Thanks for the support man it means a lot. My PT was just here I walked a few very painful half assed steps but it's an improvement from yesterday at least. He left me sitting on the edge of the bed here to stretch out my quads, can't believe how tight they are! Might not seem much but feels good to not be lying on the bed for a change
Quote from: TheAlchemist on November 03, 2019, 02:58:03 PMDay 48 - 4 CM
Hit 4 CM last night, it's a great feeling knowing you are at the > halfway point. Locked in and ready to finish strong.
Pain
Started to feel numbness in my shins, accompanied by random nerve pains that feel like brief/suddden electric shocks. Nothing too intense yet, I'd say the electric shocks are around a level 4 or 5 pain and last for a few seconds. I have an appt with the Dr. tomorrow so we'll see if I need to get meds for the numbness/ shocking pains.
The nagging, dull pains continue to persist. Again, wouldn't describe as painful, more annoying, impossible to ignore, and make it difficult to focus on anything that requires cognitive thinking.
Flexibility
I think I hit my peak flexibility around 3 cm, around the time the surgery pains wore off and the stiffness hadn't set in. Now that I'm at 4 CM I can start to feel the stiffness and I have to work harder during PT to fight it off. The good thing is the results of hard work do pay off, at one point my left hamstring got really stiff, I spent a few days doubling down on hamstring stretches and remediated it.
I'm at about 5 stretches a day. 3 major ones (comprehensive set w/ strength exercises) and 2 quick ones (few concentrated stretches focused on quads and hamstrings.) I try to keep the cadence at every 3 hrs during the day. I make sure to do one big stretch immediately before going to bed to ensure that I start my sleeping loose. I think this has helped with sleeping and avoiding being woken up early from stiffness.
Sleep
Not great but not terrible. Averaging about 5 hrs a night. Will get about an hour napping during the day. Taking Tylenol PM as a sleep aid has helped tremendously.
Mood/ Mindset
I gave up on being productive with side hustles, hobbies, reading, etc. The nagging dull pain and stiffness make it impossible to focus and do cognitive work. I've sort of embraced feeling "isolated and useless" and made PT / stretching my full time job and purpose. To kill time I'll watch youtube/netflix/reddit, things that require almost no critical thinking. I think crossing the halfway point milestone will help me get through this.
Man ik that feeling! My goal this yr was to eat 3,000 calories/day to gain weight, even that i said fk it jus gonna focus on recovery
Keep pushing bro trust me its well worth it in the end
Day 57 - 5 CM
Just hit 5 CM. I'm just a hair under 5'11 in the morning and around 5'10.5 in the evening. At this stage I'm starting to count down the days to finishing distracting (goal is 7 to 8 cm). It's a battle everyday but I'm locked in and trying to finish strong! Let's get it!
Pain
The numbness and nerve pain in my left shin has persisted. Numbness occurs throughout the day and a painful shooting burning / electric shock pain (level 6 or 7) occurs a couple times a day for a few seconds. The pain is aggravated when I'm in certain positions (e.g. when my feet are dangling). I've been taking Gabapentin, a nerve medication prescribed by the doc, for the past few days and hoping this helps, will keep you guys posted.
Everything feels a lot stiffer.....quads, hamstrings, hip abductors, and groin and I feel like it's going to get tougher and tougher down the final stretch. As a result my gait has gotten a bit more robotic and I tend to waddle due to the tightness of my hips and weakness in my glutes.
The general nagging, dull pain persists which consists of a combination of the stiffness, random muscle/ligament pains throughout my legs, and the nerve pain. Probably a 2 or 3 at its worst, but very challenging as it is impossible to ignore and leaves you uncomfortable throughout the day.
PT pain is certainly there and can go up to a 4 or 5 in a deep stretch but I don't mind it as it's a concentrated and controllable pain. I go into each PT session with the mentality that pain is my b1tch and go through the motions. The nagging, dull pain throughout the day, although much lower, is by far a lot worse than the PT pain because it never goes away and is impossible to ignore.
Flexibility
Every day everything gets stiffer. It's hard to stay motivated and stretch but I've pushed through and upped my stretches to 6x a day- consisting of 3 big ones that involve both strength and stretching, and 3 little ones that focus on stretching hamstrings and quads.
