Yes that would be ideal, but there's always trade offs.
I am ok with it.
Regarding the "going down the surgery way again" that was related to the non union. Ultimately the worst case to fix that is to intervene surgically again.
Best of success mate
Quote from: OzBoy39 on August 13, 2022, 10:17:00 AMHi Everyone,
I've been reading pretty much all of you in this forum since I decided to jump in and book my surgery and I must thank each and everyone of you who posted their experiences, the details of PT, surgery, hospitals, doctors. You've been an incredible source of information.
Also a big shout out to Vic from @Cyborg4Life. He is th hero among us and deserves all the success he can get.
In about 2 weeks time (Aug 24th) I'll go for a bilateral femoral lengthening through G-Nail with Dr. Giotikas in Athens.
I have explored various options before this but the combination of being a weight bearing nail (although with a gruesome ratcheting mechanism lol), the package that Dr. G. offers (they include full PT in the cost... that's quite good), his reputation and overall the "vibe" of competence that I got in my 1 hour consultation with him convinced me that he is the right option. Ah.. and the location. You can't beat Greece in summertime.
I'll be staying at the Novotel in Athens, which is the closest hotel to the PT centre with all the amenities i was looking for (gym, pool, various restaurants...big breakfast...). If anyone is staying there too, please reach out and we can grab a few drinks together.
I thought I start this diary to share my experience, the goods, the bads... the ugly (hopefully not) and the achievements and get in return some much needed support from people that understand what most of us are driven from when going through this.
A bit of background. 38 years old, 164cm, 64Kg caucasian male. Live in Australia with my wife and an amazing kid (the real pain here is to leave him for about 2 months but my wife has been supportive of this from day one. Nobody else knows about this. Not my family not my friends. This is a solo journey and I'm lucky I can actually afford it (money and time).
About my current build... I'm fairly athletic and in good shape. Use to go hard-core to crossfit gym until 6-7 months ago when I literally stopped doing lower body hypertrophy sessions and only concentrated on stretching.
I still kept my upper body routine somewhat but just in order to.. maintain. I believe that will help heaps during lengthening to be able to move around. I did lose a lot of cardio stamina though as i havent been going to classes sonce then.
On the other hand, my flexibility gains have been quite satisfying. I'm at a point where as far as hamstrings go, I can easily go palms to ground with my elbow bended somewhat. On the hip flexor side, I can't quite gauge how flexible they are but I've been concentrating most of my efforts on those recently as I understand and I feel they will be key to success and are notoriously harder to stretch than the hammies.
What are my goals?
Well, I set myself a 3 tiered goal. I'd like to aim at a minimum of 7cm as tier1, which will make me happy as ill get closer to average (and with shoes i should reach close to 175cm), but if I feel good the ideal goal would be between 8-9cm.
If then things progress better than I expect (Im not holding my breadth here) I would venture the double digit goal as my ultimate target. Yes I understand this is risky and all that and I do appreciate everyone providing comments to other patient to don't risk a healthy body for an extra cm. I'll see how thing go and follow the Doctor's and PT's advise when I'm there.
Other than this, I hope I can manage to squeeze in some trip around Athens as I believe this time of the year the weather should be awesome (I like hot sweaty climates).
Anyway, hope to be able to provide insights that will help other prospective patients, do don't shy away from questions.
Cheers
OzBoy
Thank You! I'll keep my finger crossed (and legs too. It help with stretching the IT bands 
)
I'm curious to know if the price of g-nail is still the same as on the website considering the high inflation in Greece atm
Quote from: OzBoy39 on August 14, 2022, 11:39:14 PMYes that would be ideal, but there's always trade offs.
I am ok with it.
Regarding the "going down the surgery way again" that was related to the non union. Ultimately the worst case to fix that is to intervene surgically again.
Hello OzBoy,
Wishing you success in your endeavors!
You can count on me to stay behind you!
There will be a lot of value in this diary.
Quote from: OzBoy39 on August 14, 2022, 06:47:52 AMNo problems at all.
Yeah I'm honestly not too sure about his schedule. I might have asked at the time of the consultation but can't remember now.
I looked quite a lot into travel insurances. I got myself one middle tier for about 300$, BUT they clearly state, like all other insurances, that they do not cover for any medical claim related to a condition that... It's the reason for the trip overseas. So I'm not really sure how useful it'll be. But for 300$, at least I'm covered if I damage my phone or laptop or for some delays and those usual things they cover.
Stretches... I followed these 2 channels on YouTube
- Tom Merrick
- Strength Side
I started doing their follow along routines and then adjusted and mixed up excercises with the ones I found most effective to me.
The routines from Tom are super relaxing. Nice music flowing in background and overall a nice Zen time before bed. Strength side added a few very intense stretches (hams and hip flexors) which are my favourite now.
They are pretty intense though! It takes a while to start enjoying them depending on your starting range of motion.
Also, thanks so much for the stretching videos! I'll be sure to start incorporating them into my routine.
Quote from: OzBoy39 on August 13, 2022, 10:17:00 AMI'll be staying at the Novotel in Athens, which is the closest hotel to the PT centre with all the amenities i was looking for (gym, pool, various restaurants...big breakfast...). If anyone is staying there too, please reach out and we can grab a few drinks together.
What are your thoughts on Novotel vs Montaza (one of the hotels Dr. Giotikas sends the nurses to?)
Does he also send them to Novotel or what is your plan for that?
By chance do you have the official website or email for Novotel? Having trouble finding their official website from a google search:
https://www.google.com/search?q=novotel+athens+greece&rlz=1C1CHBD_enUS900US900&oq=novotel+athens+greece&aqs=chrome.0.0i512j0i22i30.2667j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Quote from: SpeedDialer on August 18, 2022, 05:23:10 PMBy chance do you have the official website or email for Novotel? Having trouble finding their official website from a google search:
https://www.google.com/search?q=novotel+athens+greece&rlz=1C1CHBD_enUS900US900&oq=novotel+athens+greece&aqs=chrome.0.0i512j0i22i30.2667j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Not sure how Novotel is and how it compares to Montaza. I'll let you know when I arrive there. It's definitely a higher tier and its an international chain with pretty decent standards so I'm expecting it to be good.
In regards to nursing I'm gonna have to pay extra I believe.. But since I sort of gotten the hotel with no cash expenditure, then it's ok for me.
Then from Novotel to the PT centre in Peristeri it's a 11min taxi or Uber ride. Uber gives me about 7-8 Euro per trip, so that's another expense to keep in mind.
Novotel website should be this one below
https://all.accor.com/hotel/0866/index.en.crapml#:~:text=The%204%2Dstar%2C%20Novotel%20Athens,%2C%20Monastiraki%2C%20Psiri%2C%20Acropolis.
Quote from: ilovescience on August 13, 2022, 11:02:14 AMWelcome to the forum. I know Australia is a country where many men are tall, but you are not short. 164cm is a good height. I have met people shorter than you when I was in Australia.
The delusion on this forum is killing me
As for Giotikas… I sent him various emails months ago and never got a response. He also has a murder case behind his back. Screw that guy
You must be logged in to post a reply.
