Arthritis as a GB Complication?

Hello everyone, I'm hoping some of you can offer insight to my question. I went to see my hand specialist today as I've been having what I thought was a re-occurrance of tendonitis in my elbow, wrist and hand. He ordered a nerve conduction study to see if I have carpal tunnel, which is now confirmed I do not. Anyway, he says that in speaking with some other doctors, he's being told there are times when a bypass patient develops arthritis after having GB due to nutritional issues. I've never heard of this. I drink my protein shake each morning, take my vitamins daily and try to eat properly. Any thoughts on this? He mentioned lupus, so now I'm freaking out!! He ordered labs, which should be back in a few days... Thanks! Deana

Deana, First of all, please understand that you can do everything right, protein, vitamins and minerals, diet, exercise, and still have complications related to the surgery.I've had serious issues with iron levels and religiously take my vits/minerals and follow my dietary regimen set forth by my nutritionist. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in September of last year(ruled out Lupus first) and am now on injections twice a week for it. I was very upset at first, it really sucks to have surgery to be healthier and my course has been just trading one set of health problems for a whole different set. I thought that the surgery brought on the rheumatoid arthritis, more so due to igniting the inflammatory response in my body, but then my endocrinologist pointed out that my body already had a history of doing this to itself. I've had hypothyroidism for years now, caused by my body attacking its own thyroid tissue and destroying it. Rheumatoid arthritis involves the body attacking its own joints, so who knows, this probably would have happened anyway and if I'd been over 300 lbs when it did, I'd probably be in a wheelchair by now and unable to work. My doctors checked a lot of levels of vitamins and minerals before checking for the RA/Lupus stuff. We wanted to make sure that there was no little-known vit/min deficiency causing symptoms first. If you do receive the diagnosis of RA or Lupus, please see a rheumatologist who treats gastric bypass patients, as most surgeons don't allow you to take aspirin or NSAIDS and managing these diseases without them can be very difficult. Hope this helps Rachel

I had WLS in 2000. Late last year I complained of unusual back and neck pain. I was sent to a reumatologist and she mentioned lupus as well. After all the tests were said and done, thank God, the diagnosis came back negative for lupus. I do however, have spinal arthritis, scoliosis, cervical ribs, degenerative disc disease and arthritic knees. I tried the pain meds route and found myself gaining weight faster than ever. I am starting physical therapy and chronic pain management next week. Hang in there, find a doctor that you trust, who has experience with wls patients and arthritis. There are gentle exercises including yoga and stretching exercises that can be done. Good luck and let me know! Kathy

You doctor told you correct info. There is a host of issues that can happen after GBS that are a part of the surgery and the malabsorption issues. Please check out this yahoo group called OSSG_gone_wrong. Many people develop auto-immune triggered problems after GBS. Please check out this group. Its very informative group. I personally had RA before surgery and chose NOT to have GBS due to the known issues post-op. I had lapband and I have had no problems related to surgery. However I have had many directly related to having auto-immune disease. techwhiz

Deana, Sometimes calcium deficiencies can lead to osteoporis in WLS patients, which can feel like arthritis. This usally takes time to develop, but it does happen. Its very important that RNY people use Calcium Citrate supplements because other forms of Calcium do not absorb well for us. I have autoimmune disorders, a disease called Psoriatic Arthritis and mixed connective tissue disorder. I have a family history of autoimmine dysfunction. I had these conditions, and they were much worse prior to surgery...Weighing less has made joint pain less severe and I am taking far fewer drugs... I had never heard the connection between WLS and developng these conditions..You learn something new on these boards everytime you log on.... I agree with what someone else said, if you keep having symptoms....call a Rheumatologist, they will help you get to the bottom of this probelm Kelly

You may want to try a Gluten-Free diet.  Many people with untreated/undiagnosed Celiac Disease (a malabsorptive disorder) develop auto-immune disorders.  In Celiac patients, these tend to clear up after going on a GF diet; I don't think that WLS patients will be able to completely eliminate these issues, but a GF regimen may help in some way.  For more information, go to www.celiac.com - this is an excellent website with lots of different information about Celiac Disease/Gluten Sensitivity and lots of links and resources.

Teresa Koch
Fort Worth, Texas