new to forum and want to know if anyone takes Celebrex and has had WLS

I have been suffering through fibro for the last three years and just started Celebrex about six months ago and it seems to limit the severeness of the flare-ups and make most days bearable along with flexeril at night.  I have gained at least 40 lbs since diagnosed due to the inactivity and different meds--Cymbalta did not work at all for me and Lyrica is not covered by my insurance so I have not been able to try it.  I am hoping to have WLS and that losing the extra 120 lbs will help some with the pain.  Does anyone know if you can take Celebrex after WLS?  I also take tramadol for bad days to help get through.  Does anyone take tramadol and has had WLS?  Also was a particular WLS type recommended due to having fibro?  I appreciate any and all information.  Hope everyone has a pain free day tomorrow! Amy

Welcome to the board! Some folks are told Celebrex is ok and some told its a nono drug. I had a bottle and hardly took it. Peanuts worked as well for me as it did and I was scared of ulcers, it is an NSAID. Some drs allow those a little while after surgery w/ an acid blocker. Its not worth the risk to me. Glad tramadol works for you. Wi**** did for me to avoid narcotics. Hope you get more answers. I hate to think of what Id be like now without WLS.  My family fusses about pain meds i am on all the time. They blame all this on WLS. I was told being fat was the cause of all my pain when it was really the fibro and a ruptured disk in my back. I would be in a wheelchair if I stayed overweight. I cant help it drs wait til they dont have weight to blame it on before they help me.  This is a good place for people that understand. It isnt visited as often but people do check in! Best wishes! Shannon

Thank you for your reply Shannon!  Have you tried the Lyrica?  I have heard it helps some but not others and weight gain is a big side effect.  Cymbalta was the same as taking peanuts for me and the Celebrex took awhile before it seemed to help but lately I have been having some bad flare-ups--probably due to the up and down of the weather.  It seems to bother me quite a bit.  Does anyone else notice this??  I have had a few doc tell me I am crazy and the weather does not affect fibro flare-ups. I totally get the family issue --my mom is sooo afraid I will become a pill popping addict but I only take what I need when I need it.  I have ran into docs who are so afraid you will become addicted they don't want to prescribe anything stronger than ibuprofen!  I wish people understood the pain.  Have a great day!

My drs wont give me Lyrica because of weight gain. Cymbalta seemed to help with my pain some but not depression. They always tell me my depression is situational. Weather has been driving me nuts w/ my fibro. I have knots in alot of places. I rub them so much they turn into big bruises. My family is on my but big time about pain meds. Truth is sometimes they arent even working and Im on the legal limit of Lortab and Fentanyl patches. Im just going to tell them that they reduced them when I go next time. I am treated at a pain clinic, not my reg dr. Maybe you should ask for a refferal. Mine came from a rheumo dr. I am seriously depressed and dont know what to do actually. Im talking to drs soon and will switch if I need help.  Hope it helps!

Have you heard of Lexapro?  That is what my doctor prescribed for me to help with depression--but I am never overly depressed.  At my clinic several fibro patients have had good luck with the combo of Celebrex/ Lexapro or the patch/lexapro.  The problems I have had with taking tramadol when the pain is too much is itchy skin which can be nerve wracking.  I feel like in the last 3 years I have been a guinea pig--try this--no try this.  Some days I hate the pills and have even went off the meds for a few days only to lapse into excruciating pain so I keep trying whatever they give me hoping something will make me feel like my old self again,  I have not found the magic combo yet.  Good luck with your next appointment.  I have an appointment with my dr next week to talk about WLS and to hopefully get my referral to get this going. I appreciate any and all suggestions.  I have been afraid to do the patch.  Do you have any side effects with it?? I hope you have a pain free night!

I was a guinea pig for a while myself. The patch helps alot but I get reamed by my family for being on it. I think Im becoming immune to it some but hate to up it or get put on something worse. I took lexapro for years. Im going to talk to drs again next time i go. They always say my depression is situation since I had back surgery in January. Hope all works out for your referral.  Shannon

