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[Lalbadshah]

Continued .... day 7/26 -

No PT because they had some kind of leave, was unhappy because I really wanted to have as much PT as possible, and n PT on Friday would mean no PT for 3 days (due to weekend). I did some PT on my bed with help from aide and also did lot of walking with walker.

[Lalbadshah]

Continued .... day 7/27 -

Almost same as day 7/26, only difference being I ordered some groceries etc. to replenish my food supplies.

[Lalbadshah]

Continued .... day 7/28 -

Almost same as day 7/26. One thing to note here - since I was not taking shower, I was using the wash clothes brought from Walmart to clean myself every 2-3 days. Also note that since I was using urinal bottles (that my caretaker emptied and cleaned in morning) I also have to keep good amount of paper towels and wipes to clean piss drops (on clothes , skin and bed). Also, made it a point to get the bed done every 3 days (every day would be too cumbersome, but more than 3 days may create hazard with too many piss drops on bed sheet, though I did take care of cleaning drops immediately). 

[Lalbadshah]

one thing/insight from my point of view -

at this point my biggest  struggle has not been the pain, yes it is problem but biggest problem has been loneliness especially because I am an outdoorsy person who walks around and out a lot all day and am not habituated being in a closed room bedridden, also I am a program manager whose main job is talking - I attend like 10 meetings a day and make hundreds of calls - so with that kind of life suddenly you become like a vegetable you get into depression, now with PT becoming regular from this week (did PT everyday this week, 7/29 to 8/2) I get to go out everyday and I am feeling good.

[Lalbadshah]

Continued .... days 7/29 till 8/2 -

Days wee almost same, in morning my caretaker comes and cleans up my urinals, fills my water filter, then prepare some food for me, then we go for a walk in the hotel hallway and then she goes back , then I watch youtube/browse net and also do some work, the caretaker returns again at afternoon and prepares some food for me and then takes me to PT. my PTs are going well and all of the trainers are telling me that I am recovering amazingly faster compared to to other (LL patients) and they are pleasantly surprised with my so fast recovery, which feels good to hear . Meanwhile my charismatic and kind friend Ronnie came over once again on my request to check on me and confirmed that the incisions are well healed, he also changed the dressings. good news is that I have a go ahead to take a bath (carefully, without sprinkling water directly on incisions/wounds)and then dry up the incisions and wrap those with sterile bandage/tapes etc. that Ronnie has given me. I intend to take my first real shower/bath (after the surgery) tomorrow.

I only had 2 problematic situations during this time and a change of plan situation as well -

Problematic situations -
i) my caretaker forgot my cell phone in uber and the uber guy wanted to usurp my iphone7 so deliberately did not answer 100s of calls and texts (he wanted the phone to run out of battery and ten usurp it). I escalated to UBER management but they did not help. 40 hrs passed and i knew that my phone will soon run out of battery and then won't be traceable. Guess what? my main man Ronnie came to rescue again , he used the track my iphone feature to trace the uber driver on a highway and got it back for me (there is more spice to it but I will skip that here). Ronnie is a superman, period, if I get rich an become a movie director (which i s a dream of mine) I will cast Ronnie in the movie in a charismatic role.
ii) 2 days back, while lengthening the right femur I got extreme pain (almost 8/10) which is surprising because I have not experienced any pain while lengthening. I have not discussed this with Ronnie yet (and I do not have doctor D's direct number, but even if I had I might not have called for this one off incident). Anyway, my plan is - if it happens again in future I will discuss with Ronnie and ask him to talk to doctor D.

