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[Apollo676]

But whats so bad about lon femurs ? Comparing to stryde for example,it's more painful during the actual lenghtning period for sure,but what about recovery,a patient who did lon of femurs can recover as best as someone you did stryde in the long term ?
What is the maximum amount you recommend on tibias ? I wonder what else i can do to prepare myself for the surgery,i'm doing a lot of biking as well,and i stopped lift weight on legs

[Medium Drink Of Water]

But whats so bad about lon femurs ? Comparing to stryde for example,it's more painful during the actual lenghtning period for sure,but what about recovery,a patient who did lon of femurs can recover as best as someone you did stryde in the long term ?

One word, used by one of the patients I knew: agony.  Also, the scarring is severe.  I don't know about long-term outcomes.

[qupte]What is the maximum amount you recommend on tibias ?
[/quote]

I don't have a recommended maximum amount.  It depends on the individual.

[SpeedDialer]

Hey Medium, what objects do you recommend bringing if any for massaging your legs if you are doing internals?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

At Guang Ji hospital they did something called bao jiao (bao means bun and jiao means foot), in which they soaked two towels in hot water, wrapped your feet in them and let them sit for a few minutes, and then massaged the feet with the towels.

[SpeedDialer]

During leg lengthening, do you think any exercise beats walking around in your room with a cane/walker/crutches?

Even after getting a vaccination, it still seems a bit risky going outside + hassle to put on sunscreen etc

I thought about exercise bike but it seems like getting on the bike + falling off would be serious problems

[Medium Drink Of Water]

During leg lengthening, do you think any exercise beats walking around in your room with a cane/walker/crutches?

In terms of risk/reward tradeoff, no.

[Unknown]

how long did it take for you to get the frames off after first surgery? Were you able to function unassisted after that? Thanks!

[Medium Drink Of Water]

4.5 months.

No, I needed a walker or wheelchair for a while.

[SartBimpson]

Did you have any regrets after the surgery? Also, if you could go back, would you change a thing or are you %100 content with your journey so far?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Did you have any regrets after the surgery? Also, if you could go back, would you change a thing or are you %100 content with your journey so far?

Sometimes I regret doing it at all.  Most of the time I'm not even using my height, and that gets more true the older I get.  Senior citizens don't use their height at all; nobody cares how tall an old man is.  So LL does not give you a lifetime benefit.

If I could go back in time 14 years I might reconsider the surgery, but if I still did LL I'd get 5 cm on tibias with external only.  I think I'd have better balance, wouldn't have gotten exertional compartment syndrome in my tibialis anteriors, and wouldn't have tendonitis in my patellar ligaments.

[tallmen]

Hey MDOW,
Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
Is it possible to do remote work during the distraction phase? I mean mentally. I am planning to do tibia LON this year but I don't want to quit my job and it's a remote job. I just have to code on my laptop.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

It's possible.  Several fellow patients worked from the hospital.

[Unknown]

Hey Medium,
Appreciate your contributions in answering questions, here are some of mine:
1: Do you think 7cm is excessive for LON? What would be the maximum you recommend?
2: Do you have any lingering pain from your surgery back then?
3: If you had a second chance, would you do LL again?
4: Any advise for a person depressed and feeling inferior over his height? I'm only 5'4... I really hate my stature very much but I'm not sure if I should go over with this.
5. Did you experience an increase in attracting woman after surgery with your increased height?
6. How excrutiating is the pain right after surgery, during lengthening, and during consolidation for LON?

Thank you and I hope to hear from you

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Hey Medium,
Appreciate your contributions in answering questions, here are some of mine:
1: Do you think 7cm is excessive for LON? What would be the maximum you recommend?

You mean tibias?  Yeah, probably.  Stick with 6.

2: Do you have any lingering pain from your surgery back then?

Some stiffness of the knee joints, and the tibialis anterior muscles feel weird.  They got exertional compartment syndrome and required a fasciotomy.

