It is midnight. My surgery is 8 hours; ironically, the surgery is on my 28th Birthday, I am excited just to get this surgery over with, so I can start my life again. Looking forward to chilling out as well, I have been liking my experience in India thus far. The people are cool, but annoying at times. The girls really like white guys, so I have been taking full advantage of that since I got here. First thing I did was to get on Tinder, and find myself a gf who can help me, and to have someone to chat. and so I don't get crazy blue balls. I was successful and manage to form 2 relationships, and I am working on a few others. Actually pay for Tinder don't just do the free version. You get way way better results. Also, going on dates, can be some what expensive....... If you make Rupees, lol but if you make dollars, your dating bill just went way down. I could easily spend $150 usd on dinner and drinks in US (silicon valley is crazy expensive). Here its like 50.00 dollars.
The first month I was here, I was just going out, and trying to meet people. As well as look for places that can accomodate me while being in a wheel chair. Luckily I found Phoenix off the forum, and have been staying with him, and I am basically just following his exact path, since all the leg work of doing research was done for me. The only difference for me is that I am doing LON, and he went with straight externals with TSF. Basically, I didn't want to be in frames for that long. TSF is full weight bearing LON is not (WITH THE DOCTOR I AM USING SOME DOCTORS SAY OTHERWISE). But I can still cuddle with chicks, once in consolidation, so take that TSF, something you can never beat!!! Joking aside that was the distinguishing factor for me.
A little advice for Americans, don't over pack, don't over think it, the surgery is less expensive than you think, have a list of questions prepared for the doctors you visit. The doctors here have so many patients, that you have to get them to talk, and pin them down with questions. American doctors simply don't have as much patients, so we are used to getting swaddled, and comforted. Get over that quick. If you want cheaper housing than a hotel, that is very easy to find. A hotel will be about 1500 to 2000 rupees per night, a place off airbnb is like half that if you are staying monthly, which you will be, and plus you get to chill with people every day. And finding a place off Facebook by joining groups, such as south delhi flat and flatmates, or Just Talk, or South Delhi Flatmates and flats are even half of airbnb. Trust me I know, Phoenix and I are living in an airbnb with a lift, a gym, a maid, a cook, and ironically the place we stay at is owned by a doctor, so you don't even have to go back to the hospital if you need a prescription refill because he will just fill it for you. No its not like in the states where the hospital emails the prescription to a specific pharmacy. You actually have to physically get it in hand and take it to the pharmacy. Having the doctor as a land lord just passes a trip to the hospital. Plus, comforting for me at least so I can have him take a look if my leg gets infected. Don't worry so much about finding a place close to the hospital. It really doesn't matter. You will only be going to the hospital once ever two weeks, so the 2 Uber rides a month isn't worth busting your balls trying to find the perfect place right next to the hospital. I don't even plan on going to the hospital much once I am done growing because I hate waiting in lines. I am just going to go to an x-ray place right down the street from the place I am staying, and just email the doctor the x-ray's. Phoenix didn't even go see the doctor for 2 1/2 months during consolidation. Don't even think about getting any phone service besides airtel, and or vodofone. Trust me I made the mistake and went with Reliance. Huge mistake. Also, consider getting a mobile hot spot as well. Their like 20 usd, but if you want to travel around a bit with your lap top, they are handy. It is not like in the states where every where has free wifi. Plus, the hospital I am staying at does not have wifi, and I plan on working mobility so I will need it for that. Also, if you don't negotiate everything you are just a foreign sucker. Look at India as a giant negotiation table. EVERYTHING is negotiable. I went to the dentist, and got my teeth cleaned and two cavities filled. He said 4000 inr and I said 3000, but only had 2750, he said ok, and I ended up saving 1250 inr just like that. Trying doing that with your dentist in the States. I used that money to go get and hour message, and a steam bath. haha
I word vomited this whole post, so forgive gramatical errors. I did in fact spell gramatical wrong on purpose just for a little humor.
Limb Lengthening on my 28th Birthday with Manish Dhawan in Delhi
Telwar and the Dr. from India Spinal Surgeries. Dr. Dhawan was more of a sure thing since I knew Phoenix was using him, and what really sold me on him is that Phoenix would complain that Dr. Dhawan was going to call him today, and how he trys to avoid him because Dhawan is always riding him telling him he needs to his exercises, telling him to walk, and lecturing him. I thought this was funny and ironic and showed me that he is atleast easy to get a hold of post surgery, and showed he follows up with patients post surgery.
