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[FSchez]

I hear you brother

I am in exact same journey with you. Have also crossed 89 day from surgery

All of sudden the muscles get so tight.

I am at 7 cm distraction this weekend. It’s actually just so tight even excercises work for sometime.

I guess last phase gets tough beyond 7 cm. I am breathing deep and taking each day it comes.

I can feel your pain. But hang on we will make this through.

How is your sleep? I try to sleep in sides or nerves go nuts when straight and also legs feel like a thousand kilos to move

We all deserve a gold medal just to finish this journey

I totally agree with you...
From 6.5 or 7 cm, the fight against tightness and stiffness of the muscles is very hard. It is almost a losing battle, but you cannot give up because if you do you will need to work much harder when the distraction is over to regain flexibility ...
I am very overwhelmed by not being able to walk with my back straight, these last few days I have been walking like an old man, with my legs open and my back bent ...
I can only walk decently after a long stretching session.
The only good thing in my case is that I can sleep well at night. I sleep on my back with my legs wide open or lying on my side, otherwise it seems impossible due to the tension in my hips and my lower back ...
I hope we can laugh soon when we look back on these days in the future
Stay strong my friend !! 💪

[Ahd1978]

I’m distracting .3 cm each week taking it slow

My goal is 7.8 cm just being shy of 8 as everyone has scared in forum of all crazy complications.

Yours is 8 cm and I think you will get there sooner. Firstly because you don’t have severe nerve pain. I agree about walking I am also walking super slow as all muscles are tight and now back is starting to take the toll.

Guess it’s good to know our journeys are similar so praying and rooting for you to finish soon brother

[FSchez]

I’m distracting .3 cm each week taking it slow

My goal is 7.8 cm just being shy of 8 as everyone has scared in forum of all crazy complications.

Yours is 8 cm and I think you will get there sooner. Firstly because you don’t have severe nerve pain. I agree about walking I am also walking super slow as all muscles are tight and now back is starting to take the toll.

Guess it’s good to know our journeys are similar so praying and rooting for you to finish soon brother

These days are very hard but we are already very close to our goals.
If you are not in a hurry to reach your goal it is better to slow down, 0.3 cm is much less aggressive, your body will notice it ...
Today I have taken the whole day off, I am not going to lengthen my legs, I am just going to stretch my leg and back muscles as best I can ...
I hope the complications you have suffered are left behind and you recover soon.
Thank you very much for your support 😉, I wish you the best !!

[Ahd1978]

Thank you

Yes my complications have subsided. I continue to have higher dimmer levels in blood but that’s post surgery level that doctor says for some can stay high for over a year.

Wonder if you got your bloods checked. As dimmer levels usually drop post surgery below 500 for some in normal range.

I just took way too many pain killers in beginning and that caused GERD. It’s the acid reflux that shooting in my lungs and iron pills didn’t help. 

So taking medicines to control that.

Besides that I’m in same boat as you. Tightness and stiff muscles. Weekdays I have physio so I distract .5mm. Weekends I only do .25 as w out physio muscles get even tighter.

I am working remotely and have to get back to work only June 23 so will stop around 18 may and let consolidation begin.

Guess 5 weeks are enough to get normal walk I hope.

[FSchez]

Thank you

Yes my complications have subsided. I continue to have higher dimmer levels in blood but that’s post surgery level that doctor says for some can stay high for over a year.

Wonder if you got your bloods checked. As dimmer levels usually drop post surgery below 500 for some in normal range.

I just took way too many pain killers in beginning and that caused GERD. It’s the acid reflux that shooting in my lungs and iron pills didn’t help. 

So taking medicines to control that.

Besides that I’m in same boat as you. Tightness and stiff muscles. Weekdays I have physio so I distract .5mm. Weekends I only do .25 as w out physio muscles get even tighter.

I am working remotely and have to get back to work only June 23 so will stop around 18 may and let consolidation begin.

Guess 5 weeks are enough to get normal walk I hope.

