Have questions for a long-term LL veteran? Ask them here!

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I had LL in 2007.  If you have any questions for me about the long-term effects of my LL, please ask them here.

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Hello! Thanks so much for this. I have a few questions if you don't mind answering them. 

1. Do you feel like you have as much flexibility and athleticism as your Pre-LL self?
2. Do your leg joints ever ache more than usual and do you have fears of early arthritis? I just worry about being able to do something as simple as sitting on a wooden floor without pain.
3. How did you explain you height increase post-puberty to your friends and family? Did they believe your fib if you used one?
4. Did you get any stretch marks on your legs from the lengthening?
5. Is there any advice you could give me that you wish you had known before getting the surgery and recovery?
6. If you could talk to your younger self, would you still tell him to go forward with the surgery?

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"3. How did you explain you height increase post-puberty to your friends and family? Did they believe your fib if you used one?"

ok this

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Quote from: JohnSmith on November 03, 2019, 10:59:43 PM1. Do you feel like you have as much flexibility and athleticism as your Pre-LL self?

No.  It's about 80-90%.

Quote2. Do your leg joints ever ache more than usual and do you have fears of early arthritis? I just worry about being able to do something as simple as sitting on a wooden floor without pain.

My joints do not ache and I don't have fears of early arthritis.  All the issues seem to be with the muscles, tendons, and ligaments; not in the joints' cartilage.

Quote3. How did you explain you height increase post-puberty to your friends and family? Did they believe your fib if you used one?

A few select people I told about the surgery because I had no way of hiding it from them, notably my mother.  She blabbed to a lot of other family members about it, and her lack of discretion with my secret was shocking.  So that contaminated a lot of possibilities for saying I grew.  A few people on the other side of the family whom I hardly ever saw (once every 5 years or so) noticed I had gotten taller and believed that I had grown between age 20 when they had last seen me and age 25 when they first saw me post-LL.  At least, they didn't verbally express their disbelief.

If you have a lot of friends and family that you see regularly, either tell them you're doing the surgery or ghost them and go start a new life after LL.  Or better yet, keep your social circle and don't get LL.  It's really weird for someone to get taller suddently, and people are very cognizant of others' height.  This forum wouldn't exist if height wasn't an extremely noticeable physical attribute.

Most of the time you will not get away with fibbing to anyone who knew you as a short guy, so don't try or else they'll think you're a liar as well as someone who got LL.  And keep in mind if those people know each other, the topic of your height increase will probably come up when you're not there.

Quote4. Did you get any stretch marks on your legs from the lengthening?

LL did not cause any stretch marks.

Quote5. Is there any advice you could give me that you wish you had known before getting the surgery and recovery?

It will probably take longer than you think to get back to normal, and it's very physically and mentally draining, especially during lengthening.  There's no way I could have worked or studied during lengthening, and I slept for 12 hours a night for over a year after doing LL.

Quote6. If you could talk to your younger self, would you still tell him to go forward with the surgery?

The answer is still yes, but we'll see.  I'm noticing more tightness in my legs now in my late 30s, 12 years after doing the surgery.

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Thanks so much for answering my questions!

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How much did you pay?

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$25,000

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Do you know your time for sprinting 0-100 meters?

I did my 7cm on tibias in 2013 and have now achieved the highest level of competitive martial arts - for men in my age(40+).

Of course I have aches and pain many days, but in 2 weeks I’ll be competing in European Championships! I’m just so happy to be “back in the game” again. I’ve achieved more than I ever thought was possible after having done LL, especially with my kind of complications.

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I recently did LL now in lengthening phase

@ Medium Drink Of Water
Quote from: Medium Drink Of Water on November 04, 2019, 06:28:01 PMMy joints do not ache and I don't have fears of early arthritis.  All the issues seem to be with the muscles, tendons, and ligaments; not in the joints' cartilage.

What are the issues that you have with muscles, tendons and ligaments.

How frequent are pains or tightness and how severe it is, does it prevent you or cause any discomfort in your daily activities?

Are these complications normal for everyone?

Are there any ways to undo these pains/complications after LL?

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Quote from: Sweden on November 09, 2019, 08:04:42 AMDo you know your time for sprinting 0-100 meters?

No.

Quote from: nomad13 on November 19, 2019, 07:00:05 AMWhat are the issues that you have with muscles, tendons and ligaments.

Tightness in the right ankle, and easily fatigued tibialis anteior muscles on both sides.  I feel like those are absolutely maxed out geneically and will not grow anymore.  Just walking after LL makes them work harder than a tough leg workout did before surgery.

QuoteHow frequent are pains or tightness and how severe it is, does it prevent you or cause any discomfort in your daily activities?

No pain, not very severe tightness but it's always there.  It seems to be getting a little more noticeable in my late 30s.  I've recently started stretching and purposely walking a little differently to try to improve things.  I think I had developed a way of walking that was kind of "cheating", especially for that right ankle.  I hope I don't need tendon lengthening on my right Achilles.  10 years ago I asked Dr. Peng about it, and he said it wasn't bad enough to warrant surgery.   But now I'm thinking I should look into a second opinion about getting it done preventatively at this age rather than waiting another decade or two.

QuoteAre these complications normal for everyone?

I don't know.  I wonder what my legs would be like with 5 cm instead of 7.5.

QuoteAre there any ways to undo these pains/complications after LL?

Stretching, tendon release surgery, or leg shortening I guess.