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Hi Jen: Are you seeing a Rheumatologist? If not you might want to consult one to help with a diagnosis. I went to doctors or 14 years, most of them told me that my symptoms were all in my head. It wasn't till I sat down one day and wrote down everything I though was a symptom and when I was done I had 2 sides of a piece of paper. I went and saw a new Rhematologist and gave him the paper with the symptoms, he spent an hour and a half with me going over everything and then sent me for a million x-rays and tons of blood work and some other tests. He had told me he thought I had reactive arthritis. I went home and looked it up and thought hum, that doesn't sound too bad. When he got my results he told me I have Ankylosing Spondylitis! I said what the HELL is that I can't even pronounce that. It is also a form of arthritis and is an autoimmune disease with no known cure. I also have a secondary diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis , along with Fibromyalgia. He is constantly testing me though for Lupus, that's what they thought I might have in the beginning, but it is hard to diagnos. Don't give up on a diagnosis, only you know your body and you need to keep pressing the doctors for a diagnosis, not just arthritis of unknown origin. I am pre-op right now, but will be getting sleeved in July. My doctors say it should help with some of the issues I have. Also when you have one autoimmune disease, it is possible to have more than one of them. I hope you get a clear diagnosis in the near future it will help put your mind at ease when you have a name to what is causing you so much troiuble. Sorry for the long post....Jill

