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[jlk]

I lengthened 6.5 cm on my femurs using LON with Dr. Uysal at AFA based in Turkey. It has been a long, beautiful and wildly successful journey. Thank you team! You guys are always in my heart (you know who you are).

About me: former college athlete 5'9.5", 50 years old. Weight at time of surgery: 235lbs. I am now 6ft tall and weigh 220lbs. I am muscular and broad shouldered. To my knowledge I was their largest (stature) and oldest patient. To be frank, I was more than my usual weight at time of surgery and Dr. Uysal fully disclosed to me that it would've been better for me to have lost some weight. Oh well. I did it anyway because I'm a little cray cray like that, baby. CRAZY life a FOX.

I thought the AFA team did a wonderful job looking after me and making sure all my needs were met. I specifically went to AFA because they are thoughtful and conservative in approach (unlike some of the horror stories I've read about other doctors). Dr. Uysal's English is impeccable and you never need a translator. Faruk is the head physiotherapist at AFA and very skilled as well. Both men are really good guys with integrity, patience and kind dispositions. I trust them with my life.

I flew in March 1, 2022 and did some sightseeing around Istanbul for 2 days. I was then driven to the hospital, and the next morning put under and when I came to...lo and behold! My new fixators were on and I felt like Robo-Cop without the cool helmet. A week later I started lengthening.

I opted for external fixators because why in the fk would I spend 80K more to get precice?? That makes no sense to me. Even if I were a millionaire I would do externals. They're more reliable, easier to fix in the event of something not aligning, and have been around longer. Sure you have a few less scars on your legs with precice, but who gives a fk. I don't. My scars look great now 14 months after I had the fixators removed. To all those who say precice is worth the money..I ask you to consider this... Both surgeries will leave scars. LON leaves more, but you can have these excised and then also use laser removal after that. So for me it's a non issue. I bought a car with the money I would've spent on precice, but to each his own. I'm not judging you, I'm just thrifty.

My lengthening was made more difficult due to my size. Let's be frank, I was heavy. I reached out to some senior members on this forum privately for advice about this but no one responded. No biggie, I got through it just fine. The only difference between myself and the other guys who did their femurs at the same time as me is that I was unable to walk for 2.5 months while they were walking using walkers and rollators. But by the time you reach your ideal height, NO ONE really feels like moving around more than necessary. In retrospect, I healed just as fast as they did even though I was wheelchair bound and they were not. The key thing to remember is: every human body is different. If you keep an open mind and are able to make adjustments you can get through this. Nothing will go perfect. Challenges will inevitably come up and you have a team of professionals that are literally on site with you.

For example, Dr. Uysal introduced me to one gentleman that had just had his surgery the day before. He was able to walk the day after surgery! To be fair, he was tiny. Probably 5'2" at the time I met him. My recovery looked NOTHING like his. Different body types. But did I let it get me down? NO. Did I recognize that my recovery might look atypical? YOU BET. And I'm here to tell you I got through it ALL.

I love my new body. I was uber confident before surgery and have never had a problem with dating because I was not considered short by any means. I did this regardless of my friends telling me that I was crazy and that my height was tall enough to begin with. It's just something I've always wanted for myself and I'm OVER THE MOON WITH THE RESULTS. I would not have it any other way. I come from a tall family of which I am the shortest sibling. For me this was worth it.

RECOVERY... Pull up a chair and listen attentively my children... YOU GOTTA HIT THE JAMES (gym)!!!

Hit the gym like your life depends on it. When I got home I was weak, emaciated and depressed from being alone for 2.5 months with no entertainment (I lost my computer at the airport, so I couldn't even catch up on tv shows and movies). What helped my mental and physical state more than ANYTHING was sweating at the gym when I got back home.

My recovery increased exponentially with the rate of intensity I put in at the gym. Just last week I was on a call with Victor (Cyborg4Life) and we both agree 110% that pushing myself to the limit at the gym was the defining factor in a speedy recovery. I think it made all the difference in his recovery, I KNOW it did with mine.