I try to keep a cadence where I do a stretch every 3 to 4 hours during the day. I find that if you take a long break from stretching, your body gets stiff really quick, and it's difficult to catch up and PT becomes an uphill battle. Increasing the frequency of stretching keeps things loose. Seems like common sense but I've met LLers who do 3 stretches in the morning over a 3 hour span and call it day and complain about stiffness.
PT said I'm doing well and my range of motion is good, going to try to keep it going.
Sleep
Averaging about 5 hrs of sleep a night. Tylenol PM still does the job. Heating pads help me ease into the deep sleep. I continue to make sure to do a stretch session right before going to bed to keep me loose through the night.
Mood / Mindset
Definitely the hardest part. The monotony and general boredom gets to you. I would love to engage in a mentally stimulating activity or hobbie but as I've said in previous entries, the dull nagging pain makes it hard to focus on anything or perform cognitive work. I would say at 5 CM, knowing I'm > the half way point helps me stay positive. I can't wait to get out in the real world again although I know I'm far from it.
Although I'm only at 5 cm, I can happily say that the height dysphoria is fading away. Going from 5'9 to 5'11 is huge as I've transitioned from being statistically just under average to just on the verge of becoming tall. 90% of women are all shorter than me, and 6 ft guys, who used to feel like giants, all seem within range. I used to wear lifts every day and don't see the need to going forward....great feeling. I look in the mirror and am happy with my height. My overall body proportions feel better, I've always had a longer torso/longer arms. My leg proportions definitely look as though my femurs are on the longer side, but I don't mind as situations where this would come up are rare.
I still have another inch to go so I'm looking forward to the final outcome.
Hahaha I like the mentality you go into PT sessions with 
I'm glad you're starting to see the light at 5 CMS bro! a bit more and you'll be right at your goal in no time, keep pushing bro I'm at day 11 of consolidation and already the nerve pains lowered significantly, you got this!
Amazing dude 5cm means you’re ONLY 20-30 DAYS FROM BEING DONE!! Don’t think of it as counting down the days.. this is an opportunity you will never get back again. You have 20-30 days of opportunity left. I highly recommend you go to 8cm because it is safe to do so and you will recover
Idk if u r but try sleeping on ur sides, two pillows in between ur legs (one between theighs one betweens feet) and one pillow near ur side to kinda “hug” it helps me sleep like a baby even with night splints on
What is your stretching routine? I found that last year i only had to stretch 4x/day sometimes 3x/day and i hit 8cm pretty well!
You got this brother i believe in you! I just hit the 5’9 range hoping to get close to your 5’11 range
Keep it up dude! Almost there.
The side sleeping like myevol stated was good for my rotation as well.
Day 68 - 6CM - 5'11+ height
Reached 6CM last night! Getting closer to that distraction finish line and I'm locked in on finishing strong. I'm setting my goal at 7.5 cm to 8 cm now so just 2 to 3 weeks of distraction left. Counting down the days and knocking out the stretches!
6 CM feels amazing. I feel like a strong 5'11+ in the morning now. At this height I can comfortably say I'll never wear shoe lifts again for the rest of my life. This is a huge deal for me because my height dysphoria manifested itself through randomly putting lifts in my shoes a couple of years ago. At 5'11+ I feel an amazing sense of FREEDOM from that insecurity that I can't describe or put a value on.
Pain
The nagging dull pain from general tightness in the hamstrings, quads, glutes, and hip increases the more you lengthen. About a 2 level pain throughout the day that is impossible to ignore. At times, I'll feel a sharp shooting level 6 or 7 pain in my knee that will last a few seconds.
The nerve pain and numbness persists in my left leg and has creeped down to around my ankle area. I still get sharp burning / electric shock pains (level 3 or 4) a few times a day.
I've increased my Gabapentin dosage to 900 mg / day which I believe has helped minimize the super painful burning nerve pain episodes.
Still taking Tylenol for overall pain.
Walk, Stretching and Physical Therapy
I'm putting in that work and stretching 6x a day! Guys...outside of individuals who are naturally super flexible and/ or young.....your success in LL is directly related to the amount of work you put in with stretching. Make stretching and PT your number 1 priority during LL. It's been an uphill battle for me, pre op I was average to below average in flexibility and I've had to put in countless hours of stretching to battle through this but let me tell you that it pays off! My Physical Therapists tell me that I'm ahead of the curve in terms of flexibility and strength at 6 CM.
As for my walk/gait, I continue to use a cane for balance and minor weight distribution. Inside my hotel room I usually walk independently. After a PT session when I'm loose, I can walk well, feet together, heel to toe action, and minimal waddle/swaying.