Quote from: KiloKAHN on February 22, 2016, 01:09:43 AMIt's funny you're doing the surgery on your birthday. I had mine the day after surgery. At least I had a cake while stuck on a hospital bed lol.
I suppose Phoenix is doing well considering you chose the same doctor. What other docs did you consult with while in Delhi?
Good luck with your surgery and lengthening process.
I spoke with Dr. Talwar who just pawned me off to another Dr. which I didn't find all that cool. And I met with the guy from India spinal center, but he doesn't specialize in cosmetic LL, he does deformity correction. I am paraphrasing his words.
Quote from: Peaceout on February 22, 2016, 12:12:42 PMgood luck,what is your initial height?
5'6inches. I am hoping to do 2.9 inches
Quote from: KiloKAHN on February 24, 2016, 08:54:42 PMWhen I went to Rockland, Dr Talwar wasn't there that day and the rep I had been in contact with had me speak to Dr Rajesh Verma. The way it's apparently set up there is that Dr Talwar is the orthopedics supervisor and he will be present during the surgery, but the main ones performing the lengthening, at least at the time I had the consultation, would primarily be Dr Verma (a spine surgeon) and Dr Gurdeep Singh Ratra (leg reconstruction being his primary focus according to his old website). Was either of the two the one Dr Talwar referred you to?
I believe Dr Raina is the main surgeon at ISIC. The clinic looks nice from the outside. What was the interior like and your overall impression of the doctor?
Going to a surgeon with years of reconstruction work under his belt is probably a safer bet than going to a surgeon who's doing cosmetic lengthenings more often than not, primarily because the reconstructive leg lengthening specialist will have encountered far more complications in his practice and have better experience in preventing or correcting them than a surgeon who mainly does cosmetic work. I know Dr Dhawan has done some cosmetic lengthenings before, but from what I saw his primary focus is on treating deformities and discrepancies as well.
How did your surgery go? And what did Dr Dhawan say when you told him you want to do 2.9 inches of lengthening with LON? When I consulted with him he told me that he'd be comfortable doing a max of 5 cm with LON but would be okay with letting me go 7 cm with hexapod externals.
Everything you said about Talwar seemed correct from what I heard after my consultation, and from what I experienced. Talwar seemed salesy and I get so frustrated by doctors who try to sell me. Don't sell me ,Tell me. Dr. Raina didn't try to sell me at all he was pretty honest which I liked. He said that Cosmetic is not his passion. I asked him what the differences are between Lon or monorail. He said that he doesn't do research, and then asked me what I have read. I understand that doctors in the states are different from doctors in India. Drs. don't have nearly as many patients so have more free time to do research. Doctors in India are so busy with patients that they simply don't have as much free time in a day. But that turned me off towards him. And the fact that he didn't even know how much the surgery does, which was frightening to me because that showed me that he doesn't have a lot of experience because if you don't have rough estimates off the top of your head then you don't do the surgery much.
Surgery went off with out a hitch. No problems much to speak of. Day 3 was the first day I got swelling and that is only because I walked today. Dr. Dhawan said that is right around the max, but that we can go more if my body responds well. And that is the approach I am taking. I am just focusing on doing things right, and what ever my body gives me, then I will be happy with it. Before I moved to India I felt short living in the US but after moving here I realized that I am not that short after all when compared to the rest of the world. I plan on living in India for a few years now, so I am not going to damage my body for 9 to 10 cm because I will be 5'8" and that is just fine for India.
In the next six Journal update, I will try to provide the best advice I can give to prospective limb lengthening patients. Most of the advice is not related to any Doctors, so please try not to ask me advice about doctors. I used Dr. Dhawan, but it doesn't really matter what I have to say about a doctor or not or about a specific type of limb lengthening method because I assure you I am unqualified to give any kind of advanced or scholarly researched advice on best doctors or best methodologies. What I can offer is advice from my personal experience. These posts are aimed to offer advice in a logical order that follows my time line on my limb lengthening journey thus far, as well as be peppered with personal stories, where I have learned the hard way, or found the easy way before the hard way. I only want to help people, so in your replies, I would appreciate non-critical, polite, and non political responses. Thank you, and if you have any more questions please feel free to message me.