When I first got back home, I was feeling sorry for myself and made very little progress. Then i thought...fk THIS NOISE.... and got to work. Started with exercise bands. Then leg lifts and body weight exercises...then moved onto machines at the gym. 2 months later was doing free weights. The key is YOU HAVE TO PUSH YOUR BODY to that point where you want to go home and pass out. The next day will hurt as well of course..but then 2 days later..you can feel that you're stronger and walking better that week. And you just take it day by day, week by week. Months go by and boom back in the saddle. Each week the walking got less-Frankenstein. The pain slowly subsided. The muscles filled in..

Don't let anyone tell you, you're too old. I am in the best shape of my life post surgery. I'm running and even jumping rope 20 minutes at a time. Btw, jumping rope is taxing even before limb lengthening. The fact that I'm able to do it now should prove to you that "you get out of this what you put into it." 

I'll go back in Nov. 2023 to have my rods removed and my scars excised at the same time. Can't wait to eat those delicious KoKorec and Tantunni sandwiches...mmmm mmm! yummy...... nom nom nom

~The End
~Fin
~Exeunt

[TheDream]

The primary reason for choosing internals over LON is due to the risk of pinsite infections which can lead to osteomyelitis, when doing LON.
This is why they dont do it in the US. Not because they wouldnt be able to earn more doing so, but due to safety regulations afaik.

[jlk]

yeah that's a huge misnomer. infection is no big deal whatsoever. i had two infections during my femur lengthening phase. so did people with external fixators on tibias. because your team is changing your bandages every two days they quickly spot anything going wrong. so both times during a routine bandage change they were like oh hey this looks like a slight infection... time for some antibiotics. BOOM... done and dusted. took my antibiotics for a week and never paused the process. seamless and absolutely NO BIG DEAL. infections are sooooooooo easy to spot and address. literally I've pulled muscles that were more concerning. unless you're going to a backwoods clinic without a modicum of professionalism this will NEVER be an issue.

[informationispower]

Xray and some pics will make this more believable. 

[jlk]

I lengthened 7.5 cm on my femurs using LON with Dr. Uysal at AFA based in Turkey. It has been a long, beautiful and wildly successful journey. Thank you team! You guys are always in my heart (you know who you are).

About me: former college athlete 5'9.5", 50 years old. Weight at time of surgery: 235lbs. I am now 6ft tall and weigh 220lbs. I am muscular and broad shouldered. To my knowledge I was their largest (stature) and oldest patient. To be frank, I was more than my usual weight at time of surgery and Dr. Uysal fully disclosed to me that it would've been better for me to have lost some weight. Oh well. I did it anyway because I'm a little cray cray like that, baby. CRAZY life a FOX.

I thought the AFA team did a wonderful job looking after me and making sure all my needs were met. I specifically went to AFA because they are thoughtful and conservative in approach (unlike some of the horror stories I've read about other doctors). Dr. Uysal's English is impeccable and you never need a translator. Faruk is the head physiotherapist at AFA and very skilled as well. Both men are really good guys with integrity, patience and kind dispositions. I trust them with my life.

I flew in March 1, 2022 and did some sightseeing around Istanbul for 2 days. I was then driven to the hospital, and the next morning put under and when I came to...lo and behold! My new fixators were on and I felt like Robo-Cop without the cool helmet. A week later I started lengthening.

I opted for external fixators because why in the fk would I spend 80K more to get precice?? That makes no sense to me. Even if I were a millionaire I would do externals. They're more reliable, easier to fix in the event of something not aligning, and have been around longer. Sure you have a few less scars on your legs with precice, but who gives a fk. I don't. My scars look great now 14 months after I had the fixators removed. To all those who say precice is worth the money..I ask you to consider this... Both surgeries will leave scars. LON leaves more, but you can have these excised and then also use laser removal after that. So for me it's a non issue. I bought a car with the money I would've spent on precice, but to each his own. I'm not judging you, I'm just thrifty.

My lengthening was made more difficult due to my size. Let's be frank, I was heavy. I reached out to some senior members on this forum privately for advice about this but no one responded. No biggie, I got through it just fine. The only difference between myself and the other guys who did their femurs at the same time as me is that I was unable to walk for 2.5 months while they were walking using walkers and rollators. But by the time you reach your ideal height, NO ONE really feels like moving around more than necessary. In retrospect, I healed just as fast as they did even though I was wheelchair bound and they were not. The key thing to remember is: every human body is different. If you keep an open mind and are able to make adjustments you can get through this. Nothing will go perfect. Challenges will inevitably come up and you have a team of professionals that are literally on site with you.