I am very sorry that you have suffered such uncomfortable complications... when we expose ourselves to an operation like this we know that they can have negative consequences, but none of us believe that something bad will happen to us out of the ordinary, our mind does not prepare us for it, we think that everything will progress perfect...
It's bad luck to suffer something like this ...
Glad to hear that you are controlling it!
I started by lengthening my legs at a rate of 0.81 mm per day. Luckily I only had a week of a lot of pain in my knees when I was almost 2 cm long, the doctor advised me to take a day or two off and it worked, the pain was less. From 6 cm onwards, the same thing happened to me and I took a break again, this time for 2 days. Until a few weeks ago, everything was great, but now my back and hips are increasingly tense and walking upright seems like a huge challenge ...
Surely when you finish lengthening your legs you will begin to notice your muscles better. It is not something immediate but with 4 or 5 weeks you will surely walk much better.
I hope to improve also when I finish lengthening. I'll probably finish next week.
Next Monday I am going to see the doctor in Barcelona to check that everything is fine, he will do a new telemetry and X-rays, and surely he will also prescribe a blood test.
Good luck these days and better soon, my friend!

[moretallpls]

Amazing, almost 8cm already. So how is now almost at the end the relation with monegal? I was reading old posts, how much was fisio ? and how long you stayed at st jordi. Aftter you achieve the 8cm, for consolidation do you have to go to see monegal again and do something or all is done? Everytime you go for a consult or check something is whith monegal or some other doctor ? Did you have to pay something else related to the surgery after you left st jordi, apart of fisio ? Congrats man

[FSchez]

Amazing, almost 8cm already. So how is now almost at the end the relation with monegal? I was reading old posts, how much was fisio ? and how long you stayed at st jordi. Aftter you achieve the 8cm, for consolidation do you have to go to see monegal again and do something or all is done? Everytime you go for a consult or check something is whith monegal or some other doctor ? Did you have to pay something else related to the surgery after you left st jordi, apart of fisio ? Congrats man

Thanks man!!
Today at the end of the day I will get exactly 7.6 cms 😉
The relationship with Monegal continues well, as in the first days after the operation. We talk on the phone every 2 to 3 weeks, and I e-mail him the X-rays to check that the growth and bone formation are going well.
When I left the Diagonal Clinic, the clinic's physiotherapist, Alberto, came to the gym at the MICs Sant Jordi residence 2 or 3 times a week and charged 30 euros each session.
I stayed at the residence for 3 weeks, so there were 7 physiotherapy sessions, I think I paid 210 euros in total.
When I returned to Madrid I started the physiotherapy sessions in a clinic that I knew previously, where I asked if they had the means and experience to treat me. I pay 320 every 10 sessions and I usually go twice a week.

For any questions I always talk diectly to Dr. Monegal, I call him on his mobile phone. If he is very busy and cannot attend to me, he call me later.

Because the telemetry shows a small discrepancy at the hips, I have to go to Barcelona on Monday to do a telemetry and X-rays again a few days before finishing the distraction to check that the hips are at the same height.

X-rays are covered by my insurance. The only expense other than physical therapy sessions are medications and vitamins since I left the Diagonal Clinic.

I hope I have solved your doubts 

[Ahd1978]

Awesome brother

Do we know for a fact that if we distract 7.6 or 7

In a few weeks when muscles relax and back is more normal how much net height would we gain

I have reached 183.5 with distraction but I’m only measuring at 182.8 and I would truly like to know if I would gain .7 cm lost. If not I would distract more to cross the 183 threshold.

Does your doctor know this or other ll patients from past. Have you guys recovered entire distraction amount or it’s normal to end up with 1mm lost for every cm we distract.

Thanks for all the help

[TheDream]

Awesome brother

Do we know for a fact that if we distract 7.6 or 7

In a few weeks when muscles relax and back is more normal how much net height would we gain

I have reached 183.5 with distraction but I’m only measuring at 182.8 and I would truly like to know if I would gain .7 cm lost. If not I would distract more to cross the 183 threshold.

Does your doctor know this or other ll patients from past. Have you guys recovered entire distraction amount or it’s normal to end up with 1mm lost for every cm we distract.

Thanks for all the help

Could it just be due to daily variation in your height? It usually goes down by about ~1 cm throughout the day as your spine compresses due to gravity. If you are having trouble sleeping for a solid 8 hours every night, or not drinking enough fluids, it could also be a factor. Your body restores fluid into the spine area while you sleep and this causes people to be at their maximum height during morning.

[Ahd1978]

Could be

But I guess all going through distraction have same issue

Only true veterans can reply of later on they recovered full length of the distraction

[FSchez]

Awesome brother

Do we know for a fact that if we distract 7.6 or 7

In a few weeks when muscles relax and back is more normal how much net height would we gain

I have reached 183.5 with distraction but I’m only measuring at 182.8 and I would truly like to know if I would gain .7 cm lost. If not I would distract more to cross the 183 threshold.

