EXERCISE AND BONE ON BONE KNEES

Thank you all for your suggestions.  This gives me a great starting point.   Jeanne

Hi Jeanne: I was going to suggest swimming or water walking right away until you said no pool available ... oh well. Even if you couldn't swim, you could water walk if you had a pool available. I used to swim a lot even when I was 347 pounds before WLS. Yes, I looked horrible in a swimsuit, but I really didn't care what anyone said about me; I was there to exercise, not win a beauty contest. And there were other people there who were overweight and obese too. One day, some skinny mini made a comment about the "old cows" dripping all over the locker room ... I told her to shut her mouth, they were there for the same reason she was, to get in shape. She didn't have a thing to say, just took her towel and wiped up the little puddle she was complaining about.  Right now, I am not swimming because of financial problems. I have a little exercising bike ... it's a "half bike" actually. It fits under my dining room table because I don't have a lot of room in my condo. I sit on a dining room chair and bike for 30-45 minutes a day. Then I do some work with the exerband and weights for my knee (I have a knee replacement that hasn't worked out so well), some leg exercises, some hand weights. There are a lot of things you can do in your house that don't entail a lot of walking.  As for the knee replacement, get one as soon as  you can. It will change your life. I say this even though mine hasn't worked as well as I had hoped. The knee is OK, it's the patellar tendon that is giving me problems. I'm hopeful once the inflammation goes down in the tendon, I will be happier. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to take Celebrex for awhile to get it to go down, nothing else has worked. At this point, I'd chew nails if it would get the inflammation down, it hurts so much.  Hey, the Richard Simmons tapes aren't so bad ... the Sweating to the Oldies is a pretty good routine, although don't do the "Wipeout" one ... too much jumping up and down there if you have bad knees. If you can find a exercise bike ... a regular one or a recumbent bike ... that would be a good low impact exercise too. But anything in the water would probably be best. I wish I could get back to the pool! Good luck to you!

Thank you Eileen, Having grown up with vacations at the shore, I have always been a beach baby.  My aunt had a home at the shore so there was never a pool.  I have no fear of the Ocean, still can't swim, but not afraid of it.  I am terrified of a pool.  I don't know why.  I am going to look into the PT pools at Pennsylvania Hospital.  I have lymphedma so I might be able to swing an insurance coverage. LIke the idea of the mini bike.  I think I will look into that . Thanks again. Jeanne

Got mine on QVC ... think it was about $39.99 with shipping and handling. It's wonderful ... not very high-tech, but does the job.

I agree with the others that the sooner you are able to do the knee replacement the better.  I was bone on bone for at least five years.  It is very painful and it limited my activity so much.  I didn't exercise at all during the losing of the first 100 pounds after WLS because it just hurt too much.  I then did start swimming and it was so great for me.  I hated the hassle of it, but it does seem to give a total body workout with cardio and is gentle.  I can't do the crawl like every other person that does laps, but I just did my version of laps for 20-30 min.  It's hard to not feel like you stand out, but I truly think people are heartened to see someone working on their health and I never felt anything but kindness and inclusiveness.  People look all snobby and healthy in their Speedo and swim goggles, but they really ended up just being regular people there to be healthy.  There are times of the day that are less busy than others at most pools.  You also should see if it can be gotten through your health insurance as physical therapy.  That way maybe they can work with your fear of water by just standing in the shallow end and doing exercise.  I got my knee replaced six months ago.  It is as life changing as the bypass surgery was.  Feel really good about your ortho surgeon and who you will be doing physical therapy with.  The surgery itself was not bad (especially with a spinal block for pain management).  The real challenge was the six weeks of PT.  You've got to be compliant for it to be successful, but if I can do it anyone can!  I am so regretful that I didn't do it sooner.  I was being told to try to make it until I was fifty.  I say that in the case that your joints have been worn down by morbid obesity that just shouldn't apply.  It is truly a quality of life issue.  A word of warning - I didn't take anything for the pain because as a WLS patient I couldn't take NASIDs.  When I finally had to take pain meds , after taking them for six months I realized that I couldn't do my daily life without them.  It isn't like some days were bone on bone and some weren't.   Every day hurt.  I had the surgery and that requires at least six weeks of being on the pain meds.  That meant that when I  went to taper off them I had been taking them for about nine months.  It was hard to get off them.  I've never smoked or drank or taken any drug before and I think I was a bit naive about how physically dependent you become.  I stopped taking them two months ago and my knee feels great without anything.  It's all great and I love my new knee.  Still, I wish I had gotten the surgery when I reached the point of needing pain meds.  I ended up stopping them cold turkey and that was not anything I ever want to do again!  Good luck to you.  You sound like you are getting your life back.  Congratulations on getting the panni done.  I wish I had mine gone!  Patty

I am 2 1/2 weeks out from my first knee replacement.  Like you, I had severe pain and could not exercise.  My orthopedic surgeon said no way was I to put any additional stress on my knees, but I had to lose weight to have them done.  I think that was my "Ah-ha" moment.  Hypertension, etc. hadn't gotten my attention, but the idea of having to live with that pain was more than I could envision for the rest of my life.  It was time for my wls.   I have lost everything plus 30 pounds toward the goal the orthopedic doctor required.  The extra 30 was my "cushion".  The surgery is painful, but they have great ways of helping you deal with that.  Physical therapy isn't any great fun, but an absolute must.  I encourage you to do weight lifting with your upper body.  It helps during your recovery besides being good for you overall.  Putting off the surgery another 2 years is only going to guarantee 2 more years of increasing pain.  I still have another knee to go (although it is not as bad as the one just done).  Ask your orthopedic doctor about Supartz injections in your knees.  They gave me much comfort I would not have had otherwise.  Best of luck.