I consider myself an expert when it comes to autoimmune rheumatic diseases. First- let's talk your prednisone: See an endocrinologist. Pronto. I was taking 60 mg of pred a day for years. There was no weaning off, because any time I got down to 20-25mg, I literally could not function. In any capacity. Enter the endocrinologist. Because the prednisone does just as much (if not more!) damage than good, my adrenal function was gone, I had prednisone induced glaucoma as well as prednisone induced diabetes. I needed off the meds ASAP. She prescribed me ORAL hydrocortisone. It mimics- and tricks- your body into believing it is prednisone, and is MUCH easier to wean off of than the prednisone. It took a total of 2.5 months vs over a year or longer if it were the prednisone. Do this. Again, ASAP. Ask for it. Second- methotrexate, either by pill or injection: pills made me sick, puking, typical chemo side effects. The shots did not, and they actually work much more effectively than the pills, so if given a choice, it is a once a week teeny tiny needle. Side effects- don't bother paying attention to them. The benefits far outweigh any possible adverse effects. You will need regular blood work to monitor your liver enzymes. Again, I have been on a very high dosage, so mine were often screwy. Third: I can't imagine any surgeon doing WLS or ANY elective surgery while you are on either of these meds. I had to "wash out" before I could have my surgery, meaning get all traces of the meds out of my blood system and stored reserves. Both drugs make you more susceptible to infection and the prednisone especially makes healing hard. And keeps weight on. Again- seeing an endocrinologist will get you off the pred by using oral hydrocortisone pills. Usually PMR goes away after a year or so. I wonder if you don't have true rheumatoid arthritis? The tests- a sed rate and C-reactive Protein screen are used for PMR as well as other autoimmune arthritis diagnosis. Just a thought. So- don't worry about side effects of the methotrexate and get off the pred!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Hi am just seeing this now. Thank you for responding. I did get off prednisone about 8 months ago. But it started to come back and about 2 months later I couldn't take it and went back on. My rheumatologist says cut down till I feel pain. Then start methotrexate. Shots. So I can continue to get off prednisone. I did have all the testing done. They did suspect fibromyalgia ms. Lupus RA etc Till all tests were done. I will look into seeing an endocrinologist. I did tell the dr about prednisone. He said it was fine and I may lose slower. I am now 9 weeks out and lost 20 pounds. 10 more the week before surgery. I was "only" 201 day of surgery. I would like to lose faster but. I really want to get off the prednisone. Thank you and why doesn't my rheumatologist k ow about this? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I am an autoimmune nightmare. Literally. Started with APA and then Rheumatoid, then Sjogrens. You name it. Though SLE was in the cards but got lucky there. There was some anecdotal findings about people with severe RA having had bypass who went into remission. That's all I needed to hear. Sign me up. In 9 years time, I didn't have a day without pain, fatigue, depression, you name it. Couldn't walk to the bathroom without pain let alone to the corner. Well, I had the bypass in March. Six months ago. Guess what? I will not say I'm in "remission" ( the Rword!) BUT I also have literally been pain free/symptom free since that day. I have NO clue why, and frankly, I don't care. All I know is that these have been the best 6months in forever. I'll take it. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App I am an autoimmune nightmare. Literally. Started with APA and then Rheumatoid, then Sjogrens. You name it. Thought SLE was in the cards but got lucky there. There were anecdotal findings about people with severe RA having had bypass who went into remission. That's all I needed to hear. Sign me up. In 9 years time, I didn't have a day without pain, fatigue, depression, you name it. Couldn't walk to the bathroom without pain let alone to the corner. Well, I had the bypass in March. Six months ago. Guess what? I will not say I'm in "remission" ( the Rword!) BUT I also have literally been pain free/symptom free since that day. I have NO clue why, and frankly, I don't care. All I know is that these have been the best 6months in forever. I'll take it. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Not sure if my own experiences could offer any insight... but, I have two autoimmune diseases/disorders: Psoriasis and Eosinophilic Esophagitis. Psoriasis deals with skin issues though there is some joint pain that comes with that. And Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EOE) has to do with the white cells in your esophagus thinking your body is under attack and multiplying. It causes narrowing in your esophagus which leads to dysphagia and choking issues. Acid issues. Chest pain and abdominal pain. And the occasional time where food backs up on you and either gets stuck in your throat trying to come out or you spit or throw it up (generally when you eat too fast, too soon, or too much). I'm allowed to drink a little if I choke BECAUSE of the EOE (I rarely have to though. Usually only once or twice a week where I have a choking incident and need to take a sip). I do deal with more fatigue then most. I don't actually know if it's due to either of my autoimmune disorders or if it has to do with another health issue that may actually be ANOTHER autoimmune disorder (my doctor is trying to figure out if I have Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) or if my various symptoms with the fatigue is caused by a spinal fluid leak (the two have very similar symptoms and are often misdiagnosed as the opposite problem so my doctor is trying to cover all her bases and figure out which one it is. We're both HOPING it's the spinal fluid leak because that could be fixed semi-easily while the other issue has no cure as the meds for it didn't work for me. I really hope it's the spinal fluid leak because if it's the other I'd end up permanently disabled and I'm only 33 so I very much don't want that). I do know that despite still having fatigue issues, I have more energy now than I did six months ago (I'm almost 13 months post op) so I feel that it WILL get better. At least a bit. Hopefully whatever treatment they have for you improves upon that as well! I wish you the best!

Searc here for a thread called "Things to ask your surgeon" or something like that. There's LOTS of really great suggestions on questions you might want to ask. I don't have autoimmune so I can't comment. Oh, BTW - I had pretty much made up my mind to do this, knew my insurance would cover it, and then got a job offer with another company that I couldn't refuse. I didn't let the operation stop me from taking it, so here's what I did: ASAP look over the insurance options you have (I had like 13 to choose from, it was a nightmare!) and write them down. Then search here and OH for insurance companies known to be "band friendly". (If the other options don't make it too attractive, in my case I could have just hopped on to DH's policy, which did NOT cover the band, but would have given me everything else and the measly amount I pay for insurance would have been sooo worth it for the band alone). Cross off the others, leaving me with 3 or 4 possibilities. Bring those back in to work and review the SPD for each looking for any exclusions around bariatrics, bariatric surgery, gastric banding, etc. One had an exclusion listed so I crossed it off, leaving me with 2 or 3 choices. Called my HR rep and asked if the company had bariatric exclusions on the policies for either of those carriers, found out they did not. Called a rep from each insurance company and asked them, specifically, if the lap-band was covered for my potential policy. (I had to ask about "adjustable gastric banding" or something, b/c "Lap-Band" isn't in their literature). So in the end I had 2 or 3 choices that I was 95% sure would pay for it, so then I picked my policy based on the overall features I preferred, out of pocket for surgical costs, etc. So changing jobs didn't impact me in the slightest. This was all in June of last year, and I went to my seminar in November. The one caveat I'll add is that the company I'm at is huge, so I felt confident that I'd have my choice of carriers. If I had been going to a small place, I may have done things differently, so that I didn't end up going some place only to find out they only offered 1 policy and it didn't cover WLS. And we had the means to pay out of pocket, too, as a back-up plan so it didn't "matter" if insurance covered it or not, but heck - that little bit of work & research was SOOO worth $16k. Hope this helps.

