Topic: New Stryde Diary 2018 - with Dr. Paley (Read 28881 times)

Dreamer57 · « **Reply #93 on:** October 02, 2019, 06:39:53 PM »

A question abt ur pre op tibia time....After femurs...hadyou gotten to a point where you can do all the stuff normally , sports running...Like before pre op femurs....And yeah what abt proportions after tibia? Btw I wish you luck for the coming few days...Hope everything goes as you planned...Do drop in the x-rays when u get them!

superusercj1 · « **Reply #94 on:** October 05, 2019, 12:19:47 PM »

POD 11:
Pain is better and swelling is decreasing.

Overall I’d say the pain is around 3-5/10. I’m now able to walk with a walker but slowly mainly due to pain when I try to walk. Knee bend is still super difficult, mainly stuck at 90 degrees. Hoping that they all this discomfort and swelling goes away over the next 7 days, want to be on crutches so I can ambulate so bad.

Overall tibia has been easier than femur simply due to less muscle groups to stretch and also because you don’t really lose mobility of your upper legs.

Will keep everyone posted, first follow up coming up in 9 days.

So far I’ve lengthened 3.0mm, Doing 0.25 3x a day

superusercj1 · « **Reply #95 on:** October 10, 2019, 02:28:50 AM »

POD 15 - no pain in my right leg , left leg remains painful as well as swollen around the osteotony site. Currently using 40% walker 60% wheelchair. Calf are super weak but getting better.

The splint they give you is terrible to use, super uncomfortable so avoiding them for now until both legs are 100% pain free

superusercj1 · « **Reply #96 on:** October 13, 2019, 01:06:15 AM »

POD 18 - pain is much better. For awhile my left leg was super swollen around the osteotomy site compared to my right leg. Swelling has now gone down. I’d say I am still about 30% swollen on left and 10% on right. I am now ambulatory with a walker, but just in my room. Long distances causes pain and swelling, so that wheelchair is still everything. In terms of sleep,
Sleeping better , maybe 4 hours a night , legs do get sore at night , about a 3/10 pain that’s just annoying enough to keep you from sleeping. Have my follow up Monday so hope things are well. I hope to by on walker/crutches by end of this upcoming week.

CodyTheDog · « **Reply #97 on:** October 13, 2019, 03:17:49 PM »

Quote from: superusercj1 on October 13, 2019, 01:06:15 AM

POD 18 - pain is much better. For awhile my left leg was super swollen around the osteotomy site compared to my right leg. Swelling has now gone down. I’d say I am still about 30% swollen on left and 10% on right. I am now ambulatory with a walker, but just in my room. Long distances causes pain and swelling, so that wheelchair is still everything. In terms of sleep,
Sleeping better , maybe 4 hours a night , legs do get sore at night , about a 3/10 pain that’s just annoying enough to keep you from sleeping. Have my follow up Monday so hope things are well. I hope to by on walker/crutches by end of this upcoming week.

superusercj1, thanks for sharing your experiences! How much money would you budget to do 8 cm of femur lengthening with your doctor? Including living costs and everything?

superusercj1 · « **Reply #98 on:** October 23, 2019, 03:03:57 AM »

POD 28 -
It’s been exactly 4 weeks since my procedure. Am now walking pretty confidently with crutches. My anterior ankle on my right hurts 9/10 pain and is brutal at night. The left side is closer to 2/10. This is likely due to overuse, as I really push myself to dorsiflex.

Other than this, I’m becoming more compliant with the splints they give you. I ordered ones off amazon and they’re a lot more comfortable. I’m wearing them strictly at night.

Otherwise appetite is good and I’m able to work from home at about 60% efficiency(it’s difficult to fully focus).

In terms of tightness, I’ve been stretching on the incline board 3-4x a day. I’m still very loose but I’m also still only at around 17mm. We’ll see, I think I’m going to start getting tight around 3 to 4 cm.

superusercj1 · « **Reply #99 on:** October 26, 2019, 02:30:49 AM »

POD 31 -
Shin/Tibia pain almost completely resolved. I can walk without any assistive device, but slow and wobbly. Playing this safe and going to stick with crutches for the near future, I can probably walk pretty well with a cane but just the thought of what’s holding my body up are smaller tibia bones doesn’t make me very confident :p

Sleep wise it’s much better but because I’m walking more, my entire legs are achy at night - all the way up to my gluteus - I’m taking what’s left of my oxy and OTC Tylenol to get by.

