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[V21]

Hi guys,

I have the surgery booked for July¡ I will do 5,5 cm Stryde and I want to do a thread providing information about my progress and X-Rays. Taking into account that it's January, I think it's better to make a "pre-surgery" thread and then creating a new one. I'm a 172-173 male, which is honestly slightly below average in my country, and my goal is to be confortably over 175. I honestly did not have any external issues with my height in my life, but I'm quite obssesive I guess, and I have been obssesed with reaching 175 for quite a while. Thanks to my mindset I have achieved lots of great things, having a great long time girlfriend and a succesfull business. However, it also has it flaws, as my obsession with reaching 175 has caused me feelings of failure for a long time, to the point that I have been long periods of time without leaving my house. I perfectly understand that it is irrational, but I just can't let it go, and I want to reach my goal and take back my life.

Athletic recovery is really important for me, so I won't do more than 5.5: that will make me confortably over my goal of 175, and Giotikas says that I should be able to fully recover if everything goes correctly. Of course, I'm aware of the risks, but I'm willing to take them. In this thread, I will be writing recommendations that Giotikas has given me, stretches, diet... This forum has helped a lot regarding limb lenghtening, and I want to offer as much information as I can in order to help others

[Tartar]

That's a good approach to the procedure, but I warn you to be disenchanted about the full recovery because that's possible but nobody can knows that, you can be perfect even after 8cm, you can be different from before even just with 1cm. The most traumatic event in LL is the surgery itself. For sure being young, staying conservative and having a good proportion after LL are all very important factors to have a full comeback.

[ghkid2019]

Good luck. 177 .5 will be very cool and hopefully resolve you of that complex

[V21]

Of course, you are right and I'm aware of it. To be honest, I'm happy if I'm able to run and do sports at a decent level, even if I lose some athletic capacities. If 1-2 years after the surgery I'm at 80% of what I'm now, I'm happy, and I think that's a realistic approach. As long as I don't get crippled...

Another thing that I'm worried about is the payment. When I paid the first part (small booking fee) my bank automatically showed a message blocking it. After talking with the bank via phone, they said they don't know the reason, it's an algorithim and it may just be because it's my first international transfer, but they warned me about being careful anyway. Of course, I know Giotikas is legit: I've had two online appointments with him, there are some threads about him with photos with the doctor, lots of articles published by him... but, of course, I'm paranoid of being scammed after so much effort to get the money. The payment is part to an Irish account and the rest to a greek one (the nuvasive distributor). My idea is to contact nuvasive first so they guarantee that the distributor is legit. Any suggestions for further safety? Maybe I'm being dumb, but it's a huge amount of money lol¡

[V21]

Well, I contacted nuvasive and they told me that the greek distributor is legit, so I guess that everything is safe.

Regarding the first contacts with Giotikas, in case anyone is interested:

In the first place, you book the free introduction appointment, 15 minutes via skype. After that, you have to book the long appointment other day (200 euros) or fly to Greece for a presential meeting. I chose the skype way, and Giotikas sends you a questionnaire with questions about your expectations and psychological status. I was surprised that no X rays were asked, but the Dr. says that they do it when you are in Greece a couple days before the surgery. This second meeting is like 45 mins, and Giotikas solves all your doubts. The truth is that, if you have done your research, you won't hear anything new. The Dr. is quite honest about the surgery and warns about the importance of discipline when doing PT: at least 4 hours per day if you want to recover "fast". I do think he downplays the pain a bit, because he said that usually pain is not more than 4/10.

[Stryde2021]

He doesn't require X-Rays?  That's alarming.  He needs to know your canal diameters to determine what size nail you can use.   If you weigh under 150lbs, that's probably not an issue.  But if you're over 150 it could preclude you from having a nail that allows full weight bearing.  If I were you, that's not something I'd want to discover a few days before surgery in Greece.

[Arcon]

He doesn't require X-Rays?  That's alarming.  He needs to know your canal diameters to determine what size nail you can use.   If you weigh under 150lbs, that's probably not an issue.  But if you're over 150 it could preclude you from having a nail that allows full weight bearing.  If I were you, that's not something I'd want to discover a few days before surgery in Greece.

They have all sizes of nails available on the self in Athens and Giotikas asks for your body weight months before you travel there for your surgery..Don't see a problem here, I think Dr DG has it all covered.

