RB - Femurs with Dr. Betz - March 2021

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Well congrats on the safe surgery so far.

Have you made any bowel movements- or did they insert a catheter?
 Quote from: RB on March 11, 2021, 08:19:29 AM I am just glad the surgery itself is over with and all these years of thinking about doing it.

Must feel like a relief and a bit carthartic right? You thinking about the surgery all these years, pondering what's gonna happen, and etc, and now it's reality and the nails are in your legs. Good luck rb

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Quote from: Serilium on March 11, 2021, 09:54:06 AMWell congrats on the safe surgery so far.

Have you made any bowel movements- or did they insert a catheter?
 
Must feel like a relief and a bit carthartic right? You thinking about the surgery all these years, pondering what's gonna happen, and etc, and now it's reality and the nails are in your legs. Good luck rb

Thanks man!

Yeah it still feels surreal that I’ve even done it. For a long time it seemed like a pipe dream but to your point now it’s done and the journey begins. Crazy to think in 3 months I could be 3 inches taller.

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And have had gone number 1 but no catheter, they gave me a jug to piss in haha. A bit difficult but I’d rather it over a catheter.

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Quote from: RB on March 11, 2021, 08:50:38 AMThanks mate!

I chose general as I didn't want to be awake at all for it and you pretty much wake up instantly with no concept of how long everything took. The anaesthetist also recommended general. I am fairly sure you can choose spinal though if you want to be awake for it.

Good choice in my opinion! Holy   could you imagine being awake while they cut open your legs, ream out your femurs, insert the rod, drill the screws, and fracture it, then stitch you up?

That sounds like a nightmare scenario from some horror movie. Even if you can't feel it physically you can hear it happening. Oh god I am pretty sure I would have PTSD from that.

Congrats again bro and good luck with your recovery. You're young and should heal well. I'm sure you'll do okay.

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Quote from: maximize on March 13, 2021, 04:09:41 AMGood choice in my opinion! Holy   could you imagine being awake while they cut open your legs, ream out your femurs, insert the rod, drill the screws, and fracture it, then stitch you up?

That sounds like a nightmare scenario from some horror movie. Even if you can't feel it physically you can hear it happening. Oh god I am pretty sure I would have PTSD from that.

Congrats again bro and good luck with your recovery. You're young and should heal well. I'm sure you'll do okay.

Yeah there was no way I wanted to experience any part of that lol. Thanks mate!

15th of March 2021 - 5 days post-surgery

The last few day have seen a lot of progress both in terms of pain management and walking with crutches. The first 2-3 days after surgery were the worst in terms of pain but since then, things have been quite smooth and the only pain that really presents itself is in the morning when I wake up, or when I come back from a long walk or using the stationary bike for more than 10 minutes.

I have finally learnt how to walk with the crutches effectively so that I am placing majority of my weight on the crutches themselves and not putting too much strain on my legs. I am actually starting to enjoy walking with them! I practiced walking up the stairs with them with the PT today, which was sort of difficult but manageable if done slowly.

Dr. Betz usually comes to visit every day and is impressed with my progress and ROM so far.

I start clicking tomorrow or Wednesday so I am incredibly excited to get that underway. My experience so far has been great, with the exception of the first 2-3 days being quite uncomfortable. Hopefully clicking isn't painful and my pain remains at manageable levels. The hospital staff have generally been pretty good but the food has been average (typical of hospital food).

I look forward to updating again when I start lengthening!

Feel free to ask any questions!

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This is a fantastic update, RB.

Also, I have heard with Betzbone some patients do have pain during and after clicking, but this varies from person to person. I hope for you it is painless.
All the best with clicking. I am excited to see how your journey unfolds. I wish you best luck.

Just few questions:
- Did you buy crutches before the surgery? Or does Dr. Betz provides the crutches?
- Do you share room with other patients? or is it private?
- Where do you plan to stay after your 14 day hospital stay is over?

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Quote from: chasing_higher_dream on March 15, 2021, 11:33:04 AMThis is a fantastic update, RB.

Also, I have heard with Betzbone some patients do have pain during and after clicking, but this varies from person to person. I hope for you it is painless.
All the best with clicking. I am excited to see how your journey unfolds. I wish you best luck.

Just few questions:
- Did you buy crutches before the surgery? Or does Dr. Betz provides the crutches?
- Do you share room with other patients? or is it private?
- Where do you plan to stay after your 14 day hospital stay is over?

Thanks man! Also excited to follow your journey in May!

-Dr. Betz provides the crutches. They are the forearm ones so in my opinion it is a lot easier to practice your gait using them compared to underarm crutches.

-Yes I am sharing a room with another CLL patient who is from Germany. He's a great guy and it makes the hospital stay so much better if you have someone to talk to/do PT with during the stay. There are also 2 other Betz patients on the same floor in different rooms.

-I am going to stay at Elke's house for 2 weeks after the hospital before flying back home.

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Hi RB,

good to see you having gone well through the first days! How has your sleeping been? Do you wake up often/ need to stretch to go back to sleep or something?

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Quote from: RB on March 15, 2021, 11:40:55 AMThanks man! Also excited to follow your journey in May!

-Dr. Betz provides the crutches. They are the forearm ones so in my opinion it is a lot easier to practice your gait using them compared to underarm crutches.

-Yes I am sharing a room with another CLL patient who is from Germany. He's a great guy and it makes the hospital stay so much better if you have someone to talk to/do PT with during the stay. There are also 2 other Betz patients on the same floor in different rooms.

-I am going to stay at Elke's house for 2 weeks after the hospital before flying back home.

Not too sure if you feel the same but I found practising on the walker better and harder than the crutches. Crutches seem to support your weight higher up so you do not weight-bear as much as you do with a walker.

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Quote from: pownzorgeek on March 16, 2021, 02:04:56 PMHi RB,

good to see you having gone well through the first days! How has your sleeping been? Do you wake up often/ need to stretch to go back to sleep or something?

Sleeping has been surprisingly good, although they do give you a pill to help you sleep. I sleep maybe 7/8 hours per night and wake up randomly at 3/4am for 20 minutes then back to sleep. The pain isn't too bad when waking up anymore.

Quote from: Jamesy998 on March 16, 2021, 02:12:13 PMNot too sure if you feel the same but I found practising on the walker better and harder than the crutches. Crutches seem to support your weight higher up so you do not weight-bear as much as you do with a walker.

Completely agree. I only used a walker for the 1st day and I found it really hard to put enough weight from my upper body to the walker and was putting too much weight on my legs. Interesting how it seems easier to distribute the load on crutches.