I’m currently at 1.925cm. If it’s similar to last year, I’m about to enter the “honeymoon” stage where between 2-4cm, post surgical pain is gone and you’re starting to get tight but you’re not crazy walk weird tight yet. 🤞🏼

In terms of what I’m aiming for, I’d love to hit 6 if possible however a lot of people say most patients achieve 4-5, my plan is to take it 1cm at a time and go as far as I can until I’m told it’s dangerous to continue.

PS other than more pain during the first 2-3 weeks, tibia has been exponentially easier than femurs. It’s really just 2 “main” stretch and those stretches you can pull off yourself without an assistant.

TheAlchemist · « **Reply #100 on:** October 26, 2019, 03:41:34 PM »

Quote from: superusercj1 on October 26, 2019, 02:30:49 AM

POD 31 -
Shin/Tibia pain almost completely resolved. I can walk without any assistive device, but slow and wobbly. Playing this safe and going to stick with crutches for the near future, I can probably walk pretty well with a cane but just the thought of what’s holding my body up are smaller tibia bones doesn’t make me very confident :p

Sleep wise it’s much better but because I’m walking more, my entire legs are achy at night - all the way up to my gluteus - I’m taking what’s left of my oxy and OTC Tylenol to get by.

I’m currently at 1.925cm. If it’s similar to last year, I’m about to enter the “honeymoon” stage where between 2-4cm, post surgical pain is gone and you’re starting to get tight but you’re not crazy walk weird tight yet. 🤞🏼

In terms of what I’m aiming for, I’d love to hit 6 if possible however a lot of people say most patients achieve 4-5, my plan is to take it 1cm at a time and go as far as I can until I’m told it’s dangerous to continue.

PS other than more pain during the first 2-3 weeks, tibia has been exponentially easier than femurs. It’s really just 2 “main” stretch and those stretches you can pull off yourself without an assistant.

Nice!!! Let's get it!!

superusercj1 · « **Reply #101 on:** November 25, 2019, 01:44:57 AM »

POD 60

Journeys over! Stopping at ~4.1 getting a bit tight but nothing crazy. I stopped wearing my splints 3 weeks ago in favor of sleep and cut down my stretching a lot because I started getting lazy

. Reason for stopping is because I was told that as most people approach 5, they enter a danger zone where it’s extremely difficult to recover full athletic ability. This freaked me out as I’m an avid snowboarder and skier so I’m going to stay on the safer side. Overall very happy with my new height, I’m about 5’7.5 and started 5’3. I could have gone to 5cm without much more tightness but just didn’t want any risks.

As of now I still have my femur and tibia rods in and plan to remove them next year ... unless I rebreak - I’d have 1.4 for femurs and 3.9 for Tibias.

We’ll see - good luck to all who’s starting this Journey. For me it was 100% worth it and it has changed my life.

JenniferFromSeattle · « **Reply #102 on:** November 25, 2019, 02:01:36 AM »

Congratulations!!!! That's a great decision to stop. It's much better to be safe then sorry.

I'm scheduled to have my femur lengthened by Dr. Paley on Tuesday.

TheAlchemist · « **Reply #103 on:** November 25, 2019, 02:18:40 AM »

Quote from: superusercj1 on November 25, 2019, 01:44:57 AM

POD 60

Journeys over! Stopping at ~4.1 getting a bit tight but nothing crazy. I stopped wearing my splints 3 weeks ago in favor of sleep and cut down my stretching a lot because I started getting lazy . Reason for stopping is because I was told that as most people approach 5, they enter a danger zone where it’s extremely difficult to recover full athletic ability. This freaked me out as I’m an avid snowboarder and skier so I’m going to stay on the safer side. Overall very happy with my new height, I’m about 5’7.5 and started 5’3. I could have gone to 5cm without much more tightness but just didn’t want any risks.

