Fear, Encourgement, and a Happy New Year :)

Over a year ago I weighed 361 pounds. I couldn't hardly walk a few feet without getting out of breath, tired, and in too much pain to continue. My legs as I sit here are already tightening into charlie horses and showing their anger and disapproval of the workout I put them through today. I know over the next two days I will be miserable as they are hurting already and it's usually the second day after a workout they hurt, and its only been 6 hours. And my tailbone, well, that is always angry at me. But all worth it this time I think. I went up the summit trail on camelback mountain. It is a elevation gain of 1264 feet, 1.2 miles, and down the cholla trail which is 1.5 miles. I sat on the top and there was a Christmas tree. My niece took pictures so this week I will get them from her and put them on my profile. So I made it to the TOP of Camelback mountain! And I am really really proud of that. It is just mind boggeling to me that I was able to do that. A year ago I couldn't walk to my mail box! Today I was pulling myself up on bolders and walking on steep inclines with 500 foot drop offs on either side. And I am terrified of heights!! SO terrified I was frozen with fear and cried at some points. But I faced my fear and kept pressing on. Not like you have a lot of choice once you are up there. LOL. I am not the same person I was a year ago. I DID IT. I was capable of it! And that amazes me. So for anyone thinking of having the surgery. Or anyone who has just had it. Just think of where you will be a year from now!!!! You are going to amaze yourself!! HAVE A FANTASTIC NEW YEAR EVERYONE :)

Hi, You mentioned tailbone pain. Can you do anything about it or take anything for it? I have the same issue. It is SO painful sometimes I can hardly move. It went away for a couple months after I had plastics(I guess cuz my lower body was so numb) but once my nerves started regenerating and got my feeling back, got the tailbone pain back BAD. Did you just deal with it? did you go to the dr to see if they can do anything? After sitting for a period of time and I have to stand, OH MY GOSH, PAIN city, I'm like an old woman who can hardly walk. I'm only 41y/o. any suggestions?

hi. I take a lot of things for it, but nothing that gets rid of it completely. Do a search on ****ydynia that is the medical term for it. It is often confussed with back pain. Which, if you have had back pain, you know it isn't the same. I've had it for several years now. I take nerve blockers, and pain pills. I have been through a years of testing different nerve medications which are really pretty awful. Some make your memory go, some make your legs and hands numb. Most of them have some icky side effects, but do help some what with the pain. I understand. I am only 36 and feel like an old woman most days. I can't work anymore. It takes me 2 vicodin, a soma, pain patch,  and pillow just to go sit through a 2 hour movie a theater. And then I'm still in pain the rest of the day from sitting for two hours. I basically can't sit for any amount of time with out being in pain. Yes go to your doctor.  I saw several doctors. Some are not nice about it. Some are.  And be sure when you talk to them that you stress you have Tailbone pain, and not back pain! there is a difference and it makes a difference as to the medications, tests they run, and treatments. There are also injections they can do. They didn't work for me, but some find them helpful. They can also be painful. The first ones I had didn't hurt, the last set put me in bed for a whole day it hurt so bad. There are forums online for ****ydynia. Unfortunatly it is one of those things that we just suffer with and there isn't much we can do outside of removing the tailbone, and that can cause a whole other bunch of problems like damaging the colon and such that you really need to weigh the risk. I had heard that people who have had weight loss surgery, or plastic surgery sometimes got tailbone pain due to the weight loss. I had my condition prior to surgery, but I think it might be something becoming more common amount weight loss patients. Some people have it mildly, some worse. I have a bad case of it. It you want to PM I would be happy to share more with you, or answer other questions. Also ice works great!! I sit on ice packs all the time. Just be careful you don't give yourself frost bite. I have done that a time or two from sitting on the ice too long. LOL. But I find ice is almost better then any medication or pain pills they give me. There are also pain patches with lidocaine. They are expensive. Around $200.00 a box  so you want to make sure you insurance covers them. I find 1 patch doesn't do much, but 2 or 3 patches at once works pretty well. You can wear up to 3 patches for 12 hours. Again, it isn't something that you can really do something about aside from surgery. Some people have it and it goes away. It's common in pregnant woman for some reason. Mine has increasingly gotten worse in the past year or so. It basically is to the point now that it hurts all the time. Sitting just makes it hurt worse. Eventually you just bite the bullet, climb a mountain, and deal with the consequences later :) You gotta keep living right! Or try to at least :) Sorry if I'm rambling. Just got back from a movie so I'm loopy! Hope that answers some of your questions.Your not alone. I know how much it sucks, and its no fun to feel old  before your time :(

I had two MRI's and Xray's and saw an Ortho; she said there was nothing she could do for me.  Of course, she wanted to milk my insurance some more and send me to therapy.  I didnt' go.  I purchased three ortho pillows, one for home, one for the car and one for work.  They are very helpful and much cheaper than therapy would have been.  Having Fibromyalgia, I have had my fill of pain drugs.

You should keep looking around for other doctors. Speak with a neurologist. If they are telling you there is nothing they can do it sounds like you have one of those doctors that doesn't want to believe there is something wrong. There are some things that can be done if you have ****ydynia. Nothing that will cure it all together. But there are some non pain pill medications that can help relieve some of the pain. It is a process, but it's a well worth it process. At least it was for me. At first the pain was tolerable, and I was able to like you said go to work with a pillow or such, but as time went on the pain became unbearable and more persistant. For many Cocydynia is a short lived thing and just goes away. But for some, I think it is 20% it just stays around and is serious stuff. So please don't let a doctor blow you off or tell you they can't help you. If they can't, then move on and find someone who can. Of course, if it doesn't bother you,there is no need. But if it does start to bother you more, and you find yourself in a position that taking a pillow to work isn't helping anymore do seek out another doctor. I had to go through a few of them to get one to listen to me.

Thanks for the advice.  I will keep that in mind.

You mention you have Fibro?  I have been on disabilty due to fibro for 11 years now. I am having my nuclear stress test on the 9th and the 11th. At that point my paperwork will be submitted to BC/BC FEP. Because I have so many co-morbidities I should receive approval the first time around. My internist and my rhumatologist are really urging me to have the surgery done and they both tell me that my Fibro pain will be much less once I loose my weight.  Has losing weight had a positive effect on your Fibro?  I have learned to live with the pain and go with the flow using pain meds only when really needed but admit that decreased daily pain and stiffness  would be a wonderful side affect of the surgery. Here's hoping ;-)

My Fibro was not as bad as some but I was controlling it with pain meds for over 10 years and then I said enough is enough.  I felt like an experiment.  I was depressed and could not do anything, including deep cleaning of my house, gardening, exercising, playing with my grandkids, etc.  I feel so much better after WLS.  I still get sore after exercising, painting, or over doing it, but it is totally different.  I rarely take a tylenol for the pain.  I also had a torn rotator cuff which I have had repaired and that is helping alot too.  Even my Myofacial Pain Syndrome is not bothering me so much anymore.

You look awesome!  Congrats on the well earn looks!  I know you are so proud of yourself and you derserve to be. I am interviwing doctors now, I want to the Lap-Band, I hope to write a similar letters as yours a year later. I just want to say congrats on a job well done! Kim Tempe, AZ Future band patient

Thank you Kim! I can't wait to read your letter next year !!!! :)