Quote from: Stand taller on January 18, 2023, 08:54:27 PMThanks a lot, yeah I am feeling more and more optimistic every day. As I've written in the past few posts, my gait, my duckass and my form is improving every day!
Yes I did experience this "pin wheel" effect or as Dr Becker calls it "walking on egg shells". This is because your tibia will rotate relatively to your femur due to the way the clicking mechanism works. During lengthening and walking on crutches it didn't bother me because the tension due to lengthening keeps everything tight and I didn't have too much of this "pin wheel" sensation. But once you stop clicking and your legs start to catch up at loosen this all becomes more apparent.
My left leg had more movement and in total I had 22 accidental clicks until September 11th and haven't had any more since. Had some "pin wheel" sensation a few months after that, but now my bones seem to have consolidated enough that I have zero movement and my legs feel rock solid.
Beautiful, Im so glad they harden up and provide that support eventually.
Stand Taller diary - The first day of the rest of my life (Betz Bone 14.01.2022)
Hello Stand taller! As others have said, thanks for a comprehensive and very interesting diary so far! I especially like your focus on not only the process, but also the "aftermath" and your experience in daily life. It really adds value to this forum to get the emotional, psychosocial and longer-term story relating to having gone through this procedure and moving on from it. Of course also if there are any physical long-term effects to report. Hope you will stick around here as long as you can! And wishing you a continued good recovery of course.
I've been thinking, LLers are maybe the only human beings ever to experience what it's like having a growth spurt after the early 20s, which is kind of mind blowing. Science fiction kind of stuff.
And one thing I found especially interesting in your diary was exactly that, what you said about the strange experience of slowly growing taller and at some point no longer feeling "small" anymore around people, I think this was when you passed 170cm.
So I was wondering, do you think you would have thought differently about your height and size originally, and maybe wouldn't have desired or considered this surgery, if your starting point was at let's say 171-173cm which is slightly above where you stopped feeling small?
(About the segment measurements and X-rays discussion earlier, if the surgeon has those on file from your femurs, I guess you could somehow get an X-ray of your tibias now, and get to these raw numbers to settle any possible remaining uncertainty around your initial T/F ratio?)
Quote from: dz93 on January 22, 2023, 10:12:48 PMHello Stand taller! As others have said, thanks for a comprehensive and very interesting diary so far! I especially like your focus on not only the process, but also the "aftermath" and your experience in daily life. It really adds value to this forum to get the emotional, psychosocial and longer-term story relating to having gone through this procedure and moving on from it. Of course also if there are any physical long-term effects to report. Hope you will stick around here as long as you can! And wishing you a continued good recovery of course.
I've been thinking, LLers are maybe the only human beings ever to experience what it's like having a growth spurt after the early 20s, which is kind of mind blowing. Science fiction kind of stuff.
And one thing I found especially interesting in your diary was exactly that, what you said about the strange experience of slowly growing taller and at some point no longer feeling "small" anymore around people, I think this was when you passed 170cm.
So I was wondering, do you think you would have thought differently about your height and size originally, and maybe wouldn't have desired or considered this surgery, if your starting point was at let's say 171-173cm which is slightly above where you stopped feeling small?
(About the segment measurements and X-rays discussion earlier, if the surgeon has those on file from your femurs, I guess you could somehow get an X-ray of your tibias now, and get to these raw numbers to settle any possible remaining uncertainty around your initial T/F ratio?)
Thanks! Most diaries here focus more on the facts and the practical things about LLS, which is great - but almost nobody talks about the emotions and experience after reaching ones new height. This was something I was missing before I did LLS, so hopefully people will enjoy that. Hopefully I will continue sharing my experience in the years to come.
It is correct that passing around 170cm I stopped feeling small, mostly because I was taller than young teenagers. I think this is because I stopped growing at 12-13 years old, and young teenagers have often been my height or even taller. At 177cm there aren't many young teenagers my height, and if they are they are most likely 17-19 years old. I think you pose an interesting question that is hard for me to answer, but I can tell you this. I only have a handful of friends at around 170cm or shorter, and at this point in time I haven't told them about my surgery. But talking to friends who are around my old height, I feel tall and towering - almost powerful when with them. They are truly small from my new perspective, which is a strange new sensation - but I almost feel kind of guilty too at the same time. Probably a guilt that us who have done LLS can only feel having been small, but now normal. I don't think I would feel that way at 170cm.
I have two friend who are around 174-175cm who do know about my LLS, and they are also the ones who understand the most - but also say they wouldn't consider it because their height neurosis is only occasional and when they talk about being "short" it's not wholehearted like us who where really short (169cm and below). It's kind of like a group of friends where everybody isd making 100 - 150k a year, but there is the one friend who only makes around 75k, drives a BMW 3-series and he is considered "poor". Sure he may not be as well of as his friends, like the guy being 175cm not being as tall as the average guy at 178-183cm, but in no was is he poor.