As of now I still have my femur and tibia rods in and plan to remove them next year ... unless I rebreak - I’d have 1.4 for femurs and 3.9 for Tibias.

We’ll see - good luck to all who’s starting this Journey. For me it was 100% worth it and it has changed my life.

Woohoo! Grats on an amazing outcome! Time to party

MyEvolution · « **Reply #104 on:** November 26, 2019, 06:18:49 AM »

Quote from: TheAlchemist on May 10, 2019, 05:48:11 PM

They acknowledged that they both existed (i.e. MyEvolution who is verified acknowledged that superuser was there while he was there). Again I totally understand the skepticism but just calling this out.

Yea superuest is my LL roomate for tibias, & i met him last year during femurs. Usually i agree that you should always post photos and stuff but I can confirm this is a real person

MyEvolution · « **Reply #105 on:** November 26, 2019, 06:19:46 AM »

Quote from: TheAlchemist on May 10, 2019, 05:48:11 PM

They acknowledged that they both existed (i.e. MyEvolution who is verified acknowledged that superuser was there while he was there). Again I totally understand the skepticism but just calling this out.

Yea superuest is my LL roomate for tibias, & i met him last year during femurs. Usually i agree that you should always post photos and stuff but I can confirm this is a real person

MyEvolution · « **Reply #106 on:** November 26, 2019, 06:23:56 AM »

Quote from: superusercj1 on November 25, 2019, 01:44:57 AM

POD 60

I’m about 5’7.5 and started 5’3.

I’d say you’re more like 5’8.5

dreamBig · « **Reply #107 on:** November 28, 2019, 06:26:58 PM »

Quote from: superusercj1 on November 25, 2019, 01:44:57 AM

POD 60

Journeys over! Stopping at ~4.1 getting a bit tight but nothing crazy. I stopped wearing my splints 3 weeks ago in favor of sleep and cut down my stretching a lot because I started getting lazy . Reason for stopping is because I was told that as most people approach 5, they enter a danger zone where it’s extremely difficult to recover full athletic ability. This freaked me out as I’m an avid snowboarder and skier so I’m going to stay on the safer side. Overall very happy with my new height, I’m about 5’7.5 and started 5’3. I could have gone to 5cm without much more tightness but just didn’t want any risks.

As of now I still have my femur and tibia rods in and plan to remove them next year ... unless I rebreak - I’d have 1.4 for femurs and 3.9 for Tibias.

We’ll see - good luck to all who’s starting this Journey. For me it was 100% worth it and it has changed my life.

hi superusercj1, congrats on finishing your great journey to the new height! As far as athletic ability is concerned, what is the safe zone for femur lengthening? You mentioned that you did 6.6cm for femur, I assume it would be in the neighborhood of 7cm?

Klord · « **Reply #108 on:** November 28, 2019, 08:27:14 PM »

hi cj,

I loved reading your blog. It is really amazing to see stryde is a game-changing factor. I wonder one thing. Could you really say that a person who did let's say 6-7 cm femurs limb lengthening could continue his sport(fitness, jump training, martial arts or let's say basketball/football etc. ) life after recovery. You said that you achieved almost full recovery. Could you do your sports like you did pre-operation.

Dreamer57 · « **Reply #109 on:** December 08, 2019, 10:46:54 AM »

Quote from: Klord on November 28, 2019, 08:27:14 PM

hi cj,

I loved reading your blog. It is really amazing to see stryde is a game-changing factor. I wonder one thing. Could you really say that a person who did let's say 6-7 cm femurs limb lengthening could continue his sport(fitness, jump training, martial arts or let's say basketball/football etc. ) life after recovery. You said that you achieved almost full recovery. Could you do your sports like you did pre-operation.

Same question....
Hope you answer.

superusercj1 · « **Reply #110 on:** December 11, 2019, 01:30:58 AM »

Hey guys,

In regards to the athletic ability answer - it’s multifactorial.