Does your doctor know this or other ll patients from past. Have you guys recovered entire distraction amount or it’s normal to end up with 1mm lost for every cm we distract.

Thanks for all the help

Before the operation the doctor explained to me that what you lengthen the femurs is not always exact with the gain in height because the femurs are not completely straight and are not completely perpendicular to the ground.
It depends on the shape of your legs and how aligned the femurs are with respect to the line perpendicular to the ground.
In the tibia it is usually exactly what you lengthen the bone with respect to what increases your height.
In my case, I still do not know how much I will increase in real height, because my lumbar area is quite curved ...
I'm working hard on correcting my posture but it will take a few weeks ... 💪
If any of the colleagues who underwent surgery and have already achieved a good posture can comment on their experience, it would be of great help.

[FSchez]

Day 101 after the operation (04 / May / 21):

Hi guys!!
Yesterday was a very tiring day, but it was worth it.
My wife and I woke up at 5:30 to go by car to Barcelona and be able to go home the same day.
We arrived in Barcelona at 1:00 p.m. and the doctor met us in the X-ray waiting room.
The doctor accompanied me to the X-ray room and there they did the telemetry as well.
We then went into a consultation room with him to analyze the X-rays and check my posture while lying down and standing by the wall. The doctor confirmed what my physiotherapist told me a few weeks ago ...
I have a lot of tension in my hip flexor muscles and a very curved lower back, plus a slight discrepancy in the height of my hips of 4mm.
For all this, he has recommended that I increase my left leg 3 mm more and stop lengthening my right leg (the highest hip). To correct the posture of the back and the stiffness of the hip flexor muscles, like the physiotherapist, he has recommended that I stretch the muscles in the area as long as possible.
For the rest, the bone formation is going well, so from now on I have to walk and do a lot of stretching and toning exercises to recover soon. 💪
The return trip was long, but we got home at a decent time to have dinner and relax for a bit before going to bed.
Today I had a physiotherapy session and the physiotherapist told me that my legs are quite good, I do not have much stiffness, except in the hips and lower back.
Soon I will post a video walking again, when I improve my posture ... 😉

https://ibb.co/1Ksyc78
https://ibb.co/YRrkXYt
https://ibb.co/WkNTnJb

[Iwanttobetalleresp]

Day 101 after the operation (04 / May / 21):

Hi guys!!
Yesterday was a very tiring day, but it was worth it.
My wife and I woke up at 5:30 to go by car to Barcelona and be able to go home the same day.
We arrived in Barcelona at 1:00 p.m. and the doctor met us in the X-ray waiting room.
The doctor accompanied me to the X-ray room and there they did the telemetry as well.
We then went into a consultation room with him to analyze the X-rays and check my posture while lying down and standing by the wall. The doctor confirmed what my physiotherapist told me a few weeks ago ...
I have a lot of tension in my hip flexor muscles and a very curved lower back, plus a slight discrepancy in the height of my hips of 4mm.
For all this, he has recommended that I increase my left leg 3 mm more and stop lengthening my right leg (the highest hip). To correct the posture of the back and the stiffness of the hip flexor muscles, like the physiotherapist, he has recommended that I stretch the muscles in the area as long as possible.
For the rest, the bone formation is going well, so from now on I have to walk and do a lot of stretching and toning exercises to recover soon. 💪
The return trip was long, but we got home at a decent time to have dinner and relax for a bit before going to bed.
Today I had a physiotherapy session and the physiotherapist told me that my legs are quite good, I do not have much stiffness, except in the hips and lower back.
Soon I will post a video walking again, when I improve my posture ... 😉

https://ibb.co/1Ksyc78
https://ibb.co/YRrkXYt
https://ibb.co/WkNTnJb

what can see around the lengthened part is new bone? I dont understand it very well.. it is bone but not hard enough?

[TheDream]

what can see around the lengthened part is new bone? I dont understand it very well.. it is bone but not hard enough?

Yes, correct. What you can see is something called soft callus. The body builds soft callus to fill the space between the broken bone. Then over time the soft callus becomes hard callus. Then over many months the body transforms the hard callus into regular bone. This is a very very short description though. In reality the process is very complicated.