Change of plan situation - today (2 wks post surgery) was supposed to be my first post operative visit to the doctor (for sanity checking on whether things are going fine) but yesterday Ronnie informed me that Dr. D has to travel due to some family emergency or something like that recommended that we reschedule our first post-op visit on 8/6. I said ok and I extended my stay at the hotel till 8/7 , but before booking my return flight (to my home San Jose) and booking my hotel in san jose I asked Ronnie whether the 8/6 check up date is guaranteed and (because I could not afford to lose time and money if things changed again) and he said in worst case, if the doctor cannot make it on 8/6 they will take my x-rays etc. and the doctor can evaluate those later, I said NO, if I am doing a serious surgery like LL and paying a good amount for it, staying here in henderson for 2.5 wks - the minimum I expect is a proper first post-op in personal follow up with the doctor to feel safe, Ronnie concurred with my reasoning and made calls with the Dr.s office and now I have a guaranteed in person post op check up visit on 8/8. That is relaxing to know (I was getting anxious with the situation) and keeping my fingers crossed. Everything seems to be going well with my recovery etc. and I am hopeful the doctor will find the results to be be OK on 8/8. Pray for me my friends. Thanks.

BTW, my caretaker asked me to try to take a few baby steps without any support, and i could (take) . More later when I have more time, will be busy for next 3-4 days now and won't be posting.

[Lalbadshah]

one last thing before I sign off today - I would like to address the question of 'is it (the surgery) worth it?' especially so because my diary (or some other diaries where patients doing this seem, on paper at least, to have it easy) may sound LL to seems like something easy, not so challenging a process and is like drinking water. IT IS NOT AS ROSY AS IT MAY SEEM LIKE. you will face situations that you would never even have imagined, of course you will come out a stronger person and will know yourself very well at the end. 
My advice (I don't want to go on a argument loophole, this is my personal opinion as a part of my diary, and your life and decisions are yours and I have no right to question your decisions) -
If you are a person who is 5'7" or plus, I recommend you ABSOLUTELY DO NOT DO IT. at 5'7" if you are going through this to gain few inches, your understanding of things in the world is seriously flawed.
I you are around 5"5"-5'6", you may consider doing it if you want to or can avoid it as well i you don't feel like you need a few inches, no strong recommendation, here (50-50).
If you are below 5'5" I think you should do it if you can afford a good surgeon, I think it will be worth it.

[Lalbadshah]

Continuation -

My view on Stryde: I am convinced that Stryde is the best LL method out there. It is weight bearing thus allowing you to walk (with walker) almost 1-2 days after surgery and without aid in almost 4 weeks post surgery (this is my assessment, I expect to walk without aid in another 2-3 weeks though I will still use cane to be on safe side). Guichet and Betz may be weight bearing but I think Stryde is sperior due to the magnetic ERC process and also because of ability to reverse . Moreoever it is from big company nuvasive, a big company always can afford to soend more on R&D, hiring Phds etc. so tend to design better products,
Note: I am not trying to play down any nail or doctor as inferior, in fact I was considering Betz and Guichet as well at one point (last year) for my surgery (as you will see at the beginning of my diary), it is just that I am giving a fair and jut assessment based on my analysis. All nails are useful and I know people have done LL with all kind of nails, but at present Stryde stands head and shoulders above others in terms of its positive factors.

[JsElysianEagle]

Thanks for your continued updates and it's great to hear that you are recovering nicely! I would've paid you a visit if I was in LV myself haha. When you get the chance, perhaps a month or so from now, could you maybe post a video?

If you are a person who is 5'7" or plus, I recommend you ABSOLUTELY DO NOT DO IT. at 5'7" if you are going through this to gain few inches, your understanding of things in the world is seriously flawed.
I you are around 5"5"-5'6", you may consider doing it if you want to or can avoid it as well i you don't feel like you need a few inches, no strong recommendation, here (50-50).
If you are below 5'5" I think you should do it if you can afford a good surgeon, I think it will be worth it.

I think it is more useful to think in terms of deviations from the mean as opposed to absolute measurements such as 5'X". Someone that's 5'7" in a short country like Peru for example would feel great, but would not necessarily feel so amazing in Serbia where lots of people are around 6'. So it depends on how far from the norm you are.

[Lalbadshah]

thanks bro, yes hopefully we can meet, you are welcome to meet me anytime , I am here in Henderson till 8/8 and then fly back to San Jose.
I will try to put a video, when I don't know - but will do that I can tell you.

