brad360west

The above quote should be read by everyone starting out on this journey. I have a copy by my computer, and read it often. Best wishes to all. I hope you all achive your goal.

As promised, an update. PT came in and we did a serises of bed exercise. Ankle pumps, hamstring sets, quad sets, gluteal squeeze, and heel slides. Had some pain, but actually made the leg feel good. Stretched out kinks. Then he had me sit up on edge of he bed, for a few minutes, and put pressure on the knee. Felt good! Then I stood up, with a walker, and walked to the bathroom, and back. Was slow, but felt good. Told me to just rest, don't try to much more. Will see PT tomorrow, twice.
Surgeon stopped by, and said the sugery went very well. No problems, or complications. Told me what I had done with PT was a very good sign. Most people can"t even get out of bed the first day.
All in all, a very good first day! Will keep giving updates. Hope everyone has a good weekend.
P.S.: surgeon said my knee was loaded with arthritis.

Has anyone had joint replacement, namely new knees, shortly after VSG surgery? I am 3 months out, and first knee is 15 Nov. Second at Christmas break. Was wondering how rehab and recovery went.

Rehab going well. This knee is so different than the other. More muscle soreness, swelling. 4weeks out, and I have 114 degrees of movement. P/T guy said doing well, and ahead of the curve. For those who asked, I am retired. If you have anything other then a desk job, it would require, in my opinion, at least 4-6 weeks off work.
For anyone out there contemplating replacement surgery, good luck!

Thanks for all the replies. My p/tist was amazed at my range of motion. When he checked, it was at 120 degrees. Not bad. Told my to ditch the walker, except in crowds or bad weather. He worked me over more than I thought he would for the first visit, but not too bad, until he pressed my knee down. Wow, that hurt!
I have been anal about the p/t, and he said it shows. If the right knee turns out this well, I will be very happy.

Hi, everyone. My bad about updating!! Sorry. It has been going well. I had in home p/t 3 times last week, and very happy with my progress. Can already bend knee over 100 degrees in a sitting position. Very happy with that. I do my exercizes several times a day. I am feeling fatigued, just as I was after the VSG surgery. I have lost the 16 lbs. of swelling, and only swell a slight bit in the evening. My last in home p/t is tomorrow, see Doctor on Tuesday to have dressing removed, and Wednesday is first out patient p/t class.
I have backed of second knee till 9 January. Glad I did. I will be very mobile for Christmas, and will be able to enjoy the festivities. I will post a replay of p/t on Wednesday.

Thanks for the replays. I am talking about total replacement. My ortho told me in May I had to lose at least 50 lbs. before he would even consider surgery. As I write this, I am in his office for pre-op visit
I will post updates after surgery and during physical therapy. Best wishes to all!

Two previously supportive coworkers tag-teamed me with their opinions today. Came out of nowhere. I figured it would happen at some point, but I'm still frustrated. Oh well - I was falling asleep and now I've been annoyed awake...at least I'll be productive the rest of the day.
This was all the usual stuff. Just eat 1500 - no, 1800 calories. Eat every 2 hours. Low carb. No, no carb. No carb is good. Don't waste the money on surgery. Eat broccoli and boiled chicken. After surgery you'll have to diet, why not do it now? Blah blah blah and some more blah.
One of them is my size, getting larger, and in denial about it. Stuffs herself into her clothes like a sausage in a casing and won't admit to being over 200 pounds. She goes through wild swings. One day you can offer her something and she goes off the deep end at you about how she's on a diet and isn't eating crap like that - the next day she's stuffing rolls and M&M's in her piehole hand over fist.
The other one, I'm very proud of - she's about a size 4 now and used to be >250 pounds, and did it via the "boiled chicken" method with boot camps twice per day. Good for her. But her way isn't the only way, and being on the other end of a lecture from a sanctimonious ex-fatty who thinks her answers are the only answers is not my idea of a fun way to spend the afternoon.
I'm having this surgery because I'm 36 and 300 pounds. I've been fat my entire life. My knees hurt. My feet hurt. My blood pressure is poorly controlled. I want babies before I'm too old to raise them. I. Don't. Want. To. Die. And anyone who thinks they're going to talk me out of doing something to save my life can kiss my fat a$$ for as long as I still have it.
Rant, over.

The above quote should be read by everyone starting out on this journey. I have a copy by my computer, and read it often. Best wishes to all. I hope you all achive your goal.

Thanks for all the replies. My p/tist was amazed at my range of motion. When he checked, it was at 120 degrees. Not bad. Told my to ditch the walker, except in crowds or bad weather. He worked me over more than I thought he would for the first visit, but not too bad, until he pressed my knee down. Wow, that hurt!
I have been anal about the p/t, and he said it shows. If the right knee turns out this well, I will be very happy.

