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[asian]

Hey Asian, can you use credit cards for these apps? I'm attempting to adjust how much cash I should bring for expenses.  If I can use credit cards for these apps I definitely don't need much in cash.  How much cash would you suggest to bring for the stay based on your experience so far? Thanks, would help me out a ton!

Also are these apps in English? I've downloaded eFood and eFresh but not in English.  However when I go on Google Chrome on my computer, it has a translator built in so was doable.

Hi AppleFanBoy,

eFood, eFresh and Beat are English, probably because my iPhone system language is English? eFood and eFresh accept credit cards but the taxi only accepts cash. I only brought 200 euro cash, I still have about 20 euros.. I only use cash for taxi. I'll have to withdraw some cash from an ATM machine.

[asian]

Day 20 after surgery: Yesterday, I was trying to reduce the dose of pain killers. I only took two pills of DEPON paracetamol 500mg before I went to the bed. I didn't sleep much last night, only about 2-3 hours.. I think it's because I didn't take Lyrica(Nerve pain killer) and Tramadol(Severe pain killer). I'm not sure the reason though. I didn't feel much pain, just felt legs discomfort. Like the blood flow wasn't moving smoothly. I ordered an Air Compression Blood Circulation Leg Massager on eBay. The PT Center has one and I use it every session, it makes me very sleepy every time. I hope it can improve my sleep.

[Gman23]

Hey Asian,

I just skimmed through your diary an couldn’t seem to find the cost for the surgery or which nail you used. I might possibly do the surgery with Dr giotikas but I want to do 2 surgeries. Please let me know which part you lengthened femurs or tibia, how much you want to lengthen and the cost for it. Also what is your opinion on doing 2 surgeries... please reply thank you, stay safe

[asian]

Hey Asian,

I just skimmed through your diary an couldn’t seem to find the cost for the surgery or which nail you used. I might possibly do the surgery with Dr giotikas but I want to do 2 surgeries. Please let me know which part you lengthened femurs or tibia, how much you want to lengthen and the cost for it. Also what is your opinion on doing 2 surgeries... please reply thank you, stay safe

Hi Gman23,

I did it on my femurs with Stryde nails. You can check the cost on the doctor's website. Doing both tibia and femurs at the same time will be super hard. Femurs are relatively easier than the tibia.  I'm planning to do my tibia one year later.

[asian]

Day 21 after surgery: Last night, I took 1 Lyrica, 1 Tramal, and 2 Depon before I went to the bed. I slept pretty well, only woke up 2 times. Actually, I felt more pain on my legs after taking painkillers but I could sleep better. I have no idea how it works...

[Gman23]

Hi Gman23,

I did it on my femurs with Stryde nails. You can check the cost on the doctor's website. Doing both tibia and femurs at the same time will be super hard. Femurs are relatively easier than the tibia.  I'm planning to do my tibia one year later.

Ayyyy happy for me you man, go for the tibia. That’s my goal aswell. So you want to gain a total of 10-13cm like me ?

[asian]

Ayyyy happy for me you man, go for the tibia. That’s my goal aswell. So you want to gain a total of 10-13cm like me ?

My goal is 13-14cm, but I'm not sure if my soft tissue can handle it.

[Gman23]

My goal is 13-14cm, but I'm not sure if my soft tissue can handle it.

Sounds like a bit too much then the safety limit but by all means go for it bro will be watching you all the way !! Good luck

[Gman23]

Also whats your age if I may ask and when will you go for tibia lengthening?

[asian]

Day 22 after surgery: My legs are stiff as  .

[ghkid2019]

Day 22 after surgery: My legs are stiff as  .

Don't leave us hanging c'mon 😂

[StrydeNailChallenge]

Hi Gman23,

I did it on my femurs with Stryde nails. You can check the cost on the doctor's website. Doing both tibia and femurs at the same time will be super hard. Femurs are relatively easier than the tibia.  I'm planning to do my tibia one year later.

Is this really true that stryde on femurs are relatively easier than on tibias? I had heard the opposite.

[asian]

Is this really true that stryde on femurs are relatively easier than on tibias? I had heard the opposite.

Yeah, some people said tibia's rehab is easier. But from several diaries on the forum, tibia seems more difficult.

[asian]

Day 25 after surgery: My legs are very stiff. I don't use crutches anymore, I can walk very confidently but look like a robot. I feel more pain recently, especially during the night. Pain is from screw sites. I increased the dose of Tramadol, I take 3 pills a day.

[Hagane]

Yeah, some people said tibia's rehab is easier. But from several diaries on the forum, tibia seems more difficult.

from all the diaries ive read it seems that the physio for femurs is much easier in comparison to tibias
however there seems to be less pain from tibias and patients seem to sleep better

[Gman23]

Day 25 after surgery: My legs are very stiff. I don't use crutches anymore, I can walk very confidently but look like a robot. I feel more pain recently, especially during the night. Pain is from screw sites. I increased the dose of Tramadol, I take 3 pills a day.

