New Stryde Diary 2018 - with Dr. Paley

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Hey man....pls post xray! Would love to see them.

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Quote from: Dreamer57 on September 27, 2019, 12:45:08 PMHey man....pls post xray! Would love to see them.

No X rays yet, haven’t had that appt

POD 7 -

Legs have zero pain when I don’t move, about 4/10 when I move my legs.  Super hard to bend my knee, I can probably bend it to 90 degrees before having 5/10 pain right below the front of my knee.  Today I was able to use the walker on my own to get to the bathroom but it was more 80% upper body than my legs actually doing the steps standing on both legs I’m fine, 3/10 pain.  Overall my legs are still swollen, there’s ankle edema and also both my knees are swollen and I can feel the fluids.  Have an appointment with luke tomorrow for my machine and also PT as well.  So far things are going well.

I have a feeling tibia is going to be easier than femurs given that I have full muscle functions unlike femurs when all my muscle groups were hurting and disabled.  If it wasn’t for this pain I’d probably be able to walk normally.

My goal is to be on crutches next week. Fingers crossed.

Oh btw, I’m doing this with myEvolution, super helpful from a mental perspective to have someone going through it with you- makes time fly faster, all we do is chill and play video games lol

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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!

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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!

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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

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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

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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.

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

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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.

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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.