Hi Tiggy,
It sounds like you are battling through these challenges and that is exactly what you need to be doing. You're only 15 days away, technically, from 7.5cm on both legs; so when you're able to resume net positive distraction ; you'll be completed in no time. With that in mind; the fact that Dr. R DID NOT flat out implore you to stop is a good sign that he believes that this goal can be reached still. I will say this, sometimes doctors will float out ideas such as "I recommend adjusting goals"; in order to validate the potential that you may be feeling like stopping and wants to give you that confirmation that its okay. Also, Dr. R, may just be throwing out the option since he knows that you have reached that 2.5 mark which is still pretty darn good and he knows that stopping will ease the recovery a bit at this point.
I can remember when I reached about 1.7 inches of growth, that I reported the numbing sensations in my left leg to Dr. M. Dr. M actually told me, that all should be okay; but if I did not feel up to the tasking that the numbness and tingling will bring, that he recommended I stop. He was very direct with me.
All should be just fine. Is there no callous in the lengthened gap or just little callous? I have a feeling that your next appointment will provide greater clarity to the situation. Also, you mentioned that you had not walked much since your last appointment. When was your last appointment and are you still standing on your feet and just not walking? Or no standing as well.
Thank you for sharing with the community. If you have any questions or I can help in anyway, let me know.
All the Best,
IFS
Rozbruch- Internal Femurs with Stryde
Quote from: PANDA:BEAR.. on August 12, 2019, 08:23:38 PMIm ... sorry to hear.. your nonunion complications...
Are you taking calcium supplements and protein shakes?
You need to move them legs ... that will encourage bone growth ..
Hi Panda,
Yes I am taking calcium supplements in the form of Citracal, which includes calcium and vitamin d. I haven't been taking protein shakes since I've been consuming lots of protein but why the hell not, I'll start with the shakes as well. Can't hurt.
Quote from: tiggy on August 12, 2019, 08:52:21 PMHi Panda,
Yes I am taking calcium supplements in the form of Citracal, which includes calcium and vitamin d. I haven't been taking protein shakes since I've been consuming lots of protein but why the hell not, I'll start with the shakes as well. Can't hurt.
Listen.... you will reach your goal ... you must try to walk with some assistance..
Also plain yogurt... has natural calcium.... I wish you the best...
But please my friend be positive mentally... you will get there ..,
Quote from: InFullStryde on August 12, 2019, 08:26:59 PMHi Tiggy,
It sounds like you are battling through these challenges and that is exactly what you need to be doing. You're only 15 days away, technically, from 7.5cm on both legs; so when you're able to resume net positive distraction ; you'll be completed in no time. With that in mind; the fact that Dr. R DID NOT flat out implore you to stop is a good sign that he believes that this goal can be reached still. I will say this, sometimes doctors will float out ideas such as "I recommend adjusting goals"; in order to validate the potential that you may be feeling like stopping and wants to give you that confirmation that its okay. Also, Dr. R, may just be throwing out the option since he knows that you have reached that 2.5 mark which is still pretty darn good and he knows that stopping will ease the recovery a bit at this point.
I can remember when I reached about 1.7 inches of growth, that I reported the numbing sensations in my left leg to Dr. M. Dr. M actually told me, that all should be okay; but if I did not feel up to the tasking that the numbness and tingling will bring, that he recommended I stop. He was very direct with me.
All should be just fine. Is there no callous in the lengthened gap or just little callous? I have a feeling that your next appointment will provide greater clarity to the situation. Also, you mentioned that you had not walked much since your last appointment. When was your last appointment and are you still standing on your feet and just not walking? Or no standing as well.
Thank you for sharing with the community. If you have any questions or I can help in anyway, let me know.
All the Best,
IFS
Hey IFS,
Thanks for your message. I understand what you mean and it makes sense that drs do this however when the patient repeatedly tells you they do not want to stop, I think it's wise to not bring it up again unless you believe firmly that the patient should stop due to some sort of permanent adverse outcome. Ofocurse he believes stopping will ease the recovery, so do I. The point is that this is a balancing act and all things must be considered, such as the factors I've outlined above. This surgery is a big sacrifice, not only financial but also mental and physical. It'd be nice if the dr could appreciate that.
Actually for some reason he did not show me the X-rays when I saw him last week. I don't know why and so I don't even know how much callus there was. When I saw him the time before the last, I saw the X-ray and there was little callus on the left and hardly any visible on the right, from my recollection. Before my last appointment which was last week, I had seen him 3 weeks earlier and I truthfully spent very little time standing or walking. Mostly I was in bed. I am seeing him again in 4 weeks so until that time I will be very proactive with walking, and also protein shakes. This journey is stretching wayy longer than I thought it would. But you are right in terms of being so close. I can finish both legs in about 3 weeks (lengthening 3 times a day) once I get the green light to proceed. I'm very curious how all of this will work out. It's funny because the more you want something and the faster you want it, the longer it ends up taking for me!
Quote from: PANDA:BEAR.. on August 12, 2019, 09:00:05 PM
Listen.... you will reach your goal ... you must try to walk with some assistance..
