I feel you! I have had back pain for the past 3 yrs. The heavier Iget the worse the pain gets. The stiffness but no ankle or leg swellling but my legs ache because of the back pain. Everones right about the sitting or standing too long. I have had myelograms, steroid injections, all the pain meds in the world, physical theraphy, acupuncture,c-scans, mri's, water aerobics, you name it. And finally they said it's lower lumbar disk disease. But it would get better if I lose the weight. So finally my surgery is just 3 days away, friday 25th....HOORAY I am praying that once I get this wieght off and start to live better and eat better that the back pain will subside. I would just like to sleep a full night without tossing in pain or waking up in pain. Or shopp at Walmart and not get a cart for a few items just so I will have something to lean on. Make sure they exclude all the possibilites and run all the tests or therapies. But sadly most of us with obesity have back pain hip pain or leg pain. Our bodies only can take so much and hen your obese it pushes it to the limit. good luck

I quit taking Motrin 2 weeks prior to surgery and was miserable. I tried Tylenol Arthritis and it worked OK. Post-op my surgeon told me I could go back to the motrin. I don't take as much as I did pre-op (I suspect there was a bit of a tolerance buildup there). I usually only take it once per day, around an hour before my workout. I'm not having any trouble tolerating the Motrin, no pouch problems that I can detect. Sue O.

I had a knee replacement in Dec 2003 and it was the best thing I could do. Though the other one puts more stress on the good one, I am relatively pain free. I plan on doing the second one soon. I have never regretted doing the surgery and wish I had done them sooner. I went from the hospital to inpt rehab for four days because I didn't get much PT in hospital. Then I did rehab outpt for 6-8 weeks three times a day. It really isn't bad surgery or recovery and worth anything to relieve that pain. Gail

I had my right knee 'done' last June...the best decision I've made in a very long time! I had a couple of minor problems; the anti-blood clot medication made me nauseous (which I'm told is so rare that the doctors didn't know it could happen until I looked up the 'side effects'..) and I found out that I don't have what ever receptor gene it takes to make morphine work; all that stuff does is overcure diarhea for me. (grin) Still, in spite of the above, my knee hurt less the morning after surgery, even with post op pain, than it had been for months. Within a week I was off the walker, within four weeks I was driving, I'm wearing high heels for the first time in close to five years, I LOVE this!!! The physical therapy is a royal pain, but if you simply clench your teeth and DO it, you won't regret one second. This is, well....scuse me while I skip around a little.... Diana

Hope things worked out for you on your appointment on the 17th. I have had Rheumatoid arthritis for over 20 years and after I had wls it got worse, but I would not change anything. The surgery was the best thing I have done for myself in a lifetime. I had right knee surgery in 1997 and it was to remove a bone fragment from under my knee cap that had chipped off and lodged itself under. It tore up ligaments and tendons and did nerve damage. I now have a big bone spur that has come up between the joint and is painful to walk and wear pants that are tight across it. The meds to take for it is nothing. Unless your dr puts you on something like remicade or humira or one of the other meds. I take the humira and methotrexate. They do really well for a couple of weeks and then the flare ups start all over again and the pain. I hope your dr gave you good news and the problem can be dealt with or fixed. Irish