What's your doctor's view on fibular fixation? Are you worried about fibular migration at the ankle joint? This is the primary reason I think Ilizarov is superior to monorails, because it stabilizes the ankle joint if the doctor fixates the fibula with a pin distally.
Disobedient,
Thanks for the advice. Yeah my doctors have been monitoring that really well and soon I will be cleaning the pin sites I believe. They said this was very important.
Polycrates,
The doctor did not fixate the fibula, I really did not ask too much about that. I think one could have the fibula fixated with screws even with the monorail so the illizarov isn't advantageous over the monorail in that regard. Do all doctors fix the fibula with the illizarov method? I was under the impression they did not. I think the way the illizarov method is better is the ability to make corrections to malalignment. I don't see how the monorail could accomplish that. But maybe I am wrong on my assessment of both.
I am a little concerned about the fibula not being fixated and will keep people updated as to if it bothers me or becomes a problem. Hopefully it does not for me.
Disobedient,
Also what did you clean the pin sites with. Dr. Inan said he would give me something but I was just curious what you found worked best?
Do you have x-rays of your legs post surgery?
Yeah I will post them sometime when I get around to it. I have like 4 sets of X-rays.
Do you have any knee pain atm? Or anywhere within its vicinity?
I luckily have had no knee pain yet. They get stiff if they are in one position for awhile but they easily loosen up. I have never felt pain in my knees. This may come later I don't know. I can bend my almost like i used to now. Maybe they would hurt if I was in a squatted position and lifted my body up but i won't be trying that for a long time. We will see though my knees so far have been the least of my concern which makes me really happy. I can barely even see the incision on my left knee now.
My biggest problem now is achilles tendon tightness. It is already bad at 1.6 mm. I walked to the supermarket again today which seems to do wonders for my legs. Without walking I don't know what I would do. Though I do worry about bending the fixator even though it feels very sturdy the monorail has gotten a bad reputation on these forums.
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Quote from: TrailBlazer on October 14, 2014, 08:46:58 AMDisobedient,
Also what did you clean the pin sites with. Dr. Inan said he would give me something but I was just curious what you found worked best?
I used to clean it with liquid betadine and then put some betadine ointment, and here is the odd thing that I noticed, putting bandage do harm more than good, cuz when there will some discharge from the pin sites it will stuck with bandage, so when every time you will try to change the bandage you'll cut some skin..
so I would not bother do dressing unless if I'll go outside, but keep the pin sites always clean
I hit 2 cm in the amount I have turned today. I am pretty happy with everything so far as my muscles feel good but I really need to keep up with my physiotherapy and keep them strong and flexible. My achilles is already very tight so I have been working night and day trying to keep it loose but it proves to be a difficult task. Every other muscles seems to loosen up after a little while but the achilles does not. I try to sleep with boots on and my legs straight and it helps but is uncomfortable. I can definitely see why people say after 5 cm it would be very hard. Dr. Inan said I can go to 5 cm but than we will have a discussion on if he will let me go farther. I talked to the physiotherapist and he said my ROM was good so I am happy to hear that.
I have been kind of realizing that I may actually get my goal now which is really rewarding. I have been thinking a lot about being done with the process even though I have barely started. I keep dreaming of what life will be like back home with my new height. I can't help but wonder if it will really matter. Like most of us there is a girl I really care about back home but I was always in the dreaded "friend zone." I think you can get out of the friend zone easily but I wonder if she will notice the height or will look at me any differently. She always made comments like "I think we are the same height" even though she is a couple inches shorter than me. That always really annoyed me because she was definitely not very tall for a girl. If it did work out with her and I thought that it was because of my height I wouldn't blame her. Honestly, if she was 4'11" I wouldn't really want to date her either. That is the reality of life and we have to get used to that. We kind of left on bad terms so it will be interesting to see how that plays out. Whether it works out with her or not is no big deal either way. I just hope to get the process done safely and go back home and focus on other things. It is really an exciting time for me and I can honestly say I would have never had this chance without this forum. Hopefully it all turns out well and keeps going well.
Disobedient,
Thanks for the advice that makes sense and I will make sure to do that.
Hey TrailBlazer, I wholeheartedly agree with you in regards to everyone on this forum having that "girl back home" haha It's funny, I haven't gotten this surgery yet, but there are already a few girls in my life who fit the description of the one you gave!
Anyways, what vitamins or protein shakes are you taking, if any?
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