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[donnyrick]

I was thinking to myself, if you do the surgery and gain 5-8cm, how do you deal with people like relatives at some family reunion gathering who already know you and are shocked and surprised at this magical new growth spurt at an older age?

The last thing you want to tell them is about this limb surgery which to normies sound barbaric and horrifying......

Any advice?

[permanentlybanned]

TheAlchemist has a good mentality when it came to this topic. I'll try to find a quote

[th]

depends on ur starting height and if u wear lifts or not - u can get away with 5cm by saying fitness regime etc

[permanentlybanned]

I understand your concern. I felt the same way leading up to my procedure- I spent countless hours and many sleepless nights worrying, stressing and over analyzing how I would manage and escape detection.

Leading up to my operation I wore shoe lifts that were just under 2 inches. So the net effect of LL, after doing the full 8 cm, was roughly 1.5 inches in additional height.

The reality is people will notice something different about you. In my case, even at just 1.5 inches increase net of my shoe lifts there were some people who still noticed. You can't control that and you will need to accept this. However you can control how you react and respond to their observations and curiosity.

I would say roughly 50% of people have noticed and explictly said that I look taller/skinnier/different. I'd imagine more people registered something different about me internally but did not vocalize the difference or just dismissed it as something odd about me.

It's important to emphasize that someone noticing you taller is very different than someone accusing you of getting cosmentic LL surgery to get taller. Everyone I've met since doing LL were none the wiser to a surgery being involved, even if they did notice me being taller.

What you will realize is even though LL and your height change are at the forefront of your mind, the same isn't true for those around you, even those who do register a change in height. Because LL is not mainstream peoples minds will automatically brush it away, thinking they are misremembering, you somehow grew, your posture got better, or ironically, even started wearing lifts. Remember, you are your own worst critic, people don't actually care or think about you as much as you think they do.

My advice is to just own it mentally. Don't go into each interaction with a defensive mindset. If someone mentions you growing, a confident/ happy "Oh yeah? Can't complain about that" response is a lot better than being hesitant and bashful. If they dig deeper, just look at them like they're crazy, they'll just as likely start to think that they may have gotten shorter. If they keep pushing, you can say you've been working on posture. As long as you own it mentally and maintain a confident, succinct position around any kind of comments, you'll be just fine.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Get it done when you're young and say you grew.

[SartBimpson]

Get it done when you're young and say you grew.

Yeah. This is the best way.
If you're older then just buy lifts and gradually increase your height by half an inch every week using lifts until you reach your desired height (4 weeks for 2 inches).
It'll seem more "natural" and people won't question it as much, if someone asks if you got taller then act nonchalant and go "Oh, did I?"

Kind of autistic but I think it works.

[Jamesy998]

I am 22 so I guess I am a "late" bloomer. Generally once you pass 5cm it is very hard to hide it if you are an adult so it is best to be honest about it.

[tallertree]

- You look taller?!
- Yeah people keep saying that

Problem solved

[BelowTheMean]

Say you converted to whatever religion they are and that you prayed to become taller. Watch them question their very existence.

[Jamesy998]

Say you converted to whatever religion they are and that you prayed to become taller. Watch them question their very existence.

I have thought about pulling this one haha

[10cmOnTibiaOrGTFO]

tell them the truth when they notice. they will find out at some point anyways. you cant hide the truth forever.
and it ll make you look even worse.

[las vegas baby]

nobody needs to explain nothing to friends. if its such a problem with some friends you can even leave them. friends are usually temporary anyway.

problem arises with spouse. if your already married then NO WAY you can hide this from your spouse.

But I think most people here are not married and have no GF and want to hide leg length surgery from their wife in the future. theoritically possible but how someone can sleep well at night with such a big secret I dont know. Atleast make up something like you had an accident or something? If possible try to get your doctor to write a letter to that effect so that you have peace of mind. But I dont think any doctor in the states would do something like that. you should hope that you have some deformity which gets written in the surgery papers and not the leg length part.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

tell them the truth when they notice. they will find out at some point anyways. you cant hide the truth forever.
and it ll make you look even worse.

This.  If you're 30 getting LL, obviously you didn't grow as a late bloomer.  And people will notice if you're 2-3 inches taller than the last time they saw you.  If you're evasive about it, that'll spur more curiosity and then they'll remember Gattaca or some TV show about dwarves and figure it out.  There's no other believable explanation.

If they haven't seen your legs much, maybe you can get away with saying you had severe bowed leg correction.

[BelowTheMean]

nobody needs to explain nothing to friends. if its such a problem with some friends you can even leave them. friends are usually temporary anyway.

problem arises with spouse. if your already married then NO WAY you can hide this from your spouse.

But I think most people here are not married and have no GF and want to hide leg length surgery from their wife in the future. theoritically possible but how someone can sleep well at night with such a big secret I dont know. Atleast make up something like you had an accident or something? If possible try to get your doctor to write a letter to that effect so that you have peace of mind. But I dont think any doctor in the states would do something like that. you should hope that you have some deformity which gets written in the surgery papers and not the leg length part.