3: If you had a second chance, would you do LL again?

I don't know.  If I could go back in time and decide again, I'd at least be more hesitant.  I was 100% going to get LL back then with no doubts in my mind.

4: Any advise for a person depressed and feeling inferior over his height? I'm only 5'4... I really hate my stature very much but I'm not sure if I should go over with this.

Society sucks and you shouldn't care if anyone in it likes you or not.  It will crumble in a few decades anyway.  The U.S. will destroy itself in a civil war, ending the Pax Americana, leaving China as the dominant power in the world.  They will try to bully everyone like they bully their little neighbors now.  World War III with weapons of mass destruction will happen, global warming will continue to get worse and worse.  Tall, muscular, and fat people who need a lot of food will die out, leaving skinny 5'4 people as the master race.

Actually, just go get LL and enjoy the last few decades of peace and prosperity to the fullest extent.

5. Did you experience an increase in attracting woman after surgery with your increased height?

Yes.  Very much so.

6. How excrutiating is the pain right after surgery, during lengthening, and during consolidation for LON?

Not so bad if you don't move.

Thank you and I hope to hear from you

I reply to 100% of the questions in this thread.

[Unknown]

You mean tibias?  Yeah, probably.  Stick with 6.
Some stiffness of the knee joints, and the tibialis anterior muscles feel weird.  They got exertional compartment syndrome and required a fasciotomy.
I don't know.  If I could go back in time and decide again, I'd at least be more hesitant.  I was 100% going to get LL back then with no doubts in my mind.
Society sucks and you shouldn't care if anyone in it likes you or not.  It will crumble in a few decades anyway.  The U.S. will destroy itself in a civil war, ending the Pax Americana, leaving China as the dominant power in the world.  They will try to bully everyone like they bully their little neighbors now.  World War III with weapons of mass destruction will happen, global warming will continue to get worse and worse.  Tall, muscular, and fat people who need a lot of food will die out, leaving skinny 5'4 people as the master race.

Actually, just go get LL and enjoy the last few decades of peace and prosperity to the fullest extent.
Yes.  Very much so.

Not so bad if you don't move.
I reply to 100% of the questions in this thread.

Amazing bro, all I needed to hear. Always feel that I had to put in so much effort attracting my previous dates when other people do it so casually. I had to be like a jester to even get her to invest in me whereas my taller friends had girls crushing on them just for how they look. Being 5'4 really sucks. Glad to have someone like you in this forum!

[Unknown]

Hi MDOW,

Would you consider yourself fit enough for most sports? How much of your physicals do you think u recovered to?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Hi MDOW,

Would you consider yourself fit enough for most sports? How much of your physicals do you think u recovered to?

About 80-90%.  A while ago I played basketball against (mostly) middle school kids and did pretty well running up and down the court.

[Unknown]

I looked through some of the older diaries and a lot of those have people complaining of chronic pain. Is it really true that you will probably live with chronic pain if you do it? I almost convinced myself to do it but I read of how you are essentially trading off one quality of life for another, makes me hesitant. For you, if you were to go back to your younger self, would you do it again?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

I looked through some of the older diaries and a lot of those have people complaining of chronic pain. Is it really true that you will probably live with chronic pain if you do it? I almost convinced myself to do it but I read of how you are essentially trading off one quality of life for another, makes me hesitant. For you, if you were to go back to your younger self, would you do it again?

I think it's a risk rather than a guarantee.  It depends not only on the skill of the surgeon but also on the patient's DNA.  Some people can tolerate invasive surgeries and body modifications better than others.

Just speculating here but I think if you're more prone to endogenous overreactions such as allergies, arthritis, and general inflammation you'll probably have a worse reaction to LL.

[Dirona]

MDOW, Could compartment syndrome lead to amputation?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

I don't know.

[Jamesy998]

I think it's a risk rather than a guarantee.  It depends not only on the skill of the surgeon but also on the patient's DNA.  Some people can tolerate invasive surgeries and body modifications better than others.

