Precice 2.2 Femurs with Dr. M - Sept 2021

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Hi all,

Just underwent surgery with Dr. M.

Things are looking good so far -- he's attentive and makes himself available for his patients.

Day 0:
Surgery. I remember being wheeled into the surgery room, and then was pretty much instantly put to sleep.  Woke up feeling okay and took steps on my walker. I think it was mainly due to the general anasthesia that i was feeling so good. Fairly cognizant and could get tasks done.

Day 1:
The surgery hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm feeling very heavy, sore legs. Took some more steps (~10 total across 2 PT sessions). For those that got the stryde nail, you all are definitely lucky and hope the weight bearing goes well. For the rest of us, stay strong 💪🏼

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Thanks my dude!

One thing I've really been working on is basic mobility of the legs.  If you ask have any tips on pushing past the pain right now, would appreciate it. I'm on a fairly steady stream of norco right now

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Day 2:
Just came home from the hospital. In general, it's been a bumpy ride.  PT today was focused particularly on transferring from
 wheelchair to bed and vice versa. I had to take it very slow -- probably a 30 minute transfer each way.  Lots of pain but, via assistance, was able to do it.

Especially if you're in major metropolitan areas, I recommend taking uber WAV (wheelchair access vehicle) rides.  It got me home in one piece and I'm grateful.

Fairly tired -- trying to do some light PT in my wheelchair and will probably call it a night.

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Saturday 10/2 (2 days since surgery) extended:

Especially, after going through surgery, you have a (somewhat) supportive network of nurses/doctors that you can reach out to around the clock, but really there's not a ton of emotional support. The hospital was 1.5 hours away from my home and, given the COVID situation, I hesitated to have my partner come and visit.

Those few days away were rough, for both me and them. I'd recommend that, if you have a partner and you deem it's safe for them to visit, that they do. Even holding hands occasionally while in bed would be been a comfort.

Upon arriving at home, I had a caretaker for the first 24 hours and then had a caretaker arrive the following night for 4 hours. I honestly think that caretaking helped me to build some confidence that otherwise may have been more nerve racking had my partner not been there, but I think you *can* get by without a caretaker as long as you have someone else (depending on progress in the hospital). I'd been taking very very baby steps on the walker in the hospital (maybe ~15 over 2 days) and had support because of intense leg pain.

Monday 10/4 (4 days since surgery):

First day I've had without a caretaker. The one we initially hired didn't come but it was actually a blessing in disguise because it forced us to learn to do things independently. This was one of the most challenging parts for me while going into this surgery, especially with precice nails, as it was essentially signing away your independence for ~6 - 8 months. I value my independence above most things, such that I don't have to burden others. This is something you have mentally cope with and talk with your caregivers/family/partners about in advance.

A positive thing is that as you learn new skills (e.g. turns in your walker, greater standing strength, etc), you unlock the ability to do more things and it feels like a level up in a video game 

Tuesday 10/5 (5 days since surgery):

Today was a high point relative to the last 5 days. I just came out of PT and did some basic sit/stands, and well as flexed my knee joint. There's a decent amount of inflammation, even for a femur surgery, in the knees that you have to work out with speed. I honestly think that I have more in my life to appreciate now, as the basic sit/stands were somewhat tough but felt so exhilarating.  All these basic automatic motions that my body used to make are now not necessarily in grasp yet, but are very attainable. This entire experience has shifted my perspective, about movement, eating, relationships, conversations -- it's been almost religious. I know I have a lot more to go, but I also know there are a lot of wins to be had in the future.


What I'd like to HIGHLY recommend is moving around from bed => walker => wheelchair and vice versa as much as you physically can everyday, but especially the first 2 weeks out of surgery. The muscles in your body, from lack of use, will atrophy within 2 - 3 weeks if you don't, and that's bad news.  I think was too heeding of advice to take it easy on my body the first few days, which is generally sound, but the alternative of not having legs to walk on or pushing through this intense surgical pain 1 month+ out of surgery was not something I'd like to consider.  I'd like to tackle as much as I can, as soon as I can, please 

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Quote from: L8GrowthSpurt on October 06, 2021, 12:50:58 AMCongrats and thanks for sharing your experience!  I appreciate the insight on the emotional aspect of the process and it’s definitely something that I’ve tried to think about before I undergo the procedure.  I (and others) will be following your progress along the way.  Stay strong and good luck with everything!  💪💪

Thanks for the encouragement and for following my progress. I think if I know that I have readers to cater to, it will motivate me more throughout this process 

Wednesday 10/7 (6 days since surgery):

Wow. This is tough ahah. But the progress that you make each day out from surgery can be pretty incredible. I've learned to turn on the walker, and walked roughly ~45 steps so far. It's near evening, but I'll be probably taking at least another 5 - 10 steps tonight.

Literally, the first day upon returning home, I could not stand even with a walker. I had my caretaker and partner lift me up and, let me tell you guys, it sucks to have to depend on multiple people to do everyday things like going #2.  Now I'm walking with the walker, but with my partner still keeping an eye on me to make sure I'm not falling.

I'm eating more now as well, probably ~2200 - 2500 calories a day.  I'd recommend buying protein shakes, greek yogurt, soft broth-ey meals because EVERYTHING takes you longer while you're out of surgery and yet you only have a finite amount of time per day.  Chewing through tough solid meals, as I was doing earlier with chicken/steak meals, took probably ~30 minutes and some willpower to get through.  Now, however, I'm chugging my meals a lot quicker, ingesting the correct vitamins and nutrients, and pushing forward.