For example, Dr. Uysal introduced me to one gentleman that had just had his surgery the day before. He was able to walk the day after surgery! To be fair, he was tiny. Probably 5'2" at the time I met him. My recovery looked NOTHING like his. Different body types. But did I let it get me down? NO. Did I recognize that my recovery might look atypical? YOU BET. And I'm here to tell you I got through it ALL.

I love my new body. I was uber confident before surgery and have never had a problem with dating because I was not considered short by any means. I did this regardless of my friends telling me that I was crazy and that my height was tall enough to begin with. It's just something I've always wanted for myself and I'm OVER THE MOON WITH THE RESULTS. I would not have it any other way. I come from a tall family of which I am the shortest sibling. For me this was worth it.

RECOVERY... Pull up a chair and listen attentively my children... YOU GOTTA HIT THE JAMES (gym)!!!

Hit the gym like your life depends on it. When I got home I was weak, emaciated and depressed from being alone for 2.5 months with no entertainment (I lost my computer at the airport, so I couldn't even catch up on tv shows and movies). What helped my mental and physical state more than ANYTHING was sweating at the gym when I got back home.

My recovery increased exponentially with the rate of intensity I put in at the gym. Just last week I was on a call with Victor (Cyborg4Life) and we both agree 110% that pushing myself to the limit at the gym was the defining factor in a speedy recovery. I think it made all the difference in his recovery, I KNOW it did with mine.

When I first got back home, I was feeling sorry for myself and made very little progress. Then i thought...fk THIS NOISE.... and got to work. Started with exercise bands. Then leg lifts and body weight exercises...then moved onto machines at the gym. 2 months later was doing free weights. The key is YOU HAVE TO PUSH YOUR BODY to that point where you want to go home and pass out. The next day will hurt as well of course..but then 2 days later..you can feel that you're stronger and walking better that week. And you just take it day by day, week by week. Months go by and boom back in the saddle. Each week the walking got less-Frankenstein. The pain slowly subsided. The muscles filled in..

Don't let anyone tell you, you're too old. I am in the best shape of my life post surgery. I'm running and even jumping rope 20 minutes at a time. Btw, jumping rope is taxing even before limb lengthening. The fact that I'm able to do it now should prove to you that "you get out of this what you put into it." 

I'll go back in Nov. 2023 to have my rods removed and my scars excised at the same time. Can't wait to eat those delicious KoKorec and Tantunni sandwiches...mmmm mmm! yummy...... nom nom nom

~The End
~Fin
~Exeunt

[jlk]

oops i meant to write i lengthened 7.5cm not 6.5cm. typo!

[spartacusforhimself]

hi . My best Conratulation. I am thinking to do tibia lon with Dr. Uysal. Are there the gym in the center?

[jlk]

hi there, yes there is a gym and a pool. there's also a separate physical therapy room that the hotel guests do not have access to... only patients.

[Sigma]

Don't believe these advertiser paid whores. Stay away from livelifetaller - wannabetaller - afa - yuksel Yurttas in Turkey. Dr Mustafa uysal is a low quality doctor. He is a money lover and makes such working girls advertise himself. It has crippled more than 100 Asian people. Many of his patients suffered excruciating pain. See videos by "disabled of limb lengthening surgery". There are places like Telegram. Have a nice day.

[Among us]

Yeah good work man glad you had success.

[jlk]

whoah whoah whoah DUDE.... you have anger issues. you don't need to start name calling someone you don't even know. how on earth would you know if I'm being paid off? plot twist: I'M NOT. I had a good experience, I choose to write about it. end of story. honestly, if you have had a bad experience then i can understand your bitterness but you sound a little unhinged.. like deeply emotional issues similar to an angry incel who's about to attack someone.

on my last day at our hotel in Turkey, we had a big celebration where they cooked an entire lamb Turkish style. it was so much fun. there were about 30 of us there and most of the patients were Chinese. they were satisfied clients, same as me. personally, i have not seen ANY of the bad publicity you're taking about. would you mind posting links or vids of these so-called claims? i ask because i researched this extensively before i committed to payment in may 2022 and i saw NOTHING that you are espousing. i am an informed adult with a graduate degree and very discerning tastes. i do not take lightly being called a liar. why would i even waste my time?? how utterly trivial.

