpose because I don't want my head to be filled with negative energy from some of the non qualified comments from some of the members in here. This is the last thing I need while I am fighting this LL fight. I need to keep my spirit high.

Life tought me to filter away any negative energy while aiming for a goal.

thats fine, but can you describe in words if there is any callous formation when you take x-rays?

[Rocky]

thats fine, but can you describe in words if there is any callous formation when you take x-rays?

Hello tlannister

Sure my pleasure. When we did X-Rays it was not clear enough. The CT Scans were way more clear. The formation of callous were moderate. I wouldn't say very rich formation, just fair enough. Maybe because of my age. My doctor is keeping a close eye on this.

[myloginacc]

Important


Dear members

I would kindly and sincerely ask you to not be sarcastic about others nationalities (not even religion or gender) in my diary and stick to facts within the Limb Lengthening topic. If you have something that adds value to others or myself, be my guest. If you want to ask a question for the sake of knowledge and experience sharing, you are most welcome to do so. We are here to help each others and learn from each others journey, rather than humiliating each others directly or indirectly based on our nationality or similar, etc.

There was an childish and sarcastic comment about Americans the other day, which I have ignored on purpose to not sink to a low level in the discussion. It just showed the level of immaturity of some members in here. Frankly speaking my wife who is following this diary is American and she was offended and hurt by this comment. The comment didn't add any value neither for the writer, other members or myself.

So please going forward, show some respect for other nations and be a bit mature if you want to be part of my diary and journey. Any childish behavior that is not suitable for this respectful forum and does not add any value to anyone will simply be ignored and left unanswered.

I can't force you to choose your language. But remember that your communication skills and wordings represent nothing else than your self as an individual. So for your own sake, be respectful to others to be respectful to your own individual person and as a human being.

With that said, I wish you all a successful LL journey and for those who are not there yet, I hope you will get a successful path in the future.

All respect for everyone regardless of their nationality, religion or gender from my family and myself.

May God protect and bless you all.

Are you referring to my post?

I'm not American, and this is an English language website. I don't know how things go over in the US. Maybe they use - colloquially - the technically wrong terms for certain things. My question was entirely due to medical reasons.

[Rocky]

Are you referring to my post?

I'm not American, and this is an English language website. I don't know how things go over in the US. Maybe they use - colloquially - the technically wrong terms for certain things. My question was entirely due to medical reasons.

No worries myloginacc

I'm very polite in nature and show others respect, so I expect the same from others. If you have noticed, even when I get "stupid" comments sometimes for example about myself and  my wife lately I don't sink low to the same level. I just think: "What an immature Kid" and move on.

I'm here to write about my diary so my family can follow my progress and enlighten other people who are considering same procedure. I get daily private messages from youngsters whom have questions. I have also spoken with several of them directly and they tell me that I'm giving them hope. I always encourage those who contact me. If a dad in my age can fight this fight, so can they.

As an X-boxer I'm physically tough and used to tolerate pain, but this journey has not been easy lately. Especially after crossing the 5 cm. Every day is a fight. Maybe daddy is getting old

I'm really not here to discuss my nationality, religion or other personal issues. So I need peace in my head to fight the last few cm and not get into personal conflicts. I don't have capacity for it and I'm too old for that 

So peace and love from here. May God protect you son

[Rocky]

Day 66 Update:

We did the daily clicking today. We looked at the registered amount of clicks we have done so far and the doctor examined my legs. He thinks that I am either very close or have already passed 7 cm with few mm on right leg. But the scanning on the 2nd of July will give us a precious measurement.

I told Dr. Jamal that I don't feel that I have the same strength as earlier when I use the walker. To be honest I have been using the stepping machine actively but I was neglecting my walking a bit lately. We did a small test, where he gave me crutches and asked me to walk few steps. He was standing just beside me to support me, just in case. When I took the first step I felt that I lost my balance so he stepped in and supported me.

His advice was to walk more often in the apartment using the walker for now. We need to transform slowly to crutches, but it will not happen overnight.

He told me that it is a very critical moment right now. He doesn't want me to sit in a wheelchair when I finish the lengthening once I take my flight home. He wants me to get back home on crutches. We are probably close to or above 7 cm on right leg so it is very important to program the balance in my brain to adapt to this new height alongside with my leg muscles maintenance.

So we agreed about the following. I will put my mobile on a 1 hour alarm. I will walk just 3 times in my bedroom back and forth every 1 hour as long I am awake during the day. He told me to not overdue it and not exhaust my body. If I feel tired, I should listen to my body and relax. We will try this for some time and he will keep monitoring the progress. He will inform me later on about next step.

I just walked 3 times at 10 pm and I just repeated it at 11 pm. I guess I will do one more round before I go to sleep at 12 am.

