Hi michelle, you can e-mail me anytime this is my personal e-mail: [email protected] This pain is really starting to depress me so much... my knee was hurting so bad last night and the pain went all the way down to my whole leg, I could barely sleep.... I jsut want something to take this pain away...!! let me know what your doctor says...  when are you scheduled for lapband? Irene

Hi Irene!  I haven't figured out how to email from here yet, so bear with me!  I'm sorry to hear you are in so much pain! Isn't it hard to get ANYTHING done when you hurt so bad to move. And it's also hard being our age (I'm 29) and people not understanding. Things will get better. HANG IN THERE! I hope they can provide you with a diagnosis and help eliminate your pain. I am allergic to ibprofen, but I have taken Aleve in the past. I don't want to scare you or anything but, I had similiar smyptoms to you...pain all over in every joint, and it took 2 years for my bloodwork to show the rheumatoid factor...so for 2 years I had seronegative RA (no rheumatoid factor present in the blood) I am a few meds for my RA...Prednisone, Remicade, Celebrex, Methotrexate, Fosamax...this combo seems to help me for the most part, but I would be scared if I had to go without them for my WLS.  I have an appointment to discuss WLS with my Rheumy later in Sept and I am nervous about it. He's kinda old-school, but I think I can sway him :) Hope to hear from you soon,  Michelle

I need both knees done.  I'm only 6 weeks post op from RNY so I need to lose more weight before I can have my surgery.  I will have cortisone injections until then.  Now the kicker.  My husband works overseas so I am by myself months at a time.  How long were you incapacitated after doing both knees at the same time?  I would want to do them that way and he could arrange some time here in the States.  I could have one done and just try to get along on my own.  My other option would be to move overseas so he would be there.  Cleveland Clinic has a hospital where he works so I would have access to quality medical services.  I'm in pain much of the time and take tramadol, but my pouch isn't too fond of it so I have really cut back on using it.  I will appreciate any information you can give me.  Thank you.

Michelle, I'm 39 and have had RA since I was 5 yrs old. I just had RNY on May 7th and have lost 65lbs. Having RA has been a struggle my whole life, add extra weight to that and I've had my hands full. Having WLS has been the hardest yet best decision I ever made. Having RA and Fibromyalgia certainly played a huge factor in this decision. Infact, most of my weight gain is directly related to having arthritis, due to meds and lack of mobility. Although I knew that loosing weight would not cure me of the disease, I knew for certain that taking off the extra weight would improve my mobility and take pressure off my joints. I first considered lap band surgery, but due to my immunosuppressant meds, the risk of rejection and possible infection was too high for me. Talk to your rheumatologist, PCP and WL surgeon. Get all your questions answered and then make the best decision for you. If you have any questions for me, feel free to send me an email. Good luck Rita

Hi Michelle - I'm Leone, also a newcomer! I'm 52 - got diagnosed with fibromyalgia and osteo arthritis about a year ago. Since then I've taken a nosedive health wise. My knees are very bad and painful - my rhuemy says we can try injections next - right now I put lidocain patches on them at night - it's worthless. After being obese my whole adult life, I got mad and lost half of my weight (150) by diet and exercise. Then I had a botched up, freak show tummy tuck and ended up on antidepressants. I;ve now regained all of the weight, and along with the illnesses, can hardly get out of bed sometimes. People look at me strange - don't know what to say - after all, just last year I was thin, and now I'm fat again! I've got any appt to see a bariatric surgeon. If he thinks we can get it covered with insurance, I'm going for it. But I have no idea what "it" is - there seem to be several surgeries - but I'm hoping he will sugges the one right for me.  I will still have the illnesses after the surgery, and with some of the surgeries, I've read that you can't take all your meds. I can't get along without them, so that will be something to consider. Write when you can. I love to hear other stories, see what we all have in common. Take Care, Leone