Another medical problem

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Alan Yee

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Okay, not only do I have a mild case of Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD, and asthma, but also something else.

Last week I went to my doctor to have a physical. He said my shoulders weren't even when I bent over, so he had an X-ray taken of my back and hips to check for skulliosis (sp?).

Well, my mom got a phone call, and they said it wasn't that. They said one of my legs was longer than the other.

So I went into the foot doctor, had some more X-rays taken, had him check how I walk, feel my feet, legs, and knees, and make molds of my feet. He confirmed everything: my right leg is longer than my left leg. My right foot is kind of curved inward to compensate for the difference.

It does kind of make sense, though. Whenever I run in P.E., my legs always hurt, even when I'm in shape. After the run ended and I walked to my next class, my right leg was always sore for a little while and it made it hard to walk quickly enough.

While part of the coordination issue is related to the Asperger's condition and my accompanying medicines, we think the differences in leg length may have to do with my uncoordination and non-existent athletic ability. I've also always had a stilted kind of walk.

In three weeks I have to go back and get the little padded things that I have to put in my shoes. The doctor said it may not be that bad right now, but it might affect me more when I'm older.

The only thing I don't get, is how after exactly fourteen years and ten months of me existing, we didn't find about this until now. When I first heard the news, all I could say was "Weird."

And that is my news for the day. :)
 

MacAllister

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Alan, you're still growing. :) It might not have always been this noticeable or measurable--it just sort of snuck up on everyone, you know?

Anyhow--no big. *g* You'll certainly be a lot more comfortable when you can compensate for it.
 

Alan Yee

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According to the doctor, my feet won't grow any bigger, but I'll still grow taller.

The difference is about one centimeter. I guess you're right that it wasn't noticeable until now.
 

rtilryarms

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ADHD is what norms call advanced energy and thinking. Yeah they tell me I have it too. The world was made by people with elevated moods. Don't take that stupid medicine designed to dumb you down instead of them having to think in an advanced mode.

When I was an electrician my wife also found out that she had uneven legs. I called her my delta-delta-wife, 240 with a high leg.

She didn't get it but she whacked me upside the head anyways. (she wants me medicated).
 

Alan Yee

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The ADHD thing is mild, and mine mostly has to do with the mind wandering in a million directions at once and having trouble focusing. For the focusing issue, I take Adderall. I pretty much can't function properly in school without it.
 

MarkEsq

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Alan Yee said:
According to the doctor, my feet won't grow any bigger, but I'll still grow taller.

The difference is about one centimeter. I guess you're right that it wasn't noticeable until now.

Alan, I wonder. If someone has a severe case of different-leg-length-itis, is it diagnosed by having them run and then seeing if they just go in circles? :)
Glad your case has been spotted and is being fixed.
Mark
 

Haggis

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Alan, I agree with Mac. You're still growing and things are bound to change. Roll with the punches, son. You'll get there. The good news is that they found something that can help. Every bit they can do to make it better helps.
 

DeborahM

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Not to make light of your problems, but...

How about a chiropractor?

That happened to me and DON'T LAUGH - he pulled my leg (I hear you laughing!) and brought it back out to where it should be.

Just a thought vs. all the x-rays and padding. If it doesn't work - go back to your doctor.
 

Jo

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Hiya Alan,

My fifteen year old son's right leg is shorter than his left one, by a few centimetres. His is a growth plate problem around his knee. The growth plate--a gap between the bones--normally fuses once you've finished growing, but my son's fused very early on due to an injury to his leg.

He had one operation to free up the growth plate when he was three, and he's due for another operation soon as his recent growth spurts have shown his leg is fused again. The surgeons are just waiting for his leg growth to slow down (we grow from the feet up) so they can arrest the growth on his longer leg (I'm not keen on that). His legs are almost there, anyway, and the rest of his height will come from his upper torso (he's not going to be tall, but he's almost 5'6" now). Then they're looking at breaking his shorter leg and inserting an extendable metal rod into his thigh, which will be notched up gradually so his leg can "catch up" to his other one. Then they'll remove the rod and all should be about even...

Luckily for my son, he's known about his leg for a long time, and has adapted well. He's never used lifters in his shoes, but does tend to wear out his shoes quickly. The pain he feels is mainly in his knee, lower back and hips, although it hasn't stopped him from playing sport at school (even though the surgeon advised against certain activities. Argh--boys! :tongue ) The most frustrating thing is waiting for the surgeons to act upon the next round of treatment--that was due last Christmas! (Our hospital system is... well... that's another topic!)

Alan, I hope you don't have to have painful operations and treatment, but I do hope your doctors can do their best for you and your future.
 
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BottomlessCup

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Be happy, Alan. It's a mark of greatness: 41 of our presidents had one leg longer than the other.
 

SpookyWriter

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Don't know what to add, but hoping you'll be fine and it will take care of itself as you grow.
 

Opty

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Alan Yee said:
They said one of my legs was longer than the other.

So I went into the foot doctor, had some more X-rays taken, had him check how I walk, feel my feet, legs, and knees, and make molds of my feet. He confirmed everything: my right leg is longer than my left leg. My right foot is kind of curved inward to compensate for the difference.

