Quote from: brondo on October 03, 2020, 01:48:55 PMThat seems like a problem that Dr. M doesn't have ways to accurately measure the legs. If someone decided to do less than the max length, they would need to make sure their legs are even before consolidatoin. Do you know if you're using ERC1 (the green and yellow buttons) or ERC4 (the purple one with the display)? I've learned that ERC1 is more accurate, but ERC4 has the ability to turn off if the magnets are not properly aligned.
I highly doubt that it's only Dr. M.'s office whose method of measurement from x ray is inaccurate. I would not be surprised if other Drs. also use the same method, which is looking at a picture of a device (say a ball with a certain size) in the picture and then use same length (say diameter of the ball) and then try to measure the distraction parts, etc. This method is is not accurate. Most likely the resolution is not even 0.2mm, whereas we ideally want the resolution to be 0.01mm; cause our devices do 0.33mm, which implies that we should have a resolution of 0.01mm. Does any doctor's office have a way to measuring from x ray promising 0.01mm or even 0.05mm accuracy? I doubt that!
Femurs with Dr. Shahab Mahboubian - July 2020
Quote from: StrydeNailChallenge on October 03, 2020, 04:02:03 PMI highly doubt that it's only Dr. M.'s office whose method of measurement from x ray is inaccurate. I would not be surprised if other Drs. also use the same method, which is looking at a picture of a device (say a ball with a certain size) in the picture and then use same length (say diameter of the ball) and then try to measure the distraction parts, etc. This method is is not accurate. Most likely the resolution is not even 0.2mm, whereas we ideally want the resolution to be 0.01mm; cause our devices do 0.33mm, which implies that we should have a resolution of 0.01mm. Does any doctor's office have a way to measuring from x ray promising 0.01mm or even 0.05mm accuracy? I doubt that!
That's disappointing. I wonder if any other doctor has a different method of measuring. I wanted to ask you if the ERC is set so it automatically turns off or stops if the magnets don't align properly.
Quote from: brondo on October 03, 2020, 04:09:35 PMThat's disappointing. I wonder if any other doctor has a different method of measuring. I wanted to ask you if the ERC is set so it automatically turns off or stops if the magnets don't align properly.
The answer is NO 
Unfortunately, even my ERC, which is supposed to be their cutting edge technology, does not have a two way communication with the magnet in the nail. That means, regardless of whether it is engaged with the nail magnet, it keeps counting time to one minute and measurement to 0.33 "ASSUMING" it is engaged with the magnet. This means in the worst case, you may lengthen 0, and the device would show that as 0.33mm!
Quote from: StrydeNailChallenge on October 03, 2020, 04:32:49 PMThe answer is NO
Unfortunately, even my ERC, which is supposed to be their cutting edge technology, does not have a two way communication with the magnet in the nail. That means, regardless of whether it is engaged with the nail magnet, it keeps counting time to one minute and measurement to 0.33 "ASSUMING" it is engaged with the magnet. This means in the worst case, you may lengthen 0, and the device would show that as 0.33mm!
Wow. I think there is a way to configure that, maybe you need a nuvasive rep to handle it. Anyways, I think you'll be okay since you're going for the nail limit anyway. Good luck SNC!
Quote from: brondo on October 03, 2020, 05:40:34 PMWow. I think there is a way to configure that, maybe you need a nuvasive rep to handle it. Anyways, I think you'll be okay since you're going for the nail limit anyway. Good luck SNC!
I am not concerned with my own case, cause as the doctor said, a few extra sessions, when you have already hit 8cm, would not have any negative impact. If you do a lot, it may loosen the rod, but a few should be fine.
I am just not happy with the fact that measurement based on x rays do not have a 0.01 or 0.05mm resolution/accuracy.
Quote from: StrydeNailChallenge on October 03, 2020, 06:46:39 PMI am not concerned with my own case, cause as the doctor said, a few extra sessions, when you have already hit 8cm, would not have any negative impact. If you do a lot, it may loosen the rod, but a few should be fine.
I am just not happy with the fact that measurement based on x rays do not have a 0.01 or 0.05mm resolution/accuracy.
Did the doctor say if you do a lot, it may loosen the rod? Just trying to understand how that works.
Yes, unfortunately x-rays are +/- 3mm margin of error.
I plan to do a few extra sessions once I hit 8cm as well.
Quote from: m7liam on October 04, 2020, 03:22:20 AMDid the doctor say if you do a lot, it may loosen the rod? Just trying to understand how that works.
Yes, unfortunately x-rays are +/- 3mm margin of error.
I plan to do a few extra sessions once I hit 8cm as well.
Yes, Dr. M. told me that if distraction continues beyond the 8cm max, for too many times, it may loosen the rod. I don't believe he by loosened rod meant that we get shorter! but I think he meant that a loosened rod may create issues during removal. I am not sure. I will ask again.
Quote from: brondo on September 23, 2020, 09:25:01 PMThanks for replying SNC,
I would like to hear more about your stretching routine and PT if that's okay. Do you stretch before and after distraction?
Hi brondo bro,
I just realized I never responded to this. I am sorry about that.
I do stretching before and after each distraction. The time gap between my distraction and stretching could be as short as a few minutes, or as long as an hour or so.
I will post a list of my stretching exercises here soon.
Quote from: StrydeNailChallenge on October 07, 2020, 04:34:21 PMHi brondo bro,
I just realized I never responded to this. I am sorry about that.
I do stretching before and after each distraction. The time gap between my distraction and stretching could be as short as a few minutes, or as long as an hour or so.
I will post a list of my stretching exercises here soon.
Looking forward to it SNC. Thanks!
Day 73 (Sat., Oct. 3) - 70.1 mm Taller
Today is day 64 since I started distraction. My distraction days included 19 days of 1.33mm daily growth and the remaining 45 days of 0.99 mm daily growth. I have 10 more days to reach the maximum of 8cm.
The recent 14 days of 1.33mm daily growth, had a dramatic impact on my quad flexibility. I have a hard time improving my quads (especially the left one) in terms of bending knees. There is a chance I could have a long way to being normal; but I hope after the distraction phase is over, I can push myself into making a fast recovery.
Another very big problem I faced was that since the early days of post-op, I noticed I was losing my ass muscles!! I had an athletic body, and now my body still looks athletic with the exception of my ass which looks rather flat. I look terrible from side and back, cause my ass is gone 
I have started doing some stretching exercises to rebuild my ass muscles, but that also seems like a slow process to full recovery.
I take two 300mg Gabapentin pills per days. I don't think I have any nerve pain these days, with the exception of my left tibia which started to develop nerve related numbness during the 14 days of 1.33mm daily distractions. It seems Gabapentin cannot take care of it. But it's not that bad and I hope after the distraction phase is over, I gradually get rid of the tibia numbness.
I eat well, but I somehow have lost weight since the surgery. Unfortunately since my body fat before surgery was very minimal, I must have lost a lot of muscle. Regaining back my weight, would therefore mean rebuilding the lost muscles, which most likely would take months if not longer!
I also take two 50mg Tramadol pill per day to manage the pain. In addition I use hot bathtubs multiple times per day, especially when pain and discomfort seem hard to manage.
I continue to do at least 6 sets of PT exercises per day, typically one sometime before one of the three daily 0.33 distractions and one after.
In addition to walking daily for my normal daily activities, I do a 0.5 mile daily walk focusing on walking as normal as possible. My estimate of overall daily walks overall range from 1 to 2 miles.
Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions for me.
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