Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[RB]

Hey guys,

After much consideration and given the recent circumstances and events surrounding the stryde nail, I have decided to travel to Germany and begin my LL journey with Dr. Betz using the Betzbone. I arrived yesterday and had my final consultation with Dr Betz today. Pre-op checks are scheduled for Monday and the surgery itself will take place on Wednesday pending a negative covid test and successful pre-op checks. I plan to stay in Germany for roughly 4 weeks before flying back home to finish lengthening.

Background

I have suffered from height neurosis since my teenage years and it has become progressively worse as I entered adulthood. I was always the shortest kid in class growing up so I became used to it, but that didn't prevent it from bothering me. My neurosis was always somewhat manageable until I discovered LL in its current form roughly 3 years ago. The realisation that I could one day do this surgery provided a huge ray of hope that I could stop feeling the way I do, however it only further fuelled my neurosis, which is unfortunately a consequence of knowing about this surgery. 

Despite being 5'4", I have been successful in my business career thus far and have still been able to do fairly well with women, including my current gf who knows that I am undergoing this procedure. It has always been the one thing I wish I could change about myself, and to finally have the chance to do that is extremely liberating.

I hope to provide semi-regular updates to document my process and hope you guys find value in my diary so that it can serve as a helpful tool for current and future LLer's.

I will be shooting for 7-8cm on the femurs.

Stats

Current height: 163cm (5'4")
Goal height: 170cm (5'7")
Age: 25-30
Femur/tibia ratio - 0.85
Method: Betzbone
Segment: Femurs

Feel free to comment and ask questions!

RB

[Johnp86]

Hey man, thanks for starting a diary, might see you there my surgery is in 3 weeks.
Good luck

[RB]

Hey man, thanks for starting a diary, might see you there my surgery is in 3 weeks.
Good luck

Sounds good man! Let me know when you arrive and hopefully we can catch up.

[VeteranLL]

Here is a very good LL Diary from a Betz patient bro.

http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=6689.0

I did 7CM on my femurs with Betz too. Feel free to ask me anything u need

[RB]

Here is a very good LL Diary from a Betz patient bro.

http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=6689.0

I did 7CM on my femurs with Betz too. Feel free to ask me anything u need

Thanks bro!

How is your recovery and function after lengthening 7cm and how long since your surgery? Were you able to weight bear during lengthening? 

And did you stay in Elkes House or Parkhotel after the hospital stay? I am trying to decide where to stay for 2 weeks after the hospital.

[VeteranLL]

Thanks bro!

How is your recovery and function after lengthening 7cm and how long since your surgery? Were you able to weight bear during lengthening? 

And did you stay in Elkes House or Parkhotel after the hospital stay? I am trying to decide where to stay for 2 weeks after the hospital.

7cm is a decent and realistic goal. Im back to normal already. Im 2 years Post Op now.
Yes I was weightbearing very early after surgery. Almost never used crutches, only when going outside for safety I took them with me.
100% Go for Elkes house. Shes lovely and cooking for you and washing clothes.

[Bantem]

7cm is a decent and realistic goal. Im back to normal already. Im 2 years Post Op now.
Yes I was weightbearing very early after surgery. Almost never used crutches, only when going outside for safety I took them with me.
100% Go for Elkes house. Shes lovely and cooking for you and washing clothes.

How's your running 2 years after surgery? Is it anywhere near what it was before?

[VeteranLL]

How's your running 2 years after surgery? Is it anywhere near what it was before?

Yes it is, I would say its 80+% , I still got the nail in me and will take them out in a few months.

[more]

Is it full weight bearing nail?

[VeteranLL]

Is it full weight bearing nail?

Yes it is full weight bearing. For me its still the most advantage nail beside the Stryde nail.
The Click mechanism meight be diffecult for some people but its not a big deal.

[more]

Yes it is full weight bearing. For me its still the most advantage nail beside the Stryde nail.
The Click mechanism meight be diffecult for some people but its not a big deal.

nice

[Bantem]

Yes it is, I would say its 80+% , I still got the nail in me and will take them out in a few months.

That's good to hear. Was there a particular reason why you waited so long to get nail removed? I was under the impression you could get it removed one year after surgery.

[Jamesy998]

God luck mate, wish you all the best.

[VeteranLL]

That's good to hear. Was there a particular reason why you waited so long to get nail removed? I was under the impression you could get it removed one year after surgery.

