Is this surgery really excruciatingly painful?

Hello lads,
So probably one of the most debated topics here is how painful this procedure is. Pain is of course going to vary from individual, but at the end of the day if all other factors are equal (Dr skill, meds, etc) there should at least be some agreement on how much pain one can expect from this procedure.

Now first, I think everyone can agree that externals are more painful, especially on femurs. You gotta really hate yourself to do LON on your femurs.

I have a few friends who work in emergency medicine and they all say that there's no way a controlled breakage of the bone by a Dr. is going to cause excruciating pain (but it will still of course hurt), and not nearly as much pain as breaking a bone due to a car accident, and even so, once you get a   ton of pain meds the pain becomes manageable after a while. What they did say though was PT and having to sit in bed for weeks is going to suck.

Anyways, to those who did internal nails with a reputable Dr, was this procedure more or less painful than you expected? Was it really painful to the point to where you were passing out as some users on the forum have suggested or was it more moderate and annoying? And how long was everyone on opioids for.

No, at least not LON tibias.  More like consistently uncomfortable.

Quote from: Medium Drink Of Water on February 15, 2023, 12:28:52 AMNo, at least not LON tibias.  More like consistently uncomfortable.

What was the worst pain you felt throughout your lengthening procedure? Im afraid of consistent intense pain for the entire lengthening phase, that would be unbearable and horrifying.

Quote from: Medium Drink Of Water on February 15, 2023, 12:28:52 AMNo, at least not LON tibias.  More like consistently uncomfortable.

For me LON Tibias was excruciatingly painful. I did monorails and it ranged from 4/10 to 8/10 everyday.

If you already care about pain than my honest advice would be to let it go! You need to do this with fully convinced and motivated to do that what will be necesseray for a successfull lengthening. There are so many people who have already did this surgery and nobody died due to the pain....

Shift you focus on a proper preparation and how you will get your mind ready for this journey. This would be much more worth that discussing about how painfull the surgery might get. As you also said, at the end pain is a very individual topic.

One little golden effect is when you first wake up from surgery and for weeks after you cant even clench your butt cheeks together because your muscles are so stiff and swollen.  That was fun.

As other have mentioned, its more constant discomfort than it is high levels of pain.  But there are some painful times in the beginning.

Quote from: LengtheningDream on February 15, 2023, 11:00:34 AMWhat was the worst pain you felt throughout your lengthening procedure? Im afraid of consistent intense pain for the entire lengthening phase, that would be unbearable and horrifying.

Just lying still didn't hurt much.

The worst pain was in my feet when I stood for the first time after the leg break + nail installation + frame installation surgery.  After maybe 10-14 days of lying in bed recovering from that they told me to get back on my feet.  It felt like I was stepping on spikes.

In day 9 post-surgery (Precise 2.2), here are my thoughts on pain.

Yes, it is absolutely painful to the point of excruciating. I passed out from the pain once in the hospital. I know others who have. The first week is absolute hell in terms of pain. I have been severely injured before, with high levels of pain. Nothing like this. The second and third day after surgery are the worst, when the anesthesia and/or nerve block wear off. There aren't enough opioids in the world that second day for you to not feel pain, the best you can hope for is a pain level that's tolerable enough so you can make it through.

No Dr. worth their salt will lie to you about this. Every Dr. I consulted with said there would be a lot of pain at the beginning. They also said the pain can be managed. I am also finding this to be true. Thus far, during the second week, the pain hovers at about 4-6 for me, with some exceptions, and it can be managed with prescription meds, the proper amount of rest, PT to strengthen muscles and regain motion, etc.

Sleep is your absolute best friend for pain, and everything else during this procedure. I'm cutting my days in half, napping during the day, trying to get 10 hours of sleep at night, etc. When it works, I get a natural 2 digit drop in pain the next day.

Thus far, I have found this video by cyborg4life to be a dead to rights accurate representation of my own experience with pain. I hope you find it useful.

.

Yeah, it's painful.  But so was the height dysphoria that occupied my mind on a daily basis.  So...I said, it's gonna have to be one or the other and I went for it.  You should too if you are thinking about it.