Advise needed

Hello everyone,

I have my pre-op appt scheduled and should be having surgery within a few weeks following the Feb 6th appt.  I went to my class this past Tuesday and when they said no more Nsaids ever -- I took it to heart and stopped taking my 800mg ibuprofen I've been on for years.  I have not only fibromyalgia but have had both kness scoped and have really bad knees.  The Orto.doc told me I would be on medicine for pain the rest of my life because of my knees.  I am so excited about my WLS that I stopped taking it immediately.  Well, needless to say by Friday I was in such pain I was in bed all day.  Tylenol does nothing to help.  It makes me wonder if I can do this.  has anyone else had similar problmes?  How do you all deal with pain?  PLEASE -- talk to me poeple -- I really read your posts and value your input.  Thank you!

Hello, I also deal with knee pain.  Luckily mine is confined to one knee though (arthritis and cartiledge repair).   I also have back pain from Degenerative Disks.  The anti-inflammitory meds do the best job relieving the pain for me.  I have a cabinet full of other pills (ultracet, darvocet, percocet, etc)  but they just don't do the trick for me AND leave me sluggish feeling since they are so much stronger. At my last MD appointment, he did give me the go ahead to continue using my diclofenac.  He never really was clear about the no NSAIDS rule at first but I knew of it from these boards so right before surgery I stopped them and then afterwards I would take them maybe 3 times a week (bad days)instead of my 2X a day maintenance dose.  He did tell me to take it with a cup of milk or with an OTC nexium.   I have read on other OH boards that some MD's will allow liquid NSAIDs so they don't sit in the pouch causing irritation.  I also took some type of anti-depression med as a pain management tool for while years ago so that might be another angle to investigate. My new plan is to take my daily dose of diclofenac in the AM with the nexium (gotta go buy some today) and then at bed I will opt off for the ultracet or darvocet simply to let me sleep better.  This way I will have at least cut my intake by half.   A good night's sleep makes ALL the difference and last night was not one of those for me. I hope, as I continue to lose weight (I'm down 28.6 so far) that the pain will simply lessen naturally and I can take even less medication for my joints. I am not suggesting that you go against your MD's advice at all.  I actually think the more "strict" and "by the book" the MD the better off your and your WLS will be in the end.  When you have your actual face to face appointment with your MD though explain to him your concerns and he may be a little flexible or have a better option! What type of surgery are you pursuing?  I have a lap-band.  If you are having an RNY, there are several other people here who may be better able to answer your Q as I suspect the no NSAIDs rule may be a little more hardfast for them. Good luck!

i also have bad knees. i use ultram, a non narcotic pain reliver with minimal listed side effects. at one time i was on vicoden for my back which worked but the side effects are not good. I have just started using aspercream on my joint because the ultram was not enough since i started exercising and this has helped more than i would have thought. lots of luck wls is worth it.

Thank you for your reply.  I knew I was not the only patient that has had to deal with bad knees and pain -- I will talk to Dr. Wheeler more in depth about how I can maintain long term.  THANKS!

I have gout in my feet and knees, heck I have gout everywhere and I also have degenerative disc disease and I usually take tramadol which is a non addictive pain reliever, I also take flexiril which really helps to keep my pain at bay. I use to take celebrex and I don't know if that is something we can take or not but let me just say it is a wonder drug....I don't take it now because Medicare hasn't approved me to take it yet but if they do I will be taking it again. I would mention these different medicines to your doctor and he can tell you what is best for you.

Good Luck!

Kellie