Before and Afters +HELP please Joint Inflamation had RNY need solutions

Hey everyone,

it has been a while since I posted and had a few questions.  I recently began having overall body joint pain, fatigue, rash on my face and a sensation of loss of feeling in my legs.  I am waiting to see a Rheumatologist but in the meantime based on testing the doctor is treating it like Osteoarthritis with Fibromyalgia.  They are testing for MS and are not completely ruling out Lupus.

My question is regarding the inflammation in my joints.  What can I take?  The doctor has been prescribing Prednisone to be taken when there is a flare up which I would like to get off of as it causes Mood irregularities ( that's a nice way of saying I get B*tchy and weepy) and insomnia. I have been taking naproxen and AC&C while waiting for the Prednisone to work.  Yes I know they are NSAID's and I should not.  But to put the pain in perspective I gave birth to a 9lb 12 oz baby with no pain medication and I would do that over rather than deal with the pain from a bad flare up. Please don’t judge me, if I can’t move I can’t work and I am a sole support parent.

For the newbies waiting for surgery I would like to reassure you that this illness is in no way related to my surgery, the only issue is that I should not be using NSAID's having had a RNY.  

For you Vet's  any suggestions would be helpful.  As well can they do a revision from RNY to VSG or Duodenal Switch?

And for all of you waiting for surgery I am adding before and afters.  And yes I would do it all over again.  :)

Before Surgery around 265lbs                            

I am to the left (obviously) 1 year 7 months out  Approximately 140 lbs  I fluctuate from 137 - 142 depending on the day and time of month

I look a little run down but that is due to whatever is happening healthwise unrelated to my surgery.

i have nothing to offer except good luck!

i have really bad OA and was taking anti-inflammatories before my RNY 3mos ago and even though i've dropped 50lbs, it's more painful than ever.

Here's a warning for you too...they told me the NSAID's i was taking *could* cause ulcers in my stomach, well turns out i have hundreds on them in my throat and would have never known except for the scope i got before surgery.

Yep I get it about the ulcers.  I am a prior Nursing student and know what NSAIDS can do to the human body even without the compromised stomach.  

Unfortunately when the pain is such that you cannot move to get out of bed it limits your ability to participate in life.  Thusly leaving your options to very few and far between.  

I try my darndest to take them only when it gets really bad but there is visible swelling in the joints of my hand to the point that they are spongy.

It truly sucks so any suggestions for alternatives would be great.  Every time I remind my doctor about the surgery when he mentions NSAIds he isn't able to recommend anything else but prednisone.  :(

I have went from being an avid gym goer to a "scared to take a walk for fear of losing muscle sensation in my legs" person.  I figure fixing the inflammation issue is one small step.  It gets so bad that my joints bruise from the inside out. ;(

Thanks Everyone

You look fantastic. I am sorry you are having these pain issues. I have constant pain(not as bad as yours) and know how it can wear you down

I hope they find a solution soon

Thanks Pam.  I do as well. 

I have fibromyalgia and when I have a flare up, nothing touches the pain not even narcotics.  If you need to take Nsaids, you can take them with RNY but you should be on something like Prevacid to protect your stomach.  I know it won't protect your blind stomach but it's better than nothing.  Joyce that used to post here frequently and likely still lurks has been on Nsaids for a long time so maybe she will chime in.  I know your doctor has done testing so am guessing it came back showing you had inflammation?  I was tested for everything as well prior to the conclusion it was FM and even though my joints looked inflamed the blood work said I had no inflammation.  There are drugs like Lyrica and Gabapentin that can be taken that are not Nsaids but they have their whole set of possible side effects as well.  I couldn't do them so now I live with the pain when I get a flare up and take some Tylenol but that's about it.  The pain truly does suck.  I would at least make sure you are on a PPI.  Hope you get a diagnosis soon so you can make a game plan.  As for a revision, I'm not sure they would do one since you obviously no longer qualify but it would be a question you could ask your team since you now have a medical condition that requires Nsaids.

Yep there is definite inflammation not high enough to be active rheumatoid arthritis though.  I am already on Gabapentin for Diabetic Neuropathy and have been for years.  At 2 x the dosage recommended for pain control for fibromyalgia.  They have now added Amitriptyline in the evening.   Unfortunately it does not seem to do anything for the joint pain and swelling.  

I just spoke to Audrey in guelph and she suggested the PPI if I needed to take the anti-inflammatories.  and you are correct the pain truly sucks, the loss of sensation in my legs however is just downright scarey.

Amitriptyline did nothing for me but  gain 40 lbs in 3 months so if you don't start seeing results other than your scale going up, you may want to not bother. I have very little feeling going all down the outside of my thigh. It's almost like sciatica but on the outer thigh which is a mystery.  Definitely get on the PPI to protect your stomach as much as possible. Lets hope they get to the bottom of your pain.  I didn't like the blanket diagnosis of FM since they couldn't find anything else.  There are no true tests for it so when all other tests come back negative then it's labeled as that.  I don't have any fatigue at all with mine just the ongoing pain.

Figure I'd give it a month and see what happens.  So far the prednisone has not caused any weight gain so I am hoping the amiltriptilyne is the same.  I do notice however that since the onset of all of this I am eating more often and larger quantities.  So off the prednisone for now.  

I never thought I would say it but I have seriously considered the possibility of a MML through all of this.  4 times now I have had to be helped to my bed or a place to sit because my legs gave out and I was unable to support my own weight.  Glad to hear there are other people who are looking for answers.

 I as well hate the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia especially since he threw in the Osteoarthritis to explain the inflammation and wants more testing to figure out other symptoms.  It is very frustrating because everything was fine and all of a sudden within a matter of a few weeks it feels like I was betrayed by my body.  I even asked him how can I go from no symptoms to multiple symptoms at once and have it be multiple things instead of just one thing?  His answer was it was the best diagnosis based on the test results so far and he needed to see an MRI to explain unrelated symptoms.

Makes no sense to me at all.  Thus the frustration.

What does the rash look like on your face? Is the joint pain due to inflammation/your joints feel filled up with too much fluid? Has Psoriatic Arthritis been considered? I only ask because of the fatigue, rash and joint pain in combination sounds like what I have (altho not the loss of feelings in my legs), you might at least ask the question. Psoriasis is pretty easy to diagnose on sight. I had PsA for over 8 months before my dermatologist finally put two and two together.

For the joint pain, before I went on monthly Remicaid, I was on high dose Prednisone (40-50mg a day. The Devil's candy, that stuff, but without it I was in a wheelchair or bedridden) plus eight 20mg each Advil Gel Caps twice per day. I do NOT recommend such a high dose of Advil esp after WLS but frankly I was desperate and pre-WLS. I'm just glad I didn't develop ulcers or OD myself on Advil, so I am not in any way recommending that you do that, but Advil Gel Caps are the best I found by far for that kind of joint pain. Just take a reasonable dose, with your doctor's blessing, of course.