[V21]

He said that I probably will be able to have the biggest nail, but as the other user said, it will be determined in our presential appointment. They have all types of nails. I'm currently 77 kg (170 pounds) and he told me to cut to 70 (155),

[Stryde2021]

He said that I probably will be able to have the biggest nail, but as the other user said, it will be determined in our presential appointment. They have all types of nails. I'm currently 77 kg (170 pounds) and he told me to cut to 70 (155),

How did he determine this if he didn't have X-Rays for you?  At 155-170 you can weightbear with the middle-sized nail, so you're probably fine.  All im saying, though, is it could be a real nightmare if you get to Greece and discover your canals can only accommodate the smallest nail (which does not support weight bearing above 150). 

[V21]

He said that being 172-173 and 170 pounds I will likely be able to have the big nail. Anyway, just in case, he told me to be 70-73 kg the day of the surgery, taking also into account that I will lose weight after the procedure.

[ghkid2019]

Plenty of American surgeons decide on the spot during surgery day inside the operating room what size nail to use.

If you can, tell him your preference for the bigger nail. 11.5 is way way stronger than the 10.5. I don't even think 10.5 should be used for any makes but that's just me. It has a stress point at 150 lb, which is like going up stairs, so nail bends doing many things. 11.5 try to push it hard to giotikas he always tries to use small nails

[Arcon]

Plenty of American surgeons decide on the spot during surgery day inside the operating room what size nail to use.

If you can, tell him your preference for the bigger nail. 11.5 is way way stronger than the 10.5. I don't even think 10.5 should be used for any makes but that's just me. It has a stress point at 150 lb, which is like going up stairs, so nail bends doing many things. 11.5 try to push it hard to giotikas he always tries to use small nails

Sorry @ghkid2019, you seem confused.
There is no 10.5mm Stryde, (only 10mm and 11.5mm) and Giotikas always uses the biggest possible nails not the smallest.
Don't forget there are smaller guys out there with norrower bones and less weight who cannot accept anything more than 10mm nails. So, to say "....I don't even think 10.5 should be used for any..." is just wrong.

[more]

Plenty of American surgeons decide on the spot during surgery day inside the operating room what size nail to use.

If you can, tell him your preference for the bigger nail. 11.5 is way way stronger than the 10.5. I don't even think 10.5 should be used for any makes but that's just me. It has a stress point at 150 lb, which is like going up stairs, so nail bends doing many things. 11.5 try to push it hard to giotikas he always tries to use small nails

unnecessary bigger diameter can cause non-union

[V21]

Well, he told me that he would probably use the biggest nail, but also told me to keep me weight down just in case. After the meeting, I book a flat via airbnb. My idea is to be there three months, in order to finish distraction and start consolidation before I return. My girlfriend comes with me to help me, so we got a big flat in the center. Honestly, not that expensive: 2700 for the three months. It's 5 km away from the rehab center though.

Next, about payment, there are three payments: one for booking the surgery, another to the greek nuvasive distributor and the last one to Giotikas, hospital fees etc. The first payment must be done now, the other two can be done up to a few days before the surgery. Taking into account the problems my bank gave me, I'm still a bit paranoid and I will make sure that everything is legit before the big payments lol. Anyway, it's just paranoia, I already contacted Nuvasive and they told me the greek distributor is legit.

[ghkid2019]

@arcon Yes, I meant 10, that is my bad.

I still think 10 should never be used unless you are underweight woman. Going up a stair which is different multiplier of weight above your max weight is already reaching stress threshold of weight. That is not good. Bent nails that's how you get them. Read m7liam diary if u want.

The main thing, 150 lb stress threshold is abysmally small for a guy who probably will weigh at least 120lb on the lower end.stryde 10 should be reserved for boys and girls and woman, not man unless the man has achondroplasia. Or is anorexic underweight in which that case is dangerously light to even do LL. and 99% of the people on this forum are not in these categories of human, and instead just regular, short men.

U can disagree, after all I said it's just me. My opinion. I respect ur views

@more I agree, I'm just saying it's not unnecessary for a vast vast majority of men. most men just simply take too much risk with the 10 nail that has a stress threshold of only 150 lb. Sometime gotta ream

@giotikas2021 good luck just double check you are have the right number for giotikas wire transfer or whatever. Go to the website and confirm the number and stuff. I also recommend assuming you will need 4 months, simply because many many people slow down. Probably majority. And it's fine. Good luck tho it's great you have GF take care of you that's another the difficult part of LL lack of social support and structure so you have a support which is good many other get bored or monotony and loneliness so u will reduce those emotions. Anyways good luck giotikas2021

[V21]

Thanks man, my girlfriend knows about the surgery and everything, so that is another problem I avoid. My issues about the payment are that my bank told me that the algorithim showed the account as "suspicious", even though they provided no reason for that statement. It's an Irish account for Giotikas and a Greek one for the nuvasive distributor. I wrote to Nuvasive and they told me the greek distributor is legit, so I think that I took all precautions possible. Of course I'm still a bit paranoic, but I think it's "normal" taking into account the huge effort I have made in order to get the money for the surgery.