I just got home from seeing the ortho doc about my shoulder. I have what is called frozen shoulder and he explained that the likely cause was my autoimmune issues. It seems my immune system got tired of attacking just my thyroid and is now focused on my left shoulder too. Bummer. He said it may take up to two years to fully resolve itself and could spread to my right shoulder also... Just great.... Ok, pity party over. The bright side is most cases resolve without surgery and I just need to do some specific exercises daily to help it along. If the pain is ever too intense I can opt for a ultra sound guided cortisone shot. I skipped the shot for now and will just focus on learning the exercises and praying my right shoulder is spared.

Sleeve Plication solved the acid issue, but good luck finding anyone who will do one on you, or getting insurance to cover it! My acid is awful, I cannot ever miss a dose of prevacid. Going to see an endocrinologist to see if something else is going on that would explain my slow/nonexistent weight loss. Saw my neuro this morning, got blood drawn to check levels of B, D, and a full thyroid panel, she also got me a referral for PT. So, all good things. I'm disappointed that my photos from my big Italy trip are going to show a fat woman Am receiving some pretty contrary information regarding diet and MS, it is accepted fact that MS is not just an autoimmune disorder but probably a metabolic disorder. There are two major diets and a bunch of anecdotal ones. The two significant diets, that have been researched and put into effect by Doctors and scientific method and academic rigor, are the Wahls Protocol and the Swank diet. BUT, here's the problem - The Wahls diet advocates for the nutrition found in clean animal products (no grain, no GMO, organic, no hormones, etc etc), Dr Wahls is a huge proponent of bone broth, organ meats, raw milk, no grains, lots of good fats. Whereas the Swank diet says exactly the OPPOSITE! No red meat, lots of grains, no animal fats OR coconut oil. The Swank diet is basically like those vampires from the Twilight books, it may keep you alive, but you'll never really enjoy a meal again. You can only have white fish, olive or flaxseed oil, a couple of nut varieties, most veggies and a little fruit. Oh and tons of grain. wtf.... Well, I personally can't have grains because they make me feel awful, so that means that I would have to have a piece of broiled whitefish with olive oil, some roasted veggies also in olive oil, a small apple and that's it. Now, that sounds perfectly delicious, but not for every meal, every day, forEVER. No chocolate, no coconut milk or coconut ANYTHING, no red meat (including pork and all sausages), no other fats like avocadoes or cashews.... this sux. And I am quite emotional about beginning my treatment, with the disease modifying drug. There are no support networks for MS patients who start DMD, like there are for cancer patients who start chemo.

Say what now?!! Not private? Mer. I had the worst 5:2 day yesterday, after getting yet another scare about my taxes. I closed the day at 630 cals and then out of nowhere, like a zombie, I found myself walking to the office at 10 at night in the freezing cold, where I filled a bowl with girl scout lemon scone cookies and roasted salted pistachios. v_v WTF?!! The cookies, I had about 7 of them, were probably 800 calories. I know why I did it, I KNOW. I was self-medicating. Now that I have been learning so much about autoimmune disease etc. I have discovered that, for some people, certain carbohydrates act in the brain as opiods, quite literally drugging the person, leaving them overly calm, woozy, sedated. I fell under the weight of my fears and anxieties and tastebuds. shoot. Laura - that book, She's Come Undone, did a number on me. I read it some 10-15 years ago and it both disturbed and comforted me, but mostly disturbed me I think because of how much it resonated with me. When at the time I told my Mother how much I identified with the character, my Mother looked at me sharply, said what?! and I shut up. Didn't want to get in trouble... My ipod is stuck on shuffle, my tablet is going wonky, my electric kettle is on the fritz. Coops and CGJane - yes something must happen with 5:2, or with any drastic change in diet. I have been on my Wahl's Protocol in the 5:2 manner for almost 7 weeks and I have my period twice a month now, with mega symptoms, and the rest of the month is spent spotting :/ I'm so afraid of going through menopause early, my Grandmother had a hysterectomy by the time she was my age. I have an IUD, the Mirena, and it wasn't until it was inserted that I discovered that I have a septuate uterus, which sucks. I don't know if the Mirena hormones are keeping me in estrogen, or making things worse. All I know is that I have to pluck my chin every week (!!!!!!!!!) and my periods are fucked up. I don't want to give up the dream of having children naturally. Not that, too. please....

