Wannabegiants tibial lengthening in Moscow, Dr. Bagirov

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Quote from: ChrisIsaak on April 07, 2014, 09:00:11 PMHang in there, man! You're almost there 

Thank you! 

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Quote from: Wannabegiant on April 07, 2014, 10:01:23 PMNo, not at all actually  I stretch the calves for a few minutes every day, and also wear the foot holders at all times when laying down. I dont feel any stiffness in the calves and i still have full mobility there, but i can feel the achilles tendon burn (that feeling when you stretch) more than before the surgery when i perform the stretching exercises, so obviously it has been tightened a bit but not enough so that it can affect my movement yet it seems.

you are a champ!

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Well done WBG!   

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Quote from: RGKEY on April 08, 2014, 10:16:45 AMyou are a champ!

Thank you man! a lot of the good progress is thanks to your help with the footholder videos  i didnt realize how important they where until i started using them

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Quote from: jerry on April 08, 2014, 05:39:15 PMWell done WBG!   

Thank you! 

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Update:

Just hit 3 cm today, so now i have about 2 weeks left of lengthening, after that the worst part will be over, feels pretty good. Pain level hasnt changed from what i can notice.

I must admit that this journey has been easier than expected in terms of the physical aspect, but the mental aspect of staying positive after being in isolation for so long is tougher than i thought, its definitely manageable though thanks to great tv-series like Game of Thrones and Supernatural etc.

Since i havent had any real complications or unexpected difficulties i will try to list the negative experiences here to give a more balanced look at my LL journey so far.

1. For most of my Lengthening phase i have been unable to get a good nights sleep, i might get 2 or 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep but after that i always get some discomfort and have to move a little and it takes a while for it to go away, and some minor pain and stiffness also keeps you awake. As a result some days i was up all night and then became really tired during the day (for some reason it was easier to fall asleep during the day, as i have less discomfort in the legs during the day compared to the night)

2. I have lost a lot of muscle in my legs, not so much in my upper body though. Surprisingly, most of the muscle loss happened to the thighs. I expected my calves to experience the greatest muscle loss but the thighs where affected more. I guess the walking style i use with the walker/crutches makes use of the calves more than the thighs or something. I think i can regain all my muscle mass in about 3 months of working out at the gym after i have recovered, assuming i dont lose even more in the time i have left in consolidation phase. In that case i have to work for quite a while until i have the same muscle mass again.

3. The weather here in Sweden is starting to get good, with lots of sun. There are rainy and gray days in between still, but im starting to get a real big urge to get outside my house now..but i cant, and will miss most of the summer. I definitely would recommend any future LL:ers (who intend to lengthen and consolidate at home) from countries with limited summer, to start right after summer has ended so you have a chance to get healthy in time for the next one.

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If you want sun  you come to morroco where the sun is everywhere

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Quote from: PrettyTall on April 13, 2014, 10:15:50 AMIf you want sun  you come to morroco where the sun is everywhere

Yeah i know its a beautiful country from seeing pictures and hearing about it from others, one day i hopefully will visit. My goal in life is to travel to as many countries as possible after all. Its great because majority of countries have warmer weather than Sweden, suits me perfectly. For some reason i cannot imagine moving away permanently from Sweden though, maybe i am afraid to move away from my comfort zone or something.

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Small update:

I changed my pin dressing today just to get rid of some of the dry blood that has been stuck for over a month now, felt real good to get rid of it and the pin sites look great, clean and dry.

However i noticed that these external frames actually has 12 pins per leg now. I had previously said it was 11 per leg, but one extra pin was hidden under the set of 4 pins on the upper half ring. I couldnt see it because of the pin dressing covering it, and i just assumed there where 4 pins because i had 4 cotton pieces placed there.

I have to start the visa application this week again..i wonder if i have to go to the embassy myself or if i can send a family member with my passport and their own.. hopefully because even if i go there with car, there are lots of stairs..

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wbg, i wonder how our scars will look like.... the small pins on the bottom,  socks cover that so who cares, but the 5 or 6 on top....  think it should be ok