The point you bring about the deviation from (local) mean is something I have thought about (and I knew somebody would bring that point in response) - but I still stick to my point - because 5'7" is good enough in India or Netherlands or anywhere else. 5'7" does not become 5"4" in Netherlands. My personal belief is at 5'7" - your height is no longer a significant disadvantage in anyway - irrespective of where do you leave. I also have a feeling ( I can't prove it because of lack of hard data) that there are many people on this forum who are not that good looking or have some failures in life (women, career, self image issues etc.) but are of normal height and they think with few more inches their life will turn out be good in some way and will compensate for some other things that they lack - the truth is it will not - I can bet my fortune on - it will not. In other words I think beyond 5'7" height starts becoming   very minor factor and at/above 5'9" height stops begin a factor at all. I strictly believe cosmetic LL is useful (and I encourage it to be used) for people below 5'7" , but cosmetic LL for people above 5'7" shows some mental issue with the person and if I were a LL surgeon I would never accept anybody above 5'7" for LL and would refer them for psychiatric help. Guys/gals don't hate me plz, it is my opinion and you can disagree with it and move on if you don't like my opinion.

[JsElysianEagle]

Thanks Lalbadshah, totally understand where you're coming from. I feel mostly the same way, except that I would put the "threshold" so to speak at around 5'8" or so, beyond which additional height will not bring you more success with whatever you think it will help you with.

I'm planning to do my LL sometime soon, hopefully in a month or so with either Mahboubian or Debiprasad. Looking forward to your videos and more updates soon!!

PS I'm about 5'5.5" myself, and I'm hoping that with this surgery I can get to roughly 5'8" which to me would be more than enough

[Lalbadshah]

continuation -

I see many discussions on what is  more important - PT, walking, supplements etc. and also on weather too much walking is good or bad and whether pe-op stretching is useful and how much.

I think Physical Therapy (post surgery) is absolutely the most important thing - by far. You should put 100% focus on this this is what will get you back to being on your feet and walking.

Next, walking - it is important for sure, but walking like many miles a day kind of extreme walking is of no use, keep it in reasonable limit. ask your PT.

Food/supplements are important - in addition to what doctor recommends ensure proper vitamin, protein and calcium intake and you should be fine, also use healthy food like fruits and can also use unhealthy foods like Pizza, fries etc. Just don't drink alcohol and do not smoke.

Pre-op stretching is good but overdoing it will not give you much extra edge, that is my opinion.

One thing - I believe (pre-op) increasing your ability to tolerate pain and doing weight training, muscle building will be very useful.

I will be busy fr next 1-2 weeks so will post more later.

[Lalbadshah]

Thanks Lalbadshah, totally understand where you're coming from. I feel mostly the same way, except that I would put the "threshold" so to speak at around 5'8" or so, beyond which additional height will not bring you more success with whatever you think it will help you with.

I'm planning to do my LL sometime soon, hopefully in a month or so with either Mahboubian or Debiprasad. Looking forward to your videos and more updates soon!!

PS I'm about 5'5.5" myself, and I'm hoping that with this surgery I can get to roughly 5'8" which to me would be more than enough

+1 and thumbs up, your plan sounds perfect to me

[Lalbadshah]

Update: bought a cane from walgreens last night and today I have walked a lot using the cane (including while at physiotherapy), the physiotherapist has told me to use more of the cane and less of the walker, will do so now, my goal is to move to cane 100% by this Sunday (8/11), will keep the walker reserved for grocery shopping. There are 2 drawbacks - i) not as strong and safe feeling as walker and ii) you will get exhausted sooner compared to walker. But with more practice I think I will get over these problems.

[Movie]

Update: bought a cane from walgreens last night and today I have walked a lot using the cane (including while at physiotherapy), the physiotherapist has told me to use more of the cane and less of the walker, will do so now, my goal is to move to cane 100% by this Sunday (8/11), will keep the walker reserved for grocery shopping. There are 2 drawbacks - i) not as strong and safe feeling as walker and ii) you will get exhausted sooner compared to walker. But with more practice I think I will get over these problems.

