This is going to be a very important, long message for all the people who want to do LL and are not 100% sure whether they should proceed. I have been a member for more than 3 years on this forum and I was away from this site for almost a year. Long story short, I cancelled my surgery which was scheduled early July 2015 with Dr. Paley.
I am here again, on this site, still depressed about my height... HOWEVER... As mentioned on the title, I did not regret my choice of backing out the last minute and not doing LL. I believe that if I did the surgery I would be more sad and in a much worse situation... Here are various reasons why I believe so, and please, if you are the type of person who thinks like me and cares a lot about their body or athletic skills, take into consideration what I will mention below because LL might not be for you.
>>>The cons (disadvantages) I would personally face if I did LL:
1) Complications! A very logical reason and LL's complications are something you should take seriously since you never know what to expect and each body is different. Just because Dr. Paley was going to be my surgeon, nobody guarantees to me that my LL will succeed. Obviously, the less developed a country is, the more likely LL will be risky.
2) Being crippled for a LONG time. You need a lot of patience, and you have to endure a lot of PAIN for years. You might have pain for the rest of your life because at the end of the day, they are literally cutting your bones in half.
3) You need to be psychologically prepared for this and you definitely need support, or else the whole journey is ten times harder than you expect.
4) Very expensive (probably the most expensive and dangerous cosmetic procedure).
5) Time consuming. You waste too much time from your life, away from home, work, friends, spouse etc... Depending on where you go.
6) Dis-proportionality on your legs and your body as a whole. I hate to admit this, but a disproportional body is not the most attractive thing you would like to see on someone and it can look really ugly...
7) Your body weakens and loses its fitness. Your legs/ass become thinner/flatter and if you care a lot about your body this can be extremely frustrating. Gaining something (height) and losing something else. You could work out but there is a chance to lose motivation and it takes great skill.
8 ) Regret. Realize that the whole thing wasn't worth it in the first place and you are trying to convince yourself that you are happy when in fact you are still not. I spoke to some people who admitted this to me.
9) There is a chance you could still not be satisfied with your height. A second surgery might be needed... Double the costs, double all the above I mentioned, and of course, become even more disproportional.
10) Judgement from people. This surgery is not approved by many people and it is very controversial. You will be criticized.
11) Having kids. Your kids will definitely not have the height you have after your surgery and if you are not planning on telling your wife (or husband) the truth, then that's not a very trustworthy relationship is it?
12) Pain, as mentioned in number (2). Taking painkillers all day isn't the most healthy thing.
13) Your body will never be as it was before surgery. You will never be able to run as you could before LL for example.
>>>The pros (advantages) I would face from LL:
1) Gain height. Maximum 7-8cm if my body even accepts the outcome. Guess what! I still wouldn't be satisfied with my height and I would still be considered short so in other words, this isn't even an advantage for me (and for some others).
2) Your height dysphoria MIGHT be cured.
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Please take into consideration my advice. I do not want to scare anybody or prevent someone from doing LL if they wish to do so. I just want to make sure you guys think if this surgery is even worth it at the end of the day. I know how it feels to have height dysphoria, trust me... I know how you guys feel, it can be an exasperating experience.
Thank you so much for reading, and you guys can ask me anything, I will gladly help if I can.
IMPORTANT: I did not regret NOT doing Cosmetic Limb Lengthening
Quote from: goldenegg on May 28, 2016, 01:17:37 AMhi sadboy, I'm glad you have no regrets with your decision and I hope you're able to get over your height neurosis. I think your pro's and con's list accurately portrays the huge sacrifice you make if you decide to do LL, but your 2 pro points and it's implications for my life (self confidence, facing less height discrimination, being more social) were enough for me and outweigh all of the con's combined. But that's just my personal situation, which is different for others.
I have a lot of respect for folks who are able to accept their heights and live great lives. I also think it takes courage for people who do decide to LL to change the hand they where given in life and want to improve their lives. I knew I was never going to be the former (accepting my height) and it was something that was going to bother me for the rest of my life. What I didn't want is ending up somewhere in between- not happy with my height, but not willing to do LL and regretting never doing it at the same time. I sincerely hope you will able to completely forget about LL and the forums and live your life.
Thank you for reading! Well there could even be an additional con that you might need extra corrective surgeries which can increase costs. Other than that, the cons on my list outweigh the pros (which I do not even consider pros to begin with) so I used my logic and ignored my feelings/emotions and decided whether LL is even worth it for me; which obviously is not...
Other than that, did you do your surgery and are you willing to go through all that? How tall are you?
Quote from: aspirant185 on May 28, 2016, 12:10:15 PMSadboy, thank you for the nice post.