I think if I was around 170cm I probably would consider LLS and maybe even do it, but if I was around 175cm tall I probably wouldn't. I have no desire if being tall, just a desire of not being short. It's kind of like, I have not desire of being rich - but I want to be comfortable and safe. At 177cm I am right below the average male height in my country, taller than around 45-50% of all males and 95-97% of all females basically making me taller than 70-80% of the population. And that is awesome and more than good enough for me.
I feel I've measured my femurs and tibias accurate enough, and feel they look fine. So I don't care enough to even think about it.
Day 376 (Day 218 Post clicking)
Had my x-rays taken yesterday, here you can seen them:
https://freeimage.host/i/H097cbe
https://freeimage.host/i/H097Esj
https://freeimage.host/i/H097Mqx
According to Dr Becker everything is ACE and I am now past any fear of nonunion, and that the bones are now almost completely healed. This is great news, and means I can now start to jog lightly and eventually run.
Other than that, at my PT we are reaching new milestones in stretching. So much that I have actually felt some light nerve pain in my lower right leg. This is actually a good thing since it is a sign of that the rate we have been stretching lately has increased to a point where my nerves can't "keep up". I feel noticeably better after each session now (I go there three times a week), I am softer and walk more upright after every session.
Last week I also walked 1 km two days, and 1,5 km another day - really pushing my body. Hopefully my progress stays at this pace, or even picks up even more.
That's great to hear! Let us know how that light jogging going 
You felt nerve pain while lengthening as well or only now?
Thanks for the quick and long answer ST, once again, great diary and looking forward to the continuation.
I think in many western countries, especially less ethnically diverse ones with average male heights around 178-183cm, the 170-175cm range can be a weird one to find oneself in for a guy. It's kind of in between categories or groups. You're just slightly taller than the majority of women, but not necessarily enough to be "significant" or that noticable. It makes your height much more common to see for women than men. And that's before considering certain footwear like high heels. A few people might see you as short in a slightly uncommon way, but I bet most people won't, and rather will see you as "kinda short for a guy I guess but I know quite a few guys like that". Below 170cm of course, things can become different, because as a man being that height will be more and more rare the lower you go, and when you cross past the female average I would say it's more clearly outlier territory with all the disadvantages and challenges that can involve. Seeing men that height is uncommon enough making you simply stand out more. If that makes sense.
At 170-175cm, guys could always move to another country or city where the average height is lower, if that is acceptable and could improve ones life otherwise. Then there would be more guys than women around the height range you find yourself in. Certainly less "drastic" than having LLS, and would have the same effect at least if you only plan to lengthen a more average 5-6cm anyway. But again, below that height range those relocation options are fewer. Heck, the closer you are to 175cm, the more some thick but still normal boots could help out slightly to bump you up on those percentiles if you really feel the need.
Do you know may people around 170cm that seem to be negatively affected by their height? Do you think some of them would consider this surgery if offered it and they knew all you know about it now?
Also, one more thing. It's so interesting to me that you've been this open with both friends and family about this procedure. I guess that means you have good close friends and a loving family, which is always a good thing regardless of who you are what happens in life. Congrats on that. 
Not everyone will (be able to) have that approach and some will go to great lengths to hide and deny having done this, or relocate and change jobs to start afresh. Do you think your friends at 173cm and below have noticed and thought about what has happened with your height? Do you plan on telling them, or only if the ask you about it?
Good luck on your journey
Day 391 (Day 233 Post clicking)
I have been super busy past few weeks with work and just everyday life. A huge step forward is me getting back a lot of my stamina and energy levels in general. Before surgery I was used to working 60-80 hour weeks without a problem. After surgery this took a big hit and first now I feel I am able to work 40+ hours without a problem. Of course lengheting and pushing your body with stretching and exercises does take a toll and takes away a lot of that work capacity. But for the first time in long time, I feel that the days are too short rather than I am too tired. I am feeling like my old selv more and more every day.
Physio, stretching and exercising is also going very well, and I feel I am seeing noticeable progress every day. It is still winter and generally hard to walk outdoors here, but for the past few weeks I have walking in my local mall with a shopping cart - doing a total of 1km+ almost every day. The reason I am walking with a shopping cart is to extend my stride as much as possible so I am stretching my hip flexors. Walking with a shopping cart lets me do this much more than waling without one. In total I try to walking around 1 -1,5km every day. That with several sessions with stretching a day and also going to my physiotherapist three times a week has really been improving my form and my gait. I still have a little duck ass, but again that is improving every day. I would say I am about 90% there with my duck ass and my gait being normal.
For the first time in my diary here is a video of me walking. I filmed one two weeks ago, and there is noticeable improvement in just two weeks.
https://files.fm/u/6dnrut47x
As you can see, I still have some duck ass because of tight hip flexors and possibly a tight it-band. My stride is almost normal, but not having full range of motion in my hip joint means I still have some stiffness in my gait as well as some hip sway.
All in all I am pretty happy with my progress lately and hopefully it continues at this pace!
Congrats on all the good progress.
Did they not do an IT-band release? I thought that was done if you lengthen over 5 cm femurs.
congrats on your progress!
Two major questions:
1. Did you get an ITB release ?
2. If not, why not?
They offer it now, and almost everyone does either a soft, or proper ITB release.
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