I think it has to do with the fact that people forget they even had the surgery after a long enough amount of time. It just becomes part of your past. Like if you broke a bone when you were a kid, you might remember that once in a while, but you wouldn't think about it every day once it healed. You would even get used to having a taller perspective, and just being taller and it wouldn't be something special anymore.

[las vegas baby]

I think it has to do with the fact that people forget they even had the surgery after a long enough amount of time. It just becomes part of your past. Like if you broke a bone when you were a kid, you might remember that once in a while, but you wouldn't think about it every day once it healed. You would even get used to having a taller perspective, and just being taller and it wouldn't be something special anymore.

good perspective. as a non patient I always think it will be number 1 on my mind if I ever do it. Looks like its not true.

its just very hard to hide it from immediate family tho. I mean parents and siblings. theyve seen you for so long and your probably in their height range. So they will know that youve grown. Now whether to hide it from your spouse given that your immediate family knows is a big question. Your sister will probably end up telling her husband and your brother his wife. so its outside the family now. and then women gossip. heck even men gossip. the truth will eventually reach your spouse.

[MakeMeTallAF]

Depends how much you lengthen. If you lengthen like 5 cm or something, you can probably play it off as posture or something. If someone asks how come you're taller, just say you started doing some exercises and now you stand with better posture or something.

[10cmOnTibiaOrGTFO]

lol, you get LL to overcome your height insecurity then after your next insecurity is the fear of getting clocked for having it done? great job guys, totally mentally stable condition 

[Jason2020]

If you're past your early 20s and even then it's rare to keep growing, then really there's no getting away from the fact people may well realise. Personally I'd be happy to just tell them. I already wear inserts etc. and dress in a way that makes me look "average height" e.g. 5'10 or thereabouts. I don't care too much about telling people or people knowing. I wasn't able to have the surgery done when I was younger and I can't sadly turn the clock back now on that. Just own it and be proud of your new height.

[BelowTheMean]

I just thought of a funny one.

"I had a severe (boating/skiing/paragliding) accident and my leg bones were completely shattered and I fell in a coma. The doctor doing my emergency surgery didn't know how tall I was, so based on the size of my torso and my wingspan he thought I was (+3 inches from original height) and put my leg bones back together based on that. I didn't even realize I had become taller until I woke up from my coma "

Probably too incredible, but it would be funny if you convinced someone that this was real.

[Tokito_Ohma]

I dont get all the concerns here to be honest. I would literally say like the Alchemist "Oh yeah? Cant complain" with a smile  . Most people probably wont obsess so hard over it anyways so just be cool.
People dont care that much about you as much as you'd think.

If someone were to keep nagging me about it I'd just tell him to stop being so goofy lol.

I do understand it will be slightly difficult for those with a spouse though

[Future Skycraper]

True, the hardest one would be family.

But I think if you start using 1inch insoles, and gradually increase the size of it, you should be okay. Like going from 1inch to 1 and a half, 2, 2 and a half, 3, and so on. And after the surgery you just stop using it at all

[Ascending]

My experience - most people notice that there is something different about you but don't want to say anything crazy like "you've grown" since you clearly are too old to grow.  So they may look at you and wonder.  They will likely come up with rationalisations like - you lost weight and are now slimmer so appear taller, you are wearing shoes with heels or lifts, you have been working out in the gym, if they are old then they may even think that they themselves have become shorter etc.  It's toughest for guys who were taller than you and are now shorter or the same height.  It seems to affect them in a more negative way.  This may affect the dynamics of your friendship.

[Want-3-inches]

My experience - most people notice that there is something different about you but don't want to say anything crazy like "you've grown" since you clearly are too old to grow.  So they may look at you and wonder.  They will likely come up with rationalisations like - you lost weight and are now slimmer so appear taller, you are wearing shoes with heels or lifts, you have been working out in the gym, if they are old then they may even think that they themselves have become shorter etc.  It's toughest for guys who were taller than you and are now shorter or the same height.  It seems to affect them in a more negative way.  This may affect the dynamics of your friendship.

Hi Ascending,

I went through your posts in the forum and you have not had a straightforward journey for sure. do you mind sharing your surgeon's name? Do you think your lengthening was worth it in the end? Do you feel recovered? Did you get stryde nails removed?

[Ascending]

Hi Ascending,

I went through your posts in the forum and you have not had a straightforward journey for sure. do you mind sharing your surgeon's name? Do you think your lengthening was worth it in the end? Do you feel recovered? Did you get stryde nails removed?

Hi, sorry for the late reply:

Surgeon's name - lets just learn from the problems.  I doubt he will make the same mistake again.

Was lengthening worth it?  Yes it was.  I feel very different about myself.  Clothes look better and they are easier to buy in the right size.  I realise only now how short I really was.  However, there are times that I underestimate my height relative to other guys.  I see some dude in the distance and think that guy is taller, only to find we are of the same height.  Residual self image perhaps?

