First, let me start by saying thank you to the admin for approving my join request immediately.
I requested to join the old forum almost a week ago and still haven't been approved, but seems this one is newer/better so I guess it worked out.
Ok so as the title implies, I am a female, 5' 1/2" short. I am in my mid 30s and initially researched LL years ago, but seemed at the time it was only available to people with dwarfism and the height limit for females was 4'11"
Anyhow, I have been thinking about it a lot lately, and wanting to gain 3 inches in my tibiae, but after reading about some of the permanent complications or damage that can result I am hesitant. I want to be taller, yes, but I don't want to be disabled in some other way!
So I guess I am wondering now if I should just forget about the whole thing or just try to save for a certain Doctor (like Paley) if that will mitigate long term issues like arthritis or nerve damage
Please note, I cannot wear high or even medium heeled shoes to increase height, as they leave me in pain after and the next day or days, so I usually have to wear comfortable shoes and I can only even do flats for a few hours (and that's with cushioned inserts). So wearing heeled shoes is not an option for me to get height.
I'm really sick of being the size of the average 10 year old (I should mention, I live in the US) and have dreamed of being taller my whole life :/ I don't feel like a short person and it's not until I see pictures or a reflection of myself standing next to other people that I get upset because what I see doesn't reflect who I feel I am inside
Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated
Thanks
Phew, well I was worried that I'd get similar replies here that I've gotten from the family and friends I've shared this desire with- they all think I am crazy, that my height is fine especially for a female, and since I am thin and have good proportions (though I wouldn't mind having longer legs, myself) that to undergo such an extreme operation and so much expense is ridiculous.
Part of me does question if I'm nuts for wanting this and wish it wasn't the case, but it's not about what other people think (as my height doesn't seem to prevent me from attracting men or much else socially) it's about how I see myself, what I want.
Anyhow, I have been researching all the doctors, and I feel like the other really good ones who do internals (I already know having external frames on my legs would make it impossible for me to sleep) would come out to nearly the same expense (given USD And Euro exchange rates)
3 inches would be ideal but if I can get 2.5 that would still be fine, as I'd be perfectly happy being 5'3" which is my target height (the extra half inch I desire is because I know I'm going to shrink due to age in another 15 years)
Is it worth the risks of nerve damage, arthritis or other serious long term damage though? That is my biggest fear. Especially that 50% of tibial lengthening patients have permanent knee pain.
I will do a mock up but I lean toward tibiae as I think longer lower legs look better aesthetically than long femurs. Also, I have really thin thighs but have always wanted thinner lower legs (I wouldn't call them big, but they're not skinny either) so I know it's the way I would want to go
Then there's the issue of raising the funds...
Bodybuilder, I understand where you are coming from, but I have a high tolerance for pain in cases of surgery- and if it's something I really want, I'm willing to endure it (I also respond well to prescription pain killers). It's not that the pain from wearing heels is unbearable, but it does make me more worn out if I have to work or be productive the next day. Whereas with LL I would not be working during the time it's occurring and it's of limited duration (whereas wearing heels I would have to do for my entire adult life).
I'm not doing this to be more attractive to men, cause as you noted they don't seem to mind a woman being short, and even if they did I still wouldn't do it for them cause it should be about only what you want for yourself, not for the sake of other people's opinions. It's more a case of wanting to align how I see myself on the inside to what I see outside. I don't feel like a tiny person or a child, but I'm the size of one. Yes I am lucky that I am slim, and relatively good looking (or at least that's what I've been told) but I don't like being so small regardless of what other people think of me...
Also, I'm not familiar with the notation of 5.1,5 so just wanted to clarify that I am 5ft plus half an inch (this is mid-day, I'm about an inch taller first thing in the morning but I don't consider that my real height as it doesn't last)
Quote from: onemorefoot on February 26, 2017, 12:03:03 AMNerve damage? If your surgeon knows waht he is doing this is not a problem; about arthritis, there are not enough studies. The reaction of your family is becuase they dont know anything about it, they think this is an experiment, when it has been done for over 50 years. I wrote that I would recommend this surgery for you, because you are below average and I see that you have clear what you are getting into.About external fixators, they are a big problem for sleeping, you can cut time using nails in the tibias but there is a risk of knee pain, but if the surgeon is experienced it could be avoided in some way.
Yes, I saw on another thread that nerve damage is a long term risk, also paralysis of toe(s) and other things I haven't mentioned but which scare the crap out of me. Will see if I can find it and provide the link...
Quote from: bander72 on February 26, 2017, 07:49:37 AMImagine if you were male with that height. Honestly I would not recommend doing it if you're female especially since you're not abnormally short like 4 11 and below. You should look into solving what could be giving you pain and then wear heelsl.
I still have to take heels of at some point and deal with the sinking feeling of being shorter when I do though. I may not be 4'11" but I'm not far from it! And by the time I am 60 or 65 that will be my height, anyway. I know it's not as big a deal to be short for a female, I get that, but it's not about what society thinks, just how I feel...
Quote from: cole slaws on February 26, 2017, 11:30:07 AMLady dont let anyone sway your opinion. Even if they say youre just fine for a girl, what matters in the end is how you feel about yourself. If if gives you so much stress to be 5 ft tall then go for it. That said I reccomend internal femur with parihar or external tibia.
Theres a chance your bones are too thin for the weight bearing precice nail and youll be stuck in a wheelchair. Internal is also way more expensive than external; just check my signature out, prices are in singaoore dollars though.
I would do externals if I thought I could sleep with the frames. But I know I won't be able to. And the scars are worse with external, I thought? I wish there was someone inexpensive that did internal tibiae
Will he be doing internals for tibiae, or only femurs? I should mention too, that my right leg is an inch longer than my left- not something noticeable to a layperson, but as a result my pelvis is tilted (visible on X-ray) and it may be the reason I developed scoliosis as well. It's the left tibia that's shorter than the right, so for that reason too, it's probably better to lengthen the tibiae than femurs
Quote from: onemorefoot on February 26, 2017, 05:00:40 PMThe new Mitkovic internal nails will go out in one year, however he wrote that his device is less accurate than Precice, also is very similar to plate fixation. The minimum signal of failure should be a great concern. I read somewhere that precice nails can be used in heights of 160+, but I can be wrong, it could be adapted.You wrote that you cant sleep with those things, there is another option: a monolateral frame plus a nail, that is a lot more comfortable than conventional circular frames, also the chances of misalignments are not big because of the nail inside your bone; Muharrem Inan and Pili offer this.
Can monorails be done for tibiae?
Quote from: goldenegg link=
If thinner lower legs is important to you, then I'm not sure tibia LL is the way to go. In some of the tibia LL diaries I've read they mention that their calves exploded in size after recovery. I think sweden who did tibs mentioned his calves are as big as his thighs now. I don't know if that always happens though and I think they were all men. might be a good question for a doctor who's done a decent amount of tibia LL like paley to see if that happens to his female patients too
Oh wow, thanks for pointing that out. I guess if that's the case, femurs might be better. I do have a length discrepancy between my tibiae though, so I wonder if I would need to do tibiae to correct this or femurs could do it?
Determining who is a good doctor seems to be tricky- it's universally agreed that Paley is good, but there seems to be some disagreement over most of the others. Who do you consider the best?
Ok thank you. I'm still concerned about the monorail for the scars. But it is cheaper than internals.
You must be logged in to post a reply.