The most crucial thing for me was meeting up with Phoenix from the forum once I got here. I do not speak Hindi, so that has been a tremendous help having a person help me when needing it, which was a bunch. Phoenix also spent 5 years, in the US, so that has helped to understand one another. When my cell phone would run out of minutes, and I was out partying, he would just call and have it refilled. When I needed a uber or Ola cab driver, he would literally talk to the Taxi driver, to give him directions, every time I took a ride. When I would want to negotiate the price of weed from a tuk tuk driver, I simply called Phoenix, and he talked the driver down from 1000 INR to 600 INR. I have a lot of advice I would like a share, but for me the most crucial was finding someone off the forum, who is doing the surgery in the same city, meeting up with them, and using their research and living experiences to guide your actions is key. NOT NECESSARILY the same doctor either.
If you can not find someone, from the forum, in the city in which you want to lengthen in. Get on couchsurfing.com, create a profile and ask people to host you in the same city the doctor is in before you go to the country. You can travel cheap this way, and people will bend over back wards to help you out, and will greatly enhance your travel experience vs. staying in a Hotel room by yourself. And sometimes, the people hosting you, will also help to guide you in longer term living situation. Ask your couch surfing hosts, if they are apart of any Facebook groups that has housing for expats, because not every country has, roomster, or craiglist to find roomies. Staying in a hotel is boring, depressing, and expensive. Reaching out to people on couch surfing before hand will be a good thing for your quality of life. Who says limb lengthening had to be boring...
I said this a little bit in my first journal entry, so I won't touch on it much here. This is more useful to those that want to do consolidation in India or whatever country they choose to lengthen. Getting on Tinder Plus was crucial for me, not only as a way to meet women, but also as a way to meet people. My Tinder dates would bring me to parties (3 parties in total initially), and/or invite me to go to the clubs (2 times) Once at the party or the club, I immediately start talking and being friendly to other girls, and guys. This had two effects, it broadened my networks of people, of women and men, and showed the Tinder dates, that I know how to talk to people. Grab Facebooks while there! I planned on doing LON, so I won't be stuck in frames for a year, once I am out of frames and done growing I plan on being social again, so these friendships I am forming will be beneficial for me long term, during consolidation. Also, you don't need to stress about getting the surgery done right away, if you can afford the time, go have fun, and get the most out of your $1000 one way plane ticket lol Cost of living is cheap, so go live it up. I spent 1000 usd just on entertainment the first month, and that 1000 went a lot farther than it ever would have in the US.
Pollution is terrible in Delhi, you don't want a weaken immune system before a surgery like this, when you can easily do something about it. Seriously, buy an air purifier off amazon.in once you get more settled (I can send you the model number, it is good and works good) as well has 3M protective masks for riding in taxi, Ubers, and Tuk Tuks. At the very least buy those protective masks. You can get 20 disposable masks for 8.00usd on amazon.in Pack one in your carry on if you plan on coming to Delhi. I don't advocate packing much before you come, except the 3M pollution mask.
I won't advocate for any specific doctors, but I will advocate for where to Lengthen and do consolidation. Phoenix, from the forum, and I have found an awesome house to lengthen and consolidate in. My goal is to get this place as a common lengthening spot of CLL patients for different doctors around Delhi. I consulted with different doctors in Delhi; now I am reaching out to them, and explaining the benefits of lengthening where I am staying, and giving them my land lord's information to them. The reason is so foreigners will have a cheap, fully serviced apartment, with a lift, to do Limb Lengthening in, as well as meet fellow limb lengthening patients, and share the experience of limb lengthening together. If you ever plan on coming to Delhi to Lengthen, just let me know, and I will put you in contact with the land lord even if it is more than 5 or more years from the day of this post.
The benefits for Limb Lengthening patients living here:
1) The landlord of the apartment complex, ironically for LL patients, is a doctor and lives on the ground floor.
The benefits of him being a doctor is that if you need a prescription filled he can fill them, and don't even need to go to the pharmacy, they just get delivered to your door. When you need your pin sites cleaned, and new bandages put on he can do that, because the apartment complex is also conveniently a family medicine hospital. So he has a nurse, and physio therapists who can do that kind of stuff. As well as having the ability to order medical equipment. I asked him to order me a piece of equipment that would make keeping my legs straight, and elevated at night more comfortable.
2) The land lord rents out individual rooms, and has 3 floors with 4 rooms per flat, so that is 12 people, which are mostly foreigners and travelers, so I am literally meeting people from all over their world. And definitely having a way better experience than if I was stuck in an expensive hotel room all by myself for the entire limb lengthening process. 8 people from south Korea just moved in to the Flat below mine, (5 of which are girls... WOOHOO) lol My current room mate is a doctor from Spain, and an economist from Australia. And a really tall girl from some country next to Russia that I can never pronounce, and that no one has ever heard of, so it would be pointless even saying it here haha.
