Developing Arthritis AFTER WLS???

I am now 47 and 2 1/2 years out from my WLS ...

  Before my surgery, despite my SSO weight and lack of physical activity, I had almost no symptoms of any kind of arthritis-type disorder, other than a mild sharp pain in my right hip whenever I would lift my right leg to take off BVDs before getting into the shower ..  However, although I have not had any radiology tests done yet,  it appears now that the big A. may be hitting me, and big time ..  

  Beginning a month or two ago, I began having horrible pain in my left knee (like a toothache is the best way to describe it), just below and inside of the cap.   The pain comes and goes, but is worse slightly when actualy moving the knee.  I'm also having some pain now in the left hip and even the left wrist joint (I'm left-handed, btw), from time to time ..   

  If it is arthritis, I don't understand how I could lug all that weight around for so many years and not show hardly any sign of it, and yet now that I"m lighter and healthier and a bit more active I seem to be getting hit with it.       I also wonder if somehow it could be related to the 20-25 lb. regain I've recently had ..   

  I cant' help but think of a VBG bud of mine who was 400+ lbs. too when he had his WLS 7 years ago ..   He also seemed to be otherwise O.K. at the time, but after losing down to the 130s (he had some complications  ) he later regained back up to well over 200 lbs.   By then, he was working with great gusto on his farm      but suddenly he was later struck down by horrible back pain.      Turns out he almost every disc in his back blown out.   He's now mostly disabled and, after several major back surgeries, rides around a lot in a mobility scooter.     

   Anyone had any disturbing post-op experiences like this?  

The only possible solutions: Lose more weight until you are thin, work on flexibilty and also exercise.

Yes, weight is a big factor.

Hope you get better,

Dave

Thanks Dave.

  I guess I'll wait until the radiology is done before I say it is A. for sure.   One of the guys on the DS forum who suffered badly from gout said that it could very well be gout, so I should get that possibility checked out (i.e. blood urice acid level test done).  I thought gout always starts in the big toe joint, but he says it can strike several joints at the same time.      I have heard that we are at increased risk of elevated uric acid levels and kidney stones after WLS (possibly from the calcium supps. we take?) .. 

Hey dude, I don't really have any advice for you, but I read your post and hope you find out what it is soon so you can get a solution for it........   Good luck man!

 Thanks, Rightman ..    


  I guess if it turns out to be A. or gout, I should consider myself lucky, seeing as what kind of horrible shape my Bandera bud ended up in, as I mentioned earlier.      

  I also heard a sad story from a young gal, a Marine recruit's newlywed wife, on TT ..  She lost over 100 lbs. only to find out she is a victim of Spinal Stenosis, a very rare congenital disorder caused by a narrowing of the spinal canal, which causes pressure on the spinal cord, resulting on numbness and tingling in the feeet and legs, as well as occasional pain down the legs ...      Not much they can do for that condition, apparently    ..   Esp. sad for someone only 27 years of age!   

You know, we have our surgeries to better our quality of life so we can do things that we should have been able to do all along, but our weight and/or our self-esteem kept us from doing them.  Many people seem to think that having gastric bypass or the lap band or these other procedures are the "easy way out", but to be honest, we have gone through lots more than I ever did on any other diet I was ever on. 

With that said, we can't always see what the inevitable is.  We can't see what the future has in store for us.  We do these things because we assume that the weight loss will fix everything in our lives, but unfortunately we still have to deal with other issues. Issues that aren't weight related.  However, if you still had the weight on you that you had before surgery and same with this Bandera friend of yours, you can't imagine how much worse the pain would be with the extra load you would be carrying on.  So thank goodness, that these things happened to both of you after your procedures and your weight losses rather than before. 

I know this message sounds a bit like I'm rambling and I hope and pray that they find a cure for your friend and that you figure out what is wrong with you so you can hopefully get a cure from your ailment(s) too, but looking at the bright side, if these things had to happen, it sounds like it is blessing it all happened now rather than before.  Hopefully one day both of you can say "I used to have this problem......."

Have a great rest of the weekend!!!!

 Very true, and very well said, Trent!   

  Some members who have been hanging around here awhile can remember a certain member (members?) that suffered their first heart attack a few years out from their WLS ..      At first blush you'd think it would be "woe is me" from them, but after some reflection by others on here over what happened it is, rather, "lucky me", once they realized that had they suffered the h.a. in their poor pre-op condition they likely wouldn't even be here to type their post .. !