That's great to hear that you are getting better Optimistic1. Getting some sun is definitely going to help. I think I may have seen you at Dr. M's office last week, were you there on Tuesday? He also measured the gap in my femurs to be longer than what I thought they should be. He came up with 6.8 when I should have been at 6.5cm. I am definitely going to go by my measurements rather than his, he even said there will be some error trying to measure from the x-ray.
Sorry to hear about the tightness you are experiencing though. That's one of the more difficult aspects of doing quadrilateral lengthening, because even though the bones are separate all of the nerves and tendons are connected. If I were you I would probably aim for 12cm total, 6 and 6 on each segment. However if it becomes unbearable I think 5 + 5 would still be a really nice gain.
Bilateral Internal Tib/Fib and Bilateral Internal Femurs with Dr. Mahboubian.
Quote from: short2tall on May 12, 2018, 09:12:50 PM That's great to hear that you are getting better Optimistic1. Getting some sun is definitely going to help. I think I may have seen you at Dr. M's office last week, were you there on Tuesday? He also measured the gap in my femurs to be longer than what I thought they should be. He came up with 6.8 when I should have been at 6.5cm. I am definitely going to go by my measurements rather than his, he even said there will be some error trying to measure from the x-ray.
Sorry to hear about the tightness you are experiencing though. That's one of the more difficult aspects of doing quadrilateral lengthening, because even though the bones are separate all of the nerves and tendons are connected. If I were you I would probably aim for 12cm total, 6 and 6 on each segment. However if it becomes unbearable I think 5 + 5 would still be a really nice gain.
Short2tall,
Yes. I was there. I was trying to be as discrete as possible because I look horrible now. This process really negatively altered my appearance from hair to skin to muscle mass. However, these things could be fixed easily once I'm done with the lengthening process. You're correct about all the nerves and tendons being connected. Both of my legs are really tight now and I think I'm at about 9 centimeters in total.
Yes. I'll try to get to 12 cm on both segments combined and if I can't get there, I'll stop. I don't want to incur any permanent damage to my knees/legs.
Looks like you're doing great. Keep it up. You're almost there.
Hi Optimistic1,
Good to see you are doing relatively o.k. but the tightness must be a killer. If it’s getting too much for you, have you considered the option of stopping to let yourself heal up, and deciding a year down the line if you want to re-break and go for a few extra centimetres then? Obviously more expensive but I think it would be safer, less stress on your body, and you could even go for more than your planned, original goal. Also gives you a year to re-evaluate how important those few centimetres are to you and if Dr M’s measurements are correct, you may be happy with your heigh already?
Quote from: Petite888 on May 17, 2018, 03:01:48 AMHi Optimistic1,
Good to see you are doing relatively o.k. but the tightness must be a killer. If it’s getting too much for you, have you considered the option of stopping to let yourself heal up, and deciding a year down the line if you want to re-break and go for a few extra centimetres then? Obviously more expensive but I think it would be safer, less stress on your body, and you could even go for more than your planned, original goal. Also gives you a year to re-evaluate how important those few centimetres are to you and if Dr M’s measurements are correct, you may be happy with your heigh already?
Hi Petite888,
Thank you for your advice. Both of my legs are extremely tight now. I can't extend them all the way even with the help of my physical therapist. I think I can only get about half way and to get to about 3-4 inches off the ground, I have to suffer a lot of pain. I've been doing PT 6 days a week with 2 different physical therapists as one doesn't work on the weekend and I stretch 4-6 times a day on my own. However, when your nerve and tissues can't stretch anymore, there's little to nothing you can do but stop. I don't know who else is experiencing this and if they're, how are they dealing with it other than toughing it out?
I did take a break for 1 day and it helped a little bit. I think I'm done after this. No more surgery. I'll keep pushing until my next post op (3 weeks away). I'll ask Dr. M to measure me to see if I'm really 5'10.5. If that's the case, I'll stop immediately.
I'm dealing with so much in my personal life. I'm also dealing with so much at work. My company is suffering because of my immobility. While my employees are good, it's not the same without me at the forefront of every battle. We're losing clients and our first quarter revenue had decreased substantially. The second quarter revenue is not looking so good either. Also being on painkillers all day everyday for 3 months straight can really change one's personality/behavior. When you factor in the many sleepless nights and pain and suffering, it is scary. I commend all the limb lengtheners out there for going through with this. They are the true warriors. I'm not being greedy for doing both segments at the same time. I just can't afford any downtime. I'm already seeing a setback in my career due to the downtime.
How's your situation? Is it getting any better? Dr. M is good in a sense that he knows when to stop and/or slow down the distraction. He made me stop twice and reduced my distraction rate until there was some bone growth in my tib/fib. I hope everything will turn out fine for you.