Its not wise to remove the nail already aftrr 1 year. The bone is stilk not modified. Its better to wait atleast 2 years.

[RB]

God luck mate, wish you all the best.

Thanks mate! Also wishing you the best for the rest of your process.

[Bantem]

Its not wise to remove the nail already aftrr 1 year. The bone is stilk not modified. Its better to wait atleast 2 years.

I heard that some doctors said that it's ok to remove it after 1 year

[jumphigher]

Hey RB wish you all the best for the upcoming day tomorrow and I hope that everything will be fine. Looking forward to hear from you soon.

[RB]

10th of March 2021 - Day 0 - Surgery day

Hey guys,

Yesterday was surgery day and thankfully everything went very well. I arrived at the hospital at around 7am as surgery was scheduled for 8, I can't even describe how nervous I was and considered cancelling everything multiple times. After all the preparations and lying down on the OR table, I remember them putting a mask on me and I was out, next thing I know I am waking up and shivering so the nurses had to put a heater thing on me to warm me up. After I warmed up, I was wheeled into my room. I have a roommate so its good to have someone to chat to.

On a scale of 1-10, my pain on the day of surgery never really exceeded a 4 when lying down in bed. The pain came when Dr. Betz came at night to get me up walking with the crutches. Every movement is painful at this stage but walking wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, until I sat back in bed and had to take pain meds from the pump.

I am still sitting in bed most of the time as it is only the 2nd day, but I will give walking another go this afternoon / tonight. I am just glad the surgery itself is over with and all these years of thinking about doing it. Feel free to ask any questions!

[one]

congrats!

Did you get general anaesthesia? Why not spinal?

[RB]

congrats!

Did you get general anaesthesia? Why not spinal?

Thanks mate!

I chose general as I didn't want to be awake at all for it and you pretty much wake up instantly with no concept of how long everything took. The anaesthetist also recommended general. I am fairly sure you can choose spinal though if you want to be awake for it.

[Serilium]

Well congrats on the safe surgery so far.

Have you made any bowel movements- or did they insert a catheter?
 

I am just glad the surgery itself is over with and all these years of thinking about doing it.

Must feel like a relief and a bit carthartic right? You thinking about the surgery all these years, pondering what's gonna happen, and etc, and now it's reality and the nails are in your legs. Good luck rb

[RB]

Well congrats on the safe surgery so far.

Have you made any bowel movements- or did they insert a catheter?
 
Must feel like a relief and a bit carthartic right? You thinking about the surgery all these years, pondering what's gonna happen, and etc, and now it's reality and the nails are in your legs. Good luck rb

Thanks man!

Yeah it still feels surreal that I’ve even done it. For a long time it seemed like a pipe dream but to your point now it’s done and the journey begins. Crazy to think in 3 months I could be 3 inches taller.

[RB]

And have had gone number 1 but no catheter, they gave me a jug to piss in haha. A bit difficult but I’d rather it over a catheter.

[maximize]

Thanks mate!

I chose general as I didn't want to be awake at all for it and you pretty much wake up instantly with no concept of how long everything took. The anaesthetist also recommended general. I am fairly sure you can choose spinal though if you want to be awake for it.

Good choice in my opinion! Holy   could you imagine being awake while they cut open your legs, ream out your femurs, insert the rod, drill the screws, and fracture it, then stitch you up?

That sounds like a nightmare scenario from some horror movie. Even if you can't feel it physically you can hear it happening. Oh god I am pretty sure I would have PTSD from that.

Congrats again bro and good luck with your recovery. You're young and should heal well. I'm sure you'll do okay.

[RB]

Good choice in my opinion! Holy   could you imagine being awake while they cut open your legs, ream out your femurs, insert the rod, drill the screws, and fracture it, then stitch you up?

That sounds like a nightmare scenario from some horror movie. Even if you can't feel it physically you can hear it happening. Oh god I am pretty sure I would have PTSD from that.

Congrats again bro and good luck with your recovery. You're young and should heal well. I'm sure you'll do okay.

Yeah there was no way I wanted to experience any part of that lol. Thanks mate!

15th of March 2021 - 5 days post-surgery

The last few day have seen a lot of progress both in terms of pain management and walking with crutches. The first 2-3 days after surgery were the worst in terms of pain but since then, things have been quite smooth and the only pain that really presents itself is in the morning when I wake up, or when I come back from a long walk or using the stationary bike for more than 10 minutes.

