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[StrydeNailChallenge]

Hi SNC,

as a fellow Stryde patient (currently 35mm distracted) I wish you all the best for the rest of your journey!

I'm doing PT on my own as well. In my opinion, it is way more important to integrate your PT routine into your daily life. Nevertheless, it is still helpful to have a family member at hand to help you with certain exercises.

All the best!
MM

Thanks MM, I totally agree with you that PT integration to daily life is the key.

By the way, my left leg is killing me! it's so painful as compared to the right leg which for most of the times has no pain. Have your legs responded differently to your PT/walk?

SNC

[StrydeNailChallenge]

I did stryde femurs with Giotikas about 1 week before you.

Just hit 3 weeks yesterday and for the first time start to take steps by myself without crutches

Unfortunately walking like a penguin with huge swinging body... hopefully that reduces over time

Hey m7liam,   sounds like you are in great shape to recovery!  walking by yourself at week 3 sounds amazing!! congrats. !
I was actually trying to minimize the penguin-like walking while on walker, yesterday! I could not make it go away, but I am sure as time passes we can minimize that to zero.   

[Tartar]

Hi guys I’m in distraction too with Stryde!
Can i ask you what size of nail do you have and what kind of weight/activities are you allowed to do? Crutches or walker?
Sorry SNC if this is a bit spam but I think we could share this information to help us

[mangoman]

Thanks MM, I totally agree with you that PT integration to daily life is the key.

By the way, my left leg is killing me! it's so painful as compared to the right leg which for most of the times has no pain. Have your legs responded differently to your PT/walk?

SNC

I would say it's totally normal. Within the first days and weeks after surgery you develop bruises which might develop differently over time in each leg. Might be a reason for the difference in the pain levels.

At 35mm my right leg feels also more tight than my left leg. I try to adjust PT accordingly but it is how it is.

I have the 11,5mm nail and I'm walking mostly without crutches since week 4 (at least in the house). Nevertheless, one should be careful as nail bending or breakage would be terrible.

[StrydeNailChallenge]

Hi guys I’m in distraction too with Stryde!
Can i ask you what size of nail do you have and what kind of weight/activities are you allowed to do? Crutches or walker?
Sorry SNC if this is a bit spam but I think we could share this information to help us

Hi Tartar,
Sure, no problem. My weight ranges between 137 and 145 and now I must be on the upper side. I remember Dr. M. told me that even the small nail would be sufficient in terms of weight bearing, as I am light, however he used the medium for me to give me better support. I hope this answers your questions. Let me know if anything else.

Update: I just weighed myself and I am at 130! I am in shock, cause before and after surgery I am a zero fat guy; and going to 130 means I must have lost muscle! this is not good! I hope I can quickly get back those muscles as my activities and eating improve.

[mangoman]

Hi Tartar,
Sure, no problem. My weight ranges between 137 and 145 and now I must be on the upper side. I remember Dr. M. told me that even the small nail would be sufficient in terms of weight bearing, as I am light, however he used the medium for me to give me better support. I hope this answers your questions. Let me know if anything else.

Update: I just weighed myself and I am at 130! I am in shock, cause before and after surgery I am a zero fat guy; and going to 130 means I must have lost muscle! this is not good! I hope I can quickly get back those muscles as my activities and eating improve.

I experienced a similar weight loss. Eat enough and you will start gaining weight again soon.

[StrydeNailChallenge]

I experienced a similar weight loss. Eat enough and you will start gaining weight again soon.

Thanks a lot MM for letting me know!   I think with you guys this challenge has been exponentially easier to handle.

[Tartar]

I’ve lost weight too, 4 kilos, my legs are skinny now, I think that’s our destiny lol
Unfortunately I have the 10mm nail and my doctor says I have to use always the Walker only, and not the small one but the biggest with the surface to put arms and hands
I think that’s definitely too much, I’m getting annoyed

[StrydeNailChallenge]

I’ve lost weight too, 4 kilos, my legs are skinny now, I think that’s our destiny lol
Unfortunately I have the 10mm nail and my doctor says I have to use always the Walker only, and not the small one but the biggest with the surface to put arms and hands
I think that’s definitely too much, I’m getting annoyed

A lot of things are annoying about this process, but hang in there. Take it day by day and try your best to do your PTs/walks to make sure you get the max out of it. Follow what your doctor says. You have to be very careful and precise even on tiny things such as standing, turning, sitting on the toilet, etc. Any mistake may in the worst case severely impact your results or delay your full recovery. Look at it as a game of patience. It's the annoying stuff and pain against you and you'd want to be the winner; and to be the winner you need patience, and persistence.  I say these not just to you, but to myself frequently, to remind myself to not lose it! 

