Dr. Monegal - Tibia and Femur - Fitbone - glenn

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Hi Average2Tall!

No worries. Like one of my favorite professors used to say, "There are no stupid questions…"

When you're in the hospital with a catheter sticking out of you, there is no sex drive, despite the abundance of nice nurses.

Even at the MIC, I was so tired from PT and cooking that I didn't have any strength for a libido. There was a caretaker at the MIC that was pretty flirty, but even then, I couldn't be bothered to make a move.

After coming home, I am feeling more like a normal guy now, with my normal schedule of urges. I think it has more to do with 1) sleeping more 2) better nutrition 3) familiar environment. I'd say my sex drive is pretty much the same as before I had surgery. After all, LL severs bones, not boners 

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A user that will do LL with Dr. Monegal in January recently PM'ed me about some questions, and it reminded me of the questions that I had before my own surgery. Before flying over to Barcelona, I was always constantly worried about logistics and stressed about forgetting to bring something.
 
It got me thinking, and I decided to write a list of "recommended stuff that you never thought to bring." If you're doing LL in Barcelona, I recommend you bring:

1. At least 1 pair of swimming trunks (which can also double as workout shorts for PT)

2. A universal adaptor so you can use your electronics with European-style sockets.

If you need to plug more than one thing in at the same time, you will probably need something like this.

3. An electric hair trimmer so you can cut your own hair. I'm told that the salons are expensive near the MIC.

4. Wheelchair (if you're doing single stage). Where on earth are you going to get a wheelchair when you're all alone in a foreign country and your legs are broken? If you rent one in Barcelona, you will have to figure out how to get to the airport and back to your own country when you leave Barcelona. You can always buy one in Barcelona, but it's less stress to just figure it out before you get here and bring a wheelchair with you, since most airlines transport wheelchairs for free anyway. 

Stuff you DON'T need to bring:
towel
swimming goggles
slippers
crutches or walker
long workout pants (Claudio the PT prefers you to wear shorts so he can observe your form)
cooking utensils or cutlery (MIC has mostly everything you need to cook)

You don't need to bring that many clothes. MIC has free washer and dryer, so you can do laundry constantly.

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Quote from: glenn on November 19, 2015, 10:10:37 PMAlso, I saw your gym videos you posted. I wasn't going to say anything since I'm not an expert, but it seems to me that it looks more like "exercising" rather than "stretching." When I stretch I usually hold the pose at the apex of the movement for about 15 to 30 seconds. If it's a dynamic stretch, like a lunge, I'll still hold the pose for a few seconds before completing the action. I'm not saying you should follow what I've said, since maybe your PT has taught you something different. I'm just pointing out something that I noticed, that's all.

Hey, glen.
Thank you so much for your answers and opinions. Yes you are right about my gym time. They are just the workout for reganing or improving my strength and balance of the legs.
I was bed ridden for nearly seven months so my body had disfigured alot. My muscles were all atrophied and the whole body changed pretty bad until i hit the gym two months ago. I only do my stretchings at home or in heated pool spending long hours daily just for stretchings. It took me four months to reach 90 degrees of rom no matter how hard i tried. Even if i did external femurs i spend about 80000 for the process and i just cant help from comparing myself with those who did internal. Even my journey had been hard and rough i still want my recovery to be as fast as those of internals.  .Now its ten months and my knees are bending only around 90. And i need my scar removal next month for the scars are huge and horrible. But when people see me they all think i m doing really great or how fast my recovery is for external femurs. Only i can know and tell how hard it is and how frustrating and how hard i had tried. Sorry for sharing my feelings.
Thank you and
Wish you fasted recovery .

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Quote from: glenn on November 22, 2015, 09:49:48 PMHi Average2Tall!

No worries. Like one of my favorite professors used to say, "There are no stupid questions…"

When you're in the hospital with a catheter sticking out of you, there is no sex drive, despite the abundance of nice nurses.

Even at the MIC, I was so tired from PT and cooking that I didn't have any strength for a libido. There was a caretaker at the MIC that was pretty flirty, but even then, I couldn't be bothered to make a move.

After coming home, I am feeling more like a normal guy now, with my normal schedule of urges. I think it has more to do with 1) sleeping more 2) better nutrition 3) familiar environment. I'd say my sex drive is pretty much the same as before I had surgery. After all, LL severs bones, not boners 

Thanks Glenn!

It's good to know the little man will be safe and taking a looooong break

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Hey Blue,

No worries, this is a safe place to share your feelings.

I think I can speak for many people on this forum when I say that we're very much in admiration of your perseverance and courage. I don't think there are many people on the forum, me included, that could possibly have accomplished what you've accomplished so far. I know that when I was planning my surgery, your diary was a source of inspiration and strength.

It's ok to feel down and frustrated; these are natural feelings. LL is full of ups and downs, smiles and cries, just like life. Someone once told me, "You can't control what happens in your life, the only thing
you can control is how you react to it." Even if things look bleak now, I promise things will be better in the future.

Hope you feel better, soon. And keep fighting!

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Glenn,

How is the recocery Tibia versus Femur? do you feel more pain or you have more confidence in the leg legngthening with tibia or Femur?

Thank you again 

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Good question!

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Hey Fellas,

Thanks for the questions. It was my 3-month anniversary yesterday, can you guys believe it?

With LL, pain comes and goes in different spots. Every few days a new place will hurt, and the old pain will go away. Right now there's a new, sharp, pain on my adductor muscles (femur side) during certain movements. I've been crying through my past three workouts because the pain is quite sharp when I move it a certain way. I was a bit lazy last week with my workouts so I can't tell if my current pain is because I've overworked or underworked my left leg, though. Hopefully it will go away in a few days. I'm doing my best to try and not let it affect my mood, but I'll admit it's quite tough.

Tibia is now my stronger leg. I've been doing these stretches and they seem to help me. When my legs are cold my knee (tibia side) hurts when I lift it to walk. The knee pain pretty much goes away after my legs are warmed up, so I'm not too worried. The adductor pain (femur side) is the one that worries me now.

Aside from the casual stretching I do during the day, this my current workout routine:

1. knee bends with ball, 50 reps/leg
2. leg lifts, 50 reps/leg
3. lateral leg lifts, 50 reps/leg
4. horizontal + vertical leg lifts, 15reps/leg
(For #1-4 I use 2 lb ankle weights on each foot)

5. walk outside 40mins (with crutches), ~ 400meters

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hey glenn, is the femur side pain from the lateral leg raises?

I have sharp pain in my abductors when I make lateral movements- literally feels like the tip of the screw is cutting into my muscle. Im hoping the pain will just go away over time, but not sure if it will

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Hi Goldenegg!

Sounds about the same type of thing I'm going through, but on the other side of the leg. Mine is on the adductor side (inside groin), so the painful movement is when I twist and close my legs.

I had your type of abductor pain during weeks 3 and 5... If I remember correctly, they went away after a week. If you don't mind: How long has yours been going on? During this pain, have you been working out that area more (hoping to get stronger), or less (hoping to let it rest and recover) ? I'm still not sure what's the best way to ride it out.

Although it's excruciating and "feels" like it's caused by friction against the nail, I'm not entirely convinced that's what it is. If the nail were really digging into our muscles, we'd be suffering from some major internal bleeding within a few minutes, wouldn't we? Maybe the nail is just touching a nerve or something. I'm more inclined to think that it's just natural soft tissue tearing and damage. (I hope! )

Yeah, it's hard to be optimistic and believe that the pain will go away soon. I'm having the same thoughts now, I admit. Key is to have faith. Stay strong, brother!