[jlk]

also i agree with you about Yurtas and live life taller / wanna be taller yada yada...i saw those horror stories too. when i googled limb lengthening in Turkey those were the first websites that popped up and i did my due diligence and steered clear of them.

what i did NOT SEE... were ANY horror stories involving Dr. Mustafa Uysal. none. i just googled again and still nothing. so i wonder if perhaps you are generalizing an entire population based on a few bad apples... which is the definition of racism. Dr Uysal is a good guy. he is highly detailed and conscientious. i will see him again soon.

regarding your statement that I'm a paid off whore... how rude. you don't deserve my time but another member asked for x rays and photos and i plan on posting them. i don't know how to navigate this website well and need to learn how to upload. but in the meantime please post proof of your bogus accusations and I'll post proof of my successful surgery.. sound good tough guy?

[jlk]

thanks buddy. it's been a wild ride! loving it

[jlk]

working on it. I'm away on business and using my phone to respond

[jlk]

1

[jlk]

 

[FallenState]

It's great to read an account of someone who has had a successful experience -> I know usually people are more likely to post only if they have had negative outcomes. Especially since you are 50 and 220+lbs.
Is there anything you would have done differently, or you wished you knew going into it?

[jlk]

je ne regrette rien!!! I REGRET NOTHING.... NOTHING I TELL YOU!!! I wake up in the morning and choose violence! like my tabby cat. 😼 Complacency kills...

actually yes there is one thing i would've done differently. in America we use norco/hydrocodone like it's candy. i think i would've brought my own painkillers because other countries are much more conservative than America where overdosing is THE AMERICAN WAY lol.

also i would've brought more marijuana vape pens with me. it is ridiculously easy to bring them from America into Turkey. no one can tell if it's a marijuana vape or just a nicotine vape. people can be such pussies sometimes. but not me, i got balls of fking steel

[jerrytheman]

Exceptions do not make the rule. External fixators are just more dangerous in terms of infections and other complication. Going crazy on antibiotics is not ideal either cause you know..super bacteria.
I do believe this is a real journal and you had a real good experience. There are good outcomes that comes out of Turkey. Unfortunately people go into this thing based off of statistics, and the history is that these surgeries have an insanely higher complication rate vs regulated countries. And Turkey is also known for "hiding" their patients that does bad in other hospital, separating them from the good patients. So you not seeing them, is somewhat explained.

[jlk]

nobody went crazy on antibiotics. 5 days of low key antibiotic does not create super bacteria. I'm sorry but that's not how science works.. and to be clear my infections were not even severe. one of the pin sites looked slightly inflamed so out of caution we did a quick run of antibiotics. it wasn't even a full course of antibiotics both times.

i think you too are generalizing about Turkish doctors. i cannot speak for the majority of them, only MY DOCTOR: Dr Uysal. During my time there I became friends with 2 Indonesians, 6 Chinese, 1 Brazilian, 2 Canadians, 1 British, 1 Iranian and 2 Americans  besides myself. All lovely people, all happy they went to AFA. NO PATIENTS WERE HIDDEN AWAY AS YOU CLAIM. that's almost laughable because i saw everyone that came and went. you're making things up and you have not been a part of this procedure at this particular location.

Everyone got through it. The pain was bearable and a level that we fully expected. you keep mentioning that I'm THE EXCEPTION but i disagree. None of the other patients i mentioned have written negative reviews and I'm still in touch with quite a few of them. so until you or the other angry INCEL "sigma" shows me proof of a negative review i can't take your claims seriously and i don't think future potential patients should either. it's kind of shocking to me that people like sigma arent removed from this forum completely. the negativity serves no purpose. i came here to help others not to be attacked. have a blessed day.

[NailedLegs]

I opted for external fixators because why in the fk would I spend 80K more to get precice?? That makes no sense to me. Even if I were a millionaire I would do externals. They're more reliable, easier to fix in the event of something not aligning, and have been around longer. Sure you have a few less scars on your legs with precice, but who gives a fk. I don't. My scars look great now 14 months after I had the fixators removed. To all those who say precice is worth the money..I ask you to consider this... Both surgeries will leave scars. LON leaves more, but you can have these excised and then also use laser removal after that. So for me it's a non issue. I bought a car with the money I would've spent on precice, but to each his own. I'm not judging you, I'm just

I'm glad you turned out well, but this reads more like you lying to yourself(not us) in order to justify your risky decision. Let's call a spade a spade. You took a risk, and everything turned out alright. Not everyone is as lucky as you.