It does kind of make sense, though. Whenever I run in P.E., my legs always hurt, even when I'm in shape. After the run ended and I walked to my next class, my right leg was always sore for a little while and it made it hard to walk quickly enough.

Holy crap!

I say that because of the remarkable coincidence...

For the past few months, I've been having hip and back problems. I've been to the doctor three times in the past few months for them (he's never been much help and they haven't gotten much better). Actually, I've had them most of my life. Anyway, I always had similar problems after running a lot as you have described (hip pain, etc.).

Anyway, long story short, I took some non-scientific measurements on my legs (tibular section, lower parts from the ankles up to the knees) recently and found that my left leg is approximately one to one and 1/2 inches longer than my right leg (at least, in the tibular region).

I'm being referred to an orthopedist about it next month, to see if this leg-length difference is a cause or contributor to my chronic hip/back problems. The thinking is that the years of having this condition untreated has built up and resulted in the major problems I've been having lately (especially in my hip).

In a weird way, it's kind of comforting to know that I'm not alone with this somewhat bothersome, if not peculiar, condition.
 
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Jean Marie

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Alan, like Mac and Haggis said (even though Haggis' still has that "thing" in his mouth!), you're still growing. And Jo said what I was going to say, about the growth plate--it can be slighly uneven, as you grow. Not to the extreme that her son is experiencing. Good luck, Jo :)

Anyhow, Alan, you're still quite young and have several years left of growing. Boys grow for a couple of years longer than girls, so don't worry, okay :)
 

aadams73

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Sweetie pie, you're just falling to bits :)
 

Maryn

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My sister had a hip replacement before age 50 (which is unusual when there's been no trauma). The orthopedic surgeon said she had a short leg which had gone undiagnosed and in making up for it, her hip joint had essentially ground itself down. If she'd been diagnosed and treated while young, it might have been avoided.

Shoe insert, nothing much. Invisible to the world, reduction or elimination of your present pain on and after running, plus likely avoidance of major surgery like hip or knee replacement in your adulthood? Worth it.

Maryn, hoping it does the trick
 

PattiTheWicked

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Alan, don't worry too much. I'm almost 38 and was just diagnosed last year with both scoliosis AND one leg being just a bit shorter than the other. My doc gave me exercises to do each day that strengthen my upper back and relieve the pain in my hips. Beleive me, I wondered why it had taken this long for anyone to figure out I had scoliosis -- I thought they picked up on that when you were like 11 or something.

Anyhoo, be glad you've been diagnosed now, because it will have saved you a couple of decades of discomfort by the time you're my age :)
 

rtilryarms

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Alan Yee said:
The ADHD thing is mild, and mine mostly has to do with the mind wandering in a million directions at once and having trouble focusing. For the focusing issue, I take Adderall. I pretty much can't function properly in school without it.

Yea, I had big trouble in school. All F's. Well mostly F's the others were D's. All the way up until 7th grade when I had a Teacher that took an interest in me and recognized the problem.
Puppy love turned me around.
With her help, I went mainly on independent study and I was only graded on tests, not class work or homework. What we found was that I aced tests but the fact that I wandered in class work and wouldn't do homework drove my grades to F prior to that.
In high School I Had to show up for Homeroom, Pys-Ed and French. As long as I passed all the tests and maintained A's, which I did, I was outta there by 9:30 AM, ran 5 miles home every day and read my Hardy Boys and Encyclopedias.

You will get used to racing thoughts.
But you may job-hop a lot. I have had at least 6 careers and so far this is my 72nd job (My big brother has had over 500 different employers, he is 54. for real.).

It isn't a curse if you harness the energy and understand it. I didn't figure it out until my early '40's. I found out that I am Hypomanic, but without the depression swings. That means the lowest I ever go is "normal". I say i am normal and everyone else devolved.

Read The Hypomanic Edge. It is one of the only published books out there which puts a positive spin on this. There are many mini-bios of famous historical people, one of which will surely fit closely to your personality. I am a combination of Andrew Jackson and Alexander Hamilton.
If you don't have any moolah pm me and I'll send you my copy.

ADHD is a false diagnosis. in fact it is no diagnosis at all. Your racing thoughts, etc. can be and should be CHANNELED NOT STOPPED. Of course I am not a Doctor but there are very few studies because most people with the "infliction" feel so good all the time that they never seek help. I mean why would we? All they can do is make us feel less good.

Listen to your Doctor, but your mind is fighting the logic.

Right?



eta: my brother had 2,000 girlfriends, not jobs. i corrected the number.
 
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Bravo

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"Man is weak and is something that must be overcome, what have you done to overcome him?"


more kids need to read neitzsche.
 

rtilryarms

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Bravo said:
"Man is weak and is something that must be overcome, what have you done to overcome him?"


more kids need to read neitzsche.

LOL That's what i was reading while my classmates were deciphering DicK and Jane and Spot. I got an F in reading that year.

"There is something laughable about the sight of authors who enjoy the rustling folds of long and involved sentences: they are trying to cover up their feet" ~neitzsche

The Gay Science (1882)
 
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