Niiiiice bro! You're doing great lol ! hope to be catching up soon to your level, you're moving fast, I'm glad !

god bless bro talk to you soon

[Lalbadshah]

Niiiiice bro! You're doing great lol ! hope to be catching up soon to your level, you're moving fast, I'm glad !

god bless bro talk to you soon

Thanks bro, yes giving it my best and have been blessed enough to have it go problem free till now, you will rock I know, all the best buddy, keenly following your diary, cheers

[SimonFuller]

Update: bought a cane from walgreens last night and today I have walked a lot using the cane (including while at physiotherapy), the physiotherapist has told me to use more of the cane and less of the walker, will do so now, my goal is to move to cane 100% by this Sunday (8/11), will keep the walker reserved for grocery shopping. There are 2 drawbacks - i) not as strong and safe feeling as walker and ii) you will get exhausted sooner compared to walker. But with more practice I think I will get over these problems.

Great job buddy!

[Lalbadshah]

Thank you Simon.

Friends, tomorrow (8/8) is my first post  surgery check up visit (where the doctor will examine my X-rays, walk, gait, incisions etc.) and if cleared by doctor I will be all set to fly back to San Jose on 8/11 evening. My recovery, pain, PT, scar all looking good but since I don't know hoe callus formation is going on, I am a bit anxious (though I am sure since everything is going fine callus must also be doing fine I guess , lets see). Wis me luck and your est wishes plz. Thanks.

[Movie]

Thank you Simon.

Friends, tomorrow (8/8) is my first post  surgery check up visit (where the doctor will examine my X-rays, walk, gait, incisions etc.) and if cleared by doctor I will be all set to fly back to San Jose on 8/11 evening. My recovery, pain, PT, scar all looking good but since I don't know hoe callus formation is going on, I am a bit anxious (though I am sure since everything is going fine callus must also be doing fine I guess , lets see). Wis me luck and your est wishes plz. Thanks.

Best of luck bro! your progress is going great, hope to be where you are right now in a couple weeks

[SimonFuller]

Thank you Simon.

Friends, tomorrow (8/8) is my first post  surgery check up visit (where the doctor will examine my X-rays, walk, gait, incisions etc.) and if cleared by doctor I will be all set to fly back to San Jose on 8/11 evening. My recovery, pain, PT, scar all looking good but since I don't know hoe callus formation is going on, I am a bit anxious (though I am sure since everything is going fine callus must also be doing fine I guess , lets see). Wis me luck and your est wishes plz. Thanks.

Yes - good luck buddy - hopefully all fine!

[Cpl2012]

What is the cost for your surgery Lalbadshah

[Lalbadshah]

What is the cost for your surgery Lalbadshah

check out the website http://www.limbplastx.com/index.html, they have all details including the costs there, but if you decide not to do the whole PT (which was the case for me, since I had to be back to work after 3 weeks) then they will give you rebate on that based on pro rated basis I believe ( I did get discount because I did not do all PTs that are part of the package).

[Lalbadshah]

had my consultation today, Dr. D and Ronnie both confirmed that the X-rays look ok/normal and no red flag at this point and Dr. D gave me green signal to go back to San Jose this Sunday as planned and lengthen and do PT from there. All the office staff seemed impressed and happy that I am using cane now for all my walking (3 weeks post surgery) Next in person consultation ha been set after 3 weeks. My plan is to keep using cane to go to office (parking to my desk is walk-able distance so I don't anticipate issues, also I know a colleague who does use cane). I will use my walker (all wheel, with a bag/storage kind of thing bought from Amazon) when I go to target or Walmart to buy my groceries. Next update will be from California, bye till then. Now, challenge i is find a PT quickly near my place in San Jose/Milpitas.

[JsElysianEagle]

That's amazing Lalbadshah! Have you considered how you're goin to explain to your colleagues what happened, when they see you with a cane? And surely they're goin to notice you getting taller and taller over the coming months too!

Anyway, wishing you a speedy recovery and looking forward to any videos as well that you might care to share. Cheers!

[Lalbadshah]

That's amazing Lalbadshah! Have you considered how you're goin to explain to your colleagues what happened, when they see you with a cane? And surely they're goin to notice you getting taller and taller over the coming months too!