3) When I need x-ray's done the apartment complex is conveniently located less than 1KM away, from a place that does x-rays, so I don't even have to go see the doctor at the hospital much during consolidation . I can just send him x-rays, and if he needs to see me after he sees the x-rays then I will go to the hospital. During my lengthening phase, however, I will probably go every time he wants to see me. Phoenix didn't even go see his doctor for 2 ½ months during consolidation. Just did it this way.
4)Their is a small gym at the place. It is not a good gym by American standards, but its a place to get some sort of work out, and a place to do physical therapy. All exercise equipment works, you just have to do it.
5)The place has a lift, so it is fully wheel chair accessible. 6) All of the services: A maid, a cook is available for breakfast (cost extra $2.00 usd lol), a 5 layer water filtration system, which is a better system than tap water in the US. The place is ran like a hotel, so it has employees working here, so if there is ever any little small tasks, that need to be done, you can just ask. Also, a laundry service, and the best part, is you don't even have to do your own dishes. Actually, the best part is the cultural exchange probably.
7) The location is pretty close to the hospital. Roughly 30 minutes. I initially wanted a place right next to the hospital, but phoenix said, he initially wanted that to, but that after living in both super close apartments, and medium close apartments he came to the conclusion that it didn't matter. A thirty minute tax ride is not a problem. 
There is a security guard; this guy isn't Mike Tyson in his prime, but at least you will always have someone to come unlock the 12 foot gate when you come home late after partying or something. Also peace of mind.
The place is called Grand Sunset Condo's, and the total monthly cost in USD is around $363.00 which is a good deal even for indian standards, considering the services, and safety that is provided. That is roughly the total cost, depending on which room you take, not including meal services.
For me, finding my doctor was simple; I saw how phoenix's experience was with Dr. Dhawan, and that was good enough for me, but curiosity killed the cat, and this is what I learned consulting with other doctors. Most doctors, ANY doctors from ANY country are salesman, and practice deception quite often, even if its self deception. The doctors here will seem very salesy, but that is just because they are not good at sales. If it is obvious that you are trying to push me into a direction, then you suck at sales. Hence why there are posts on the forum that say that they have a hard time trusting indian doctors. American doctors know how to do subtle sales where they explain things in great detail in the areas they want to lead you towards. Its not like US doctors, don't lie. They do but are just better at it. So not trusting a doctors ability to treat you because he sucks at sales is not a good idea. Indian doctors are technical, but do not show people how technical they are. They just say: no problem, we can do it, and will say anything to not get you to worry, its part of the culture. Don't let them control the dynamic. Be assertive, ask why do you say that, or what from your experience is making you say X. Why am I not believing you? This last one will throw them off balance. The point is to get them to talk. And let them give you their standard pitch, which is why aggressive questioning is key. To practice your consultation skill with doctors, on your first consultation, go see a doctor you have no interest in. You will learn what to do better for the doctor you actually want to go see.
Just know what you want to do in terms of what procedure, and don't expect to get accurate information on what is or what is not the best procedure because every doctor says one style is better over another, except precise fit-bone, a lot of doctors seem to like that style, but don't use as much because patients are being priced out. Have a list of questions to be able to pin the doctor down with them. All of the doctors will seem busy thats because they are. If you don't get the most out of each 15 minute consultation, then you are wasting your time; trust me, I know. I wasted my time on the first two consultations. In America Hospitals give out pamphlets of information, so I was relying on that. In Delhi it is not the case. I don't care because it makes me more self reliant. You have to do your own research, and come prepared for each consultation. Doctors will also give you a price, just consider them like Verizon in the states, or any of the other major service providers world wide. Service providers lead with a price but you should always expect to pay a little more; it is the same with doctors price quotes, because they don't add in the add ons, but I didn't care because I didn't expect any less, nor do I care about, paying a little more than what was advertised, because it is still super cheap. One of my add ons was a 'pain pack' so I was chilling out fentanyl iv's for the entire stay of the hospital, was pretty fun lol I still only payed 10,500 USD for CLL LON. The extra $500 was because I, stupidly and knowingly transferred money through the banks. The best way to transfer money is through bitcoin. Total cost will be 5 cents. Google how.
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