UGH!!!!

That's awesome Eric!  I hope I can go the same route afterwards.  I've lived with pain for so long, I don't know what I'd do without it LOL

I promise it does get better. :)  Before my surgery I had a laundry list of illnesses.  Among them was arthritis and poly myalgia rheumatica.  I blew my left knee out when I was a teenager and had always had trouble with it but was too stubborn to get replacement surgery.  Prior to the WLS I had reached a point where I could no longer sleep in my own bed because I couldn't climb the stairs.  My pain was terrible and worse yet, even if I tried to push through the pain my body just would not (or could not) do what I wanted it to do.  I did still drive but required a handicapped parking pass and the only the stores I could shop in were those that offered the power chair buggies.   I had WLS in 2005, I was in the hospital for 4 days and actually no longer needed my regular meds for the preop pain conditions (such as the steroids) before even leaving the hospital.  There was marked improvement in my joints even then.  I had the open RNY and there was actually mostly numbness instead of pain because the nerves were severed when they made the incision.  (about 6 weeks later I started getting little tiny twingy pains in the incision to let me know they were healing back well *grin*)  I was sent home with liquid Oxycodone which I took for a couple of days.  I stopped taking it because it was making my blood pressure drop.  I continued with the medicine for nausea but just used Tylenol for the soreness from laying around a lot. Today, I can walk anywhere I want.  I can run.  I can climb stairs.  I can stand upright when I walk, which is a major accomplishment for me.  Yeah, that knee is still blown but now you just hear that creepy creaking sound from it occasionally.  Oh, and I do still have arthritis...in one finger.  hehehehe   It does get better...a lot better.  Chin up and keep moving.  Never give up.

Hi Renee! yeah right now, my right knee feels like it's bone rubbing against bone and it pops and cracks with each step.  My left knee is a little better but it's starting to wear down as I keep going up and down the stairs......my back and neck and shoulders are just terrible right now.  I'm almost 37 years old and I really shouldn't be feeling this way LOL  I'm looking forward to the transformation......I wish I was already 6 months post op :) Aaron

I can so relate to everything you are saying.   I am 41 and started my journey of figuring out what was really going on with my body at about your age.  I was 39 when I had my WLS and felt like I was 69.  I am now 41 and feel like I'm 20!   I never imagined I could feel so good or move so well.  It is actually hard for me to believe that prior to surgery I was drawn over by pain.  My back, shoulders, and neck were so bad from the PMR that I could not straighten up.  I could not lift my arms more than half way up and could barely move.  I have now lost 117 pounds (as of today) and have a whole new life of health.

Aaron, I am happy for you having lost the weight.  I feel for you with being off pain meds.  With RNY surgery you have to avoid all NSAIDS including aspirin, because they can cause damage to the pouch.  Tyleonol arthritis formula is pretty much the only thing allowed over the counter.  Ask your Doc about an RX for celebrex.  It is not an NSAID but is an antiimflammatory cox-2 inhibitor that does not irritate the stomach lining.  Your surgery date is coming so soon, I bet you are getting excited about it!  Hang in there and keep your eye on the prize.  Try not to overdo it with you having no pain meds in your system.  I know from personal experience how much the joints hurt without the antiinflammatory to help.  It's miserable.  (Hugs)