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[KiloKAHN]

Seems like a great start to your lengthening so far.

Having a strong upper body definitely helps and it's been a lifesaver so far when I've had to maneuver out of bed to the toilet. Part of me wishes I was one of those gym guys that worked all upper body and had scrawny chicken legs though. I paid special attention to go heavy on the leg workouts before the surgery because I was told that having more muscle would help with recovery due to increased blood flow to the area. Unfortunately I didn't realize that having thick legs would make the lengthening a hell of a lot more painful. 

[programdude]

I had pretty big legs but totally put a stop on exercising them with anything but cardio and stretches for that reason. My friend from Hong Kong has the fortune of being able to fully weight bear due to his weight. Me personally I grossly overcompensate and walking turns into a tricep exercise.

[YellowSpike]

I weigh about 165 ish pounds, so I won't be fully weight bearing either. Bummer. But I've known this since January

The general consensus seems to be that the worst pain occurs when trying to walk right after the surgery. The worst pain I've ever felt so far was when I had my broken ankle set while I was wide awake when I was 8 years old. And I guess a concussion that I got from a car accident when I was in my early 20s. Those both hurt like a mo'fo. 10/10 pain. Is walking post-op 10/10 pain? It sounds like it is. And just to clarify, you said the best way to maybe circumvent or lessen this pain would be IV pain meds before they make you walk?

Also PD, did you get the ITB release on both legs? I know I will be.

[programdude]

I thought so but the PT mentioned something about only one. All I know is that   hurt. lol. Still I always tell the PT "harder" "harder". She says she never hears that one lol.

[shortkid]

So if you are 135 pounds, you dont have to use a walker? You are allowed to full weight bear? Im 135 

[YellowSpike]

So if you are 135 pounds, you dont have to use a walker? You are allowed to full weight bear? Im 135 

In theory, if you did Precice 2 and got the bigger version of the rods (depending on how big your canals are), you would be able to weight bear. But I'd still be a little weary about it. But I'm nowhere near being able to weight bear, so I know I'll definitely be using a walker.

[programdude]

Since I've fired my personal care I'm torn right now- Go from lows of really wishing I had someone to grab me food, medicine, empty my urinal and help with PT, and being totally fine, even preferring solace.

During the day I have my LL friends and PT to keep me occupied anyways so I really don't need them around then regardless. What do you all think the best hours for them are? I'm leaning towards an overnight shift ending in the morn(often when my PT is).

[YellowSpike]

Since I've fired my personal care I'm torn right now- Go from lows of really wishing I had someone to grab me food, medicine, empty my urinal and help with PT, and being totally fine, even preferring solace.

During the day I have my LL friends and PT to keep me occupied anyways so I really don't need them around then regardless. What do you all think the best hours for them are? I'm leaning towards an overnight shift ending in the morn(often when my PT is).

I have the same question. I'm about to hire a caretaker, and wondering what hours I'm going to need her. I'm thinking during the day when my roommate is at work, since she'll be around to help me shower and use the bathroom and stuff.

And I feel like after the first 2 or so weeks, I won't need her more than a few days a week to do my laundry and food shopping. But I guess we'll see.

[programdude]

The way I see it based off myself and my asian friend(nicest guy ever btw, I hope you link up with someone like this it will help the process).
First few days, hell in hospital.
First week, need pretty perpetual care.
second week, probably still need care most of the time. I've been a tough guy, but eh, not really worth it. Does your insurance cover aid?

I had one of those girls I was talking to come over and she pretty much immediately was *ahem* administering fellatio. Wasn't bad , but ultimately the idea of someone I wasn't paying lingering around and cleaning out my pee etc. was too weird so I ended up having her leave and would rather just pay since then I'm not obligated to conversation etc.

This pain really needs to beat it. The pain where they smashed my hips/ass makes scooting and shifting really unpleasant. This is the single thing I most wish was fixed, maneuvering would be a dream, and I sure wouldn't need an aid since wriggling over to my walker and a wheelchair would be no problem. The other thing is the front of my quads. My two week post op asian friend says he has no pain and is just tired there, so thats a good sign. Two weeks really does seem to be the magic time frame.

I am actually flip flopping on my decision again. I called the agency but now am considering winging it or having the girl come be my maid after laying down the ground rules. I am close to this being a breeze I think. I can handle BRUTAL PT elements after all, and am very good at doing the exercises alone. I may even copy my asian friends decision and buy the extra PT days each week, which while expensive, could be worthwhile.

My biggest fear for you not lengthening with Paley is not having access to his facilities.