[L8GrowthSpurt]

Day 101 after the operation (04 / May / 21):

Hi guys!!
Yesterday was a very tiring day, but it was worth it.
My wife and I woke up at 5:30 to go by car to Barcelona and be able to go home the same day.
We arrived in Barcelona at 1:00 p.m. and the doctor met us in the X-ray waiting room.
The doctor accompanied me to the X-ray room and there they did the telemetry as well.
We then went into a consultation room with him to analyze the X-rays and check my posture while lying down and standing by the wall. The doctor confirmed what my physiotherapist told me a few weeks ago ...
I have a lot of tension in my hip flexor muscles and a very curved lower back, plus a slight discrepancy in the height of my hips of 4mm.
For all this, he has recommended that I increase my left leg 3 mm more and stop lengthening my right leg (the highest hip). To correct the posture of the back and the stiffness of the hip flexor muscles, like the physiotherapist, he has recommended that I stretch the muscles in the area as long as possible.
For the rest, the bone formation is going well, so from now on I have to walk and do a lot of stretching and toning exercises to recover soon. 💪
The return trip was long, but we got home at a decent time to have dinner and relax for a bit before going to bed.
Today I had a physiotherapy session and the physiotherapist told me that my legs are quite good, I do not have much stiffness, except in the hips and lower back.
Soon I will post a video walking again, when I improve my posture ... 😉

https://ibb.co/1Ksyc78
https://ibb.co/YRrkXYt
https://ibb.co/WkNTnJb

Almost there amigo!! Keep up the good work 👍

[FSchez]

Day 104 after the operation (Friday 07 / May / 21):

Today I officially start the consolidation phase with my two legs !! 💪 I got it!!

7.7 cms in my right / 8.0 cms in my left

This morning I woke up at 7:30 with a lot of stiffness in my left leg, however my right leg feels very good ...
I have only been since Sunday night without lengthening my right leg, but I already notice quite a difference in muscle tension. Today is the first day that I don't feel pain or tension in my right leg and it's great 😁
I hope the recovery is as good as it has started.
Yesterday afternoon I walked on the treadmill after doing postural correction exercises for my back and managed to hold 2 stretches of 10 minutes (400 meters), with a 5 minute break to stretch my back.
I know it is a very short distance, but after the last days for me it is progress, it is only the beginning, but the important thing is that I can now walk without crutches with less pain in my back, which was the only thing that prevented me from taking more weather.

The callus looks good, but I know it will get better the more I walk and the more exercise I do, so from now on I will do my best to walk longer and strengthen my muscles.
My goal is to gain weight because I am very thin and to walk upright again, with those two things my goal before the operation will be exceeded.

I forgot to write that 2 days after going back to the office to work at my job, I realized that I did not spend enough time to stretch my muscles and I felt very stiff, so I went back to work from home.
This weekend I'm going to do some stretching to try to get back to the office one day next week and I hope I don't need to take a step back ...
When I noticeably improve my way of walking I will publish a new video😉

[FSchez]

Almost there amigo!! Keep up the good work 👍

Thank you very much, my friend!!
The road has not been easy or short, but I have already managed to finish the first phase
Now the hard training begins💪

[Future Skycraper]

CONGRATSS! You've done it! You're awesome mate! Loved your diary and the videos! Good luck at your consolidation! Soon you will be walking normaly!

[moretallpls]

Te felicito man. te puedo escribir al PM asi te hago unas preguntas ?

[FSchez]

Thank you both very much !!
Of course you can write me a private message.
I will be happy to help you in any way that I can.

[TheDream]

FSchez is it typical for the Barcelona clinic to use Stryde and not Fitbone?
I just remember quite a few diaries some years back from Barcelona and they were all using fitbone.

[FSchez]

FSchez is it typical for the Barcelona clinic to use Stryde and not Fitbone?
I just remember quite a few diaries some years back from Barcelona and they were all using fitbone.

Hi TheDream!!
I also believed that Dr. Monegal only used Fitbone, but the first time I spoke with him almost 2 years ago he gave me a price for the 2 options: Stryde and Fitbone. It was probably around this time that he started using the Stryde nail ...
When I had a few days to operate I asked the doctor if he could put me in contact with one of his patients who operated with the Stryde nail.
Then the doctor told me that I had to ask them before because they did not want to reveal their secret ...
Finally the doctor gave me the phone number of a Spanish boy who had surgery on femurs and tibias a few months before and agreed to speak with me.
I spoke with him and he gave me a lot of confidence.
After my operation, when I was in the residence I met a German boy who operated on Dr. Monegal 10 days before me, and a few days later I met a Chinese boy who also had surgery with Dr. Monegal a week after me . Both were operated with the Stryde nail.
I guess now that Stryde and Precice are not available if you have to trade you will use Fitbone until Stryde is back ...

