Thanks for the encouraging words guys, I really appreciate them. The 5cm mark is still a few weeks away but I'm hoping that time goes by quickly.
I wanted to take a moment and quickly discuss how I've been coping mentally with being cooped up at home for the past 7 weeks. This process has been challenging in that sense, especially because I know I have at least another 8-12 weeks left until I finish lengthening (assuming no other complications). Today the weather was nice and I went out in the yard to soak up some sun. I felt like a caveman seeing the sun for the first time lol. But it felt quite nice because I felt more normal. Staying at home for so long without interacting with the outside world can make you feel abnormal and so I can't wait to reintegrate into my life, but with the new height! I've been fortunate enough to have my family by my side and that has helped a great deal because at least I get to interact with them. It would be wise for future llers to try and get fresh air as much as possible. I wasn't doing that myself unless I went out to see dr R but I now plan to come out as much as possible and soak up the sun for as long as tolerated. I say tolerated because my right leg starts giving me a headache after being put in the same position for long and so I must maneuver my body into the position that alleviates the pain for me. And of course it is easier to do this in bed than sitting on a chair outside.
As to the new height, I have almost reached the half way mark and I feel a significant difference in height already. I'm taller than my sister and my mom by a good margin. My cousin was also taller than me prior to surgery and now I'm almost at her height (she is around 5'5). It makes me feel quite excited that in another couple of months I will be even taller than them and I can't wait to experience that additional height. Moreover, with shoes on it would feel even better! Keeping this image of yourself in mind is really a powerful motivator, and as you see results in height, that motivation, at least for me, intensifies.
Anyway that's about it for my long update. I plan to update the forum again once I reach the 50mm mark. Stay tuned and be well!
Rozbruch- Internal Femurs with Stryde
You're on your way, Tiggy. The process is tough as you mention and I can assure you it's worth every single moment of sacrifice. We'll keep it going strong!
Quote from: InFullStryde on July 01, 2019, 01:28:12 PMYou're on your way, Tiggy. The process is tough as you mention and I can assure you it's worth every single moment of sacrifice. We'll keep it going strong!
Absolutely IFS! We must fight through the hardships along the way to reach that dream goal. In fact I was thinking of you just a couple of days ago when I was admiring my almost 2 inch height in front of the mirror lol and I realized how truly life changing this surgery was for you. Going from 5'1 to 5'4 is such a tremendous accomplishment. I started from 5'3 and I'm hovering at almost 5'5 and already notice such a big difference even though I haven't even reached that 2 inch mark yet. In other words, this surgery was worth it for you and I'm glad you feel that way brother! Be well.
Hey guys,
A quick update: today I've reached the half way mark on the left leg. I am at exactly 40mm but the right leg will get there in a few days. In other news, I am able to walk without any support whatsoever. I do carry the walker with me, literally I lift up the walker and walk with it or push it ahead of me just so that it is near if I need it. I walk quite fast too and It feels awesome being able to walk completely on my own. My speed of walking actually surprised me. The only thing is that I walk like a penguin, swaying side to side lol. I am sure that will improve with time as I continue walking.
I have not done any PT from outside sources, meaning I do PT on my own and do not have anyone come in to my home. Neither do I frequent a PT clinic. I am still undecided whether I will even go to one once I am done with lengthening but so far I am leaning against doing so. I think I can continue working at this on my own, and quite frankly I enjoy doing so without 3rd sources present. But again this will depend on my progress and I will assess the situation as I go along. I will update you guys again once I reach that sweet 50mm mark! Feel free to send questions my way. Cheers!
Quote from: tiggy on July 02, 2019, 09:48:15 PMHey guys,
A quick update: today I've reached the half way mark on the left leg. I am at exactly 40mm but the right leg will get there in a few days. In other news, I am able to walk without any support whatsoever. I do carry the walker with me, literally I lift up the walker and walk with it or push it ahead of me just so that it is near if I need it. I walk quite fast too and It feels awesome being able to walk completely on my own. My speed of walking actually surprised me. The only thing is that I walk like a penguin, swaying side to side lol. I am sure that will improve with time as I continue walking.
I have not done any PT from outside sources, meaning I do PT on my own and do not have anyone come in to my home. Neither do I frequent a PT clinic. I am still undecided whether I will even go to one once I am done with lengthening but so far I am leaning against doing so. I think I can continue working at this on my own, and quite frankly I enjoy doing so without 3rd sources present. But again this will depend on my progress and I will assess the situation as I go along. I will update you guys again once I reach that sweet 50mm mark! Feel free to send questions my way. Cheers!
Congrats on reaching the halfway point on the left leg, huge milestone!
Sounds like you are pretty mobile and taking a lot of steps walking, which seems like a good source of PT itself. Apart from doing PT, how do you spend the majority of your time? Laying in bed, standing, or sitting? I'm particularly interested in your ability to sit down for long periods of time, as I'm hoping I can use the idle time towards hobbies and side projects that require I sit down (working on laptop, playing piano, etc.)
Thanks!
Quote from: TheAlchemist on July 08, 2019, 02:38:54 PMCongrats on reaching the halfway point on the left leg, huge milestone!
Sounds like you are pretty mobile and taking a lot of steps walking, which seems like a good source of PT itself. Apart from doing PT, how do you spend the majority of your time? Laying in bed, standing, or sitting? I'm particularly interested in your ability to sit down for long periods of time, as I'm hoping I can use the idle time towards hobbies and side projects that require I sit down (working on laptop, playing piano, etc.)
Thanks!
Hey there, thanks. As of 2 days ago, both legs are past the half way mark!