[YellowSpike]

Haha that's pretty awesome. I almost wish I was doing it with Paley now so you could send some of those chicks my way

My insurance will cover the meds and a PT that does home visits, and they pre-cleared me for the surgery/hospital, so I'm hoping that gets taken care of too. My main motivation for doing it with Dr. Rozbruch is that I'll have my family and friends nearby, and have a good chance of getting insurance coverage, since he's in-network with my plan. I also really like Dr. Rozbruch a lot, and have already established a good rapport with him.

I'm a strong and determined guy like you. I'll have no problem doing the PT on my own. I'll have about 5 weeks to focus solely on LL (I'm taking temporary disability at work), and then after that, I'll have to work from home from around 8:30am to 5pm every day (but I'm sure I'll be able to take breaks and do my lengthening/stretching).

I know you said you do about one hour of PT everyday. Do you do one solid hour at one time and then additional stretching throughout the day? That's kind of what I plan to do. Granted, my goal is mainly 6.5cm, which shouldn't be too tough. Anything over 6.5cm is just gravy for me.

[programdude]

I do one hr PT at the facility but around 2+ at home- I go above and beyond the requirements here, because of the feedback of how great I'm doing and I want to stay on point to hit my lofty goal. Also keeping your legs straight all day is in and of itself part of PT. You will feel possessed to bend them for comfort, but don't.

As far as the chicks go, honestly their are a lot more hot ones than I expected willing to hook up with and/or take care of a cripple. But then I had the epiphany, after my week- long abstinence fueled deposit was made in her- That now is not really the time for women, even ideal ones.

ALSO GUYS I MADE AN ANONYMOUS SKYPE: program.dude

I urge any and everyone add me here who wants support, or has questions etc. in a private venue.

[YellowSpike]

Well I will definitely re-join Tinder when I'm crippled...if only to flirt with chicks. I do have a few that I think would be willing to come "take care" of me. But I'm staying with my family for the first two weeks, so I won't be able to until I've moved back into my place. Dreading having to do those stairs on my butt...but no pain, no gain! Plus I'm only really going to be leaving my place like once a week to get a change of scenery. And my caretaker said she'd help me get down the stairs so I could at least sit on the front porch and get some fresh air.

You have the right attitude with PT. I'm even getting an exercise bike so I can cycle in the comfort of my own home while watching TV. I'm going to have a professional PT come visit me a few times a week to keep me in check, but I'm discliplined enough to stick with it on my own.

I'll probably hit you up on Skype at some point before my big day. You're doing great, stay strong!

[programdude]

We will see- If things steadily improve pain wise i'm golden. I continue to thrive in PT- today she had me get on my stomach and I said "this is new" she gave me a worried look and was surprised it was my first time saying "then I'll be the nurse you hate: So I think "this is it. This is where things get rough. And yet... even easier than the previous stretches, even with my insisting she really lay into me.

But the post surgical pain lingers both in my femurs and where they busted my hips open. It usually sounds like by the two week mark things magically dissipate so at this point I'm going from waiting to hoping.... This will be what determines if this is a fun cake walk or an elongated hell.

[programdude]

Pretty bad morning, ran out of my pain meds and the whole morning was in agony while simultaneously trying to get more(had begun the process last night).

I am feeling better now that I have some but truly hope this post op pain goes away soon. With it out of the way I will be thinking clear 24 7 and able to enjoy my down time.

[programdude]

Cant believe how close i am already to my 2 week post op check up. Hoping hoping hoping all is good. Pretty mud just counting the hours until then.

[Plzen]

 I wish you a smooth journey.
Maybe I missed it in your diary, but how much do you weigh, do you use walker, when will Dr. Paley let you use crutches?
I asked these questions from a different Precice patient, but I wanted to get your opinion as well.
Good luck.

[programdude]

No word on exactly when I can use crutches, and yes I currently use a walker.

I weigh around 170.

[programdude]

Honestly guys I hope everyone has a better time with their care than me. I haven't talked much about it, but its venting time- And education that things can go very awry here.

First night back from the hospital, feeling terrible. My one request was a coherent aide. Her accent was incredibly thick. She was also hard of hearing. Late into the night/early morning when I most need my sleep I hear a loud blaring phone alarm or something similar from the other room. "hello?" I croak "Hello???" before long I am practically screaming to get her attention- but nothing does the job until twenty minutes later when the next aide comes in which wakes her up.

