Let me just start by saying, other than being SO, I had no comorbities before surgery. Now, I feel like I am falling apart. What gives?

I cant sleep at night because my knees haven't met before and now that they have they dont get along. SO MUCH PAIN. I try a pillow between them but it doesnt stay.

Since surgery I have spent 14(!!!!) weeks in a boot because of nerve problems in my feet. I also have a nerve in my back left shoulder that random flares up and it is like fire for 5 minutes at a time...take my breath away pain!

Do these kind of things go away or do I need to learn to live with them? I am well over half way to goal and working my program...but DANG, the pain.

These health problems have probably been building up over the years. And people who have never been obese have these problems too. It's like people who never smoke and get lung cancer. Or people who eat healthy and stay fit having a heart attack.

You're lucky you didn't have problems before surgery. I don't know how old you are, or what your BMI was prior to surgery, but without surgery, you may have developed more health problems than you have now....like I have nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy), congestive heart failure, arthritis, chronic pain, etc., etc., etc.

About the nerve damage, I spent many months on and off with "the boot". The pain has changed now -- it has gone from pins and needles and changed to numbness - where my legs feel heavy like tree trunks and weak...I have to use a cane. But even with the issues I have, I feel much better having lost the weight.

Hopefully, some of your issues will resolve. Good luck to you.

Mary

I just kind of tuck my blanket it comforter between my knees... Found a pillow to be too thick, or I try and shift one a little so not quite knee to knee. I had tail bone pain early out when I'd sit, but I guess I've adjusted because it doesn't bother me anymore.

Yeah I have a few funky things going on myself, but still worth it.

Let me start off with, I am a pharmacologist and do not have a degree in biomechanics.

However, as I read your post, I realize your biomechanics may have significantly changed. Think about it, for years your legs were forced apart into an "open"/wide legged stance because your thighs were too big.

Now, it appears your legs are thinner! :) While this is wonderful, the tendons and ligaments that have run from the outside of your hips, down your leg, to your knee are having to lengthen and stretch because your feet and knees can now be closer together. The angle in which your feet/legs are held has changed as your thighs and calves have gotten smaller too! This requires your muscles to innervate differently. Some groups/fibers may even have to fire at significantly different times from which they previously did to support you.

An immediate and relevant experiment of such is climbing a few flights of stairs, flat footed, with sneakers versus climbing a few flights of stairs in high heels. The same muscle groups fire but since the angle has changed, one pair of footwear is significantly more tiring, difficult and sometimes even painful to climb stairs in! (I will let you run the experiment to figure out which).

I would consider getting a physical therapist or an occupational therapist to help you stretch, strengthen, and get your muscles to innervate in the new order. Sometimes it takes awhile. For example, I jog fairly often but I have been HILL training for a month with little improvement in speed as I have a 5K "race" coming up wiht a long giagantic hill. This long gigantic hill really challenges the area where the calf meets the ankle and it can become pretty exhausted. This area doesnt get tired in "normal" runnign but because the angle of incline is different, it really challenges the sequence in which the muscle fibers fire to get the work done.

Knee PIllow with strap

Cheapskate,

Life is catching up with you. Keep on Keeping on! You can get there, and you will not hurt forever.....welcome to the process of aging.and changing.... I know, I am there too.Here is what I've found...

I have read the other comments and they are on the right track...I am 20 years post op.(..a version of the rny, with other procedures done, in addition)

Go to one of those foot centers that service people with foot issues. I have read the other posts and they are on track. It is not entirely because of the weight loss but the re alignment of all the tendons and ligaments.

Your feet need good support and when you lose weight the feet are crucial to support as your body changes..

If you can't afford to go to a fully serviced foot center, go to one of those foot mapping centers and buy the one for your foot type...they are about 50-60$ for a set and are well worth it.I could tell the difference within two days.don't put your feet to the floor without support of some type...I used ace bandages when I graduated from the boot. It's more flexible and not so hard to walk in.... Continue to coddle your feet til they are well healed or they will flare up again.

Get a good pair of support shoes. Each persons foot needs are different, I found the deck shoes by state street work well for me, as do the Nike walking shoes. Those are the only two I can wear without inserts...

Be sure to use something for anti-inflamatory...there is a prescription topical that gave me relief....ask your Dr for a script...for a topical, and avoid using internal anti-inflammatories.

I just went thru the nerve pain issues in feet and wore a boot for several weeks after breaking a bone in one foot, got the boot off that foot and had strained the other one and had to have the boot on the other one....So been there done that!

For your shoulder, get a very good bra, with wide straps, to keep the girls up and distribute the weight properly.Be sure to get it the proper size, you may need to re-adjust the circumfurence by taking it in, if money is tight, just do it evenly on both ends.This will keep you from having to buy every month at first.

also have someone find the area that is burning.. and apply gentle pressure to area with the flat palm...very easy press and release 10-12 x should help.If no one is available to assist,I put a doubled bed pillow on a door or doorframe and lean my weight in against it at the area that hurts..not as good as a gentle massage, but it helps me.dh