Here’s my two cents:

1) from someone who did both femurs and Tibias, I am pretty confident that when I recover from my Tibias I’ll be 100% again
2) there’s a lot of discussion of knee pain with tibia, I can confirm it’s really low here at Paley’s. Dr Robbins even explained to me why and it made sense. I can currently walk at 80% and I’m limited by tightness and muscle weakness that is improving everyday - I have zero knee pain.
3) athletic recover I feel will be effected a lot by your starting height. Someone who’s 5’8 and lengthen their femurs should do better than someone who’s 5’3 simply due to overall relative lengthening
4) having said above, I think that if I had gone to 8cm I don’t think I would have had issues regaining athletic ability - this assumption is based on almost every physical therapist I met at Paley’s and also how quickly I’m again recovering

In terms of recovery, I’m 2 weeks out now from stopping. I have zero calf tightness when I walk, similar to last year, all of my issues arise from weak gluteals. Everyday you feel a lot better. I think at this rate I’ll be walking normally by January and back to sports (with clearance) by March.

superusercj1 · « **Reply #111 on:** December 11, 2019, 01:34:27 AM »

So to clarify - yes I do think I’m going to be able to go back to my pre operative sports.

To clarify the tightness - I had no tightness when I walk, but if I were to try to stretch I can feel I’m still tight.

One final advice - is you’re going to do this, definitely pre stretch calf for Tibias and hamstrings for femurs. Also work out your gluteal muscles like crazy.

Dreamer57 · « **Reply #112 on:** December 11, 2019, 04:40:16 AM »

Quote from: superusercj1 on December 11, 2019, 01:30:58 AM

Hey guys,

In regards to the athletic ability answer - it’s multifactorial.

Here’s my two cents:

1) from someone who did both femurs and Tibias, I am pretty confident that when I recover from my Tibias I’ll be 100% again
2) there’s a lot of discussion of knee pain with tibia, I can confirm it’s really low here at Paley’s. Dr Robbins even explained to me why and it made sense. I can currently walk at 80% and I’m limited by tightness and muscle weakness that is improving everyday - I have zero knee pain.
3) athletic recover I feel will be effected a lot by your starting height. Someone who’s 5’8 and lengthen their femurs should do better than someone who’s 5’3 simply due to overall relative lengthening
4) having said above, I think that if I had gone to 8cm I don’t think I would have had issues regaining athletic ability - this assumption is based on almost every physical therapist I met at Paley’s and also how quickly I’m again recovering

In terms of recovery, I’m 2 weeks out now from stopping. I have zero calf tightness when I walk, similar to last year, all of my issues arise from weak gluteals. Everyday you feel a lot better. I think at this rate I’ll be walking normally by January and back to sports (with clearance) by March.

Awesome update.....best wishes for your further recovery....

Klord · « **Reply #113 on:** December 11, 2019, 08:37:36 AM »

Thank you a lot, I wish you happiness for the rest of your life.

FormerKidd · « **Reply #114 on:** February 17, 2020, 04:23:20 PM »

Quote from: superusercj1 on October 26, 2019, 02:30:49 AM

POD 31 -
Shin/Tibia pain almost completely resolved. I can walk without any assistive device, but slow and wobbly.

I have to say that's impressive. I did almost the same amounts as you on femurs and tibias, and I still can't really walk without an assistive device. However, the PTs have told me my walking is lagging behind where they expect it.

Quote from: superusercj1 on October 26, 2019, 02:30:49 AM

PS other than more pain during the first 2-3 weeks, tibia has been exponentially easier than femurs. It’s really just 2 “main” stretch and those stretches you can pull off yourself without an assistant.

I actually thought it was the opposite -- first few weeks were easier, but later it gets more annoying, especially mentally with the splints and all. Most other folks I've talked so have agreed with that, too.

I wonder if we've met? I've talked to MyEvo a few times at PT.

superusercj1 · « **Reply #115 on:** May 01, 2020, 10:44:08 PM »

Hey guys, checking in and posting, haven’t even thought about this forum for a few months , but this coronavirus quarantine has me running out of things to do.

So quick refresher - finished lengthening Tibia early December/late November , can’t remember exact dates.

Took me about 4-6 weeks to get off the cane. Up until about 3-4 weeks ago
I walked with a significant limp mainly because my left gluteals were super weak still. This improved dramatically as I started doing more stair exercises.

