Have my surgery scheduled for next week!
Got a lot info from this forum and I want to share my experience. Will update here.
Some stats
age: late 20s
gender: M
current height: 5'6''
Welcome any preparation advice for the coming journey.
Quote from: Tartar on September 16, 2020, 10:15:45 PMThey'll think about everything for you! Have you planned to stay at the institute for all the distraction phase? (I've heard they prefer so)
Yes I'm now at one of their recommended extended stays (Homewood Suites by Hilton) and plan to stay here till the end of the distraction phase.
Quote from: Body Builder on September 16, 2020, 10:50:11 PMJust have a good mentality and a strong will to go till the end and always remember that you will be a completely another person to society after geting 6-7 cm taller at what you are right now, first of all becsuse LL will make you much stronger mentally and second because becoming average from short is really lifechanging and things get easier by far.
Keep.strong.
Thanks for the encouraging words
Quote from: AllinStryde on September 17, 2020, 06:48:51 PMHey Stryde2020, best of luck. You got this. I did the exact same thing you are getting ready to do. I did my femurs at Paley Institute. Rest assured, you are at the best place in the world for this procedure. A couple quick tips. The hotel right next door has a hot-tub (you're welcome...you can sneak over there and use it, nobody cares) but wait a few weeks for your wounds to heal up. Have the PT's wrap your walker handles with padding. Make sure you get sessions for PT with Mike Thompson, he pushes you hard, but you'll get maximum gains if you get him. He is the one Paley assigns to people if they are starting to have any troubleshooting or are falling behind in any capacity. Stretch at home frequently!! When in the hospital, if they ask if you have pain...say yes to the drugs! St. Mary's hospital food is great. You're going to meet a lot of nice fellow LL'ers in the lobby at Hilton, so don't be shy. Get used to sleeping on your back for a few weeks, or losing many hours of sleep altogether. Bring a Firestick with you if you want to watch all your streaming and such. Eat tons of protein, as you are stretching and ripping all the soft tissues and muscle tissue, so you must replenish. You will lose tons of weight without even trying. Ration your Oxy pills, as they will not prescribe any more other than the initial amount you get. Your glutes will feel like jelly and be sore from the IT-band release, don't panic, all this goes away during the process. A few days or weeks in you may ask, "what on earth did I get myself into?" Just keep going and you will soon realize this was an awesome decision and you will be so proud of yourself. Don't hesitate to talk to Angelique, she's awesome and will be your nurse-navigator through the whole process. If they have the International Thanksgiving event...go to that at the Institute (although they may not have it this year because of covid). Keep us updated!!!! I know this is all scattered, guess I'm just excited for people when they decide to commit and go for it, rather than some people on here who talk about it for years and just let time escape. C-Ya!
Hi AllinStryde, hope you are doing well and thank you soooo much for the tips!!
I'm very excited and also nervous for the upcoming surgery.
Besides the pain from the surgery, I'm pretty curious about the scars. Are they very noticeable and do they fade away over the years?
Quote from: Tartar on September 17, 2020, 10:32:20 PMYou should find 4 little scars at the hip level (lateral, made to inser the nail and screws), 2 little scars slightly lower on the surface of the thigh (front and lateral, made for the IT band release) and the last 2 in the middle height of the thigh (for the other screws)
So 8 incisions in total? Is it for both legs or each leg has 8 incisions? I should have asked this question during my consultation.
Quote from: Tartar on September 17, 2020, 11:35:21 PMYes 8 in every leg...for the band release maybe you could find even just one. Anyway there’s no problem, surely in the Paley institute they are very skilled and as less invasive as possible. Scars are the smallest problem in my opinion.
Yeah. I think maybe they can be improved by laser treatment later.
Finished my surgery today and feeling good!
I arrived around 6 am in the morning. Some paper work. They gave me some pain meds and setup IV. Talked with anesthesiologist. Then they shaved my legs and being me to the operation room.
The next thing I know is waking up in the recovery room. I remember I talked with Dr Paley and Angelique briefly and then got transferred to my private room.
Slept a lot today and I just finished my dinner. Food is okay.
Pain is around 2-3 now. the nurse asked me to let her know if I start to feel more pain and she can give me different/more pain meds.
I got discharged today.
The hospital experience was great. To my surprise, the pain was very manageable.
On surgery day, I still had some numbness due to the anaesthesia.
On day 2, I took one 5 mg oxycodone before PT.
On day 3, I took two tylenol before PT.
On day 4, I did not use any pain meds.
And I did not use any IV pain meds after surgery. The pain's around 0-1 if I do not move, increased to 2-3 while walking.
Now I still feel my legs are very weak, sometimes sore and stiff. Hopefully they're getting better everyday.
Quote from: brondo on September 27, 2020, 06:44:50 AMThat's great that you got discharged without complications. Are you staying with a caretaker or someone you know?
Yes I hired a caregiver
I chose the one recommended by Paley Institute. You just need to talk to the coordinator, she handles the assignment of caregiver. I have 3 rotates. If for some reason you do not like one of your caregivers, just let the coordinate know.
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