I've barely been checking or posting here, as fortunately both me and my life are very much past the recovery phase. The number one thing that I feel needs to be emphasized is that recovery time CAN take way longer than the estimates most people/dr.'s give. If I had a rigid schedule I would have been screwed- If I viewed certain people finding out as unacceptable I would have been screwed.
While many have planned to a fairly tight schedule and been fine, even going with the best dr., vigorously stretching, and doing absolutely everything you're supposed to- There is no guarantee you'll be fine in the time needed. I will say I am an outlier in terms of my recovery time, but it took months upon months to walk with any semblance of normalcy. With a good dr. I think long term everyone will be fine which is why I just wanted to pop in and remind the community of something that I emphasized often when I posted here more.
A friendly reminder/Word of warning
May i know how long does it takes for you to fully recover?
I absolutely agree with what programdude said. For example, in my case (Precice 2), it'll take easily take me 10 months post-op to walk with a proper gait. While I did take things slowly at the start (in terms of weightbearing for callus), my recovery is still most definitely longer than it should be. I didn't have much pain or any complication (the only "complication" I had was my left leg initially being operated twice) even though I was mentally ready for them.
I have no problem with this because I set myself a huge time frame. If I had given myself only 6 months, I would've been absolutely screwed.
I think this especially applies for people doing big amounts.
Yes, I think the difference between 6 Cms and 8 is gigantic for example.
While I honestly don't have a time frame because it was such a long and incremental process, 10 months + sounds right for me as well. Way more than 6 months post op for sure- And in my case it was essential to get out the rods because of the limp they caused, and then my fracture.
While it was basically a lot of bad luck its a prime example to plan for the worst even when working with the best.
So ,do you advise lengthen 8 cm or better stay away from that amount of lengthening
I say unless you're REALLY short, don't do 8cms.
Agree with PD and Penguin. I did 7cm, and it was pretty tough (the whole process, that is).
I'm honestly super, SUPER lucky that I was able to work from home for about 4 months after I finished lengthening (which in itself took 3.5 months, including a month of pre-training). I was even luckier that I got paid my whole salary the entire time doing it. If I had to start working right after lengthening, I would have been royally screwed, because my walking was atrocious. My walking honestly didn't even begin look normal again until about a year post-op, and even then, my gait was still off (I'd say it took two years post-op to have perfect walking again and pretty good running/jogging).
I feel like a lot of the older diaries on here (and the old forum) really downplay how long the recovery process is. I still haven't taken my rods out, and I honestly just might leave them in, because they really don't bother me. I know it's not ideal, but I honestly don't want to have to deal with more surgery, scarring, recovery time (although less), etc.
I think people need to exercise extreme caution and planning when going beyond 6cm in one segment/procedure.
I suspect this might be a total dealbreaker for many guys hoping to do LL, one that is not discussed as much as other aspects of it. No matter how we hypothize it might work, a lot of guys simply aren't gonna be able to pause their jobs for 4 or 5 months without becoming unemployed. Losing your job will be unacceptable for too many people, especially in regions with a bad economic situation.
Quote from: IwannaBeTaller on June 12, 2017, 04:55:22 PMI suspect this might be a total dealbreaker for many guys hoping to do LL, one that is not discussed as much as other aspects of it. No matter how we hypothize it might work, a lot of guys simply aren't gonna be able to pause their jobs for 4 or 5 months without becoming unemployed. Losing your job will be unacceptable for too many people, especially in regions with a bad economic situation.
Agreed.
I was able to use short-term disability for the lengthening process at full salary, and then allowed to work from home after that. I was very, very fortunate. Most situations would not work out nearly as well as mine. PD has his own business, so he was fortunate in that regard in terms of schedule flexibility.
I think a lot of people assume that you just gather the money for surgery ($20-$100 thousand), and just somehow take like 6-9 months of time out of your regular life, then your set. They don't realize that it's probably gonna be much harder to get this surgery done if they are not rich and don't own a business.
saving up just for the surgery will not be enough because you got to take into consideration your complications you might have, accommodation, and the extra recovery time where you may need extra money because you probably won't be working. Then there's worrying about your job that you have take time off from and not knowing if you'll be able to go back or get a paid leave while your recovering. You really have to get your together before doing this surgery.
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