[StrydeNailChallenge]

Day 14 (Wednesday, August 5) - 6.98 Taller

The most inconvenient part of this for me is the night time sleep. I wake up every 30 to 90 minutes and overall I sleep for 3 hours or so.   I know from IFS that Tylenol + Tramadol worked as a good alternative (to Norco). I have emailed Dr. M. to double check.

I did not walk or stretch as much as yesterday or the day before, because of the pain I have in my left leg. I am not sure if the pain is like the old one from the surgery or the pain caused by soreness and tightness due to lengthening, or both.

Today was the 5th (and last) day of lengthening by 1.33mm. Starting tomorrow only 3 lengthening sessions totaling 1mm.

Something I would like to remind all is the importance of the walker height. I think depending on the upper body strength, wingspan, etc. there would be a height range that works well for you. However you would wanna adjust it to be mostly on the shorter that the taller options. The shorter, the easier to stand up from a sitting position using your arms, especially if your feet cannot bear your weight post-surgery.

Also a reminder to those ladies and gents who'd want to do LL in the future; make sure you strengthen your upper body to make post-surgery a lot easier to manage. To evaluate whether your upper body is set, you may do the following: Find two parallel flat surfaces, bars, etc. that are almost as tall as your hip level and distanced as wide as your shoulder. E.g., a table and a chair may work. Then sit in between [almost like a squat position] and see if you could lift your body completely up with no help from your feet and do this slowly enough that you have time to gradually straighten your legs and then gradually put your weight on your feet. See if you could slow it down to 30 seconds or a minute, and use the time to very slowly stand on your feet.

[BelowTheMean]

Thanks for posting frequently, I'll be keeping up with your journal. Doesn't seem to be as many active journals this year.

[StrydeNailChallenge]

Thanks for posting frequently, I'll be keeping up with your journal. Doesn't seem to be as many active journals this year.

You are welcome. I hope in addition to what IFS, Movie and others posted, my posts helps at least some of the future LL'ers. 

[StrydeNailChallenge]

Day 15 (Thurs., Aug. 6th) - 7.97mm Taller

I did a lot of stretching before the night sleep as Dr. M. suggested. I think it helped. I also turned on the TV hoping it would help me fall asleep. I think that helped a lot. Overall I had a better night.

Today is the first of the 3 * 0.33mm session days. I did one at 6am by mistake (a better time would've been 7am, then 3pm, and then 11pm each for 0.33mm.) Note that the device is already programmed, therefore I don't need to make any calculations. All I need to do is to place the ERC device properly on my femur where the magnet is and then go step by step following a very simple procedure.

Every time I do the sessions, I can feel something on my left leg, but not much on my right.  I guess in a few days we will do if I did it correctly (next Dr. M. appt. will have the x-rays and measurements to see how the sessions turned out).

I emailed Dr. M. last night and in less than two hours he responded. I had asked him about alternatives to Norco. He suggested taking melatonin or a sleeping pill. He also suggested that I do as much stretching exercises as I can before going to bed.

I am going to try the sleeping pill (Sleep^3 of Costco) tonight and will keep all updated. I will also continue to do stretching right before going to bed and also keep the TV  or youtube or something on for the whole night if necessary.


Today was an easier day. The way I thought about it as far as the sessions go is that today I had 3 sessions as compared to 4 sessions in the last 5 days and also the time between the sessions increased from 6 to 8, therefore doing a simple math the difficult as far as sessions could have eased quadratically (3/4 * 6/8, i.e.,   (3/4)^2  ). I don't know if anyone agrees with me, but I feel that my body feels quadratic about it, meaning I feel superlinearly eased up today

I continued my self-PT moves and walking steps. On a daily basis I create exercises for myself. I had talked to Movie about creating a set of exercises and posting them for those who plan to do self-PT; but I think we have to be extremely careful. We are not PTs, therefore technically we should not give advice to LL'ers on what exercises to do or to avoid. Also no matter what we provide, it may not work for all individuals and in fact it may be harmful. I am going to continue for a while on the self-PT and if I feel I am doing better than a PT, then I will double check with Movie, IFS and others and see whether posting our exercises with a BIG disclaimer is safe and helpful to all.

