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[DonBones]

Is this really true? Is Betz really making money from "Betz branded crutches"? Come on now...Do you really think that a pair of crutches can actually make a huge difference in recovery? Imo, they both are the same...just use which ever works better in your hands and you'll be fine.

No, he isn't. I didn't pay for them. When I say branded I mean there is a Betz logo on them.

For fks sake.

[Want-3-inches]

The distraction schedule is a bit concerning. 1cm during surgery, not waiting for a week, 6mm under anaesthesia, 1.5mm for a week. Why do they have to change all these things just because the nail is different? Why can't they just do it like they do it for Precice nails?

Non-union and nerve damage are possible risks from this. Have you asked the doctor about this?

[V21]

I agree with this concerns. As far as I understood, the difference is that strong callus can block the mechanical nail, so that's why it's very important to go fast and have "margin" so you can click well. Maybe I'm wrong. Giotikas told me that my bone growth was strong, but now at 3.5 cm I think preconsolidation is extremely rare right?

[V21]

Giotikas contacted me today and said I'm allowed to go back to 1 mm per day, so that's great. Also, next X rays are on Tuesday.

[V21]

More good and bizarre news. This morning was my last clicking session with Voltaren, and pain was like 5-6. I had to click this evening, now without meds, and I was prepared to great pain. I biked for 30 mins, stretched, pumped me up with agressive music... and pain was like 3-4 lol. So I'm better with nothing than with Voltaren and 2 paracetamol, which is what I have been taking last week. At this point I think I'm immune to meds or something: tramadol does nothing fo me (outside first week post op), paracetamol I take even 3 and does nothing, muscle relaxants have 0 effect. Crazy. At least this is good news and I can click normally now.

[SpeedDialer]

Early on in the process (first online consultation, etc) what things will Dr. Giotikas let you pay w/ credit card? I need to spend a certain amount to get the signup bonus of the credit card like 1000$ within 90 days

Ex: can you pay for the first online consultation with credit card? is there anything else related to Giotikas or LL you could pay for upfront?

I'm from USA

[V21]

Early on in the process (first online consultation, etc) what things will Dr. Giotikas let you pay w/ credit card? I need to spend a certain amount to get the signup bonus of the credit card like 1000$ within 90 days

Ex: can you pay for the first online consultation with credit card? is there anything else related to Giotikas or LL you could pay for upfront?

I'm from USA

Mmmm I paid all via transfer, but I think you can do it via credit card too.

[V21]

Hey guys, I have a question for those who have experienced nerve pain, as it's happening on my right leg. I think it's quite normal taking into account that I got 7 mm under anesthesia and then did 1.33 mm for like 8 days. Yesterday my shin got numb, and this morning my lower knee had a burning feeling and got numb too. To be honest, it doesn't hurt, but of course I'm worried about long term nerve damage, and I'm considering letting this leg rest today and only click the left. Giotikas does say that I'm not in inmediate danger, and also thinks that this also may be due to too agressive strecthing, so he orders me to only do very gentle strecthes for 2 days. It's true that the first time I felt nerve pain was in PT when they were doing aggressive harmstring strecth. In any case, any opinions are welcome¡ Thank you guys.

[DonBones]

Early on in the process (first online consultation, etc) what things will Dr. Giotikas let you pay w/ credit card? I need to spend a certain amount to get the signup bonus of the credit card like 1000$ within 90 days

Ex: can you pay for the first online consultation with credit card? is there anything else related to Giotikas or LL you could pay for upfront?

I'm from USA

I recommend Transferwise if you have access to that.

[DonBones]

Hey guys, I have a question for those who have experienced nerve pain, as it's happening on my right leg. I think it's quite normal taking into account that I got 7 mm under anesthesia and then did 1.33 mm for like 8 days. Yesterday my shin got numb, and this morning my lower knee had a burning feeling and got numb too. To be honest, it doesn't hurt, but of course I'm worried about long term nerve damage, and I'm considering letting this leg rest today and only click the left. Giotikas does say that I'm not in inmediate danger, and also thinks that this also may be due to too agressive strecthing, so he orders me to only do very gentle strecthes for 2 days. It's true that the first time I felt nerve pain was in PT when they were doing aggressive harmstring strecth. In any case, any opinions are welcome¡ Thank you guys.

Honestly, you should probably trust Giotikas.

