Thank you! I'm preparing & going forward with the surgery. I've been thinking about it so much. What you said is true, & I've come to the same conclusion. I have so many health issues the weight loss can improve that I just can't pass up this chance! I stayed up most of the night contemplating the pro's & con's again of having the surgery & talked to my family this morning. I also received a blessing at church & feel much better about having it done. By tomorrow at this time, I'll be post-op & starting a new journey!

I'm having my RNY Monday & am now scared to death because of some of the stories posted on the message boards. I've had severe fibromyalgia for well over 7 yrs. I take Cymbalta (120 mgs daily), diclofenac {voltaren (150 mgs daily)}, Abilify (5 mgs daily), wellbutrin (150 mgs daily), along with diabetes & high blood pressure medication. I also have sleep apnea. My life changed so much because of the fibro, & other health issues, that I ended up in clinical depression. The main reason for even having the surgery is to get some of my life back & try to stop some of the pain. I've tried pool therapy & walking, but end up paying for any exercise with more pain. I'm 290 lbs. right now & thought that by losing the weight, my health would overall improve. Now I see where it may not help my fibro at all...& could make it worse, although I can't imagine it being worse.

I've made the decision to have surgery against my husband's & parents' wishes & am now second guessing myself. My husband says he doesn't have a good feeling about it, along with my parents. I just hope I'm making the right decision....

Sorry for the rant, but had to vent somewhere. I sure don't need my family against it more than they already are. Anyone out there with a few words of wisdom or GOOD news about how WLS has helped with their medical problems, esp. fibro?

Thanks!

weight loss does NOT help with the fibro pain.  i lost 200.  then gained back half of it.  i have been hurting all the way through.  my social security disability was a 2.5 year battle.  fibro was one of many factors in disability, which was only approved this past week.  i think that if i have sugar it messes with my achiness and hurting.  it gets less localized and more insistant.

that's it for me. 
anyone else?

First let me say, that EVERYONE if different. Before surgery I was only taking 1/2 a pain pill (750 mg vicodine) at bed time, and going to the gym 3 days a week.
I have RA and Fibro. I was taking Enbrel for 8 yrs.(I developed a bone tumor from long turn use of the enbrel, and had to have my S3,4,5 and tailbone removed, so can NO longer Ever take any TNF inhibitor)  I went off the Enbrel 1 month prior to surgery, because of the infection complications side effects.  On 4-28-09 I had RNY surgery. on 5-13-09 til 5-31-09 I was in the hospital with a severe infection that almost killed me. and then went home with a antibotic IV drip every 6 hrs for 3 months... The weight loss had been GREAT.! But am soo scared to have the plastic surgery done now, due to infections.
 BUT WHAT THEY DON'T TELL U--- after the weight loss surgery (start 292, got down to 147) the RA and the FIBRO do NOT get better. Actually the RA is worse, because you don't have the fatty tissue in the joints anymore. And the FIBRO hurts more because of the muscle mass loss. I have had to up my pain meds,(1000 mg vicodine, and 150 Lyrica). They have even resorted to putting me on Rituxen, which is a form of Chemotherapy for pain. And it isn't working. The only think that would help, and it is killing me to do it, is gaining weight. If that doesn't make you sick. Kinda a irony. Have weight loss, to save my life, then almost die. Then lose the weight, but live in massive pain, unless you gain back some of the weight. LOL have to laugh to keep from crying. LOL  Now I am back up to 200. The pain is a little better, but I won't put on any more. this much is making me sick........ Also, another thing they are now realizing.  That with the weight on, you have large pockets of fatty tissue on the pelvic floor. (which is the muscle that holds the bladder up, the uteras and anus in place) and when you lose the weight, the bladder falls, the uteras prolaps, and the colon enlarges.  I just wanted to let you know exactly what I have been thru.  I have been asked if I would go thru it all again, and I have to honestly say, I don't think I would have. I would have kept up the working out in the pool, and cardio.  Now I am unable to go to the gym, because of the muscle loss, I have already torn my rotor cuff. And because of the bone loss, I have bone fractures that make working out very painful. The only thing I can do is swimming... And now that I have HAD to gain some weight back, I am very sick to my stomach with all of it....Sorry if this isn't want you wanted to hear, but just thought that you should have both sides. Everyone always trys to make the surgery look good, which for most it is. I am one of the bad results. But keep in mind also, that they are getting better and better with all of it.!! Good luck,

 Dianne,

Totally understand! I almost want to get a ***disclaimer*** t-shirt, something along the lines of...

"I do not have brain damage, ride the "short bus" or smoke crack, I am just having a bad brain day!"

On the back...

"if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand!"

Somedays I feel like I have a chunk of Swiss cheese for a brain with a herd of meeces approaching! On a serious note, I live in a different State than my family & most of my friends. I have to admit, I have ceased contact with a large percentage of my extended family & friends, due to my mental changes. I have not been open about having Fibro just because of the stigma associated with it. I am embarrassed for people who knew the "old me" to see the way I am now. You can camouflage the pain & discomfit, but the mental changes can't be hidden away. 

I am glad that my words helped someone else cause Lord knows they don't help me! Lol. I read on another post here about the "Spoon Theory", if you haven't read it, look it up, it's a must read!

Bonnie