[V21]

I also think Giotikas is quite honest about the risks. Of course, I had done my research before the appointment, but I wanted to see if he was honest or if he was one of the doctors that try to "sell" this surgery. He told me about the risks of fat embolism and bone infection, even thought they are low. I'm a little worried about infection because it forces you to stop lenghtening: I'm not really worried about my health, it seems I do am scared about "failing" and not achieving success lol. But well, he said the risk of bone infection is like 0,25 %, so I don't think I will be that unlucky. I do think he may underplay a bit the pain issues, because he says that pain levels are like 4/10, and some users here have experienced much more than that. Anyway, I'm not worried about pain or hard work: after years of feeling like a failure my focus is on achieving the goal, if it hurts it hurts, no problem at all.

[Tartar]

@arcon Yes, I meant 10, that is my bad.

I still think 10 should never be used unless you are underweight woman. Going up a stair which is different multiplier of weight above your max weight is already reaching stress threshold of weight. That is not good. Bent nails that's how you get them. Read m7liam diary if u want.

The main thing, 150 lb stress threshold is abysmally small for a guy who probably will weigh at least 120lb on the lower end.stryde 10 should be reserved for boys and girls and woman, not man unless the man has achondroplasia. Or is anorexic underweight in which that case is dangerously light to even do LL. and 99% of the people on this forum are not in these categories of human, and instead just regular, short men.

U can disagree, after all I said it's just me. My opinion. I respect ur views

@more I agree, I'm just saying it's not unnecessary for a vast vast majority of men. most men just simply take too much risk with the 10 nail that has a stress threshold of only 150 lb. Sometime gotta ream

@giotikas2021 good luck just double check you are have the right number for giotikas wire transfer or whatever. Go to the website and confirm the number and stuff. I also recommend assuming you will need 4 months, simply because many many people slow down. Probably majority. And it's fine. Good luck tho it's great you have GF take care of you that's another the difficult part of LL lack of social support and structure so you have a support which is good many other get bored or monotony and loneliness so u will reduce those emotions. Anyways good luck giotikas2021

Actually sometimes you can even fit the 10mm and the thinner version is needed...and it's called Precice 2. I think that the only one in these months to have had a nail bigger than 10mm was Movie, 10mm is the most common size.
That's the reason why it's not true that you can always walk unaided with stryde, there are many things to consider.
Nail lenght is quite important too.

[V21]

There is no way I can know it without X ray I guess... Anyway, given my stats and that I am physically "big", he was quite certain that I could have the big one

[V21]

Well, the payment is already done, so it's official. As I said earlier, Giotikas sent me a programm of strecthes, but they are not really anything special, just the ones that have been shared in other threads. When I asked him about what can I do in order to improve my chances of recovery, he told me to keep weight down and just have a healthy lifestyle and diet.

I'm quite fit (I train 6 times per week), so I will focus on stretching everyday, running instead of weights, drinking milk, cutting down some weight (14% bodyfat right now)... Anyone has any kind of suggestions about things I can do to improve my chances? Of course I understand there so many things that are not under my control, but I want to do everyting perfectly

[permanentlybanned]

Congrats man on making the final step.

I would recommend everything you're doing like stretching and not bulking leg muscles. Maybe some yoga. Get a Yelp yoga lady some sessions

[V21]

Seems you were right after what happened to m7liam today, lol

[V21]

Hey guys, I'd like to share my routine in order to getting ready for the surgery. Of course, I'm worried about it after all the Nuvasive issues, but Giotikas told me he is confident I will be able to have STRYDE in july, so I will keep getting ready.

Usually, I do weight lifting 5 days x week. I have big leg muscles, and Giotikas and other users have told me that that's not good for this surgery. Because of that, I'm leaving weights and I'm focusing in lowering body weight and running. Right now:

Bodyweight exercieses (pull ups, push ups...) 6 days x week
Jogging 30 minutes 3 days x week
Stretching every day: 10 minutes morning, 10 minutes mid day, 10 minutes night
Drinking 2-3 glasses of milk everyday


Is there anything you think I should improve? Thanks¡

PD: I'm 78 kg lol, not fat really, but big leg muscles that I have to lose. Giotikas told me that it would be optimum to be 70-75 kg the day before surgery (July)