I recall when I had pain and trouble moving in the hospital and all Betz said was "you need to stretch more" and "you need to walk better". I was a bit annoyed because it seemed counter intuitive. I was in pain and normally I treat that with pills and doing nothing. Now I am glad I followed his advice.

[TheDream]

Hey guys, I have a question for those who have experienced nerve pain, as it's happening on my right leg. I think it's quite normal taking into account that I got 7 mm under anesthesia and then did 1.33 mm for like 8 days. Yesterday my shin got numb, and this morning my lower knee had a burning feeling and got numb too. To be honest, it doesn't hurt, but of course I'm worried about long term nerve damage, and I'm considering letting this leg rest today and only click the left. Giotikas does say that I'm not in inmediate danger, and also thinks that this also may be due to too agressive strecthing, so he orders me to only do very gentle strecthes for 2 days. It's true that the first time I felt nerve pain was in PT when they were doing aggressive harmstring strecth. In any case, any opinions are welcome¡ Thank you guys.

Haven’t done LL but 1.33 mm a day for 8 days is almost 1 cm in a week which theoretically is a huge amount of pressure on your soft tissue. Has Dr. G recommended this amount of lengthening per day? I’d assume something much lower would be more appropriate like 0.6 mm/day.

[V21]

Yesterday I strecthed in a lighter way and also clicked less than norma (this was on my own). The nerve pain has subsided a bit, but it's still there: the shin is like 90% numb and sometimes I feel like "burning" sensation. Today I have to resume clicking. Does anybody know if this could become a real problem or its just annoying? I have read patients saying that it just goes away after lenghtening. I'm less than 2 cm away from my goal.

[SpeedDialer]

Curious, what's the rationale for going with Transferwise?

[SirStretchAlot]

Nerve pain goes away immediately the moment you slow down the moment you slow down of stop lengthening.

Ask Giotikas if you can slow down further. Your stretching probably needs catching up too.

Wow 2cm left. Good luck!

[Want-3-inches]

V21, How does Giotikas spend time between the UK and Greece? Is it a viable option to get this done in the UK with him?

[eric.cartman]

Yesterday I strecthed in a lighter way and also clicked less than norma (this was on my own). The nerve pain has subsided a bit, but it's still there: the shin is like 90% numb and sometimes I feel like "burning" sensation. Today I have to resume clicking. Does anybody know if this could become a real problem or its just annoying? I have read patients saying that it just goes away after lenghtening. I'm less than 2 cm away from my goal.

Numbness in shins is common, at least for tibias lengthening. You’ll slowly regain the sensation once lengthening is finished. Both of my shins were numb for most part of lengthening. Nothing to worry.

[V21]

I did X rays today and tomorrow morning Giotikas reviews them. If I learn how to upload photos here, I will upload them tomorrow. I think there is a lot of bone growth if we consider that I did 1.33 mm per day while taking Voltaren, which is supposed to stop it for a bit. This happens on left leg, and I think callus is weaker on right one (in that one I got 7 mm in one day under anesthesia). I hope that's the case, as I'd like to slow down on right leg in order for nerve pain to subside. Left leg I can keep the 1 mm per day pace. Let's see what Giotikas says tomorrow.

[V21]

Just talked to Dr. He says that my consolidation looks good, but that I don't have to worry about preconsolidation. He wants me to try to keep doing 1 mm per day, but says all will be good if at least I can do 0.8. I will do 0.8 for a few days to see if nerve pain goes away. Regarding that, he says that the affected areas make him think this is not a serious concern, and in fact may also be caused for strecthing too aggresively. I don't know if that may be the reason, cause nerve pain gets way worse after clicking, but it's true that, when they strecth my harmstrings on PT, my whole tibia gets numb, so I will ask them to go softer. In any case, he wants to see me in person to check the nerve pain next week.

Btw, how do I upload photos here?

Right leg: 4 cm
Left leg: 3.8 cm

[V21]

Let's see if this works: https://imgur.com/a/MfO4AMK

The nail definetely looks really big. It's the 13 mm one and Giotikas did a lot of effort to make it fit. In the left the lower screw don't appear, but all is normal. That photo is on a different posture, there are others when they show ok.

[Want-3-inches]

I have seen that all mechanical nails inserted are usually thicker compared to precice nails. I don't know if these nails need to fit more tightly into the bone for the nail to ratchet properly.