Hi, everyone. My bad about updating!! Sorry. It has been going well. I had in home p/t 3 times last week, and very happy with my progress. Can already bend knee over 100 degrees in a sitting position. Very happy with that. I do my exercizes several times a day. I am feeling fatigued, just as I was after the VSG surgery. I have lost the 16 lbs. of swelling, and only swell a slight bit in the evening. My last in home p/t is tomorrow, see Doctor on Tuesday to have dressing removed, and Wednesday is first out patient p/t class.
I have backed of second knee till 9 January. Glad I did. I will be very mobile for Christmas, and will be able to enjoy the festivities. I will post a replay of p/t on Wednesday.

As promised, an update. PT came in and we did a serises of bed exercise. Ankle pumps, hamstring sets, quad sets, gluteal squeeze, and heel slides. Had some pain, but actually made the leg feel good. Stretched out kinks. Then he had me sit up on edge of he bed, for a few minutes, and put pressure on the knee. Felt good! Then I stood up, with a walker, and walked to the bathroom, and back. Was slow, but felt good. Told me to just rest, don't try to much more. Will see PT tomorrow, twice.
Surgeon stopped by, and said the sugery went very well. No problems, or complications. Told me what I had done with PT was a very good sign. Most people can"t even get out of bed the first day.
All in all, a very good first day! Will keep giving updates. Hope everyone has a good weekend.
P.S.: surgeon said my knee was loaded with arthritis.

The above quote should be read by everyone starting out on this journey. I have a copy by my computer, and read it often. Best wishes to all. I hope you all achive your goal.

Hope you are doing well and looking forward to your next knee replacement. I actually ran down a flight of stairs a few days ago. Amazing to me!!!

Surgery in two days. They moved up second knee to mid December. I will be posting after surgery, and during rehab. Thanks for the replys.

Thanks for all the replies. My p/tist was amazed at my range of motion. When he checked, it was at 120 degrees. Not bad. Told my to ditch the walker, except in crowds or bad weather. He worked me over more than I thought he would for the first visit, but not too bad, until he pressed my knee down. Wow, that hurt!
I have been anal about the p/t, and he said it shows. If the right knee turns out this well, I will be very happy.

Keep up on the pt!! It sounds so encouraging that you have the angles you do so soon! You must be working hard!! I actually ran down a set of stairs today at the Pistons's game....Not fast, but I did it. Mine was 2 years in April. No anti inflammatory meds. either. Keep it up!

My thoughts? You were right that was a long azz post!
But really are you are not glad that someone mentioned the surgery to you?? Is your life not improved because of it?
I am not a walking billboard I do not try and talk someone into surgery just because I had it..
But if someone asks I will tell them.
You are not responsible for someone going off half cocked and who they chose as a surgeon.
I would love to know the recent stats on how many people are choosing to have sleeve surgery because to me it seems to have tripled this last year..
With its popularity comes people not putting in time to research (and I mean more than just this site) and just think about what they think is the instant gratification like "girl I can't wait to rock some skinny jeans" of the surgery.
Also we have Drs by the truckload jumping on the bandwagon because of the profits to made of of all these people..
This is our fast food instant gratification nation!
THIS IS MAJOR SURGEY and should be the last resort after all avenues have been exhausted.
There are risks but if you are fat enough those risks are outweighed by the benefits...
How's that for a long post

Good luck with the surgery....Walk, exercise, and follow what the PT and doctor tell you to do. My husband was my "coach" and he really thought he would have to pressure me to do the exercises. Both my sister and brother had problems with scar tissue buildup so I was determined I wasn't having that. I did what they told me to do, Water aerobics as soon as I was able to go into the pool again, AND paid extra to go to the same place for an extra 3 months of exercising on their equipment as they would tell me my next step. I can ride a recumbent trike which I couldn't do before my knee replacement and....have walked 2 5 k's since my sleeve surgery.... Will be glad to follow up with your progress!!

So happy to hear from you! I'm glad everything went well! I didn't know that you would be able to walk to the bathroom on your first day. That's great. Please keep us updated.

Please keep us updated. Having my knees done is in my future and I'm so interested in your journey.

I had knee replacement 1 year before my the sleeve which was 1 year ago. I have lost about 91 pounds and off anti inflammatory meds. I can actually do stairs without huffing and puffing, and bend my knee Too!!!!

Diagnosed with degenerative arthritis in neck, back, hips, knees, etc at age 37. Now nearly 62. Had a fall and sprain in February and suffering since my doc said I was too fat, or it would be so much harder to recover. Even 30 pounds lost has helped. 10 yrs ago I could have had it, but put it off because would need to be repeated down the line. Now, hoping to have my knees replaced 6 months out after VSG. Awaiting approval and date now. Glad this thread is here.

I also was on MEDIFASt and lost 60 pounds two years ago. I regained all plus 5 extra pounds..so here I am having the surgery on dec 9. Many of my friends who were on MEDIFASt also gained most or all of their weight. My daughter was not on board ..and is probably still not too much on board with the surgery ..she is a physician assistant..my husband does not say much..he has not discouraged or encouraged me. But I may doing this for myself..I am exhausted with losing and regaining, .abolutely exhausted. Do what u have to do for yourself..good luck and keep us posted.