Hello,
I'm currently undergoing external in India with Dr. Sarin. I want to tell you about my experience so far and will share with you my experiences in the future.
Timeline:
September 1 arrive in India and get picked up from the airport and taken to the guest house
September 3 taken to the hopsital
September 4 have leg lengthening surgery
September 7 taken back to the guest house
September 13 begin lengthening
September 24 have x-ray
Overview
My starting height is 173cm and I plan to lengthen 7.5cm. I have been told 7.5cm is the recommended maximum for lengthening. People however have lengthened more with Dr. Sarin. The guest house is called Ess Kay Ess Villa. When I arrived I was given a a menu of food to order from the guest house. The food is really good. I spent my first day just waiting around, trying out the menu. The journey to the hospital was around an hour. At the hospital I filled in formed and was given medical tests. I had a private room with its own bathroom. I was not allowed to eat on the day of surgery. On the day, I was put on a stretcher and taken to the operation theatre. They put me to sleep and the whole operation passed without me knowing. When I woke up I was on a stretcher outside the theatre. I was then taken back to my private room. I spent most of the days in the hospital sleeping. I was woken up when food was brought in or when nurses wanted to do checks. The food was good and the nurses friendly. When I returned to the guest house I tried to pass the time sleeping as much as possible. At first time dragged, but after a week or so time began to fly.
Pain
The first time I felt pain was after surgery, when I woke up on the stretcher. The pain was not in my legs though, it was in my back. The mattresses here are very firm, and I'm not used to lying on my back. That pain was very intense. When they took me back to my room I was able to raise my bed so I could sit up. This made a massive difference, stopping the pain in my back. There was also a tube in my penis which was really uncomfortable and when the nurse moved my IV drip I felt pain.
The journey back to the guest house was very uncomfortable. The roads can be bumpy and I was sitting in the backseat of a car with my legs stretched across. When I got back to the guest house I was carried in and put on the bed. This wasn't easy. When I was on the bed I again felt pain in my back and for the first few days had trouble sleeping. But I ordered a foam incline cushion on amazon and after that the pain went and I could sleep. Now when I sleep there is some discomfort because I am in one position all the time, but generally I get decent sleep. Going to the bathroom was very difficult at first. I was given a chair with wheels on, and getting into the chair and into the bathroom was very difficult at first. After a week my legs recovered a lot and I could use the bathroom without trouble. I feel no pain when my screws are turned to lengthen. I take a painkiller called Ultracet 3 times a day, but I've heard of patients who chose not to take it because they didn't feel they needed it. Physio is now the most difficult thing but it's manageable. I started physio the day I started lengthening. Overall I would say there is some pain, a lot of discomfort in the first 2 weeks, but overall, after things are settled, there is not much pain and only some discomfort.
Other detail
The helping staff are very friendly. I enjoy seeing and talking to my physio every day. The hotel staff are also good, they always respond to what I need. The guest room is nice, I always have the AC on because it can get uncomfortably warm. I order food from Zomato a lot. There are lots of good places around to eat. I really like Smoothie Valley. The shorts I brought with me were too small to put over the frames, so one of the helping staff went to town to buy me some which were big enough. If you do bring shorts make sure they are really big enough to put over the frames. I also didn't have any rupees with me when I arrived so my physio went and exchanged cash for me and took some out of my card.
Feel free to ask questions. I intend to upload photos soon.