I'm also glad you spoke to Victor. But you and I, as well as everyone else here, knows that he doesn't support using LON(monolateral fixator over an internal nail). Do you know more about limb lengthening than Cyborg4Life? Let's be honest.

Additionally, the ONLY Turkish surgeon that Victor recommends is Dr Metin Kucukkaya. The ONLY one. Again I ask, do you know more than Victor?

I'm happy for you. I'm posting this so that other prospective patients and lurkers will see a counterpoint. Do LON with a Turkish surgeon if you want to gamble with your body and potentially save money.

[jlk]

i agree there are butchers in many countries. I'M ONLY SAYING THAT in my humble experience, uysal is not one of them. do you have proof that he is?? then please post it. if not let's call a spade a spade and agree that you don't know his work and don't have proof of any negative reviews. which means you're talking outta your ass. I'm so sick of going over this.... PLEASE POST PROOF. ONE HORROR STORY INVOLVING UYSAL. SHUT ME UP. MAKE ME EAT MY WORDS. IF YOU CAN SHOW ME PROOF THAN I WILL GLADLY APOLOGIZE AND CONCEDE TO YOU HERE... ON THIS FORUM. BUT IF YOU CAN'T.... THEN YOU'RE A MOPE AND YOUR LACK OF PROOF SHOWS THAT. time to put your money where your mouth is boyo. and maybe victor hasn't run into any patients of uysal besides myself..?? ever consider that? are you victor's BFF? do you text him a lot and share music playlists? I'm guessing no... he's A VERY COOL GUY whereas you sound like a judgemental, fearful soccer mom.

and wtf are u even talking about claiming that i claim to know more than cyborg??!! i don't! never claimed that i did. i scheduled a consult with him to inquire about rods and scars. Jesus you people are so anal and fussy! get a life

and also many people took that same risk with me. around 30 to be exact. some did externals some did internals. all were informed of pros and cons. no complaints just success

to any newbies and potentials logging on to this site please take note... there are soooo many bitchy haters on here. in America we have a saying.."hatred gonna hatred". precice is not fail proof. case in point: limbplastx in Las Vegas has a highly touted doctor who does mostly great work, but just this year there was a huge scandal involving a precice patient who had his entire femur re-break at the site of his precice internal implant.. yes you heard that right PRECICE...the so-called precice HOLY GRAIL that NEVER EVER EVER goes wrong. well guess what? something went wrong.. as frequently happens. but you adapt and regroup and WORK THRU IT. in my case i have nerve pain. so what?? i own it. it's my fault because I wasn't always consistent with my lengthening protocol. who gives a fuuuckk. I'm getting better everyday. this too shall pass. man up. grow some balls. eat a red, very bloody steak. listen to some AC/DC. smoke a joint and have really loud sxx with your cute neighbor.... because i tell you this lads.... all this will fade. in 50 years no one will remember your name. this forum will be replaced and forgotten. we all die. all you have is this moment. carpe diem.

p.s. it's pretty common knowledge at this point but did any of you know that stryde had a recall???! what's this, you ask??! say it ain't so! ZOUNDS!!! but i thought internals were perfect??? i thought externals were so so so BADDDDDD?? omg I'm getting teary eyed. somebody hold me. wahhhh...

[jlk]

Jesus.. i can't spell.

the title of this thread is supposed to be:

MY FANTASTICALLY Femur-ific journey.... not "ferur-ific". it was a TYPO. bless my old man eyeballs and forgive me my children.

[jlk]

this is Dr. Uysal's resume which I think is impressive to say the least. He's a both a faculty member and actively working as a doctor in this field. I have googled his name multiple times (even in Reddit) and see ZERO negative reviews. So again, be wary of naysayers who make accusations without proof...and then disappear from the LL Forum threads like ckroaches when they're called out for proof. They disappear because they have no proof. They instigate rumors and leave.... and pretendi to be heroes doing some kind of public service announcement in their delusional minds.

https://www.medarhastanesi.com.tr/doctor/mustafa-uysal

This website is also shows the hospital where my surgery was performed. It was VERY clean. The operating room was state of the art. I speak from the heart and have no hesitation in recommending AFA. if you have questions please Direct Message me. I'm trying not to engage with the trolls as it gets trifling very quickly.

