Update at 42 days post-op. 40mm lengthened
(Lengthy update below, apologies for that)
The challenges have begun but, first read below:
Wearing my sneakers (which add about 1.5inches) I now stand close to 173cm (5'8 ) which will be my final height barefoot if I manage to do 9cm. The feeling I get when standing among the crowds I usually stumble upon in and outside the hotel is indescribable.
All of sudden I see people from a distance that look slender and also tall..ish (although by no mean that height is actually tall), then I get close and my eyes are almost level or even slightly above theirs. And i feel (i can't quite explain it... It s very complex and I don't want to be shallow but) like I'm in "control" of myself and of the situation.
I automatically feel "I'm at your same level", hence more confident from the outset.
And with that goes my attitude towards the interaction I have with these people.
I joke more, I take more liberties (verbally that is), I'm not rushing my words and all I get is positive feedback. Im noticing I get serious answers or sort of like a respectful tone from males and ...surprise surprise Im getting flirty reactions and answers from females. And I swear, I'm not looking for that in any way.
I absolutely wasn't expecting this.
It feels good. It feels normal. It feels my mind can now concentrate fully on the interaction and on "everything else that's going on".
And If this is the feel at 173cm... I can only imagine what it would be when the lengthening will be done (hence with shoes I'd get to 177cm or 5'10).
Now I finally begin to understand the meaning behind the comments from patients who've done this. Now there is a tangible reward I am starting to enjoy that I can weigh against all the pain and discomfort that we are going through. And let me tell ya, it is absolutely f......g worth it!!!
Back to the process
- Clicking still takes the first place for the easiest thing out of all. For all people considering the G-nail (or Betzbone...some thing), the PT lady who's looking after myself (super duper competent...I've told her she should do an interview with Victor in my opinion) explained me that most patients that feel pain while clicking are the ones with developed quad and hamstring muscles. Ive heard conflicting opinion about this but she explained the technicality behind it (I don't remember it myself...sorry) and now I'm glad I did stop training legs at the beginning of the year and instead started doing stretching only.
- Legs control and strength (except for complications which I'll talk later) improves daily. Doing stairs up and down is realively easy with the aid of crutches of course. I could potentially lower.myself down in the toilette all by myself if I wanted to (I can't because one leg is crooked.......later).
-PT is indispensable. Not only for the stretching, but for all other treatments I'm getting to manage the various small complications I have and that I'll describe later (localised ice treatment, electricity, something for the nerves, pressure, massages, kinesiology tape ...anti g treadmill). Guys, Do not think this can be done properly by yourself. The surgery is only a small (albeit super important) part of this journey. wherever you end up doing this, make sure you budget for a 4 or 5 days a week of PT throughout the lengthening phase. Don't f...K tourself up for 2-3K €uro more. PT in my opinion is even more important than the surgery itself (provided the surgery is performed by one of the usual A class surgeon we know of)
- Hotel, Airbnb, Accommodation, transport....
These days I read a lot about comparison between various hotels, Airbnbs, transport, meals and so on. And it's ok. We should all do it to find the best arrangements. But together with discussing among ourselves, let's voice our own constructive feedback (personally, not as in a mob type of thing and not publicly) with the various doctors and nurses we're in touch with. That's how the SUV has come about here. Same as Novotel. If each one of us provide constructive feedback to the doctors, it will help them understand how to improve their services, based on what are the problems that we really care about! And if done properly... Things happen!
Then, although I realise that especially for the younger folks in here, the budget is by far the primary driver for doing this, keep in mind that this procedure will test you mentally more than it will physically.
Are you doing this solo (by yourself)…?
Yes, good it can be done (there's a guy here, a friend now, who's doing quadrilateral.precice all by himself in an Airbnb, so yes you can do that too), but his spirit and mind are as positive and solid AF (as f..K, or meaning very strong). I haven't met anybody else like him yet.
So, what's my suggestion?
Well, if you are in crappy hotel with food, alone, in pain, without being able to move and so on... That wears you down and that is a vicious cycle. You stop excercising, stretching, you eat crap, you get pains, you start crying and having onsets of depressions (God i had those and people who know me here understand that I'm the total opposite) and all of sudden you stop and overall your experience is horrible.
Plan this ahead and if you have to, wait 6 or 8 months more and save up. C'mon I'm doing it at 38yrs old, if you're 25, just wait and work 6 months more. Save those extra 5K and then you'll have a much different experience.
Life doesn't end at 30s (for the younger ones here). The best things start there (money, better dating, career growth...)
- Complications
My left leg is my superstar. No problems at all. I could probably play a football game right now with it.
My right leg is experiencing all sorts of little complications.
I have "strained" my quad muscle in 2 points. I've done this because I'm a d....head. my second day at the hotel I was doing stairs to go to the roof top and I strained it there.
Then a few weeks ago I went to the beach and put the leg through a similar effort and I strained it a second time. So putting weight on it is really hard now. Morale of the story. DONT OVERDO IT. The nail can take the weight... Your muscles Cannot. And they will tear, like mine did. I'd that happens, it hinders all your recovery as you won't be ble to walk properly for weeks. So please, although you read here people saying... I can walk 500 Mr after 7 days, don't do it. Follow the suggestions from the doc, from the nurses and from PT. I didnt... And i screwed myself up.
then, starting around 3cm, I developed first numbness and then nerve pain on my right shin and foot. Nobody's fault, just a common consequence of the lengthening. Both doctor and PT tell me that it will go once you stop lengthening so... I'll just bear with it. Next week at the next doc appointment we will evaluate if I need to slow down the lengthening even further.
BUT, important. At this length I'm also starting to feel tired and tight of lengthening non stop for weeks and weeks. And this has impacted my PT sessions. How did I improve it? Like many other older patients... I stopped lengthening for a day. And I can tell you, just one day stopping was such a relief for my legs. Which also gave me the confidence that as soona sthe lengthening is over, things will go back to normal quickly. Don't be afraid of stopping for 1 day. Tell your doctor first, explain that you can't even do PT for the various pains you have and get his green light to stop.
Unless your bones are prone to consolidate fast (which your doctor will tell you at the first exam post op), then you'll be fine.
- I've hit and I'm going through the muscle wall.
PT lady has told me that the feelings of tightness and discomfort I'm getting now they are very common at this length (+4cm). It's like I've got no more slack from initial length and lengthening and the body is responding serring up all sorts of alarms (pains) to alert that soemthinfs happening that shouldn't be happening (stretching of all soft tissue). In her opinion, these symptoms should subside in a few weeks as the body sort of get used to and relaxes against this stretching. My fingers are super crossed that this is in fact the case.
Other than this. I have a bit more than two weeks left here in Greece and then will be flying back to Australia where I will finishy lengthening and do consolidation with my family.
As much as I enjoy the stay at Novotel and in Greece at this time of the year (people and staff are so friendly), I can't wait to go back. Mentally I feel tired. I had a few episodes of something I can only think of as depression and let me tell ya, it's awful and it was uncontrollable to me. (And I'm probably one of the most positive person you'll meet here). If you can, don't do this thing alone. If you can, tell someone in your circle. Having someone to talk to in the down moments is essential .
I ended up opening up with my brother and every few days I give him a call just to unload some of the stories and things that I go through.
Last, for the ones thinking of working remotely whilst lengthening, please make sure you are flexible at your work and that your company will give you some slack in terms of your performance and time. You will not be productive during the leghtening. No matter if G-nail, precice, external... Whatever.
That's all for now. Again apologies for the lengthy update. Hope some of the above can be helpful
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Topic: G-Nail on femurs in Greece on Aug24th. Let's do this!!! (Read 24792 times)