Also plain yogurt... has natural calcium.... I wish you the best...
But please my friend be positive mentally... you will get there ..,
Thanks Panda! I greatly appreciate your encouragement. It can be tough staying positive but just remembering that I've come so far already gives me the extra push to carry on despite the issues I'm having. It will be fine in the end, I can feel it!
Tiggy I really resonate with your mentality and your drive to achieve your goal of 7.5cm at least and you're right! you've spend so much money, gone through so much pain and troubles for you to cut yourself short! You're already going through a rough time! don't quit now ... get your reward from it! don't stop until you succeed brother, you'll be good man I know you will! Lets gooo
Quote from: tiggy on August 12, 2019, 06:49:53 PMHi Alchemist,
Things aren't going as well as I've hoped. I saw him for a follow up last week and my bone isn't filling in, so it's gotten worse than before because at least before I've had some growth. This was quite worrying on multiple fronts. I must admit partially I am to blame I think because I haven't walked much since my previous follow up so I think the lack of movement has made it worse. However even despite that my growth has been extremely slow. At the moment I am doing the accordion maneuver, whereby you distract one day and decompress the following. I am to do this for 2 weeks and then rest for 2 more weeks. This means that for a month I will not be growing at all. The maneuver is supposed to help stimulate bone growth.
In addition to that I have stopped all medication I was taking, including the gabapentin and the meloxicam. Perhaps the meds have contributed somewhat to slow bone formation and so we think it's wise to stop them all for time being and see what happens.
Lastly he has me taking strontium, which is supposed to stimulate bone growth as well. I am seeing him in 4 weeks and at that point if things don't improve I think I would have to get a bone graft. I really hope it doesn't get to that but we ll see how it turns out.
Dr R has also mentioned, AGAIN, that I should consider modifying my goal. At the moment my left leg is at 6.5cm and the right is at 5.9cm. I have NO intention of stopping short of my goal of at least 7.5cm but somehow he repeatedly brings this up to me whenever I see him. I've asked him whether he had any patients of his with a permanent complication of non union and he explained that no, none of his patients have had such issues. Which means the bone will fill in, it's just a matter of time. And if that's indeed the case, what exactly is the point of me cutting my goal short??? Just so I can heal a month sooner? After all the expense, pain and discomfort associated with this surgery, not to mention being locked up at home the entire summer, I would feel horrible to stop now before reaching my goal. I made this point to him as well to which he didn't really have any reply. Not to mention, my flexibility is excellent still, knee bend is at 130 degrees.
I don't know if I'm being unreasonable for dismissing his comments and I would certainly love to hear what you guys think but I'm quite annoyed that he brings up the topic every time I see him even though I've expressed to him that I am resolute as to the final length that I want to attain.
Tiggy I really admire your positive mindset and will to push forward. You are so close to the finish line - this last push will be all worth it. Rooting for you man!
Hi tiggy
sorry to hear that you are having some issue in bone growth. Focus one walking and standing or other activities, which all help bone grow. Since you will not grow during this time, your muscle and tissues will recover more. You will feel better after about a month. I think you should be able to resume distraction after this. You are very close to 7.5cm. After you show Dr. R that your bones grow again, he should let you keep pushing to 7.5cm. Of course, all doctors care about the safety first. But, your goal is achievable and already very close to you. Keep pushing and stay strong!
Thank you guys for all your advice and encouragement. You have been quite active on this thread and I'm grateful for having you here.
I will update everyone after I see him in 4 weeks. Until then my regimen will include lots of walking, vitamin supplements, milk, yogurt, and protein shakes. I must do everything in my power to stimulate growth because if I do resort to bone graft surgery after this, at least I'll know I did all I could on my part. No regrets!
At first I didn’t want to say this because I don’t want to be a buzz kill. But I will regret it and hate myself if anything something didn’t went well with you. So at least I tell you what I thought.
I think you should consider what the doctor told you adjusting your goal. Aspeciallly he stress it over and over. Currently your bone growing slow. So the connection between the two bone were weak. If you distracting too much too fast maybe the bone don’t know where to grow.
Distracting 1cm May recover 1 month, 2cm maybe 2 month of recovery, but doing 10cm not necessary mean 10month , maybe 20 month of recovery.
If I were you I would just stop at both 6.6 coz first 6 is the lucky number in my country. I know you reallly want to reach 7.5 so bad. So I suggest going 7 cm so the case here Could it be that bad between the 0.5 cm? 0.5 wouldn’t gain you much more but you health do and starting your consolidate phase I think will boost your recovery. 7 is also a lucky number in US.
Another Suggestion is distract slower. You are going 1mm per day maybe now go for 0.5 per day. Less pain and you can slowly guide the bone growing the right direction.
So serious work out plan for you is doing PT for 30~50min in two hour.stimulate bone growth.than Ice 8 min avoid swell. My doctor said we only need to rest up to 1 hour between our PT
But the choice is always yours.
Take slight more calcium , Vietnam d, c,protein shake and magnesium
Wish you the best bro
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