[Robert Adam]

Did you lengthen your femur bones by 7.5 cm are you 7.5 cm taller or less?

[jlk]

i think no height loss occurred after my rod removal... one thing to keep in mind is your legs are extremely tight after femur lengthening. so you'll be even taller after your muscles stretch to the full potential and you are able to fully extend your legs.

[jlk]

I'm about 14 months post op and today was the first time I tried heavier weight on the free weight squat.

I did 3 sets of 6 repetitions at 185lbs. No pain, just a little stiff. In two months I will attempt 225lbs.

[DanishViking]

I'm thinking about doing the surgery at Afa honestly. The points you mentioned seems worth it and just what I'm looking for. I'm going to do precice tho, since the risk for infection is almost zero, and it's more comfortable and overall less pain.

A package including everything from taxi service and hotel stay with psychiothereapy, xray, doctor visit in one building which is quite experienced. This is much more convenient than having to take a taxi multiple times a week for x-ray, therapy, hospital check-up etc while being handicapped which technically is also safer, since the chance of accidently weightbearing on precice 2.2. is lower this way. This is something I see as an huge advantage over doing it with Dr Giotikas in Greece since he doesn't offer this. They also offer hydrotherapy which they don't in Athens.

I have also tried to find bad experiences or reviews of Afa and couldn't find any either. I honestly think that this center is a hidden gem in Turkey compared to the others (Livelifetaller, Wannabetaller, yuksel yurttas) who have had patients with many bad outcomes. Because if they were really that bad then at least one patient would have shared their bad experience here, they're not that new of a clinic.

I talked to the team and you can also stay they're as long as you like, so you don't have to leave the country crippled not being able to weightbear until Consolidated enough...

The only thing that I think seems sort of sketchy is that it looks like they have bought reviews on google reviews, since most of the accounts only have made one 5 star review.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/AFA+Limb+Lengthening+Surgery+in+Turkey/@41.0251068,29.0992216,15z/data=!4m8!3m7!1s0x14b55f7a0459ec25:0xb442fe7fa6a33fb6!8m2!3d41.0251068!4d29.0992216!9m1!1b1!16s%2Fg%2F11r3m67188?entry=ttu

What is your feedback on that, did patients get discounted prices by writing a review or are they just bought?

[DanishViking]

.

[betzbone1236]

This is a great journal i am glad things are going well.

[GrowTow]

I'm thinking about doing the surgery at Afa honestly. The points you mentioned seems worth it and just what I'm looking for. I'm going to do precice tho, since the risk for infection is almost zero, and it's more comfortable and overall less pain.

I have also tried to find bad experiences or reviews of Afa and couldn't find any either. I honestly think that this center is a hidden gem in Turkey compared to the others (Livelifetaller, Wannabetaller, yuksel yurttas) who have had patients with many bad outcomes. Because if they were really that bad then at least one patient would have shared their bad experience here, they're not that new of a clinic.

I talked to the team and you can also stay they're as long as you like, so you don't have to leave the country crippled not being able to weightbear until Consolidated enough...

The only thing that I think seems sort of sketchy is that it looks like they have bought reviews on google reviews, since most of the accounts only have made one 5 star review.

What is your feedback on that, did patients get discounted prices by writing a review or are they just bought?

I did LON tibia with AFA, you can check out my diary on here or d (also uploading all my pics and videos soon, I've asked the camera guy for all my content). The infection rate is 0 and i've only known 2 LON patients to get minor skin infections that subsided after 5 days, i've been here since February so 2/40 patients.

There are no bad cases, everyone gets taken care of, if someone does get a complication; which is very rare, it is fixed for free, everyone always leaves without complications and being able to walk.

The google reviews look sketchy to me too, whether they're bought, I am not sure but I recognize at least 20 of the names as employees or past patients. So I don't think they're bought, I think during conversation you may be encouraged to leave a review. Whereas for diaries etc, there's no suggestion at all. I am the only patient that done a diary, I think 1 or 2 others started there's and then just gave up. AFA certainly doesn't force any sort of feedback, if anything, I probably encouraged other patients to start a diary more than anyone.