Optimistic1
Petite888,
I just realized you haven’t done CLL. My advice to you is to do a lot of research on your doctor and you have to really need it to make it worth it. If I were at least 5’8 I’d have never subjected myself to this painful process. I was only 5’5 or 5’5.5. Even with lift, I wasn’t able to get to average height and I have a limit on lift, never more than .75 inch plus a 1 or 1.25 inch shoes. However, being at this height didn’t affect anything in my life. I chose this procedure mostly for personal fulfillment. I feel I’ve accomplished so much in life plus with my personality, I was not meant to go through life in a 5’5 body. I’m not saying being 5’5 is bad in general. Many people who are even shorter than that but are living a happy life. In fact, it’s average height in several SEA countries, like Vietnam. Best of luck to you and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Quote from: Optimistic1 on May 20, 2018, 04:24:56 PMPetite888,
I just realized you haven’t done CLL. My advice to you is to do a lot of research on your doctor and you have to really need it to make it worth it.
I am trying to do all of my research presently, but it’s difficult to say the least. I want Precice, but all the established Dr’s who use Precice are thousands of miles away, and I would need to do it somewhere I could easily fly back from. It would be really difficult for me to stay in the states or Korea for 3 months as I would miss my kids too much.
I know how you feel when you say you don’t feel like you were meant to be your height. I think most of us here feel cheated in that regard. My mum is a good 3 inches taller than me and I always though I’d reach her height at least.....soo unfair when I stopped growing at 15!
Thank you for taking the time to message even though you must be going through hell at the moment. I am rooting for you 
Sorry to hear about the problems you're having, both CLL and your business. The added stress doesn't help either situation, I hope that you recover from them soon. Wishing you the best.
And I understand your message about not needing the procedure but wanting it. I could have been fine without ever knowing about it, but when I found out, I made it my mission to learn more about it and someday do it. You're almost there!
Petite, about you wanting to reach your mom's height, pretty much what my mom said too. We all aspire to fit in with our environment.
Quote from: Petite888 on May 20, 2018, 05:56:42 PMI am trying to do all of my research presently, but it’s difficult to say the least. I want Precice, but all the established Dr’s who use Precice are thousands of miles away, and I would need to do it somewhere I could easily fly back from. It would be really difficult for me to stay in the states or Korea for 3 months as I would miss my kids too much.
I know how you feel when you say you don’t feel like you were meant to be your height. I think most of us here feel cheated in that regard. My mum is a good 3 inches taller than me and I always though I’d reach her height at least.....soo unfair when I stopped growing at 15!
Thank you for taking the time to message even though you must be going through hell at the moment. I am rooting for you
Petite888,
I know how you feel. I stopped growing at 14 I think (7th or 8th grade). My dad was 6'0 in his younger years and he's about 5'11 now. My brother is 5'10 and I'm only 5'5. Can you believe that? Lol.
Think of it this way: Your height was taken away from you but you were given something else much more value such as intelligence and hard work. With those two qualities, you can achieve so much including paying for this CLL procedure. Sometimes I feel that I'd have only achieved about 10% of what I have now if I were going through life as a 6 foot tall man. I'd have been so arrogant and wasted my life away with partying and sleeping around. Now, I can fix my short stature issue and still retain what I've accomplished. Good luck and feel free to PM should you have any questions.
Optimistic1
Quote from: Android on May 20, 2018, 11:08:27 PMSorry to hear about the problems you're having, both CLL and your business. The added stress doesn't help either situation, I hope that you recover from them soon. Wishing you the best.
And I understand your message about not needing the procedure but wanting it. I could have been fine without ever knowing about it, but when I found out, I made it my mission to learn more about it and someday do it. You're almost there!
Petite, about you wanting to reach your mom's height, pretty much what my mom said too. We all aspire to fit in with our environment.
Android,
Thank you. I'm trying my best everyday as I'm winding down this painful process.
Optimistic1
Update:
It's been over 3 months since the surgery on my tib/fib and 2 months on my femurs. The pain is almost unbearable every night now. Daytime is okay (0-2/10 pain and only 1 to 2 pills of Norco a day are needed).
It's so bad at night now that I'm doubting myself. I don't know if it's worth it anymore. I started to lose that feeling of being rewarded with a couple inches at the end of the process. I'm dealing with physical pain, mental suffering, severe sleep deprivation (no more than 2 hours of sleep per night for over 3 months), loss of appetite, immobility, loneliness, self-doubt, slight regret, and many more.
My legs, nerves, tissues, and everything from my waist down are extremely tight. I can't stretch my legs more than half way. I can't stand up straight and my duck a** is very bad. I feel a constant pain in my right thigh around 8:00 - 9:00 pm now. This pain doesn't go away until about 8:00 am the next day. I still can bend my knees almost all the way on my left leg but not so much on my right leg.
On top of all these, I'm dealing with other personal and business matters. I don't have the energy for anything. I just want to stay in bed and do nothing. I'm no longer myself. That motivated and ambitious man is long gone. I get pissed off at everything so easy now. I also get pissed off at everyone easily now. I really try to control myself at work.
My advice to all future CLL is DO NOT do both segments at the same time. It will break you. It's not so much about how painful it is. It's more about how long you can endure that pain. However, if you want the most gain then that's your safest option. You can space them out but I think most of you will be discouraged by the pain and suffering after the first operation.
I'm seeing Dr. M next week for my post-op appointment. I'll ask him whether I should stop or continue to lengthen until I reach my goal.
Optimistic1
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