Diary - January 2019 - In Full Stryde with Dr. Mahboubian of North Hollywood.

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Quote from: YellowSpike on March 08, 2019, 04:04:58 PMI remember all too well how much the lack of sleep impacted me during the lengthening phase. It was torture. Two things that helped me were Benadryl and doing some cycling before bed to loosen the muscles up. Sometimes I’d even wake up in the middle of the night and hop on my bike.

The good news is that normal sleep comes back super quickly after you’re done lengthening. I remember sleeping amazingly well like a night or two after I stopped lengthening.

YellowSpike, Thank you. May I PM you? I want to review a few things re: CLL as I am now at that 5cm mark and it's crunch time for me. I am really feeling it.

Thank you,

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Day 64 - 2 Month Post - Op checkup with Dr. Mahboubian  [5.1 cm or 2.00787 inches Taller!]

Greetings LL'ers,

I'll jump right into my meeting details with Dr. M.  As with all meetings, the first thing that you will do with Dr. M visits for the most part will be having your X-Rays taken.  This, after-all, is how he assesses your lengthening and bone growth as well as review the nail and other leg health factors.  Upon reviewing my x-ray, Dr. M noted that I have excellent bone growth and all is looking great there.  Additionally, he confirmed that I have lengthened 5.1 cm or the magic 2 inches.  I'm 2 inches taller? Wow.  I'm really taken back by that.   I have never been able to identify as a person that was taller than 5'1.  I won't go into the long list of what that meant for me; however, to be able to now stand 1/4" over 5'3 was pretty cool.  I'm taller than my sister now; which is a great feeling.   It's all perspective really.   To me, these 2 inches feel great and I'm honestly perfectly happy ending this entire process with 2" but...I'm not going to stop just yet.   Any additional Millimeters from here-on is considered icing on the cake.  I'm going to monitor myself very carefully each day to make sure I have not reached that limit. Dr. M noted a few items at which may constitute a reason to stop lengthening, such as you are unable to straighten your knee, even after force, nerve issues, duck ass becoming to severe...etc.

My CLL Symptoms are the following.  Take note prospect CLL'ers

- Very tight muscles such as hamstrings, quads, glutes, hips, etc. 
- Slight 2-4 degree bend of right leg (difficulty straitening) I am able to straighten when flexing
- Slight 1 degree bend of left leg (difficulty straitening). I am able to straighten when flexing
- Slight Duck Ass. I am able to straighten back when flexing 

For the most part all typical CLL'ers can expect some of the followup above items to take place.   If you are planning CLL soon, get to stretching and you just might be able to avoid these above.

In reviewing with Dr. M, he advised that I'm doing very well and that he recommends to continue lengthening at 1 mm a day.   He mentioned that my above conditions should heal relatively smoothly and in due time once lengthening is over with.   

A great point - Dr. M observed my walking unassisted and we all shared a laugh.   Despite my awkward Frankenstein like steps, we are all astonished by how, with the new Stryde nail I am able to walk at only 2 months.  In the past, with the older precise nails, it would take 4+ months for any of the patients to be able to weight bare or walk at all.  It's a wonderful advancement, indeed.  I'm not sure how I could cope with not having the flexibility to stand full weight on my legs for 4+ months.  I tip my hat to all the LL'ers before me who did this. You are strong and awesome.

I have posted my x - rays below.  Good callous growth and 2 inches worth of lengthening in place.





Thank you again for your support guys. Every millimeter from here on out is very difficult.  I'll push the best I can and I will be responsibile to not go beyond my bodies limit.  My next goal is 6cm.

If you have any questions for me, please do not hesitate to ask! Best regards,

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Please ask about osteonecrosis...is it possible for someone who undergoes cll to get osteonecrosis.

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Day 65 Post Op - Journey Continues [5.2 cm or 2.047 inches Taller!]

Greetings LL'ers,

Today was a pretty chill day.  I think at the 2 month point of CLL, one can say that they have established a routine; which is a great thing.  On  the flip side of the coin, a CLL'er at month 2 is pretty tired of the process. It's a long and tiring one; but it is amazingly great to be 2 inches taller.  Another thing about day 65 is that you're now looking at the end of the distraction (or lengthening phase) very soon (within days or a few weeks).  You're monitoring your body closely and weighing the extra millimeters vs your bodies ability to recover well.  Fortunately, I'm managing quite well.  My next goal is 6cm, and we'll decide what is next after that. 

Pain: The worst things about CLL pain at this point is the tight / stiffness of the thigh since you have lengthened over 2 inches.  It's not really pain; but just an annoyance to not have the ability to move more freely. Apparently all this comes back during consolidation phase and there after.   The other area that is uncomfortable is the elevated tightness during long rests in your bed, sleeping or not.  If you do not keep you legs moving, you get very tight and it takes a little while to get warmed up again. 

Flexibility and movement: Very tight and stiff, but still can move okay. Flexibility is at its all time low; but still manageable and usable. I'm mainly using crutches and I am able to take unassisted steps with no issue; but my thigh muscles generally become tired fairly quickly; so I don't walk too much without crutches for safety reasons.

Today's' Activities: Rested around the house, 3 Self PT Sessions, 1 upper body workout on bowflex

CLL Symptoms:
 
- Very tight muscles such as hamstrings, quads, glutes, hips, etc.
- Slight 2-4 degree bend of right leg (difficulty straitening) I am able to straighten when flexing
- Slight 1 degree bend of left leg (difficulty straitening). I am able to straighten when flexing
- Slight Duck Ass. I am able to straighten back when flexing 

We keep it going strong, guys.  1 mm at a time.

Talk soon and Best Regards,

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Wow, the bone has already grown a lot in the gap. Stryde makes a huge difference!

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Pictures please

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Quote from: Purushrottam on March 10, 2019, 04:01:13 AMWow, the bone has already grown a lot in the gap. Stryde makes a huge difference!

Thank you, Puru.

Being able to weight bear really stimulates bone growth. I'm grateful that it doesn't seem that bone growing back will be an issue for me on this journey.  Thanks again and I'll keep everyone updated.

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Would be nice to see a direct comparison image how much difference in height we actually can see

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Quote from: Canon on March 10, 2019, 08:15:25 AMWould be nice to see a direct comparison image how much difference in height we actually can see

I'll see what I can create and post soon.  Thank you for following my diary! It's a journey but I can see the light as I am nearing the end of distraction phase now.

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Hello friend I was reading your diary and my best wishes for you, I hope everything goes well. I have a question out of context since I'm 169 cm but I think the size of my hands is abnormally small since they measure about 17 cm in length and my feet I wedge 8 US like 26 cm although I have a spare finger. I would like to know your American shoe size and the length of your hands because if I lengthen to 176 cm I would not want to seem disproportionate. Thank you very much and I will be with you on this trip, best wishes warrior