Anyway, wishing you a speedy recovery and looking forward to any videos as well that you might care to share. Cheers!

good question - yes - all has been thought of -

1. I had already started a rumor (before taking leave for LL, which I of course did not say is for LL, I took normal vacation that I was entitled to) that I may have some bone problem/issue (nothing more nothing less, just a word out there so that when I come back with can I can say that I got the bone issue fixed while also taking a vacation and the cane is for support due to the minor bone surgery).

2. I always wear lifts (2.5") - so - initially when I go - they will notice I am shorter - but because my gait will be bad they will be confused anyway - even if with the bad gait with cane if they notice I am shorter I will blame it on my gait/posture. then gradually the height will increase and become nearer to my with lift height and there will be no need for explanation (because my aim is 3 inch and the lifts I used to wear is 2.5 inch, very similar).

[Lalbadshah]

Found a PT near my home/work location (San Jose), wit help from my friend/brother (doctor D's awesome assistant) Ronnie. I start my PT there Monday, same day I join back work/office. Glad things are moving as planned and well, now waiting for around 60-70 more days to pass (Until I attain my final height and stop distracting), then I will feel like the shawshank redemption poster moment (where the guy crosses the half mile long tunnel to reach freedom). Though one thing I must say - the more strength, mobility you gain from PT, walking etc. , the more the odds get re-staked up against you with each lengthening session, so it is always you have to push harder and harder as you lengthen more and more. For some who wants to lngthen like 1 inch, the journey would not be very difficult and I would argue they can gain recovery easily an fast, but for someone wanting 3 inches it will be be like many many times more difficult.

[Lalbadshah]

life going on as it has been, am now back to work so will not be posting frequently, very busy, will post more frequently later.

[Maison]

Hi, Lalbadshah.
You returned to work less than a month after the operation.  I think it is amazing.
Previously I posted here that I wanted to go back to work one month after surgery, but most people denied me.
In fact, what is the most difficult thing about postoperative work?  Do you feel terrible pain while sitting down?

[Lalbadshah]

Hi, Lalbadshah.
You returned to work less than a month after the operation.  I think it is amazing.
Previously I posted here that I wanted to go back to work one month after surgery, but most people denied me.
In fact, what is the most difficult thing about postoperative work?  Do you feel terrible pain while sitting down?

I live very near to office, like within half mile, I sometimes go to office for few hours and then work from home for the rest, 1-2 days I work from home only. In my role, as long as you are getting the work done you are good, if work gets affected and people complain or escalate then you are in trouble and after a few warnings you will be fired. I am smart (Ivy league kind smart) and am using my brain to just do as much work such that I do not get in trouble and can keep my job but let me make it VERY VERY clear to you - your post surgery work efficiency will be like 20% of what it used to be and if you are not a rockstar get mentally ready to face trouble and possible firing, also the reason i am working from home a lot is because it is very painful to sit on office chairs for long, you should stand up and walk every 20 minutes. in short, coming back to work 3 weeks post surgery (with stryde) is possible but it is very difficult and your productivity will be down and be prepared to face heat and be fired if you cannot play the game well.

Update: I am doing it (CLL while working) because of some compelling reasons and I would recommend - if you can - ideally you should do CLL after quitting job and then recover and get back to job market - like Purushottam did.

[Lalbadshah]

Update: looking at mirror , even 1 inch makes a difference, those who ask is CLL worth it? answer is "YES".

[Maison]

I live very near to office, like within half mile, I sometimes go to office for few hours and then work from home for the rest, 1-2 days I work from home only. In my role, as long as you are getting the work done you are good, if work gets affected and people complain or escalate then you are in trouble and after a few warnings you will be fired. I am smart (Ivy league kind smart) and am using my brain to just do as much work such that I do not get in trouble and can keep my job but let me make it VERY VERY clear to you - your post surgery work efficiency will be like 20% of what it used to be and if you are not a rockstar get mentally ready to face trouble and possible firing, also the reason i am working from home a lot is because it is very painful to sit on office chairs for long, you should stand up and walk every 20 minutes. in short, coming back to work 3 weeks post surgery (with stryde) is possible but it is very difficult and your productivity will be down and be prepared to face heat and be fired if you cannot play the game well.