[ghkid2019]

I think a PT creates a sense of structure and routine and reduces slacking and a PT can also push you harder than you physically can yourself, usually.

Regardless I have no doubt you'll be successful, since you clearly have good work ethic and self PT might be better for you

[StrydeNailChallenge]

I think a PT creates a sense of structure and routine and reduces slacking and a PT can also push you harder than you physically can yourself, usually.

You are correct.
I did this, because I find it safer to not go out and not interact with outsiders coming to my house to lower my chances of catching covid-19.
However my plan has been to consult this with Dr. M.  on my next appt. If I find out based on the x-rays that my progress has not been good, I will take the risk and get a PT.

[StrydeNailChallenge]

Day 16 (Fri., Aug. 7) - 8.98 mm Taller


Hello All,

According to Dr. M.'s recommendation to give melatonin a try, I got Costco's Sleep3 (10mg Melatonin - https://www.costco.com/nature's-bounty-sleep3-10mg.-melatonin%2C-120-tablets.product.100581539.html) and took it for one night. I don't believe it had any positive impact on me.  There is a chance if I continued, it might work, but I am so scared of taking medicine in general, and as soon as I find out a reason to avoid a medicine, I would like to do so, immediately. I think the reason it does not work for me is that sleep medicines such as Sleep3, resolve sleep disorders, whereas in my case, I feel sleepy all the time, but the pain and discomfort prevents me from falling asleep; I don't think this is exactly a sleep disorder that sleep medicines would resolve. I think I need a pain killer!

I will contact Dr. M., once more to find an alternative to Tylenol + Norco that I am currently taking. By default I think I will try what IFS tried, i.e., Tramadol + Tylenol.

Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary today. Just continued to create new stretching exercises for myself, including doing some face-down or on-knees exercises, in addition to some well-known exercises that I also try (such as cat/cobra: )***.

My left leg continues to be the much more painful one, but I feel like the new stretches, help me reduce the pain.



**** Disclaimer: Please do not blindly copy the exercises from me or anyone else if you are not very certain about its benefits. When it comes to exercises, it is wise to consult with your PT and/or your doctor to make sure the exercise is safe with you.

[StrydeNailChallenge]

I write my notes at times when I need to distract myself from the pain! but that has increased my typo rate    I am sorry if the typos have confused anyone, but I assume you guys would let me know if something does not make sense.   

Here I wanted to clarify something I had posted for day 16:

Day 16 (Fri., Aug. 7) - 8.98 mm Taller

**** Reminder: Please do not blindly try the exercises posted by from me or anyone else if you are not certain whether they are right for you. It is wise to consult with your PT and/or your doctor to make sure the exercise is safe for you.

[StrydeNailChallenge]

Day 17 (Sat., Aug. - 9.97 mm Taller


I graduated myself from the walker and moved to crutches today. It was a bit tougher using crutches indoors the whole time, but I hope this is one step closer to walking unassisted.

As usual, night time sleep was the toughest part. I need to find the right pain killer. I have read here that our fellow LL'ers recommended Tramadol and CBD, and I think I am going to switch one of them after discussing it with Dr. M.

[StrydeNailChallenge]

@ IFS, Movie, BoneStretching and other LL'ers of Dr. M.,

I have been receiving new medical bills so far two from the hospital, even if I already paid the $45K hospital cost to them directly. One bill reads X-ray reading, $52 per femur, totaling $104. The other, is much higher: Dr. Chan's "Anesthesia Services", balance: $2185.00. Is this normal? Did you guys also end up paying some followup bills?

Thanks,
SNC

[Tartar]

@ IFS, Movie and other LL'ers of Dr. M.,

I have been receiving new medical bills so far two from the hospital, even if I already paid the $45K hospital cost to them directly. One bill reads X-ray reading, $52 per femur, totaling $104. The other, is much higher: Dr. Chan's "Anesthesia Services", balance: $2185.00. Is this normal? Did you guys also end up paying some followup bills?

Thanks,
SNC

2K for the anesthesist in the operatory room is a normal price. He has many responsabilities. I have payed the same amount.

[StrydeNailChallenge]

2K for the anesthesist in the operatory room is a normal price. He has many responsabilities. I have payed the same amount.

Thanks Tartar, Did you also end up paying $45K plus those additional bills, i.e., the $2k you paid was in addition to the $45K hospital fee?   Also would it be possible to let me know overall how many bills, or how much overall you received as part of those followup bills in addition to the $45 K that we need to pay before the surgery.