Your post made me realize that I will only do 5 cm through one surgery and not 9 cm as initially planned. There is so much more to life than height.
You make sure you do what makes you happy. If you think that 5 cm will actually be worth it and you are not affected that much by the cons, then by all means, go for it! I'm glad I helped, and of course there is more to life than just height but unfortunately height is very important nowadays and personally I would love to have it 
Quote from: ub40 on May 28, 2016, 06:36:10 PMIt seems like 50% of the posts on this site are about people not wanting to do this surgery or coming to some personal awakening and wanting to share that with others.
I'm sorry if this sounds negative and I congratulate you but seriously this site was supposed to be for people to learn about limb lengthening, and to post about issues or unethical doctors to help others on their journey, or for people planning on doing surgery to ask questions and become knowledgeable.
Most the people that coast here are never going to do LL and just want to drag down others because they're bitter. I mean this is the last real resource now that makemetaller is inactive, but at least that site was filled with tonnes of people sharing info back and forth, (even if the owner was unethical)
None of the things you posted were anything but general common info. There is nothing specific, no new information or revelation.
Just yet another person looking for attention begging for validation for doing nothing
This site is about Limb Lengthening in general. People should know the truth that not everything will be "perfect" and achievable. This is reality. LL is not worth it for everyone and you should be aware of that.
I am not looking for attention, I am trying to make people aware of the whole situation and I am not jealous if somebody does LL nor do I want to bring someone down... I am trying to help anyone I can because I know that height dysphoria can be extremely tiring and depressing... Also, I am not the only one who is posting the complications around here and let me tell you that many doctors do not mention the cons I mentioned above... Dr. Paley lied to me that my legs and body will remain unchanged... Who is he fooling when I asked his patients and they told me that that is not true...
Quote from: KrP1 on May 28, 2016, 08:53:28 PMYou need to justify that you dont have the courage to do it.
There are two kinds of people.
One do their dreams came truth and the others only keep dreaming
Courage? Even if I have the "courage" to do it, I'm trying to say here that LL will not be worth it for me... Has nothing to do with what you mentioned. I just used my logic the last minute before surgery and put all my feelings aside, this surgery is not going to improve my life so what's the point of doing it if it will make me even more depressed? I'm trying to warn people to make sure what they want and if they care a lot about their bodies as much as I do...
Quote from: Alu on May 28, 2016, 09:51:22 PMNot a condescending comment in nature but, who are these Paley patients you speak off? Don't reveal their identities of course, but what did they say?
2 cosmetic patients, a girl from Singapore and a guy from the US.
1 non-cosmetic patient from Cyprus. The guy from Cyprus pretty much told me the whole truth that your body does in fact change since he wasn't doing it for cosmetic reasons. Private message me if you want more information.
The other patients don't care about their bodies. If you want to do LL go ahead, I support anyone who is willing to do it, I don't want to prevent anyone's goals... I am just trying to warn people 
Quote from: ub40 on May 29, 2016, 09:52:01 AMListen I know you think you are helping others out but you're really not. You are not adding anything concrete or specific so that people can better formulate their own opinions. You are just sharing your anxieties and hoping people will give you a pat on the back or confirm your own fears. Most the things you posted are actual non issues. It's one thing when a member like tibike200 goes out and does research on scientific articles and reviews you are just saying things like "I'm afraid it will hurt" or I'm going to lose time and proportions might look bad, these all vary case by case and they are your own personal reasons and have nothing to do with anyone else.
It's just more negativity from someone that can't do LL and wants to bash it so he can stop dreaming about it.
Plain and simple, good luck in your life but your insecurities are your own and your reasons are crap for the most part, you have shared no "truth" because all this info is already out there, they are the possible symptoms and risks what is your reason for trying to sway others if not for the fact that you are bitter
The reasons can be "crap" to you but not to others. I clearly stated 'PEOPLE WHO THINK LIKE ME'. I support anyone who wants to do LL if they don't give a sh!t about proportions or leg size etc... I am saying what I feel about this surgery. Do you want to do LL? If yes, then what I am saying shouldn't affect your decision... If you do it though and regret it (not everyone is satisfied lets not be biased here) don't complain about LL... It was clearly your choice, you knew the consequences.
PS: I can do LL if I want to... I can afford Paley...
Quote from: Cheez on May 29, 2016, 11:31:20 AM@Sadboy:
I think, if you don't want to do this, all power to you. Then don't do it.
I just don't get why you think that other people shouldn't do this if they made an informed choice about the whole thing.
And getting informed is what this site is about.
I did not say to you not to do LL... Do it! If you are not affected by the cons and you are so desperate to change your height then go ahead...
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