Update: I am doing it (CLL while working) because of some compelling reasons and I would recommend - if you can - ideally you should do CLL after quitting job and then recover and get back to job market - like Purushottam did.

Thank you for your detailed reply.
It is difficult for me to quit my job, but I want to reduce my work days as much as possible after the operation.
For now, I'm thinking of going back to work about 5 weeks after surgery.
You said you live near work, do you commute by car? Is it possible to commute on foot?

[Lalbadshah]

Thank you for your detailed reply.
It is difficult for me to quit my job, but I want to reduce my work days as much as possible after the operation.
For now, I'm thinking of going back to work about 5 weeks after surgery.
You said you live near work, do you commute by car? Is it possible to commute on foot?

Dude, I am sorry to say you are living in lala land. commute by foot for half mile? even if you are crazy if you try to  commute half a mile by foot, next you will be lying on street screaming in pain, even 911 guys with 200 injections on you will not be able to make you revive and you will meet god. my friend you do not understand how serious/complex/painful this surgery is and am sorry to say you do not seem mature enough for me to answer your juvenile/childish questions. I will not answer any more of your questions because I am convinced ( I already had doubt based on some of your earlier questions) that you lack maturity to understand this surgery and the risks, said effects, pains etc. associated. I eel bad that My diary may have encouraged your idiotic thoughts like you can jog to work a few weeks after surgery. I go to work for like 2-3 hours, that also only 2 or 3 days a week (other days I work from home that also I can barely work for 2-3 hours max) that also I take uber, that also I feel so uncomfortable sitting on chair that every few minutes I walk. And I am ale to survive doing that because - i) my manager is in another building and we rarely meet face to face and ii) my past 6 years in this role are hallmark of a legend, I used to work 18-20 hours a day for 5-6 years, people look up to me as a workaholic person so nobody dares bitch/complain about me to my manager or to anybody else because VPs and SVPs know/come to me more than him (my manager) because I had burnt midnight oil for them for years. But now my productivity ( and I am a world topper kind of genius in GRE/GMAT and math olympiad etc.) is so low that I have to tell again and again to my manager that sorry I could not complete the work she ave me 3 day back, I have to tell colleagues sorry i could not do this or that because of leg pain etc. (I could not tell them of LL of course) and these used to be people who were (when I was fit) not 1/10th as good as I was (hell I am the only one with high profile degrees in team, everybody else does not even know how to create a graph in excel), I used to get job offers from senior directors who used to call me saying they want to fire their senior manager and hire me instead wit 30% higher pay, and the same me now am certain that I will either be fired for low performance or else will have to leave because enough damage (because LL related efficiency loss and leave) has been done to my career and it is irreparable to make me prosper here (remember it takes only a few months of really crappy work to strip your rock star status) in the log run. Have you read Fallen774's diary? he had to go to 911 twice and one time he was nearly dead while trying to do LL with work, he tried to take medicine to boost productivity thus screwing up his system. I have accepted that I will perform low for 2 more months and am ready to get fired it it comes to that.                     

I tried to reasonably explain to you (saying that your efficiency will be 20%, you should expect to be laid off on first opportunity, in fact I already have planned to leave by November, I just want to somehow drag till first week of October, if I get fired earlier fine, I have plab B and C ready) just because I thought you somehow wanted to carry on the job as long as possible while knowing very well that the job will become a side thing and LL WILL become your main life, but now I know you think people are stupid to tell you that it is  IMPOSSIBLE to work (in proper sense) and your mind is just selectively reading and interpreting diaries here to suit your plan, first you think you can do LL and go back to work then when people say it is impossible yo say how about 3 wks, then you say how about 5... dude whom are you negotiating with? do whatever you want, it is your life and you have right to plan and play as you wish (like I did)- but don't try to get justification of your plan from other LLers.  bye, no more response to you.