Mood / Mindset
Locked in with the mindset of finishing out this distraction phase strong. Each day is the same...stretch, eat, sleep, repeat. It's mechanical and monotonous but knowing the end of the distraction phase is approaching feels good. The tightness is an uphill battle. Once you cross 5 CM every millimeter gets you soooo tight and you have to respond with even more rigorous and dedicated stretching. The last inch of distraction is the true test of LL, your ability to push through it makes the difference.
Since I've kept LL private from friends, family, and co workers, I'm mentally preparing myself for reintroducing myself to them at 6 ft. I'm hoping most won't notice since I've been wearing 2 inch lifts for the last couple of years lol.
That's about it guys. To my fellow LLers going through it, keep pushing! Let's finish strong!
Wow! It sounds so good! Keep going man! Just a few days left! Btw if you have any latest x-rays would you post them? Because I'm doing some research n it would really be awesome if you could....
Also how are you surgery incisions? Have they recovered?
And what is Dr. paley's opinion about femur lengthening...did he say you can be back to normal in terms of walking and running if not intense sports?
What did Dr. Paley say about fat embolism?
It would be so cool if you could answer these....
Best of luck, keep going!
Quote from: Dreamer57 on November 25, 2019, 03:39:43 AMWow! It sounds so good! Keep going man! Just a few days left! Btw if you have any latest x-rays would you post them? Because I'm doing some research n it would really be awesome if you could....
Also how are you surgery incisions? Have they recovered?
And what is Dr. paley's opinion about femur lengthening...did he say you can be back to normal in terms of walking and running if not intense sports?
What did Dr. Paley say about fat embolism?
It would be so cool if you could answer these....
Best of luck, keep going!
Private person so won't be posting x rays, sorry man!
Surgery incisions are all healed up. Still have visible scarring.
Paley believes that at around 6 to 7 months post op sports / running is achievable if the patient is disciplined with physical therapy.
Paley said fat embolism does happen but is rare. There are preventative and detective measures that he exercises to help mitigate the risk.
I wanted to share my thoughts on an LL buying guide. These items were absolutely essential to survival during my LL journey. I didn't include certain things that I assume you'd receive from the hospital (e.g. walker, crutches, cane, etc.)
1. Laptop Desk for Bed- Important for working, laptop use, and eating while laying down comfortably in bed. You will be laying in bed A LOT during the journey. Sitting down in a chair is difficult beyond 30 min and is not a great position for your IT bands. Highly recommend this to make the most out of your lying in bed experience.
2. Leg Strap for Stretching - Important for hamstring and quad stretches
3. Stretching Table / Massage Table - Way more effective than stretching on a bed. You need a hard, comfortable, raised surface to get the most range and stability during you stretches. While the bed will work....you tend to sink into the bed which works against you during certain stretches.
4. Extension grabber - Reaching for things can be difficult (e.g. things you dropped or things up high).
5. Raised Toilet Commode - Sitting down in low positions (e.g. toilet) is tough and especially painful during the first month post op.
5. Heat pads (pain relief for legs) - These were life savers. I sleep with them on. The heat really helps manage the pain. Also works to help loosen up your legs before a stretching session. Would recommend using after first month post op or as dr. advises as you don't want to heat fresh surgical wounds and risk infection.
6. Ice Pads- Helps with post surgery wound swelling and pain. Incredibly useful during the first month post op.
7. Loose fitting clothing with zipped pocketing - Baggy shorts / pants that are easy to put on and don't constrain movement. Zipped pockets are good for transporting stuff securely. Pain in the ass when you drop something and need to bend down to pick it up while in pain....use secure pockets.
8. Bathroom mats / traction- Your footing will be compromised during this journey. Put bathroom mats in the bathroom to help prevent slipping and falling.
9. Loofa with long arm- Helps to reach down low when washing your body.
10. Bath wipes - first couple of weeks is tough to shower. Bathroom wipes help keep you clean and smelling fresh.
11. Convenient efficient food sources high in protein and other essential nutrients - No time or energy to cook, clean and do dishes during LL...efficient calorie assumption such as Soylent, meal replacements, and protein bars are great.
12. Portable water jug and Brita Filter- Drink tons and tons of water during LL!
13. OTC meds and vitamins- Tylenol extra strength during the day and Tylenol PM during the evening. Zzzquil as a sleep aide. Vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium for bone health.
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