To be honest, just those few rounds in the bedroom made me feel much better when I took a break afterwards.

[Johnson1111]

Hey Rocky, been following and have a few questions for you.

So you mentioned that even as a guy with a good pain threshold, things are getting tough lately.


Would you attribute the tough lengthening more to the fact that it's painful? Or is it more mental and due to the lack of mobility that you're experiencing a tough time?

Also how is lengthening the last amounts different for you from your first amounts as far as difficulty, tightness and pain?

[Rocky]

Hey Rocky, been following and have a few questions for you.

So you mentioned that even as a guy with a good pain threshold, things are getting tough lately.


Would you attribute the tough lengthening more to the fact that it's painful? Or is it more mental and due to the lack of mobility that you're experiencing a tough time?

Also how is lengthening the last amounts different for you from your first amounts as far as difficulty, tightness and pain?

Hello Jonhson1111

Very good question. I guess it is a combination of multiple factors that can be linked together.

Since I started using the stepping machine more often, I neglected the daily walking a little bit. I guess I got too excited about breaking my time records and challenging my self on the machine. Which means my knees rotations were enhanced while enforcing full body weight loading decreased. That has weaken my legs to carry my body weight, while I was still clicking myself taller. Dr. Jamal was concerned about it today and asked me to pay attention to full body weight bearing from now on. He told me all this stepping machine bike excitement is fine and important, but I should keep the weight bearing duty on the top of my daily agenda, to avoid using a wheel chair one day. He kept saying: "Keep your self in a vertical position as much as possible and as long you are awake".

Pain comes with the fact that I sometimes forget to move from bed and lay down watching a movie or so for hours. The leg muscles will in this case try to relax back to their "actual" size and will pull on the muscle scenes and knees in return, which will eventually cause pain in your knees. This happens also when you wake up everyday from a few hours night sleep. To avoid that, one has to be constantly active as long one is awake. No need for heavy exercises in this case. Just move around in the room every here and then. This will tell your brain and muscles: "We need to adapt to the new height". The brain plays an important role here, because the balance comes from the back side of the brain. For every new mm you add, the brain has to be programmed to balance your body muscles to the new incremental height.

Then you have tightness from the hamstrings and hips. The hamstrings are trying to adapt to the new length too while you are pushing them to be taller every day. So they will keep pulling your standing position in a way that you are forced to bend your knees. The same applies to the hips muscles which will force you to stand in a "Duck Ass" bending position. Hips muscles are weaker than leg muscles so they will be the slowest muscles to adapt during your rehabilitation. It is not painful but I would rather describe it as annoying. Those anatomy changes will keep you occupied, especially at night/bed time. The tightness will sometimes make you feel an irritation and wake up in the middle of the night (like my case now). To avoid it, take a walk in the room on your flat feet (not toes) and try to keep your back straight. This will keep your hamstrings and hip muscles leaner. NOT lean enough but leaner than the starting position

All those changes never happened to me in my case when the lengthening was below 5 cm. The first 5 cm were seriously like having a vacation. It went fast and without major efforts. As mentioned earlier, I have been an x boxer earlier in my life. So I am used to pain and being knocked down on the floor during a fight while bleeding all over my face and still keep getting up to continue the fight. I have been into fights before with broken bones or twisted wrist but never told it to the judges to not be disqualified and lose a match. Anyway. So the first 5 cm "painless" experience might be different on another person. I guess it is individual. It is just my personal experience so far.

On the contrary, every mm above the 5 cm is a fight now. I guess that I have passed the 7 cm on my right leg. We will know for sure once we scan the legs next week.

Dr. Jamal joked today and said: "If you need to be taller than 7 cm, you need to roll your arms and fight. There is no other way around it. Once you pass the 7, you need to declare war"

I hope I have answered your questions. Otherwise please feel free to ask again.

Have a pleasant evening and may God bless you.

[Rocky]

Day 67 Update:

I had a nice experience today.

One of Dr. Jamal's x patients came from UK to Ukraine to visit Kiev this week. This fellow has lengthen his femur legs 11 cm back in 2006. It was at the time when Dr. Dragan and Dr. Jamal were working together (before Dr. Dragan passed away).

I was very curious to meet that guy. So I asked Dr. Jamal if he could invite him to my apartment. To cut it short, both of them came to visit me just before.

I was told that his starting height was around my height. Maybe 1 cm taller if I remember correct. The guy was standing way taller than Dr. Jamal. He was around 182 cm.

We had a very nice chat about his journey and his recovery process. It was really interesting to listen to.

To be honest, and I also said it directly to him, his height was very impressive. But on the other hand I could tell that his femur was very long in proportion comparing to his tibia when he was sitting on the chair.