Just speculating here but I think if you're more prone to endogenous overreactions such as allergies, arthritis, and general inflammation you'll probably have a worse reaction to LL.

Just want to give my two cents on this actually. I do think that you could also sort of see it during the lengthening period too. I could be wrong but for example in my case, once the surgical pains went away, taking in fact that I do not overdo the lengthening, I feel no pain at all so Im going to assume that it will stay this way.

[Astronomy]

Shin bones or humeruses are too thin to do LL?True?
I've heard that if your bones are too thin,then LL won't be adapted to you.
I dunno why,but I think myself...Maybe nails will hurt bones that are too thin.

[shaddygizmo]

I'm looking to lengthen a modest amount of 3cm on both femur and tibs.
My main concern is avoiding long term effects and permanent damage, reducing risk, recovering as close too 100% as possible, Time is not important, Cheaper is good but not a priority

1. What methods should I use? I know externals on femurs is hell but I won't need to do it that long. Is internals on femurs at 3-4cm very safe? If externals on femurs are safer in the long run I'm willing to do it.

2.Which external is best for long term tibia recovery? I was considering Illizarov

I was considering Illizarov for both limbs since I'm not lengthening too much, cheaper, and it is the last non-invasive. I was considering Kulesh and Malang.
It is my intuition that even though the lengthening of Illizarov is longer (over LATN, LON, Precise, Stryde on femur), I will recover much faster in the long run because I don't have any objects inside of me. Am I wrong?

Thanks

[Medium Drink Of Water]

1. What methods should I use? I know externals on femurs is hell but I won't need to do it that long. Is internals on femurs at 3-4cm very safe? If externals on femurs are safer in the long run I'm willing to do it.

I don't think there are any advantages to external femurs except cost.  But 3 cm isn't going to take very long and won't cause too many issues with the surrounding tissue.  Hard to say if it's worth the savings though.

2.Which external is best for long term tibia recovery? I was considering Illizarov

Ilizarov is good for fixing bends and preventing bends from happening.  You're more likely to get a misalignment from monorails.  But if done right there's no long-term difference.

It is my intuition that even though the lengthening of Illizarov is longer (over LATN, LON, Precise, Stryde on femur), I will recover much faster in the long run because I don't have any objects inside of me. Am I wrong?

The internal nail wouldn't affect recovery time much.  Putting something in the intermedullary canals isn't very disruptive to the body.

[Jamesy998]

This might not be the same for everyone but at the end of the lengthening phase, did you noticed an increase in pain once you stopped lengthening? As if the body were to be catching up with the gains

[Medium Drink Of Water]

This might not be the same for everyone but at the end of the lengthening phase, did you noticed an increase in pain once you stopped lengthening? As if the body were to be catching up with the gains

I noticed the opposite.

[canterk]

If money isn't an issue would you recommend Precice or LON for tibia lengthening right now?

I'm not sure if I understand it correctly but it's possible to walk (crutches) with LON frames right? The patient won't be wheelchair bound unlike with Precice?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

If time wasn't an issue I'd get external only for tibias.  It's the best, least-invasive way that just happens to be the cheapest.

If money wasn't an issue I'd get Precise over LON.

It's possible to walk on crutches with frames, but it can be difficult, for some patients more than others, so there's no way to know for sure how much of a problem you'll have until you get them.

[chipsnsalsa]

Hi MDoW, thanks for taking the time to answer these questions.

I noticed you mentioned that your surgery also corrected your tibias and duck feet. That is of interest to me, as I have bowlegs (not extreme, but noticeable). Did you speak to the surgeon or any patients who had had bowlegs previously which were corrected during tibia lengthening?

PS I must disagree with your assertion that nobody cares how tall an old man is. Height adds dignity, gravitas and status - think of Sean Connery in his later years. It will always make you more attractive to women and taken more seriously by society in general.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

A lot of people with bowed legs were there getting them corrected.