Update 8/8/2014
This last week has been much better than the week before. A combination of the NSAIDS and turning less has worked great for pain management. I hadn't put any weight on my legs for about a week, scooting to the restroom and staying in bed all day, and when I first tried walking again it was as if I was trying to put weight on my legs for the first time. I realized then that walking would not get any easier if I kept avoiding it, so I pushed myself to stand for longer periods and to start walking to the bathroom and back again. The first few days were very difficult, but after getting over that hurdle it just got easier. The other day I managed to walk out into the lounge, downstairs, and to the ATM machine from the auto rickshaw after being driven near it from the hotel parking lot. Aside from some pressure on my legs after resting, I feel a lot stronger than before.
Yesterday I saw Dr Parihar again and he gave me an examination and went over my x-rays. He decided that 8 days of the NSAID were enough and put me back on Ultracet, which is a pain reliever that's much less strong and isn't an NSAID but should help some. He didn't want me taking more of it because of its effects on the quality of regenerate and the acidity (though he did give me an antacid to take with it earlier). He talked a bit about how in India they're probably more used to pain tolerance than people in Western nations, and unlike some Western doctors who will decide to pump you full of drugs for pain relief a lot of doctors in India would try to avoid giving you a bunch of pain meds if possible. Dr Parihar isn't keen on giving strong pain relief medication after discharge from the hospital, because of the effects from taking such drugs, not only in terms of bodily side effects but also how some will affect you mentally - he doesn't do cortisone injections for example because they can make you loopy. One interesting thing he said is that in terms of pain, half of it is a mental thing and that if you're depressed or not occupying yourself with things throughout the day and only focusing on the pain, then it will seem much worse than if you were in a good mood or you were giving yourself things to do. He said it's like the difference between lighting a candle in the day or at night. The candle is the exact same no matter what time you light it, but you'll perceive it differently based on the surroundings. I agree with him that half of it is completely mental and that's probably why some doctors have told me that the most optimistic patients have the best results.
When I left and was waiting for the chemist to give me my medication, a woman came up to me downstairs and asked all sorts of questions about the frames and why I was in them. I just told her I was correcting a slight bowing to relieve pain and didn't feel like telling her I was doing this cosmetically. A few other people came up to me and asked me if I had an accident. Fortunately they didn't inquire further when I just said no.
Got myself a wheelchair today from a guy who makes orthopedic appliances named Mr Shringare. He's the one who gave me my extra wide walker earlier. I paid 26,000 INR for it but it should come in handy back home because our parking space is so far from the apartment. Mr Shringare is a nice guy whose English is rather good and it was nice to be able to communicate with someone new - the only people here who I can communicate well with in English are Dr Parihar, Dr Divya, the physios, and the hotel general manager. He showed me his leg where he had an injury that Dr Parihar operated on and I saw the faint pin site scars from the monorail fixator. He told me that he knew Dr Parihar from when he was still an undergrad and that he's the only doctor I should see in India for Ilizarov-related surgeries. I asked if he knew about Dr Shah and he told me that he know him but that Dr Parihar should be the only one to consider for these things. It was nice talking to a prior patient who was pleased with his surgical result. I have to say that Dr Parihar has a really good reputation here, especially considering that because doctors aren't allowed to do mass advertising in India his rep had to be built almost entirely of word of mouth.
According to my x-rays I've distracted about 2.5 cm where I've turned for 2.8 cm. Looks like it's caught up from the lag. I'm actually surprised that the total distraction is that close to how much I've turned as I was expecting a greater difference to still be present.