I totally understand how critical Anesthetist's role is. What I do not understand is why it is not included in the $45k I already paid for.   

[Tartar]

Hospital fees are made by all the items used (including the nail), the operatory room rent, the recovery and hospital staff during your stay after the operation.
Doctors who work in the operatory room are payed apart and they set their own price (obv a reasonable one)
I’ve payed a total of almost 60K for the surgery, of which 15K for the operatory room staff.

[StrydeNailChallenge]

Hospital fees are made by all the items used (including the nail), the operatory room rent, the recovery and hospital staff during your stay after the operation.
Doctors who work in the operatory room are payed apart and they set their own price (obv a reasonable one)
I’ve payed a total of almost 60K for the surgery, of which 15K for the operatory room staff.

Tartar, thanks for letting me know. Mine overall was $70K, including the $45K hospital fee. I had double checked with Dr. M.'s office, and the hospital and I was told the $70K includes all the costs excluding the PT cost, or any equipment; before proceeding with the cash payment and the surgery itself.

I will provide an update to you guys soon on this.

[Tartar]

Tartar, thanks for letting me know. Mine overall was $70K, including the $45K hospital fee. I had double checked with Dr. M.'s office, and the hospital and I was told the $70K includes all the costs excluding the PT cost, or any equipment; before proceeding with the cash payment and the surgery itself.

I will provide an update to you guys soon on this.

I haven’t told you that I mean almost 60.000euro, so the price is very similar to yours. Anyway you should aphave received a document with every single price, so you should solve any doubt. If you don ‘t have it ask for a complete bill.

[StrydeNailChallenge]

I haven’t told you that I mean almost 60.000euro, so the price is very similar to yours. Anyway you should aphave received a document with every single price, so you should solve any doubt. If you don ‘t have it ask for a complete bill.

Thanks Tartar,

Will keep you all posted.


Cobra/Cat Update: I would also like to provide an update on the self-PT thing. cobra/cat and in general any form of stretching I have done that involves knees or the whole femur bearing the weight (on bed, sofa, etc.), helps me a lot. It temporarily blocks the pain and I hope in long run strengthens some few muscles. I thought I should let all know about that. I have just been very hesitant to share this news, cause it has looked scary to me to do on-knees or on-femurs stretching during the first couple weeks. Please talk to your PT/doctor first and see if they should be added to your routine, if not included already.

[Hagane]

bro your daily updates are a blessing!
also youll be 1cm tomorrow!!! congrats!

[precice strider]

Tartar, thanks for letting me know. Mine overall was $70K, including the $45K hospital fee. I had double checked with Dr. M.'s office, and the hospital and I was told the $70K includes all the costs excluding the PT cost, or any equipment; before proceeding with the cash payment and the surgery itself.

I will provide an update to you guys soon on this.

I thought it was 70k for Precice 2, 75k for Stryde. Does the 75k include PT?

[m7liam]

I thought it was 70k for Precice 2, 75k for Stryde. Does the 75k include PT?

I am on the 10mm Stryde and I weighed (pre-surgery, not sure about now) 65kg. Doc says its fine for me to walk without crutches so not sure why you need to be on a walker??

[StrydeNailChallenge]

bro your daily updates are a blessing!
also youll be 1cm tomorrow!!! congrats!

My wannabeidol Brother! Thanks a lot for the kind words. They mean a lot to me.
Wish you the best

[StrydeNailChallenge]

I am on the 10mm Stryde and I weighed (pre-surgery, not sure about now) 65kg. Doc says its fine for me to walk without crutches so not sure why you need to be on a walker??

Hi m7liam,
Seems you are doing great. I am happy for you. Unfortunately for me, a walker or crutches are necessary, i.e., I am not yet in a condition to be able to walk unassisted. I am also very scared to falling and breaking the nails. Therefore having a support like a walker or crutches helps me mentally as well.
I hope I get there soon.

[StrydeNailChallenge]

I thought it was 70k for Precice 2, 75k for Stryde. Does the 75k include PT?

Hi HobbesTheDog,
Not sure! but  I will soon provide all with an update as soon as I get the information.

Meanwhile, I am focusing on making progress on my legs. Can't wait to have a peaceful 8-hour night sleep! I wish Tesla was my company and Elon Musk would approach me, "would you trade your company for a nice sleep", and I would do that with no hesitation! a win-win for both Elon Musk and me