Next incident. To replace the incoherent aide I get a delusional middle aged white one, who was nonstop shoving her phone app of a talking cat in my face even after saying I wasn't interested. She also took regular smoke breaks, fell asleep, and snored. Furthermore, one night as she was leaving I asked where my next aide was and she said I had none. I was still in rough shape then so I was confused and scrambling to get my clicks done and ready for the night. I get a call some forty minutes later that the aide is at the front desk. Apparently the delusional lady passed the other aide and said I wasn't scheduled for help so she wouldn't be able to get in, so the other aide turned around before calling the agency much later.

I canceled all services at this point, but ended up resuming them as I simply wasn't feeling up to maintaining myself just yet. Shortly thereafter I noticed that my mountain of protein bars I'd brought was growing thin so I moved them to my bedside drawer. Then tonight the aide comes over and goes into it and takes out two bars. I say "I'm not hungry" to which she replies "for me" all smiles. I inform her they are quest bars- very expensive and purchased for myself. Even then she doesn't put them back until I explicitly told her to do so. At that point I told her to leave and cancelled all services.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not that choked up over all this, just wanted to share. I'd suffer a million incompetent aides before I'd brave the hospital ever again.

[KiloKAHN]

Attendants can be a blessing or a total pain in the ass. I was so thankful to have attendants at the beginning, but after I got an attendant that was constantly doing irritating things I just wanted to get out of the hospital already. It doesn't help either that you tend to get more irritable when you're practically crippled.

[BeyondGenetics]

Hey PD,

Stay strong, this seems to be quite annoying but this is temporary trouble.
Compared to being a mighty 5'11 in the end.. well!

You're gonna make it

[programdude]

I hope my journal isn't giving the wrong impression- yes I had bad aides and yes the hospital is absolute hell, but overall my experience is great and very much on the right path- I am learning new lessons every day, becoming much stronger, surprising my PT's(todays actually went rapid fire through everything, attempting to find something I didn't excel at), meeting new people(there was an LL'er BBQ party by the pool yesterday where I met most of the crew here who are at all different phases of the process, and most who have very loving and supporting families with them). In other words it has been a great and growing experience, and I'm not even out of the phase where pain is gone.

If my X-rays on monday are good I will be on top of the world. Also can't wait to get into the pool!

[Plzen]

I am glad everything is going well for you. Keeping a positive outlook will benefit your overall healing.

[programdude]

I am in a pretty positive place now, but if X rays are good tomorrow, positive will be an understatement!

Nights are somewhat hard for me(my Hong Kong LL'er friend has reported the same), as discomfort has me waking up every hour or two. Mornings are also somewhat tough because of this, being weak bodied and ill rested making it hard to find the motivation to get up and go downstairs. This is really all mental though, because although doing the morning click, emptying the glamorous urinal, downing the million supplements/medications, washing face and other hygienic endeavours is a chore, getting down to the food, and stretching your legs out while you enjoy it and your kindle etc. really does get you in the right mindset.

It is funny how differently I am viewed in a wheelchair. Usually people are a little intimidated because of my build/facial features but not everyone is going out of their way to introduce themselves, whether it be to socialize or offer help. One funny thing is how strange it is to explain to people the reason you're in a wheelchair. Some assume you are crippled or got in an accident/are way overly sympathetic, so usually I just say its temporary if theres a moment to, or try and explain the procedure, usually to much confusion. This gets tedious though so I've been making up random stories and rolling with them for fun.

Had a girl over, who obviously knew about my situation that I'd been talking to, and we had some fun, and she wanted to basically stay around/help me out and drive me when needed. But because of A. me feeling really uncomfortable about a good looking girl dumping out my pee B. Hadn't even been feeling mobile at the time(this was a few days ago) so the notion of just lying around seemed unappealing and C. The painkillers messing with me/me generally being uncomfortable and not myself all led to me telling her maybe in a week or two.

Lastly an observation I've had is that the average cosmetic LL'er is significantly more attractive and (Seemingly) happy than what I'd imagined based off these forums(no offense guys!).

[programdude]

Upped my pain meds but my right knee and hip are really in bad shape tonight. Making that whole sleeping thing hard.

[YellowSpike]

Lastly an observation I've had is that the average cosmetic LL'er is significantly more attractive and (Seemingly) happy than what I'd imagined based off these forums(no offense guys!).

This has kind of been my experience too (I've met one guy off of these forums, and know what a few others look like). At just under 5'6", I was blessed with great facial aesthetics and so have still done pretty ok with women. But yet, I've always still felt insecure about my height. That will be changing very, very soon!!! (2 weeks!).