Keep going Asian, I’ll jus come on this forum to read your diary for now... as my goal is the same as yours.stay safe!!!

[StrydeNailChallenge]

Day 25 after surgery: My legs are very stiff. I don't use crutches anymore, I can walk very confidently but look like a robot. I feel more pain recently, especially during the night. Pain is from screw sites. I increased the dose of Tramadol, I take 3 pills a day.

Dear asian,  I think 3 (50 mg) Tramdol pills per day is very reasonable during distraction. I remember Dr. M. told me if there came a point that I could not tolerate pain, I could take 2 pill every 4 hours, but with the condition I would not go beyond 400mg per day; and that's what I did. It must have been around day 30 or so, when pain was too high for me and I had to go for 350 or 400 mg per day.

How is stretching going?

[AppleFanBoy]

Hey Asian! Check your PM.

[asian]

Dear asian,  I think 3 (50 mg) Tramdol pills per day is very reasonable during distraction. I remember Dr. M. told me if there came a point that I could not tolerate pain, I could take 2 pill every 4 hours, but with the condition I would not go beyond 400mg per day; and that's what I did. It must have been around day 30 or so, when pain was too high for me and I had to go for 350 or 400 mg per day.

How is stretching going?

Thanks, SNC. My stretching is pretty good. It's pretty painful during the PT. My physiotherapist is pretty aggressive...but it's good to push my limits.
I checked your stretching routine. Some of them are pretty difficult for me. My hand still can touch my feet, but my other leg can't push down to the ground. it's kind of blocked by the IT band/screws area.

[StrydeNailChallenge]

Thanks, SNC. My stretching is pretty good. It's pretty painful during the PT. My physiotherapist is pretty aggressive...but it's good to push my limits.
I checked your stretching routine. Some of them are pretty difficult for me. My hand still can touch my feet, but my other leg can't push down to the ground. it's kind of blocked by the IT band/screws area.

Dear asian,
I mostly did self-PT'ing during my distraction phase. I was more into repeating the stretching sessions (e.g., 8 times per days) than making them too aggressive, but in your case, if your PTs think you should be aggressive, I think you should trust them.

I would not worry about your leg not pushing down during that exercise. It will get fixed over time after distraction is over. The main goal during distraction is to achieve the maximum height, but if you lost some flexibility on it, it can be fixed. I have been able to reclaim part of my flexibility already by day 10 since end of distraction, e.g., I can bend my knees much more than during the distraction times.

To max distraction asian bro!

[SpeedDialer]

Hey! Thanks for making this diary.

1. How has covid affected your plans/process of getting stryde with Giotikas?

2. What are your tips for finding a place to stay and a caretaker?

3. What are your thoughts on Meska? Not worth the price?

4. What's process like if you get covid during the recovery?

[asian]

Dear asian,
I mostly did self-PT'ing during my distraction phase. I was more into repeating the stretching sessions (e.g., 8 times per days) than making them too aggressive, but in your case, if your PTs think you should be aggressive, I think you should trust them.

I would not worry about your leg not pushing down during that exercise. It will get fixed over time after distraction is over. The main goal during distraction is to achieve the maximum height, but if you lost some flexibility on it, it can be fixed. I have been able to reclaim part of my flexibility already by day 10 since end of distraction, e.g., I can bend my knees much more than during the distraction times.

To max distraction asian bro!

Great to hear that! Thank you SNC! I definitely need to have more self PT sessions.

[asian]

Hey! Thanks for making this diary.

1. How has covid affected your plans/process of getting stryde with Giotikas?

2. What are your tips for finding a place to stay and a caretaker?

3. What are your thoughts on Meska? Not worth the price?

4. What's process like if you get covid during the recovery?

Hi SpeedDialer,

1, Everything is normal here, people wear masks.
2, Find a place that closes to the PT center and has an elevator. If you have enough budget, try to find a nice place. My apartment is too noisy. The doctor arranges a caretaker for you if you needed.
3, Current patients are not going to Meska for PT anymore. We go to another PT center.
4, Covid situation is not too bad in Greece, but try not to get it lol, I always wear a mask when I go out.

[asian]

Day 32 after surgery, lengthened 25mm: I have been very busy recently because I have a full-time job and I also have to go to the PT center. I had my second follow-up appointment with the doctor yesterday. Everything went very well, bones are growing. Both legs have lengthened equally. I push very hard when I use the ERC machine because Dr.Paley's paper mentioned that push harder will make it work better. The pain level is almost the same, it's like 1-4/10 if I only do daily activity. 6-9/10 during the PT. I still wake up 2-3 times every night. 2 days ago I got hamstring pain, it feels like muscle pain. Just like get injured from the sport. When I push it, I could feel a string(or tendon? I have no idea) was very tight and it was painful. I hate that feeling. I started to stretch my hamstrings harder. Today, I feel much better but still can feel it. It feels like it's recovering from injury lol. I guess that's how muscle lengthens and grows.