In March this year, I asked Dr Bacarese-Hamilton in London to remove my nails in part because trips to Europe were not possible and the Stryde recall raised enough concern that I wanted them removed sooner rather than later.  The removal went well.  Mr Bacarese-Hamilton had already performed one surgery on me last year to remove a screw that was making movement and recovery very difficult.  That surgery was also very successful.

I really recommend having the nails removed as soon as it is safe.  The difference is amazing.  I sleep much better, I can sit for a long time and then get up and walk around immediately.  Walking is much easier etc.  In fact I can honestly say I feel like I did before the lengthening.  My flexibility has also improved, I found even a few days after the nails were removed that it was much easier to bend down and pick up something from the floor.

I think if Hadn't had the problems lengthening then this experience would have been mostly positive.  Be very careful when you choose your surgeon.  Even then things can and do sometimes go wrong so be prepared to deal with it.

[PerfectBody]

I see some dude in the distance and think that guy is taller, only to find we are of the same height.  Residual self image perhaps?

Lmao. Sounds like everything went really well - happy for you my guy! Congratulations on the new altitude!

[Want-3-inches]

Hi, sorry for the late reply:

Surgeon's name - lets just learn from the problems.  I doubt he will make the same mistake again.

Was lengthening worth it?  Yes it was.  I feel very different about myself.  Clothes look better and they are easier to buy in the right size.  I realise only now how short I really was.  However, there are times that I underestimate my height relative to other guys.  I see some dude in the distance and think that guy is taller, only to find we are of the same height.  Residual self image perhaps?

In March this year, I asked Dr Bacarese-Hamilton in London to remove my nails in part because trips to Europe were not possible and the Stryde recall raised enough concern that I wanted them removed sooner rather than later.  The removal went well.  Mr Bacarese-Hamilton had already performed one surgery on me last year to remove a screw that was making movement and recovery very difficult.  That surgery was also very successful.

I really recommend having the nails removed as soon as it is safe.  The difference is amazing.  I sleep much better, I can sit for a long time and then get up and walk around immediately.  Walking is much easier etc.  In fact I can honestly say I feel like I did before the lengthening.  My flexibility has also improved, I found even a few days after the nails were removed that it was much easier to bend down and pick up something from the floor.

I think if Hadn't had the problems lengthening then this experience would have been mostly positive.  Be very careful when you choose your surgeon.  Even then things can and do sometimes go wrong so be prepared to deal with it.

Nice! What about athleticism and running? Did you have osteolysis from Stryde nails and were your nails corroded?

[Ascending]

Nice! What about athleticism and running? Did you have osteolysis from Stryde nails and were your nails corroded?

I haven't started going to the gym again nor have I been for a run except when running to catch a bus which was fine.  It felt very different to running with the nails - there is no sense of vibration - more natural.  My walking gait is also back to normal.  I can also climb stairs two steps at a time as before the surgery.

My bone healing was always very good - in fact too good it seems because I kept consolidating too early.  Mr Bacarese-Hamilton told me that the bones were solid and that there were no signs of damage.  However, he still advised caution for the first 6 weeks and so I decided to wait a couple months before doing more because of what happened to ProgramDude.  To have a femur fracture would be hell.

[Ascending]

Lmao. Sounds like everything went really well - happy for you my guy! Congratulations on the new altitude!

Thanks bro!

[Future Skycraper]

My experience - most people notice that there is something different about you but don't want to say anything crazy like "you've grown" since you clearly are too old to grow.  So they may look at you and wonder.  They will likely come up with rationalisations like - you lost weight and are now slimmer so appear taller, you are wearing shoes with heels or lifts, you have been working out in the gym, if they are old then they may even think that they themselves have become shorter etc.  It's toughest for guys who were taller than you and are now shorter or the same height.  It seems to affect them in a more negative way.  This may affect the dynamics of your friendship.

Is there anyway to hide 14cm increase? Maybe using higher shoe lifts overtime and use shoes with less than 1inch height after surgery? And tell old friends I just grown?

[Ascending]

Is there anyway to hide 14cm increase? Maybe using higher shoe lifts overtime and use shoes with less than 1inch height after surgery? And tell old friends I just grown?

Firstly, 14cm is a lot for the body to take and I will assume you plan to achieve this by lengthening both segments - femurs and tibias.  If you are determined to do this amount of lengthening then at least do it in two separate operations a year apart so that you have lengthened and recovered from one segment before doing the other.  This may make it easier to hide your lengthening amount.  Be advised then that this surgery will leave you with some scarring and with two segments that's twice the scarring.  What is your current height?  Do you really need 14cm of lengthening?

Consider also that the hiding the lengthening will work if you have no complications otherwise it may be impossible.

[Want-3-inches]

Are you considering a second round Ascending, considering how you say you feel after one?