All in all though, my LL community -- could definitely use the positive vibes right now heh.

Some tips for walking with a walker:
1. Walk with your feet directly under your torso and stand straight. Keep eyes locked ahead.
2. Turning is not your friend immediately after surgery. Pivot the walker 45 degrees in the direction you're turning, use your triceps to elevate your legs off the floor while on the walker and turn your hips. Then, gently land them on the ground.

I wish I had known some of this earlier. Would have made learning the walker easier.  Practice before surgery to get the hang of it!

LET'S GO, TEAM.

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l8GrowthSpurt: Nice! Good idea to practice.

Friday 10/8 (8 days since surgery):

Went for post op with Dr. Mahboubian and I think things are progressing well. One thing that is somewhat disappointing is nuvasive's weight bearing capacity on the nail that was put into my leg -- upon leaving surgery, I was told that it was 75 lbs per leg, but nuvasive's weight recommendation is 50 lbs per leg for the nail I had.

I suppose it was essential, however, after surgery to tell me that, or else I wouldn't have ever tried walking on a walker or standing upright. Definitely, as time goes on, I need to displace a lot of weight on the walker as the nail gets longer/weaker.

I was, however, able to lengthen my first 0.33mm in his office today. It feels INCREDIBLE to be knowing that I'm making measurable progress toward my height goals, which is of course the original reason I began this journey.

I am also getting stronger each day. I've stood completely unassisted for ~5 minutes, walked around for near 100 steps per day, tried to be regular about leg lifts, etc. I need to continue this strength.

If you have positive vibes, would appreciate them. Thanks

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I'd love to throw a question out at the community, particularly posed towards those that did Precice 2.2 nails with 50 lbs weight bearing per leg. My doctor told me I can probably go to 75 lbs but I'm feeling a bit of anxiety around this now.  Especially as I'm thinking about regaining leg strength and maintaining it throughout the process, I'm trying to stand as much as I can and walk as much as I can.

I fear that this may bode poorly in the future, if I accidentally put too much pressure on a nail.

Questions:
1. How did you all navigate your home?
2. Were you ever standing unassisted? Were you always extra careful while walking?
3. What percentage of the time do you sit down/lay down vs standup/walk, to avoid potentially breaking the nail?

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Quote from: racecarworm on October 10, 2021, 02:55:02 AMHey, I had Precice 2.2 with Dr. M aswell on March 30th (6 months post op).
1. For the stairs, I just sat down and did tricep dips to go up and down. Mostly in bed, if not, I was in a wheelchair / walker. Maneuvering was a big problem for me since my muscles got super super tight post op, think my body reacted much worse than other people did to the surgery, but it got much much better and I'm doing amazing right now (just shy of running & jumping, I mean, I can do it it just looks awkward and worse than before). While in the shower I used a stool in order to not put weight on my legs while standing.

2. Yes, I did it about 3 weeks after I finished lengthening (I thought it was early, but Dr. Mahboubian said I was good to go). Keep in mind I'm also 17 and my bone growth was exceptional. I was very careful while walking, I took short steps in order to minimize the weight shift. I wouldn't really risk it, it's not worth the complications. You spend an extra month not walking amazingly instead of complications that may lead to years worth of sacrifice that wasn't needed.

3. I was in bed pretty much 90% of the day during lengthening, now I'm back to normal (only in bed / sitting in classes and for sleeping). During lengthening, I only left to do PT for about 20-30 minutes walking, the rest was stretching, heating, etc. Along with the bathroom of course.

  Thanks racecarworm! I'll have to DM you for tips heh.

A few questions I have off the bat:
1. Did you also have 50 lb nails? And what's your weight? (I weigh 140)
2. To clarify from your answer to #2 above, so you were never standing unassisted and definitely never walking unassisted, but only taking small baby steps while on walker?

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Quote from: racecarworm on October 10, 2021, 07:28:23 PMHey, I had the 75lb nails, but I weighed 135 prior to the surgery and currently 140. Yeah, I was only taking small baby steps. I was very conservative with it during the lengthening process, and after that when the doctor gave me the go ahead to walk, I recovered exceptionally. However I think that you'll still need to be conservative. I sort of pushed my limits and on some days I walked 5-6 miles, 3 months post op, and just found out today that I may have a small crack in my new bone on my left leg. (It's fine, I can still walk, but delays my recovery a bit more).

Ahh gotcha. Conservative is the name of the game, with precice heh. Thanks for your input!

Tuesday Oct 12:

Let me tell you folks, each day gets better if you put in the work.  Lots of PT but I'm feeling more confident, more mobile, more able to do things in general. I can walk 100 - 300 steps a day now and it feels good to stand.

That being said, given that I have a 50 lbs weight bearing status on each leg right now, I'm still extra conservative.

Most of the surgical pain seems to be gone, but there is definitely tightness and some level of pain in my right knee.  Need to continue working this out.

In other news, I've now lengthened 3mm . Let's goooo

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Wednesday Oct 13:

Tomorrow I'm back at my job.  I'm fortunate and I work as a remote customer service specialist, so can perform work from home.

To be honest, not super looking forward to pulling 10 am - 7 pm's (my general shift) while this fresh out of surgery but, what can you do.

Lengthened over 4 cm now. I don't feel muscles getting too tight -- it is bearable. Only things are that, in the morning after having slept, my muscles are tight. If you all have any tips on how to wake up your muscles upon waking up, would be more than willing to hear.