Anyway, good that your xrays look ok. I hope the nerve pain subsides soon. You are almost at your goal.

[V21]

Yesterday I got a bit of motivation. My gf had to go back to Spain for 7 days, and my parents came to see me. Before surgery, the top of the head of my father was more or less at my eyebrows. Right now, it's at my nose. This made me realize my progress and felt amazing. Besides that, I did very little clicks on right leg for 2 days, and nerve pain is like 80% gone. From now on, Dr. Giotikas allowes me to do 0.8 mm per day, and I will keep that pace until the end of lenghtening. Even though my initial goal was 5.5, I probably will go up to 6 if I feel healthy. If that's the case, I should finish my lenghtening by October 27th.

[SirStretchAlot]

Yesterday I got a bit of motivation. My gf had to go back to Spain for 7 days, and my parents came to see me. Before surgery, the top of the head of my father was more or less at my eyebrows. Right now, it's at my nose. This made me realize my progress and felt amazing. Besides that, I did very little clicks on right leg for 2 days, and nerve pain is like 80% gone. From now on, Dr. Giotikas allowes me to do 0.8 mm per day, and I will keep that pace until the end of lenghtening. Even though my initial goal was 5.5, I probably will go up to 6 if I feel healthy. If that's the case, I should finish my lenghtening by October 27th.

Fantastic news. I'd even go for 7cm, since that seems to be the safety limit prescribed by most doctors.

[Nights]

Been reading your thread for a while, amazing progress my dude. you're almost there.

[SpeedDialer]

For your living place in Athens, what would you do differently if you had to pick a place in Athens to live again during lengthening?

[Highest]

Fantastic news. I'd even go for 7cm, since that seems to be the safety limit prescribed by most doctors.

Why not 10cm 

[canterk]

Wow V21 you have just around 2 weeks to go and you're done! Hope you stay healthy and no more issues from now on.

[Super-JR]

Yesterday I got a bit of motivation. My gf had to go back to Spain for 7 days, and my parents came to see me. Before surgery, the top of the head of my father was more or less at my eyebrows. Right now, it's at my nose. This made me realize my progress and felt amazing. Besides that, I did very little clicks on right leg for 2 days, and nerve pain is like 80% gone. From now on, Dr. Giotikas allowes me to do 0.8 mm per day, and I will keep that pace until the end of lenghtening. Even though my initial goal was 5.5, I probably will go up to 6 if I feel healthy. If that's the case, I should finish my lenghtening by October 27th.

Congratulation! I too had the same realization with my progress. You will be happy to go on.

[V21]

Hey guys. I haven't posted for a while cause I'm extremely busy due to job obligations. All is going well and I just surpassed today the 5 cm mark, so it's 12 more days of clicking for me. Doing 0.8 mm per day is great: I'm regaining my flexibility, low pain, low tightness. In PT they told me I have great flexibility, and that's even considering that, due to work, I haven't been strecthing as much as I used to. I think my hard work before surgery is paying off.

So it seems my only problem has been clicking pain (and time to work in my business). Clicking pain has also improved, cause the chief nurse and the PT woman recommended another technique to click, and it puts less strain on my muscles. Everyone else is also doing well.

When I finish lenghtening and have more time, I will make more detailed posts in specific matters, such as my opinions in Dr., the team, chances of clicking pain, accidental clicks... I hope it's useful to everyone. I do must say that, even with my clicking pain complications, I'm definetely happy about my choice. 1 more cm and that's it¡

[jipaya5549]

It is great to hear that V21, looks like you are on your way to a pretty quick recovery. Looking forward to read about your progress in the next few months.

It seems that the g-nail is proving to be a pretty good alternative, I just wish it was cheaper.

[SpeedDialer]

1. If you were going to stay in Athens for 3 months for internal femur G-nail, how many physical euros would you bring with you on the plane to Athens?

2. What do you find yourself paying with physical euros for most frequently and how much do they cost?

[V21]

1. If you were going to stay in Athens for 3 months for internal femur G-nail, how many physical euros would you bring with you on the plane to Athens?

2. What do you find yourself paying with physical euros for most frequently and how much do they cost?

Like 200. Taxis only accept cash, but you can use the Uber app (who calls taxis anyways) but allows you to pay with card before the trip.