Hi Amy, I had the lap band a little over two years ago. I have been on celebrex since way before I had surgery. I actually had to stop taking it last year but it was due to my insurance change and the new insurance not covering it without having tried all other forms of nsaids first. I was on Celebrex for five years. Why change something that works? I hate insurance companies! I didn't take the Celebrex for my fibro though. I take it for the osteoarthritis I have. It is pretty severe. The weight loss has helped to ease some of the pain but doesn't take it all away. I too take flexeril when I need it. Right now, I really need it. I sit at my computer all day for work and my back and my neck and shoulder just hurt to high heavens. I am actually out at the moment and don't want to schedule an appointment for a refill. As for taking the Celebrex with the band, its a choice you have to make. You can take it. But you have to realize there is risks. Is the risk worth it for you? I guess thats the question you have to ask yourself. For me, walking was more important so I chose to take it. Of course I had to take a prilosec to be able to take it though. I also have gastritis due to all the antiinflamatories I have had to take in my life. I have also taken tramadol. I hate chewing those things up. I hate chewing up all the pills but you can't risk getting stuck on a pill. I don't know if I can make a recommendation on what surgery you should have. I think it is still a very personal decision that you need to base on several different factors. For me, I was scared the pain would be too much and didn't know how the bypass would effect my pain. I thought the band would be better because it would be less invasive and not so intense. Now looking back, I question my decision. One, because I have a lot of port pain and I also have shoulder pain that will never go away unless I have the band removed and then it may not due to nerve damage. This isn't due to the fibro it is due to bad placement of the band. It lays on the vegas nerve and rubs it continuiously. It stinks!  I can't say I would remove it though. I have lost 100lbs and couldn't be happier with my loss. Well now that I have written a novel, I will let you be. Take Care, Amy

Amy, Thank you so much for all of your information.  I was wondering if the band would cause pain and how that would be.  I also suffer from quite a bit of pain in the shoulders, back and neck on a daily basis.  I have been leaning towards the lap rny if I can have it.  I had my gallbladder removed a few years ago and am not sure if those scars would prevent the lap rny.  It seems like alot of people are getting the lap band though so I have been researching it.  Thank you for sharing your experiences with it.  I am worried that the surgery will put me in alot of pain but I am also worried about having a heart attack or stroke or having to deal with diabetes from the excess weight I can't lose.  I have been fighting with my weight for 14 years now.  I was also hoping the weight loss would help the fibro but from what I have heard on the board here it doesn't seem likely.  :P  That would have been a WONDERFUL by product of losing weight and having the surgery!  LOL  I am glad you have been able to keep your job because I could not handle the pain from working my desk job.  I know just work part-time since I was denied disability.  I have four boys to try and keep up with and it really hard with the extra weight and the fibro.  My dr tells me to try and lower my stress and the fibro will not be so bad but that is hard to do when your husband has chronic meyloid leukemia, you have one son who is juvenile diabetic, a crazy ex husband, and four boys to care for all the time!  How do you minimize those stresses?  Leave my life?  Now a nice vacation from my life for a bit would be welcomed--especially to a nice warm place by water.  :)  One of these days...... I am so glad to have found this place to find others that understand some of what you are going through.  My family does not understand the fibro and all they do is worry about how much medicine I take!  If I could take one pill and be all better I would gladly do it--I am NOT the addictive type and no pill popping druggie.  LOL Now I have went on and on....Anyway thanks for sharing your experience.  My insurance does not cover the Celebrex I take now so I have to get samples each month from my doctor.  Insurance sure can suck!  At least they will cover WLS if it is medically necessary and hopefully a bmi of 43 will qualify me. Hope to talk with you more in the future! Amy

Your gallbladder scars won't make a difference in your rny. I had my gallbladder out several years ago and had the lap band laparoscopically. I just have another set of punched holes. hehe Actually my gallbladder scars have almost all but gone. I wish the band scars would. I have one that formed a keloid (excessive scar tissue). I am not going to tell you which surgery you need to have because like I said before, it is strictly a personal decision. I think if your family has concerns though, you should at least hear them out though. This has to be a decision you ALL can live with.  I don't know how far you have gone back on this board and read but I posted back when the board first started about my feelings about fibro and the weight issue. I still feel the same way. I think if your fibro goes away after surgery, it was probably weight that was causing your symptoms to begin with. If the fibro doesn't go away, then it truly is fibro. I wish mine had gone away. I found out a few years ago that my fibro is do to a genetic illness and having the illness makes me predisposed to fibro. Crazy! Sort of makes that inheritance thing a real pain.. literally! lol  I can so relate to your family not understanding. Mine didn't till they had to live with me. My husband used to think I used it to get my way. I was shocked and appalled he could even say that but that was right after he told me he wanted a divorce. I think he was doing it for shock value more than anything. That really drove a stake in my heart though. I have cried so many nights in pain to the point of wanting to just off myself than deal with another second and he do that to me. I feel like a drug addict for all the meds I have to take. Enough of my crazy marriage though.. Sitting at my desk all day working is hard to do. I need a new chair but just don't want to pay that kind of money for a new desk chair that is comfortable enough. I love my job though. I couldn't ask for a better one. I actually work for this website. Obesity Help. You may have heard of it! lol I am going to go for now. I will talk to you soon I am sure! Amy