Today I can say that my right leg is at 100% normal gait and my left leg is at 90% normal gait. It still feels a bit weak in the quads and tight. I think that if I actively did more stair exercises this will resolve in the next 2-3 weeks.

Overall having both femur and TiBia lengthening has been quite the journey that has been both rewarding and humbling. I’m very lucky to have no knee pain and no complications that I can tell.

Super happy I did it, changed my life completely. I used to think about my height every single day, now I haven’t thought about it in that way since after I completed my femurs.

I highly recommend the Paley institute , great experience and great care.

Also did this with myEvo so the experience was a lot better to room with someone and play video games lol

Good luck to all you guys ready to begin your journey.

ghkid2019 · « **Reply #116 on:** May 02, 2020, 03:12:25 AM »

Awesome man, this is the surgery I want to do. Femur then tibias one year later with Paley. Glad your gait is near perfect- that's probably the most significant marker of a good recovery.

Hope you continue your PT through covid-19 and after all is said and done, i guarantee you you will be 100 by the time covid is over. Keep stretching and working on those legs. Godspeed brother.

Quick question unrelated to your diary- am I able to do tibias after the original femur consolidation sooner than 1 year? Basically- after femur surgery- can I do tibias surgery like 6 months or 8 months after instead of waiting a whole year? I'd really like to get this over with ASAP but I understand it's alot rougher having nonrecovered femurs and doing another breakage.

Anyways- good luck in your life man, I hope you find happiness.

TheAlchemist · « **Reply #117 on:** May 04, 2020, 06:32:33 AM »

COVID has got me back on this forum a bit too lol. Amazing outcome and very happy for you bro. Your original femur diary was one of the first I read and inspired me to move forward with this crazy but rewarding part of my life- glad to have crossed paths on our journeys.

superusercj1 · « **Reply #118 on:** May 13, 2020, 03:48:53 PM »

Yo man, that's basically what I did. I did Tibias about 10 months or so after I finished femur. It depends on a bunch of stuff, which also in addition to your flexibility, age, etc how much you want to achieve?

If you want to maximize your chances to max out, you should do them 1 year apart. Also, stretch and become as flexible as you can for both procedures.

For femurs - it's the quads and hamstrings that will limit you
for tibia - it's the calf

Your journey will go a lot smoother if you come in super loose in those muscle groups

superusercj1 · « **Reply #119 on:** May 13, 2020, 03:49:25 PM »

Quote from: TheAlchemist on May 04, 2020, 06:32:33 AM

COVID has got me back on this forum a bit too lol. Amazing outcome and very happy for you bro. Your original femur diary was one of the first I read and inspired me to move forward with this crazy but rewarding part of my life- glad to have crossed paths on our journeys.

100% man, some good times at the Homewood Suites lmao

Movie · « **Reply #120 on:** May 13, 2020, 10:29:22 PM »

dope to hear your walking is back to normal cj! I must've missed your update

dreamBig · « **Reply #121 on:** May 15, 2020, 02:05:50 AM »

hi superusercj1, glad that you are doing great. I have a question regarding the sequence. You and myEvolution did both femur and tibia, do you think it would be better to achieve max height in tibia if you did tibia first? Since most people might achieve 8cm for femur, but not so many people can go past 6cm in tibia.

joonjang · « **Reply #122 on:** July 26, 2020, 01:10:58 AM »

Hi cj

Your diary makes me want to have the surgery even more!

Im thinking about getting Stryde on tibia at Lee’s institution early next year.
But some people told me about the downfalls of having LL on tibia:
1. Calf gets so large to the point where you have to choose your jeans based off your calf size (pretty much limited to ‘dad jeans’ that can cover the huge calves). They had PRECISE before Stryde was available so Im guessing if Stryde has any advantage in that sense.

2. Constant knee pain

What are your thoughts slash personal experience?

Thanks Cj

jonejones77 · « **Reply #123 on:** October 28, 2020, 05:34:51 PM »

How's it going? How thick is your calves? Did you extend both thighs and calves?

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Author Topic: New Stryde Diary 2018 - with Dr. Paley (Read 28881 times)