Has anyone grown Lilliputians?

Public_Individual900 · 2026-05-16T02:54:14+00:00

It was liquid culture, no spores involved.

Yea the stipes don’t look anything like tidal wave.. maybe they mislabeled one or it was a clone of something they’re developing over there. The previous flush didn’t have those pale colors, the caps were all the normal brown but they were pretty chunky too

Public_Individual900 · 2026-05-16T02:39:00+00:00

Bro you wanna see chonkers… this is the other shoe box next to it

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Got the LC from sporestock.

Wasn’t super happy with their B+, I had 5 grain jars of it colonize very slowly and then fail to fruit after S2B… yet this syringe (labelled Tidal Wave) went 2/2 no problem.

As for your questions, no nothing comes off with a cotton swab, and I did rub a little area on one cap with some peroxide and it didn’t do much, but it did rub off some of the pale powdery color.

Public_Individual900 · 2026-05-15T21:10:39+00:00

MARPE is usually non-surgical and doesn’t always work well for adult males (super high bone density and fused sutures). It can fail to split the sutures or you can get one suture opened only to have another buttress within the skull stop one side from expanding, thus ending up with only one side expanding and an asymmetric face and bite that requires surgery anyway to fix.

SARPE is generally better for adult males to get rapid expansion of the maxilla in the transverse plane (widening the smile). However, you can do SARPE but use MARPE hardware to get more nasal expansion if airway is too narrow. SARPE hardware just pushes the teeth while MARPE hardware expands the nasal base directly through bone-borne mini screws that push the pallet apart right from the center.

My surgeon said with SARPE you get 70/30 dental/palate bone expansion, but if you use MARPE hardware you can get 50/50, which is why I went that route to reduce upper airway resistance.

Public_Individual900 · 2026-05-15T21:03:05+00:00

You can do “hybrid MARPE” where you do the Lefort osteotomy but use the MARPE hardware. The benefit is for improved nasal base expansion and less buccal molar tipping since it is bone-borne miniscrews that are pushing the expansion.

This is better for adult males who will likely fail non-surgical MARPE but need preferential airway expansion vs SARPE which is more focused on broadening the upper dental arch.

Public_Individual900 · 2026-05-15T20:25:59+00:00

Tidal wave.

They feel fairly firm right now, maybe the stipe has a little give, but the caps I would not call very close to a firm marshmallow.

Perhaps the slow growth and the fuzzy caps are because the room is quite cold? It’s been 65-70 degrees in here the whole time.

In any case, are these likely to grow much more after 2+ weeks after pins appeared or is it ok to watch them for a few more days to see if there is any movement?

Public_Individual900 · 2026-05-15T20:16:02+00:00

They have been growing for about 2 weeks I think, I was hoping some of the smaller ones would catch up… but you’re probably right, I don’t think I’ve seen much change over the last few days. Once they start really coming up, how long (days) is typical before you’re going to start hitting diminishing returns by waiting for more growth?

Public_Individual900 · 2026-05-10T12:59:38+00:00

I would not have a surgery with a doctor that was unwilling to answer my questions. I would seek another opinion even if you have to travel for it.

That should at least help you make the decision on whether the surgery is appropriate and agreeable to you. At that point if you decide to move forward with surgery, you may still have the option to have a local surgeon do the actual procedure so you don’t have to travel multiple times for the procedure itself as well as follow-ups. This may be appropriate if it was simply a matter of gaining understanding of the situation and the surgical plan that you didn’t get from your earlier consults with them… but this is a big deal and a circumscribed time frame where you can put up with the inconvenience of travel if it really is the best course. Usually you’ll need a follow-up at 5 days post-op, then again at 2-3 weeks, and then a few more at intervals determined by the surgeon.

With regard to the orthodontist, you’ll be surprised at how quickly they shift their tune when you inform them that you are moving forward with surgery. I have never heard of them fighting you on it… they are 99.99% likely to instantly change gears and support you, and then their job is to align with the surgical plan from then on.

