I think this is day +30! I had a follow up appointment yesterday and my left leg is at 5 cm and right leg is at 1.6 cm. This was actually the first time the XR measurements exactly matched the amount I thought I had lengthened. I again have no major updates. Thankfully I feel like things are going smoothly. There was some concern that my right leg is at risk for premature consolidation so I have been told to lengthen at 1 mm per day instead of 0.75 mm per day. I continue my slow process of lengthening at 0.5 mm per day on the left though I may ask if I can increase that to 0.75 mm per day at some point since my nerve pain seems to have improved greatly. Pain wise I am doing much better. For pain management I'm currently taking celebrex 200 mg every 12 hours, lyrica 75 mg every 8 hours, and tylenol 1000 mg every 8 hours. I take about 2.5 mg of oxycodone most days (1/2 a pill) if/when pain interferes with sleeping or PT.
I'll try to upload some pictures of my x-rays below (I'm not the best photographer though). The left leg x rays are the first two. 
precise 2.2 femurs w/ Dr. Assayag
I think this is day +30! I had a follow up appointment yesterday and my left leg is at 5 cm and right leg is at 1.6 cm. This was actually the first time the XR measurements exactly matched the amount I thought I had lengthened. I again have no major updates. Thankfully I feel like things are going smoothly. There was some concern that my right leg is at risk for premature consolidation so I have been told to lengthen at 1 mm per day instead of 0.75 mm per day. I continue my slow process of lengthening at 0.5 mm per day on the left though I may ask if I can increase that to 0.75 mm per day at some point since my nerve pain seems to have improved greatly. Pain wise I am doing much better. For pain management I'm currently taking celebrex 200 mg every 12 hours, lyrica 75 mg every 8 hours, and tylenol 1000 mg every 8 hours. I take about 2.5 mg of oxycodone most days (1/2 a pill) if/when pain interferes with sleeping or PT.
I'll try to upload some pictures of my x-rays below (I'm not the best photographer though). The left leg x rays are the first two.
Quote from: femurs2022 on May 01, 2022, 12:18:11 AMThank you! Yeah I'm about 100 lb. I'm not currently using a walker for more than a few steps per Dr. Assayag's recommendations. I think it is pretty surgeon dependent in terms of whether or not they allow you to use a walker or crutches while lengthening with precise nails.
I would ask your surgeon about recommendations regarding weight loss. I will say that I lost >10 lb after each surgery and I felt so much better as soon as I was able to eat more and get closer to a healthier weight. Not having an appetite but knowing you need to eat has been one of the more difficult parts of this process for me. Also the only times there have been any concerns mentioned about my bone regenerate was when my weight was <90 lb so I do feel like the weight loss/lack of adequate nutrition was contributing to that.
ty!!! When you don't feel like eating much, what kinds of foods should you prioritize eating a small amount of for the bone growth and some vitamins? Not sure, I'm assuming calcium containing foods (ex: milk, chia seeds)? Or something else?
Ex: if don't have an apppetite and only feel like eating a small amount, what do you guys think gives you the best bang for your buck for eating just a small amount of food?
I haven't updated in a while but I'm back with an update 
I finished lengthening the left leg I think 7 weeks ago and the right leg a few days ago. I stopped at 62 mm and I'm thrilled with that. For a variety of reasons I am very happy I did not feel the need to go all the way to 8 cm. I'm allowed to fully weight bear on the left and partially on the right so I can walk very easily with crutches with an essentially normal gait. My range of motion on the left is actually better than it was before surgery except for my quads. On the right my hamstrings are tight and I can straighten my leg completely lying down but not standing (I'm almost there though). I'm still doing about 2 hours of PT/stretching a day on my own but now that I'm done lengthening I can feel the exercises get easier instead of harder every day.
I don't want to paint too rosy a picture of this surgery/process though. I had no idea going into this just how emotionally difficult it would be for me and I don't think I would have wanted to know. I can't really describe how difficult the past few months have been for me, I was profoundly depressed and anxious for the first time in my life. I hesitate to include this part but I did even have thoughts of suicide at one point. I think a lot of it was the opioids (which I did need for pain in order to sleep and participate in PT) since I am feeling so much better since I stopped them. Within a few days of discontinuing the oxy it was like everything was bright again (even though the first 48 hours without it I felt worse). There also were outside factors in my life as well that may have had some impact. I just don't want anyone reading this though to think that if you do the surgery in the US with precise nails you will breeze right through it. It is still difficult though I am not exactly sure why it is so hard. I thought once you get past the initial pain from surgery it gets easier but at least for me it only got much harder. I would not have gotten through this without significant support. I personally would strongly recommend if you are doing this surgery that you either have a very supportive partner or very supportive friends/family or both. I know some people do this on their own but I certainly could not have done so. I would also recommend making sure you completely trust your surgeon and feel comfortable with them. The fact that I trust Dr. Assayag was probably the one other factor besides having a supportive partner and supportive friends that got me through this. On a happier note, I am so happy with my new height and it has been so much fun ordering new clothes since all my skirts/dresses are too short now 
. I think the end result was completely worth the suffering even if it didn't seem like it at the time.
Congrats! Glad you got through it okay
Do you think you will return to your pre-LL athleticism?
Quote from: thankscience on July 04, 2022, 11:41:28 AMCongrats! Glad you got through it okay
Do you think you will return to your pre-LL athleticism?
Thank you! I don't see why I wouldn't be able to. Other than some muscle weakness on the left my left leg feels completely functional and normal. I'm hoping my right leg will get there as well within a few weeks.
Congratulations!
Are you using a walker or crutches? When did you start walking with support?
Quote from: overandover on July 04, 2022, 09:16:10 PMCongratulations!
Are you using a walker or crutches? When did you start walking with support?
Im using crutches. I was cleared to fully weight bear on the left at my appointment 5 weeks after I stopped lengthening on the left. That night I tried the walker but then immediately switched to crutches because I have never liked the walker. I’m mostly using crutches now, I only use the wheelchair in the bathroom after I take a shower because I’m scared of slipping on the wet floor right now.
Just wanted to provide a brief update. I stopped lengthening 2 months ago and I’ve been walking without crutches for about a month. My gait has pretty much normalized. I think it would be impossible for someone who doesn’t know me well to notice anything is off about my gait but people who do know me very well do notice a slight limp. I often actually forget I have had the surgery. I’ve realized if I’m not paying attention I just automatically walk up and down the stairs at work instead of taking the elevator. My only major issue is significant lower back pain when standing for prolonged periods of time (as in hours at a time, walking and standing still briefly is fine). I’m on my feet at work for >70 hours per week and it is very challenging to always have pain after prolonged standing. I also have aching in my lower legs and feet with standing. I’m hoping this improves soon since it really can be excruciating to stand for more than a few hours. I think I’m seeing some improvement but I’m not sure if it is just because I’m taking more breaks to sit down. I really haven’t been doing much PT at all since I’m back to work full time and have minimal free time but I’m working on stretching more at home on a daily basis. I’ll try to remember to post some pictures of my x rays.
Hi femurs2022,
Thanks for providing us with the latest update! Good to know that you've recovered well and you're able to work long hours while standing.
I believe you're at the 6th month mark (post op) right now. My question is - do you ever feel the nails or screws inside you? while walking up and down stairs, while sleeping on sides ?
Also, are you able to drive a car comfortably at this point?
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