I have finally learnt how to walk with the crutches effectively so that I am placing majority of my weight on the crutches themselves and not putting too much strain on my legs. I am actually starting to enjoy walking with them! I practiced walking up the stairs with them with the PT today, which was sort of difficult but manageable if done slowly.

Dr. Betz usually comes to visit every day and is impressed with my progress and ROM so far.

I start clicking tomorrow or Wednesday so I am incredibly excited to get that underway. My experience so far has been great, with the exception of the first 2-3 days being quite uncomfortable. Hopefully clicking isn't painful and my pain remains at manageable levels. The hospital staff have generally been pretty good but the food has been average (typical of hospital food).

I look forward to updating again when I start lengthening!

Feel free to ask any questions!

[chasing_higher_dream]

This is a fantastic update, RB.

Also, I have heard with Betzbone some patients do have pain during and after clicking, but this varies from person to person. I hope for you it is painless.
All the best with clicking. I am excited to see how your journey unfolds. I wish you best luck.

Just few questions:
- Did you buy crutches before the surgery? Or does Dr. Betz provides the crutches?
- Do you share room with other patients? or is it private?
- Where do you plan to stay after your 14 day hospital stay is over?

[RB]

This is a fantastic update, RB.

Also, I have heard with Betzbone some patients do have pain during and after clicking, but this varies from person to person. I hope for you it is painless.
All the best with clicking. I am excited to see how your journey unfolds. I wish you best luck.

Just few questions:
- Did you buy crutches before the surgery? Or does Dr. Betz provides the crutches?
- Do you share room with other patients? or is it private?
- Where do you plan to stay after your 14 day hospital stay is over?

Thanks man! Also excited to follow your journey in May!

-Dr. Betz provides the crutches. They are the forearm ones so in my opinion it is a lot easier to practice your gait using them compared to underarm crutches.

-Yes I am sharing a room with another CLL patient who is from Germany. He's a great guy and it makes the hospital stay so much better if you have someone to talk to/do PT with during the stay. There are also 2 other Betz patients on the same floor in different rooms.

-I am going to stay at Elke's house for 2 weeks after the hospital before flying back home.

[pownzorgeek]

Hi RB,

good to see you having gone well through the first days! How has your sleeping been? Do you wake up often/ need to stretch to go back to sleep or something?

[Jamesy998]

Thanks man! Also excited to follow your journey in May!

-Dr. Betz provides the crutches. They are the forearm ones so in my opinion it is a lot easier to practice your gait using them compared to underarm crutches.

-Yes I am sharing a room with another CLL patient who is from Germany. He's a great guy and it makes the hospital stay so much better if you have someone to talk to/do PT with during the stay. There are also 2 other Betz patients on the same floor in different rooms.

-I am going to stay at Elke's house for 2 weeks after the hospital before flying back home.

Not too sure if you feel the same but I found practising on the walker better and harder than the crutches. Crutches seem to support your weight higher up so you do not weight-bear as much as you do with a walker.

[RB]

Hi RB,

good to see you having gone well through the first days! How has your sleeping been? Do you wake up often/ need to stretch to go back to sleep or something?

Sleeping has been surprisingly good, although they do give you a pill to help you sleep. I sleep maybe 7/8 hours per night and wake up randomly at 3/4am for 20 minutes then back to sleep. The pain isn't too bad when waking up anymore.

Not too sure if you feel the same but I found practising on the walker better and harder than the crutches. Crutches seem to support your weight higher up so you do not weight-bear as much as you do with a walker.

Completely agree. I only used a walker for the 1st day and I found it really hard to put enough weight from my upper body to the walker and was putting too much weight on my legs. Interesting how it seems easier to distribute the load on crutches.

[RB]

17th of March 2021 - 7 days post-surgery

So today was quite an exciting day. It was the first day of lengthening. I was quite nervous as the clicking motion was demonstrated to me and was dreading intense pain. The first click was painful as I was not doing the motion correctly and couldn't relax mentally, but after I got the hang of the technique it was very smooth. The key is to relax and let your hand guide the motion rather than your leg. After the first few clicks there was zero pain and I completed my 6 clicks per leg. Tomorrow I will complete 10, then 16 the following day and the usual 20 after that. Each click is worth 0.052mm so 20 clicks equals 1.04mm and can be reduced when necessary. I don't feel any after effects from the clicking, although that may change when I have to do more.

So as of right now - including the 5mm gap per side Dr. Betz separated in the initial surgery, I am just over 0.5cm taller