If I didn't know that he did LL surgery, I would have probably not noticed it. He told me the same thing. That people that don't know about his surgery have never questioned his proportions.

Regardless of that. 11 freaken cm!!! A real life example of a young man who is standing a head taller in front of my eyes. Not that I would go to 11 cm, but it gave me so much motivation.

I was telling this young man that I am considering femur this year and tibia next year. He actually advised me to not pass 7-8 cm on femur and throw additional 5 cm on tibia if I was looking for nice proportions. It would look better in his opinion. 12-13 cm in total wouldn't be bad at all. I guess he has a point.

We exchanged numbers and emails. He is going to join us on our CT Scan day on the 2nd of July.

Seriously, that was a nice experience

[Rocky]

Day 68 Update:

I have given my right leg 5 days break, because it was very tense lately. The thing is, when the muscles are tight, clicking becomes difficult. When the muscles are relaxed, clicking is way easier.

I was walking on the walker this morning and I felt my right leg was relaxed and muscles were lean. So I gave it a try and started clicking it. It went very very smooth. So 1 mm is secured on right leg today.

On the other hand, I was putting a lot of load on left leg in the last 5 days, so I feel that left leg needs 1 or 2 days vacation to relax a bit

I am trying to listen to my body and pay attention to my legs condition all the time. I do not want to overload my legs with lots of clicks when they in reality are asking for rest instead.


Tip: Hamstrings "Passive" stretching

One of the worst muscles in leg lengthening is the hamstrings muscles. As I explained in earlier updates that the hamstrings will push your knees to bend when you pass the 5 cm or more. So physio therapy is a good remedy. But you need to stretch the hamstrings all the time.

Cold stretching is not a good idea. So you have to warm up the muscle by using the stepping machine, bike or just walk a decent distance in advance.

Instead of applying active stretching (by forcing your self to stretch that nasty muscle), just warm up your muscles as described earlier, then lay down in your bed on your stomach. You will notice that your lower legs will be  pointing upwards in the air and your toes are not touching the bed surface Just put some music on and relax. Let gravity do the work for you 

You will notice that the muscle will start to stretch and your toes will get closer to the bed surface.

From time to time get up on your knees (in a doggy position ) to let the blood flow in your toes and repeat this passive stretching for few minutes again.

It does miracles 

   

[Rocky]

Day 72 Update: (Right Leg: 7,55 cm & Left Leg: 5,05 cm)

I feel really well today. My right leg is almost done. My left leg is a bit behind. But on the other hand, there is about a month between the 2 operations. So it is not that bad actually.

As of today the measurements are as follow:

Right Leg: 7,55 cm
Left Leg: 5,05 cm

If considering right leg alone, my height is 178,05 cm which is more than what I was expecting when I started the lengthening process.

I have taken a final decision to stop at 8,5 cm on both legs. I would like to reach a height of 179 cm and then stop.

So 0,95 cm is left on the right leg and we will call it a day. I am not worried about my right leg anymore. It is almost a done deal. I need to focus on my left leg going forward.

I have now 2 options:

1) Click my right leg in a very slow rate and wait till my left leg reaches the same height
2) Click my right leg to 8,5 cm and ask Dr. Jamal to stop the clicker totally

My left leg feels a bit tight so I am giving it a rest. No clicking before it "wakes up" and tells me that it is ready to move forward. Relaxed muscles give a smooth clicking. On the other hand, when the muscles are tight clicking becomes painful. So I will be patient and let nature give me a green light when the left leg is ready.

I will just take it easy and not put pressure on myself

[Rocky]

1 mm is secured on the right leg now. So it is standing at 7,65 cm.

0,85 cm is left  to reach 8,5 cm

The countdown started for the right leg 

[Android]

Awesome progress, Rocky! Expecting 5 cm and going for 8.5 cm is a huge bonus. Almost there!

[taller_in_Kiev]

Hi Rocky,
You didn't email me pal, I wrote to you.. But nevermind, I found the forum after a quick search.  Nice of you to write you had a pleasant evening on mine and Dr J's visit.  Hope you're eating well, exercising and keeping your spirits up.  You'll get to your goal, worry not.  The bend in the legs will go. I made a short post of my own, but still 'awaiting approval' by moderator, 4 days and counting!  Who is the moderator here? Is it possible to contact them? 
I may pay you a visit again this week. I'll let you know in advance. I think Dr J passed you my number, right?

[Body Builder]

1 mm is secured on the right leg now. So it is standing at 7,65 cm.

0,85 cm is left  to reach 8,5 cm

The countdown started for the right leg 

I think you are risking too much without any reason.
7.5 cm are very very good and now you have a great height. Exceeding that and doing 8.5 cm increases a lot the risks of knee arthritis due to the big ration difference between femur and tibia (what happened with Tall that forced to lengthen tibias too to avoid premature arthritis due to too much lengthening of femurs) and of course even bigger biomechanics deficit.

