Revealing feelings, being scared, doing it anyway....

Edit Post

Quote from: paddy10tellys on July 03, 2016, 04:22:33 PMI'm 56 years young Ghostfish... & I've still got my own teeth!

If I can be honest with you, I have spoken to an ex LL patient who did external tibias. He did 8cm. He was with the frames 1.5 years. He was also 10 years younger than you.

Think this carefully. I would suggest you to speak to another european expert on cosmetic external LL before making a move

Edit Post

Which other European expert would you be referring to? Also, I recovered a lot quicker than some of the twenty-to-thirty somethings that I rehabilitated with in the "cruciate club" after I had my my ruptured anterior cruciate ligament repaired aged 47yrs old. Us older folks know what recovery from surgery is... I've done it quite a few times & I know many young folks who struggle to get fillings carried out on their dental caries... without wishing to be ageist, of course...

Edit Post

Were you going to retire anyway? If no how do you plan to re enter the workforce at an older age when competing against younger candidates? Or do you have in demand skills and age is not a factor?

Edit Post

Hi paddy10tells

Thanks for answering my question.  I feel kind of weird to hear "YOUNG" since I haven't heard it for a long time.  But yes you are indeed older than me.     I really repect your brave determination.

But, I just want to tell you that your goal seems a little too much since it is 7cm, if I am correct.  Although you will ultimately recover from it, it would be much quicker and better to do less than that.  I have read many topics in this diary.  looks like ~ 5 cm in tibias and ~ 7 cm in femurs are kind of safe limits for a reasonable recovery, although they will vary depened on indivisuals.  The recovery time will dramatically increase if one lengthen more than that.   When you do ll and reach 5cm,  better to listen to your body. 

Have a nice day!!

Edit Post

theuprising, I'm a UK family Doctor (a GP). There's a national shortage of GP's in the UK. Work offers won't be an issue

Edit Post

Ghostfish, it is 5cm - unless things are going really well & then it is 5.5cms

Edit Post

Quote from: paddy10tellys on July 04, 2016, 05:28:08 AMGhostfish, it is 5cm - unless things are going really well & then it is 5.5cms

Your signature line says 7cm. (169-->176)

Edit Post

It was written before I new anything. Never got round to changing it. Anyway, nothing is set in stone, it depends on circumstances

Edit Post

Hey paddy,

Congratulations on taking your first steps toward your LL journey. The "scared" part is a given, of course. I think only a deranged masochist looks forward to having his legs broken.

Quote from: paddy10tellys on July 03, 2016, 07:52:08 PMI recovered a lot quicker than some of the twenty-to-thirty somethings that I rehabilitated with in the "cruciate club" after I had my my ruptured anterior cruciate ligament repaired aged 47yrs old. Us older folks know what recovery from surgery is... I've done it quite a few times

I don't want to dampen your confidence, but just to give you some input from a fellow "geezer". I had always healed from injuries pretty easily too. My own ACL repair was a breeze for me as well. The difficulties I've had recovering from LL were well beyond anything I could have imagined. Non-union aside, the stretching of my soft tissues have permanently changed how they feel, it seems. Strength is coming back gradually, but I haven't had a day in which my legs were not sore since 2013. It's not a constant, all-day thing...but walking too long, standing too long, and most strangely, even sitting too long makes me want to lie down and stretch all my leg and lower back muscles.

If you're doing external-only, at least you won't have the damage to your knees that I have had. But whatever you do, make sure you work on your core strength (particularly in the lumbar area) while bed-ridden and wheelchair-bound. The amount of pain and fatigue that hits you when you get back on your feet is tremendous...and I can't help but suspect that it's intensified in us older folks.

Basically what I'm getting at is that you shouldn't look at it as preparing for a single "surgery". You should be preparing yourself for a severe, slowly-developing trauma to your body. And your plan to limit to a conservative 5cm is a good idea, IMHO. I only lengthened as much as I did because there was never going to be a chance in Hell I could/would go back for femurs.

Anyway best of luck to you. Keep us posted on your progress.

Edit Post

Oh Dear, Thx, Bigfaker, I think... another, 'yikes' moment for me.
Sorry you had such a bad time of it & wishing everything settles down for you