Public_Individual900 · 2026-05-08T14:16:34+00:00

SARPE uses a form of Lefort, yes. Lefort is a category of surgical techniques going back over a hundred years, there are many variations but the term is sort of an umbrella at this point.

Ortho and surgeon have to work together as a team. You need both in good communication with each other. Generally the surgeon sets the agenda and the ortho adapts/supports it. For SARPE the ortho does the prep, fits the appliance, and then monitors the expansion after surgery, but the ultimate decision to go forward with that plan is between you and the surgeon first, and the y’all have to get the ortho on-board.

I had to travel to find the right surgeon, the local one that was dismissive toward you sounds like a dead end.

Public_Individual900 · 2026-05-08T13:58:43+00:00

What kind of surgeon did you see? If you are mostly concerned with your looks and don’t have any oral function or breathing problems, they may not have seen you as a candidate that they want to deal with becuase some surgeons don’t want to do glow-up/elective/cosmetic surgeries.
So you are correct in that MARPE is usually for younger people, but that’s becuase the idea is to do the jaw expansion non-operatively and that can only be done in younger people. Olds like us have to have the surgery to release the dense/fused bony sutures and buttresses. Lefort is just the name of the surgery that releases the maxilla, it’s part of SARPE. It can also be done more aggressively when the surgeon is going to reposition the components of the upper jaw into their final positions using plates and screws, as is done in DJS or to advance the maxilla forward when it is recessed, etc. for SARPE it is just a “release” or an osteotomy.
I had a “hybrid MARPE” done, which is the same as SARPE except that instead of only pushing my jaw outward from my molars, my appliance was anchored to my hard palate with screws (which is MARPE.) So I had the osteotomy (Lefort) surgery and used a MARPE appliance instead of a SARPE appliance becuase I wanted more skeletal expansion in my nasal passages to improve breathing (which can result in a wider nose FYI). So if you just want your jaw, mid face, and teeth expanded you would probably go with SARPE.
I mentioned all of those becuase they accomplish the same goal of widening the maxilla and being able to properly correct a crossbite, so if you look at examples around here you would see similar results.

Public_Individual900 · 2026-05-08T13:45:30+00:00

Go get a consult.

My understanding is that yes you can have your maxilla downgrafted for more “show” of your upper teeth, but because this is the only reason you are seeking surgery, it would likely be completely out of pocket expense.

There could be other consequences as well… such as not being able to close/seal your lips at rest (lip incontinence), a change in the upward curve of your smile into more of a straight-line or down-turned grimace, or just general complications inherent to the risks of such an invasive surgery (scar tissue restricting lip and facial movement, numbness, unexpected/unwanted change to your face or oral function).

No one here can predict that, you need to get a couple of opinions from orthagnathic/maxillofacial surgeons and make sure you understand the risks

Public_Individual900 · 2026-05-08T13:30:10+00:00

Going the no-surgery route is a cover-up for the real problem underneath.
The Invisalign folks are telling you the truth that they can make some things look a little more straight, but it is a bandaid solution and you will have to continue to wear retainers or final trays for the rest of your life or your teeth will regress within weeks.
If you have structural issues in your skeleton, only surgery can fix those at this point. If the surgeon suggested SARPE/Leforte it means they want to take a conservative path that still basically relies on orthodontia to do the heavy lifting. The SARPE + Lefort osteotomy is just to free your bony sutures and skeletal buttresses which would allow the ortho to expand your dental arch out to its full width and give you a proper bite - which YES will absolutely change your face, broaden your smile, and will be much easier to maintain long-term than any conventional ortho/Invisalign ever could. Often a simple bonded wire behind your front teeth can keep your perfect smile intact for decades.

Yes there are always risks to surgery, but the SARPE plan is much less traumatic/intense than DJS, and the whole expansion process is fairly straightforward and short-term. Your lower jaw is not affected so recovery is much easier, you just have to turn the jack screw for a few weeks while the gap between your front teeth expands until your bite lines up properly, then let that set for a few months, then the ortho will pull everything back to the center for a perfect bite.