You started for 5cm (which was very safe) and you exceed 7cm (which is about the safe limit), I can't see why you want to risk for no real benefit. You are lucky to have done it until now without problems, it would have been very sensible to stop now your longer leg and lengthen just your other leg to have the same length.

Personally, when I'll do my second LL the upper limit for my femurs would be 7cm. But the choice is yours.

[notatroll]

I'd say 7 cm is safer too.

[Rocky]

Hello Body Builder and notatroll

You know what guys. I thought alot about your feedback. I have already passed the 7 cm. I'm very close to 8 cm on my right leg.

You know what? I will stop clicking my right leg and focus on my left leg instead, to get it closer to my right leg. Till that time I'd have made my mind about the final goal.

Thanks for "opening my eyes".

[Rocky]

Awesome progress, Rocky! Expecting 5 cm and going for 8.5 cm is a huge bonus. Almost there!

Thanks dear. I was really happy to see your diary the other day. You took finally the step to lengthen your legs.

I wish you truly all the best. You deserve it. May God bless you.

[notatroll]

Hello Body Builder and notatroll

You know what guys. I thought alot about your feedback. I have already passed the 7 cm. I'm very close to 8 cm on my right leg.

You know what? I will stop clicking my right leg and focus on my left leg instead, to get it closer to my right leg. Till that time I'd have made my mind about the final goal.

Thanks for "opening my eyes".

Good decision

[Rocky]

Good decision

Thanks dear notatroll

[Rocky]

Quick Question: (Muscle Tendon)


Dear experts

I have a quick question. I hope someone has the answer.

Since I passed 5 cm on left leg recently the muscles became tight. So I decided to give the left leg a rest. I can tell this morning that the muscle itself is relaxed. But the muscle's tendon that hold the muscle from each end seem to be tense. When I move my leg, the tendon snap suddenly.

Is it best to keep resting the leg? or would a light exercise loosen the muscle tendon a little bit?

I'd really like to know the answer. So please write in here or send me a private message.

[Body Builder]

Quick Question: (Muscle Tendon)


Dear experts

I have a quick question. I hope someone has the answer.

Since I passed 5 cm on left leg recently the muscles became tight. So I decided to give the left leg a rest. I can tell this morning that the muscle itself is relaxed. But the muscle's tendon that hold the muscle from each end seem to be tense. When I move my leg, the tendon snap suddenly.

Is it best to keep resting the leg? or would a light exercise loosen the muscle tendon a little bit?

I'd really like to know the answer. So please write in here or send me a private message.

Take a rest for some days from lengthening (I dont think you risk premature consolidation as your bone brisge is not strong) and stretch as much as you can.

If you have so much tension right now, reaching 2.5cm won't be easy so you must stretch a lot and lengthen slowly.

[Rocky]

Take a rest for some days from lengthening (I dont think you risk premature consolidation as your bone brisge is not strong) and stretch as much as you can.

If you have so much tension right now, reaching 2.5cm won't be easy so you must stretch a lot and lengthen slowly.

Thanks Body Builder

I will give it more rest then.

I am not in hurry so I don't mind going slowly with left leg.

Let me try with the stretching and see how it will respond.

[Rocky]

I just spoke with my physio therapist since he knows my leg's condition very well.

He told me that I don't walk enough on my legs. He said that I need to have a meeting with my brain and left leg. Then demand my brain to order my left leg to perform what it was born for

I have to walk through my pain. By time it will release.

He said: "Walk, Walk and Walk" 

I just put the mobile timer on and walked for 10 minutes in the apartment. I will repeat that every hour till I go to sleep.

And I will continue the stretching as advised by Body Builder.

Lets see how my left leg will respond to that.

[Rocky]

Day 76 Update:


My left leg's tendons have been very tight lately. So I gave my legs a break from clicking. In the meanwhile, I have been walking 10 minutes every hour during the day to achieve between 60 to 120 minutes in total. I've spent less time on the stepping machine (2 x 10 min maximum). In short, I have been very active lately.

In no time, my legs feel way stronger and the tendon tension is somehow healing a bit.

I have also been training to stand up from my bed without using the walker. It takes around 10 seconds to be on a standing position, but I can do it now. Vice versa, I am also able to sit down without the walker's support. I can't do both movements when I just wake up in the morning. I can do it during the day, once I have activated the leg muscles for some time. I do both movements very slowly, so there is still space for improvement. It will eventually become better by daily and continuous exercises.

I am back on my clicking routine. Only on my left leg.

I want to even the length of both legs. So this is my main goal right now.