Diary: Stryde Femurs with Dr. Paley September 2019

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Quote from: BelowTheMean on June 27, 2021, 01:27:34 AMHey TheAlchemist! When you started dating were your scars already faded or did you have to come up with some excuse for them? My scars are still pretty dark compared to my skin and very obvious which is making me hesitate on going out on dates right now.

I started dating women again about 5 months post op - my scars were starting to fade, but still noticable, specifically my IT band scar.

Luckily none of the women I slept with commented on them. This is primarily due to me having pretty hairy legs. Advice I can offer, that might have helped me, was try to plan for sex in the evening, turng the lights off or dim the lights low, and optimize for sex positions like doggystyle where you are behind her.

If it came up, (which it never did, even with my consistent GF), my pre-prepared excuse is biking accident years ago.

Sorry if this is TMI for folks!

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Haha not TMI bro this is invaluable info and advice 

but I second that, I've had about 6-7 new partners since my surgery and not once has it been brought up. most of them don't even notice, but that's because I do the same thing Alchemist mentioned, lights dim, positions she doesn't see your scars, although I didn't have a made up explanation for the scars before but not I do thanks to Alchemist  haha

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Hey guys

I am craving alcohol again

When is it safe to start drinking again ?

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Try to wait until a few weeks after consolidation. Hang in there

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Full consolidation before removing nails

Or 6 months average mark of consolidation

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Re: Scars
Good to know. Looks like I need to start getting out there again. The pandemic isn't really an excuse anymore here. My leg hair isn't dense enough to hide the scars unfortunately. The scars for my IT band and lower screw are much darker than the others, which have faded some. I'm thinking it might be due to sunlight exposure when I'm wearing shorts indoors. Looks like I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and see what happens. I guess it might be awkward for the other person to bring them up as well.

Re: Drinking
I've had a few drinks here and there. First time was about 6 weeks after finishing lengthening. I'm not taking any painkillers and my callus has been growing on each X-ray so I don't think it should be an issue. Who knows though, maybe I'm slowing down my consolidation.

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Quote from: Ahd1978 on June 27, 2021, 04:01:49 PMFull consolidation before removing nails

Or 6 months average mark of consolidation

Purely anecdotal, can't offer any kind of medical opinion here but I had the occasional drink about 5 months post op (2 months post lengthening). I was keeping it light on alcohol as I was taking it easy on my liver after taking all the meds and pain killers through distraction plus I didnt want to risk getting too drunk to the point where I could risk falling/injuring myself.

Quote from: BelowTheMean on June 27, 2021, 08:53:01 PMRe: Scars
Good to know. Looks like I need to start getting out there again. The pandemic isn't really an excuse anymore here. My leg hair isn't dense enough to hide the scars unfortunately. The scars for my IT band and lower screw are much darker than the others, which have faded some. I'm thinking it might be due to sunlight exposure when I'm wearing shorts indoors. Looks like I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and see what happens. I guess it might be awkward for the other person to bring them up as well.

Good luck man! Who knows, if it ever does come up, some women find scars sexy....could work in your favor!

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Update: 12 days post nail removal:

Quick update- things continue to improve, but wanted to circle back on the discomfort/pain in my right hip. I finally took off the surgical wound dressing/ bandages this past weekend and observed way more dark, surgical bruising around my right hip area as compared to my left hip. This is consistent with what Dr. D had communicated to me, during the surgery he mentioned he had more difficulty removing the right rod due to excess bone consolidation around the cap of the rod, basically he had to yank the rod out of the femur with a bit more force and as a result there was more surgical trauma in removing the right rod as compared to the left.

I can definitely feel the difference, my left leg feels almost perfect, I'd say 95%, very minor, barely noticeable stiffness/wound discomfort at the surgical site.

My right hip is still at about 80%, just feels slightly bruised / sore. At a stand still it feels totally fine, only when getting up from different positions do I feel the tenderness/soreness, and even then it lasts just a few seconds. Each day gets better and I suspect at this rate I should be totally fine in a week or so.

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Thank you very much for sharing your experience here.

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3 Weeks Post Rod Removal

Hey LL Fam!

Today marks 3 weeks post rod removal. I feel amazing. Outside of very minor, barely noticeable, temporary stiffness after being in a position for too long (lasts 1 minute at most), I feel 100% fine.

Here’s the recap of my rod removal experience:

Days 0-2 -> Rough. Pain level up to a 5/10- reliant on pain meds. Not ambulatory on my own - needed support from crutches/cane to move around. Highly recommend having an aide or family watch over you.
Days 2-4 -> Exponential improvement. Can now walk independently, albeit slow with an awkward waddle. Pain level improving to a 2/10. Only Tylenol needed.
Days 5-7 -> Exponential improvement. Walk looks normal, however speed limited. Pain level barely noticeable (only when pressure is applied to surgical wounds.)
Day 7 and on -> Exponential improvement in surgery wound trama healing and strength.  Everyday you’re so much better. Right hip had slightly more bruising and couldn't sleep on sides, otherwise I felt great.
Day 14 and on -> Ongoing improvement, slight soreness/bruising in right hip gradually resolved itself through remainder of week. Able to sleep on both sides. Can walk for miles each day with a perfectly normal gait.

The fresh removal scarring is healing up nicely. Putting on aquafor daily.

I'm limiting my activity to just walking (no gym/heavy lifting, no running) until 6 to 8 weeks post removal op per the doc's guidance (still have 4 screw holes in our legs that need to fill in.)

I receommend all LLers remove their rods/hardware as soon as their doctors allow them. The benefits are real beyond any placebo effect. My legs feel lighter and my body feels more agile- I have my rods in hand and they have some weight to them. The minor discomfort I'd feel with the screws in my hips are now gone. There is a substantial improvement in mobility and agility. I honestly feel like I did pre-LL, which I couldn't say w/ 100% certainty for the past year and a half after LL. It's an awesome feeling.