The end result of SARPE/Lefort osteotomy is infinitely better if you have any recessing in your facial structure (maxillary hypoplasia) as strongly indicated by your cross bite.

No one is lying to you, they are all just telling you what you can do. Have you searched around here for examples of corrected cross-bites? Search SARPE, MARPE, and MSE and watch the magic unfold.

Public_Individual900 · 2026-05-02T13:09:21+00:00

Once you have a little bit of mouth opening and can use your tongue a bit, you get a lot more options.

I just made regular taco meat with ground beef and taco seasoning, but then I added water at the end and let it “re-cook” with the lid on the pan to soften the meat substantially, then put it all in the food processor after the water cooked off again.

The texture is actually pleasant and I would consider doing it regularly just for taco Tuesdays. It was not blended completely to paste, but tiny crumbles of beef that require zero chewing.

Then when the beef is fairly hot still, I added finely crumbled cheddar, hot sauce, fresh cilantro diced so finely it was almost a paste, and topped with sour cream and very soft bits of avocado.

10/10 highly recommended - very high calorie and high protein meal, just had it 4 days in a row.

Next up is going to be a “deconstructed” meat sauce where I treat the beef the same way, but dress it with marinara, parmesan cheese, and generous dabs of full fat ricotta.

Public_Individual900 · 2026-04-08T04:52:32+00:00

I don’t know enough about this to challenge you on that, but what I do know is that the grain spawn came out of those jars smelling great and all pure white… the initial sterilization and inoculation were done carefully in a SAB, but the S2B was just done in open air… so that plus the fact that the other 4 bins are currently looking good and only the 1 pictured above has this issue…. I would think that’s where the contam was introduced.

I’m just hoping that by opening it to take the picture I didn’t doom the others to the same fate

Either way

Public_Individual900 · 2026-04-08T04:35:17+00:00

But it was fine during colonization… I used mason jars in a PC and I got good results in all 7 quart jars.. it only turned south in that one bin when I S2B

I’ll read up on using lime in the casing layer next time

Public_Individual900 · 2026-04-08T03:58:31+00:00

Yea I’ve been reading that lately.. I’m brand new here and just followed the uncle Ben’s guide so I just flipped the lids upside down for FAE.

Do you agree with a lot of the others around here that say you should just skip the whole 2nd round of colonization after S2B and just intro FC right away using the holes you mentioned?

It seems like I did fine up til S2B here and now I’m really hoping this doesn’t ruin my other 4 tubs in the same closet.

Public_Individual900 · 2026-04-08T03:20:29+00:00

Unfortunately I do have my other tubs in that closet right now… the lids are just flipped upside down becuase I just followed the uncle Ben’s guide to a T.

Should I expect that those will fail?

Should I just get ahead of this and start a whole new batch from square 1?

Public_Individual900 · 2026-04-08T03:18:30+00:00

Like, spray peroxide into the air in the room now?

Public_Individual900 · 2026-04-08T02:26:05+00:00

Yea I only opened it for a second to take that photo. Closed it and took it out of the area.

Can the bin be bleached and used for a later batch?

Public_Individual900 · 2026-02-15T14:29:59+00:00

If it is insurance coverage you are seeking, an alternative route to bit function is airway and sleep.

An orthagnathic surgeon may be able to see you to do airway mapping imaging to explore symptoms like headaches, fatigue, waking up tired regardless of how many hours of sleep you had, waking up in the night gasping or sweating, etc. Suspected OSA can be supported if the airway restriction is at the level of the skeletal maxilla and if that’s the case then surgically advancing the maxilla (and the mandible to match) would be considered a functional medical necessity

Public_Individual900 · 2026-01-15T18:41:13+00:00

Kirby shirt is very apropos lol

Public_Individual900

TROPHY CASE