I think a lot of LL guys work really hard to compensate (the gym and general grooming, other things you can fix like teeth, etc.). I know I've been like that. But then we still feel we need the height to not have that overshadow everything.

Glad you seem like you're doing better. You're almost at the 2 week mark...I'm sure things will significantly turn around for you soon bro.

[programdude]

Disclaimer- superficial post ahead:
Its more than just people who compensate though, these are happy and specifically in the cases of the females, genetically gifted. Of the people at my hotel theres two females doing CLL- One who is drop dead gorgeous and has a strong personality, always laughing, probably in her 30's and has a whole family here with her. Another is a very young girl(family is clearly very well off) who is probably the shyest of the people here but still seems very happy and is, again, very very good looking. One guy who came to only do an inch(which I think is crazy at this price tag and the hospital horror alone but hey) also looks good and is a happy as can be with the results. One guy is here with a great family and I believe his gf, probably the closest to a typical ll'er I'd envisioned in terms of how he looks but by no means ugly, and is a really cool guy with a great family.
Heck my Hong Kong friend looks absolutely amazing for being 50(35 tops), is married, has kids, isn't even short for an asian country(5 7), and is an extremely happy and friendly guy despite also being in the first 3 weeks post op.

Anyways, off for x rays!!!

[programdude]

So really good news and some bad.

On the good side I'M TALLER! THE NAILS ARE WORKING!

The bad news is I am distracting slower on the left side so they did 2 mm in one sitting(which HURTS and still does) before taking more x rays which confirmed that every things good to go. Sounds like the muscle on my leg makes it harder for me than others. The thing is I think I'm to blame for this as it sounded/felt like the left side was lengthening when I was doing it alone and it was actually the right leg I was concerned with so I think I was pressing down less hard subconsciously(it worked right around half the days I did it).

Overall right now I am very very happy but in terrible, terrible pain. Its funny since last night and this morning, it was my right knee and side killing and keeping me up but my left legs current pain level literally makes the rest of my body feel totally painless and normal. What a world of difference from doing .25 mm at a time.

In other words, if you've got muscled legs push down HARD or regret it.

[Plzen]

Sorry to hear about your pain. It is a price to pay, in order to get taller.
Do you know why your left side was lengthening slower. Is it because of your muscles not letting the nail to lengthen? Or was it problems with the lengthening device?
What do you mean by " if you have muscles, push down hard or regret it". Do you mean, no weightlifting (legs) before the surgery?

[programdude]

My muscles are among the thickest they have ever worked with- because of this mixed with the fact I was pressing down lighter on my left, I lengthened significantly less. I'm pretty bummed something totally preventable is A. causing me a ton of pain and B. Gonna set things back presumably.

Regardless I am still in a good place overall considering no serious issue.

[programdude]

Had to use a lot of painkillers to get through yesterday but all good here now for the most part. Really can't believe how much worse doing 2 MM(even 1 MM wasn't fun, took a minute break between), but the last half of the second MM became insanely painful in a way I can't even explain which lasted that way for the next 12 hours or so.

I haven't been sleeping very well- mostly for an hour or so, usually waking up stiff, dry mouthed, and sometimes in a bit of a confusion. I blame the pain meds, but barring any more really excruciating lengthening sessions I think the worst of the pain is done and that I'll be able to scale those back. Water, getting up. moving around. and stretching for awhile gets me feeling like a new person within the hour- So I advise everyone to keep as active as possible if they are feeling like death, much like the hospital, but to a lesser extent.

Somewhat dreading lengthening my left leg today but I am sure even pressing down hard as hell, that doing it in smaller increments won't come close to triggering an extended painful response.

[programdude]

I took no pain meds today and already did Pt and honestly am not that very pained- lengthening(at least hopefully, though I'm pressing down with a good couple hundred pounds of force)my left side fortunately wasn't excruciating and I'm all recovered on my left from the 2mm. I'm noting more aches overall in my more lengthened right side, but nothing too bad.

Sleep schedule is very odd. Last night couldn't fall asleep till pretty late, slept for an hour, woke up, slept for two or so hours and woke up pretty close to PT/breakfast. Did those then came back and passed out for another hour or two.

Right now, oddly, the thing thats bothering me is feeling like I need to go to the bathroom a lot(both 1 and/or 2), I figure its either me coming off the pain meds or the other meds Im taking, but its just a very perpetual uncomfortable feeling.

Right now my hopes are that all issues that really eat up my focus dissipate so I can be comfortable and entertained, and that with me applying a ton of pressure that my left leg is now lengthening equally, which is certainly my biggest concern.