[StrydeNailChallenge]

Day 32 after surgery, lengthened 25mm: I have been very busy recently because I have a full-time job and I also have to go to the PT center. I had my second follow-up appointment with the doctor yesterday. Everything went very well, bones are growing. Both legs have lengthened equally. I push very hard when I use the ERC machine because Dr.Paley's paper mentioned that push harder will make it work better. The pain level is almost the same, it's like 1-4/10 if I only do daily activity. 6-9/10 during the PT. I still wake up 2-3 times every night. 2 days ago I got hamstring pain, it feels like muscle pain. Just like get injured from the sport. When I push it, I could feel a string(or tendon? I have no idea) was very tight and it was painful. I hate that feeling. I started to stretch my hamstrings harder. Today, I feel much better but still can feel it. It feels like it's recovering from injury lol. I guess that's how muscle lengthens and grows.

Dear asian,
I hear these recommendations that if your stretching starts to be painful you should take it easy. It has generally not worked like that for myself! In the past if I have some muscle or tendon injury, instead of taking easy on it, I would push it aggressively to a point that it would make me cry, but it would help with the healing. I did that for my ankle, shoulder and thumb. In all three cases, taking it easy did not work, but pushing it aggravated pain at start, but finally helped with the healing. What you said about your hamstrings reminds me of that! I am therefore in favor of pushing myself, especially now that I am in the consolidation phase, meaning, if I feel some pain while walking, I would not necessarily take it easy, but I would continue a bit more; that would even increase pain, but I think it helps with growth and healing.

My pain is much more predictable. It is mostly around the bone gap area and mostly appears when I walk close to 0.5 miles or longer, or during evening times!  I am however very happy that I am finally painkiller free for days now!  My way of handling pain is a combination of stretching a few times per day, and taking hot showers  or sitting in a hot bathtub at least once per day.


By the way, when you get close to 4cm or so and all the way to your final length, you would start to experience a lot stiffness. Don't get disappointed by that. As far as I know it happens to everyone.

[asian]

Dear asian,
I hear these recommendations that if your stretching starts to be painful you should take it easy. It has generally not worked like that for myself! In the past if I have some muscle or tendon injury, instead of taking easy on it, I would push it aggressively to a point that it would make me cry, but it would help with the healing. I did that for my ankle, shoulder and thumb. In all three cases, taking it easy did not work, but pushing it aggravated pain at start, but finally helped with the healing. What you said about your hamstrings reminds me of that! I am therefore in favor of pushing myself, especially now that I am in the consolidation phase, meaning, if I feel some pain while walking, I would not necessarily take it easy, but I would continue a bit more; that would even increase pain, but I think it helps with growth and healing.

My pain is much more predictable. It is mostly around the bone gap area and mostly appears when I walk close to 0.5 miles or longer, or during evening times!  I am however very happy that I am finally painkiller free for days now!  My way of handling pain is a combination of stretching a few times per day, and taking hot showers  or sitting in a hot bathtub at least once per day.


By the way, when you get close to 4cm or so and all the way to your final length, you would start to experience a lot stiffness. Don't get disappointed by that. As far as I know it happens to everyone.

Hi SNC,

Thank you very much for your advice! Congrats, you're painkiller free now! Yes, aggressive PT does help muscle recovery. Today, I'm about 34mm distraction, I only feel stiffness from tightness and a little muscle pain. My muscles are really tight, especially hamstring and IT band. Hope that I will not experience a lot of pain lol.

Thanks,
Asian

[asian]

Day 41 after surgery, lengthened 34mm: My sleep is getting much better, I only wake up 2-3 times every night and I usually can sleep 9-10 hours. Sleep on the stomach and soft bed topper changed my life lol. My muscles are getting really tight, especially hamstring and IT band. I don't feel much pain, only some pain from the bone gap during the night.

[marathonrunner]

Have any recent xrays of both AP and lateral view you could share?

[asian]

Day 43 after surgery: I have lengthened 37mm. I had a follow-up appointment with the doctor this morning. Everything went very well, bones are growing fine. Recently, I feel more pain from the bone gaps during the night, it's like 1-4/10. I have lost a lot of flexibility. PT is getting more painful, it's really painful...I almost couldn't tolerate it. My sleep is still pretty good. I sleep about 8-10 hours every night.

[AnotherShorty]

Hi Asian,
How about your gait?
Are you on the same meds and doses?
So glad to see you are doing great... Hope the PT becomes easy for you...

Best regards,

[V21]

Keep strong¡ Seems like you are having great progress