[FSchez]

Day 106 after the operation (Sunday 09 / May / 21):

Hello everybody!
Today is my second day of the consolidation phase and I feel a little better.
My right leg is fine, I just feel a little stiff when I wake up, however my left leg is quite stiff all day.
The last 2 nights I have woken up at 6 or 7 in the morning with discomfort in my left hip ...
I continue to stretch my leg muscles for the same amount of time as in the distraction phase, and have added hip stretches, abdominal and glute toning, and lower back flexibilization exercises to my tasks.
Although I still haven't noticed that my posture improves, every day I can endure a little more walking on the treadmill.
Here are some videos from yesterday, my first day of the consolidation phase. Between each video I rested 5 minutes to correct my lower back, lying on my stomach and practicing the cat exercise (raising the lower back as much as possible).
If my back improves I will post a new video to compare with the latter

[Ahd1978]

Hey brother I’m pulling to 7.5 cm

I know stiffness

Do you have a theragun mini at home. If not try to get it massage your stiff muscles it helps a lot.

Also what I have tried are warm baths and then last 2 minutes hot water on legs and then stretches makes huge difference to relax muscles.

Besides that it’s just time on your side that will make stiffness go away

You are done. Now it’s easy part.

I’m a week behind but tagging along.

My walk is similar to yours so it’s normal I guess

[chasing_higher_dream]

Hey brother I’m pulling to 7.5 cm

I know stiffness

Do you have a theragun mini at home. If not try to get it massage your stiff muscles it helps a lot.

Also what I have tried are warm baths and then last 2 minutes hot water on legs and then stretches makes huge difference to relax muscles.

Besides that it’s just time on your side that will make stiffness go away

You are done. Now it’s easy part.

I’m a week behind but tagging along.

My walk is similar to yours so it’s normal I guess

It's not recommended to use Theragun / massage gun during lengthening or initial stages of consolidation.
Theragun like most other massage guns is based upon percussion therapy and the hammering motion of these guns can further damage your pulled/lengthened muscles and can hinder healing broken bones.
Checkout this article: https://www.cnet.com/health/fitness/sprains-strains-and-injured-veins-when-not-to-use-a-theragun/

IMO, Static stretching and foam rolling is the best way to go.

[chasing_higher_dream]

@FSchez

You seem to have an anterior pelvic tilt a.k.a. duck ass (https://backintelligence.com/anterior-pelvic-tilt-fix/) due to tight hip flexor muscles.
IMO, "Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch Against a Wall" is the most potent form of stretching to stretch those tight hip flexors.
You can see the exercise here: https://www.popsugar.co.uk/fitness/photo-gallery/37955292/image/37955286/Kneeling-Hip-Flexor-Stretch-Against-Wall

I wish you best luck for your consolidation phase.

[FSchez]

Thank you both very much !!
Any advice is welcome at this time 😁
@Ahd1978
I practice hot water baths when my legs are very tense and it helps me to stretch better ...
It is true that with 7.5 cm the muscles become very tense, in my case the hip flexors ...
I'm glad you have already achieved 7.5, Congratulations !!
It is a matter of time and effort to correct our "duck ass".

@chasing_higher_dream
Lately I am focusing my exercises on stretching the hip flexor muscles, so I will add to my exercises the one in the image that you have advised me.
Thanks to the 2, really😉

[Serilium]

Muy bueno fschez 💪🏻

[Ahd1978]

Thanks guys about the gun

At paleys they have been using the gun pretty regularly

So much so I was suggested by physio to buy the mini one.

However physio did say not to use on bone and just abductor area quads when they are tight

Calf muscles and shin area

I honestly wouldn’t have made it without gun.

Also I am taped strongly.

But in middle of night when lower calf or shins get tight gun is true saviour

[FSchez]

Hi guys!!
Today I don't have much time to write but my right leg no longer hurts at all and my left leg loses tension every day.
There is still a lot of work to be done, I know this is only the beginning of the recovery but little by little I can walk with my back straighter.



This video is from today, my walk can still be improved, but it is more acceptable than the last days ...

[Want-3-inches]

Hey dude, In hindsight what would you have done to prevent duckass? Do you think an extreme level of flexibility before the surgery would have helped? Which stretches would you recommend?