Dr. Giotikas - external tibia/Stryde - Diary 2018/2019

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Great video Great321. What is your ethnicity if it's allowed to ask?

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Quote from: limewalk on October 05, 2019, 01:56:31 PMGreat video Great321. What is your ethnicity if it's allowed to ask?

Thanks! I was born in Central/South Asia.

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My nerve pain in my left foot is gone. It was already getting less before I took the first Lyrica pill yesterday morning.

The only problem left so far:  certain muscle pains in my feet when I walk for a "longer" time

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I walked for about 21 minutes with the crutches right now. I'm planning to walk as much as possible with an hour rest inbetween.

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My nerve pain is not gone. It feels quite painful in the morning or after a long rest and  it feels like permanent but as soon as I push myself and walk through the pain it disappears for a long time (until night).

Today I was playing a board game, I was sitting at the table for several hours, sometimes I stood up but still both of my knees are now hurting. I assume that by tomorrow it'll be fine again.

I had my first PT session on tuesday. The young womand talked most of the time and asked me questions, examined my legs a bit, told me to push my knees against the surface on which I lie on (the bed for example). She said I can buy myself a fasciae ball and roll my foot on top of it, forward and backward.

Let's see how the next session will be. I will also ask to have sessions with another person (who might be more experienced).

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woke up, knee pain is gone again

almost no nerve pain on the surface of my left foot

I know for sure that it's coming from the stitches above the ankle because my PT accidentally touched it and the pain I usually feel was the exact same

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I got only three appointments per week as thre PT said that the muscles need rest while my former PT said that that's not necessary in my case and that I have to do as much as possible everyday. The former PT had 10 years of experience in PT while my new one looks quite young. Next week I will get to know two other PTs, one of them is the boss.
Let's see what they say and do.

Now I don't use the wheelchair anymore to get out of the house. I use the front stairs of the house which has only a railing on one side. But depending on how high the steps are I need one or two railings.

Getting out and into the car is very easy now.
With the frames on getting out of the house was always an obstacle.

Nevertheless I sometimes still have muscle pain in my left foot while walking which means that I can't walk much more than 21-30 minutes before I need a rest.

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Quote from: Great321 on October 11, 2019, 12:25:07 PMI got only three appointments per week as thre PT said that the muscles need rest while my former PT said that that's not necessary in my case and that I have to do as much as possible everyday. The former PT had 10 years of experience in PT while my new one looks quite young. Next week I will get to know two other PTs, one of them is the boss.
Let's see what they say and do.

Now I don't use the wheelchair anymore to get out of the house. I use the front stairs of the house which has only a railing on one side. But depending on how high the steps are I need one or two railings.

Getting out and into the car is very easy now.
With the frames on getting out of the house was always an obstacle.

Nevertheless I sometimes still have muscle pain in my left foot while walking which means that I can't walk much more than 21-30 minutes before I need a rest.

Hey, thanks for making this diary, Great!

1. With Dr. Giotikas's new prices, how much would you budget for the entire thing (including accomodation, etc) for internal femurs 8 cm with Stryde?

1.5. How much would you budget in total for everything (including apartment,etc) if you were doing 7 cm internal tibias with Stryde?

2. How is the English of
a. the doctor
b. the hospital staff
c. your caretaker?

3. What are the most unexpected costs / problems you've bumped into from this experience?

4. Did he require a psychological evaluation? How did that go?

5. What apartment/place to stay would you recommend?

6. Do you feel safe in Athens?

Thanks!

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Quote from: Great321 on October 05, 2019, 12:15:13 PMNew Video

This is me walking unaided: (I hold the crutches for safety reasons)

https://i.imgur.com/uLSMEUl.mp4

As Dr. Giotikas advised me to walk with crutches, I use them for moving around the house. After about 7 minutes certain feet muscles hurt/are tired so I have to rest again. I guess that's because my leg muscles aren't trained much yet. I'm sure it'll get better.



I took this picture maybe a day after the surgery:

https://i.imgur.com/y9q4m1H.jpg

This is how my bed looks like and the reason why I sleep well:

https://i.imgur.com/3XgC3k9.jpg

If needed I use this kind of pillow to rest my knee on:

https://i.imgur.com/3X7ocNe.jpg


Also: I rarely take painkillers. I might take some before PT which starts next week. I only got 2 appointments for the start. They first want to see me.

6. Also, will he do internal tibias with stryde?

7. What are his length limits for each segment?

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Since last week I can get out of the house completely on my own and drive the car . I use the crutches. But I can walk stairs without crutches as long as there is at least one railing. I stopped taking Lyrica a while ago. I stopped taking pain killers a while ago as well. My muscle pain especially in my left leg is mostly gone when I use "Birkenstock" sandals. But I want to switch to shoes which I can't currently as other flat sandals or shoes cause the pain again.

Because the first orthopedist didn't want to prescribe me any insoles for my shoes (she wasn't even examining me, she didn't take me seriously), I went to my family doctor again and he saw that I have something called "splayfoot" and I had that even before LL, he told me that that can cause pain. So soon I will go to another orthopedist who will most likely prescribe me what the family doctor recommended.

I have 3 PT sesssions per week. I asked for more sessions but they said that 1. we shouldn't exaggerate and 2. that they show me the exercises which I can then do on my own as well. While the PT sessions in Athens lasted like an hour, they only last 20 short minutes here in Germany. Without the frames on many more exercises are possible so I have gotten 12 examples of what to do so far. For the calves, thighs, gluteus muscle, hip, abs.


PT examples:

This is what my PT wrote and draw. It's an example for one day. On other days I'm supposed to train other muscles.

--> https://i.imgur.com/3kXj3Gl.jpg
--> https://i.imgur.com/RUgBx6N.jpg

calves: You stand. You go up on your toes. You go down again. Up again.. 15 repetitions. 3 sets. You can do it on books, so that the Achilles Tendons are getting stretched, too.

thighs:
1. You stand in front of a chair or similar and hold your hands on the grips of the crutches or sth else, upper body is leaned forward while going slowly down into the sitting position. Then you stand up again. If you are a stronger you go down but don't sit, just remain above the seat for 1-2 seconds. 

The ball he draw is an exercise ball. On the first drawing it shows that you have to push the ball with your heel until your leg is fully stretched, you slowly go back again and stretch your leg again. On the second drawing you push your forward section of the foot against the ball as much as possible and back again. It's an exercise for the calves. The exercise ball can be replaced with a Thera-Band which ends you hold with your hands.

Next time I see him I will ask for another draft for the other exercises.


@CodyTheDog: I will reply soon (today)!