As to your question, I spend the majority of my time either in bed or in a reclining chair. I sit down to have dinner at the table but that is the only time you can find me sitting in a chair. The reason for that is when I sit for over 5 or so minutes, my legs start to burn and I need to lift them up. The numbness I described above is now permanently present on my left leg, coupled with slight burning sensation. So now I must deal with both legs and switch them around in a sitting position. You can easily work on your computer while in bed or reclining. How long you can play piano would depend on your particular situation. Just because I have numbness issues doesn't mean you will also. Perhaps other veterans can chime in on how well they could tolerate sitting up straight.
When not doing PT, I read (when I can focus) or watch a movie/show. Other times I just spend time with family when everyone is home from work. Sometimes time goes by quickly but other times it's quite slow. Hopefully the remaining half of this trip passes by faster! Let me know if you need to know anything else.
Quote from: tiggy on July 08, 2019, 04:20:01 PMHey there, thanks. As of 2 days ago, both legs are past the half way mark!
As to your question, I spend the majority of my time either in bed or in a reclining chair. I sit down to have dinner at the table but that is the only time you can find me sitting in a chair. The reason for that is when I sit for over 5 or so minutes, my legs start to burn and I need to lift them up. The numbness I described above is now permanently present on my left leg, coupled with slight burning sensation. So now I must deal with both legs and switch them around in a sitting position. You can easily work on your computer while in bed or reclining. How long you can play piano would depend on your particular situation. Just because I have numbness issues doesn't mean you will also. Perhaps other veterans can chime in on how well they could tolerate sitting up straight.
When not doing PT, I read (when I can focus) or watch a movie/show. Other times I just spend time with family when everyone is home from work. Sometimes time goes by quickly but other times it's quite slow. Hopefully the remaining half of this trip passes by faster! Let me know if you need to know anything else.
Hi tiggy
I am sorry to hear that you are struggling with those numbness and burning sensation. But I strongly recommend you to stand or to walk as much as possible. Spending too much time on bed or even a reclining chair is not really good for lengthening and callus formation. Thanks to Stryde, you can also walk. So make your legs move more!
Quote from: Ghostfish on July 09, 2019, 04:05:18 AMHi tiggy
I am sorry to hear that you are struggling with those numbness and burning sensation. But I strongly recommend you to stand or to walk as much as possible. Spending too much time on bed or even a reclining chair is not really good for lengthening and callus formation. Thanks to Stryde, you can also walk. So make your legs move more!
Hey Ghostfish,
Thanks for looking out for me! I do walk, I just didn't list it thinking it was self explanatory. I walk around the house unassisted and do so as much as I can. Some days I walk more, others less. I'm going to start counting the number of steps I take each day, though I don't know how many steps would be normal during this phase of lengthening, perhaps you know? I'm determined to see more callus in my next x ray, especially in my right leg!
Hey Tiggy, how is it going?
Quote from: TheAlchemist on July 14, 2019, 04:57:07 PMHey Tiggy, how is it going?
Hey Alchemist (cool name btw, I've wanted to complement you for a while lol)
Things are going well, same old. I was waiting to hit 5cm to update the forum, but might as well do it now. Left leg Will hit 4.8 cm Today and the right 4.5. I have had permanent numbness in my left shin as well, accompanied with numbness and some prickly feelings from time to time (usually when I stand on the leg for too long). The right leg is also numb, though doesn't really burn anymore. It's funny how during this process nothing stays the same and the discomfort switches from one leg to the other. Just when you think you have one of your legs where you want it, just then the other leg starts to act up.
I'm still lengthening the left 3 times a day and the right only 2. I am due for a follow up this coming week with dr. R and I hope the callus formation has improved on the right enough to allow at least 3 sessions a day. I have been putting a lot of weight on my right leg so I hope it pays off.
In terms of tightness and flexibility, 10 being totally normal as pre-op and 1 being super tight, my right leg is at about a 9 while the left is about an 8. This is to be expected since I'm lengthening slightly faster on the left leg.
In other news, I am walking unassisted 99% of the time whether at home or outside. I actually went out to eat with my sister on Friday evening. I walked unassisted from the car to the restaurant and back, and even drove home (though the right leg does start to hurt when driving after about 10min). Last night too, I went out with my family and again was unassisted the entire time, though there were some steps to climb so I used my sister as support for that part since the legs aren't strong enough yet. I'm sure I could climb on my own but I don't want to put unnecessary pressure on my legs and potentially damage something. I must say it felt good to be outside, sit at a restaurant and feel normal. The height boost is certainly noticeable and I can't wait to reach the 3 inch mark!
Lastly, I've attempted to stand up from my bed unassisted about a week ago, and while that was certainly challenging, I succeeded. Since then I haven't tried again because I don't want to put too much pressure on my legs but perhaps I'll do so again soon. However, my bed is not as low as a couch for example, and so I haven't attempted to stand up from a couch unassisted and I know that will be much more difficult. Perhaps I'll give it a try sometime soon.
That's pretty much it as far as updates go. I still stretch 3 times a day (instead of 4) because stretches take longer for me now. This is because when in the same position, my left leg starts to burn and I must change position for about a minute or 2 to let the feeling pass. Then I go back to finishing the exercise. And I repeat this about every 3-5 min because of the burning. So you can see how this adds to the length of time it takes to complete the stretching routine. I think stretching at least 3 times is fine at this point, especially because I'm lengthening the left leg 3 times instead of 4. Plus I walk quite a lot too so for now I think this is sufficient. Once I get more tight (and hopefully if my left leg burning subsides) I can ramp up the stretching to 4 times a day. We will see how things go and how tight I feel in the coming weeks.
If you have questions, throw them my way. Otherwise I will update again at the end of next week once I see him for a follow up. Thanks for reading.
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