I have Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroiditis). I'm terrified to move forward with getting a sleeve for fear that I might have a severe inflammatory reaction to the titanium staples.

Meee too! I have spent the last couple years taking care of everyone else, and lost track of ME. My husband, who is 7 years younger than I am, developed brain cancer a few years ago with a million life-threatening complications. We have two teenage daughters, adopted from Russia, and the older one freaked out and started huge behavioral problems when my husband got sick. The younger one has had six major surgeries, and five body casts, because of having polio as a baby. My dad developed a rare autoimmune disease and died while he was taking care of my mother, who had Alzheimer's disease. I ended up having to go back to work full time a year ago (my husband will never work again), and it was a shock how much younger and fitter everyone else was. Everything is more or less on an even keel right now (no hospitals or police), so it is finally my time to take care of myself again. Yesterday I got a manicure and a pedicure, and today I took a nice long nap.... and ate that last cupcake. No more cupcakes in this house, they are like heroin to me!!!!!

I am so sorry to hear that you are going thru this right now. I have only been coming to the board a short while and will be banded on Sept 22. I have walked the land of uncertanty with my health and at 28 was unable to function more then a few hours a day. I suffered head to toe body pain and sever headaches and fatigue along with daily fevers, yes a fever everyday for 2 yrs. Well thru this process I learned a few things: 1) Never be afraid to question a Dr. opinion. 2) Listen to what your instinct is telling you. 3) Never except and "I dont know" Search until you hear the words "We found out what is wrong with your. 4) Always give yourself permission to react the way you need to. Dont let others decide your response to your situation. After 3yrs, 3 Rheumatologist, 1 Infectiouse disease Dr, 1 pain DR and getting a new family Doctor. After 3yrs of being looked at like I was crazy and told I was just fat and depressed, I got the answer I had been looking for. Mrs. Lambert we know what is wrong with you "Your Fatiuge is due to Chronic fatigue syndrom, Fibromyalgia and "Oh ya you have a sister sickness to Lupus and it is called Sjogren's syndrome". This is an autoimmune disorder. If I remember right Lupus patients can have Pericardidits, Vasculitis, Kidney and liver problems. It basicly can effect your whole body. A great resourse to learn about Auto Immune disorders is Web MD. THey dont have individual message board for each Auto Immune disorder so people with just about every kind of AI disorder go there. When the DR thought it was in my head, the people on that board keep me from loosing my mind. I am now on an Anti malarial med used for Auto Immune disorders called Plaquinel. Aften they use high doses of prednisone for AI disorders. One thing that just came to mind was my step grandmother has temporal arthritis and she was miss diagnosed over a year ago with Vasculitis and now she is loosing her sight. Make sure if you have any doute that they have the right diagnosis that you ask to see another Dr even if it is just another Dr at the same facility. I ended going to Brigham and Womens hospital in Boston Mass. It took me 3 yrs but I now have the answers to my puzzle and am well enough to work again which I could not do for 2 yrs. Sorry if this got kind of long or became about me. I didn't mean it that way. Just dont give up and keep your chin pointed high..... For

I, too, have a thyroid condition. An autoimmune disorder that slows destroys my thyroid. It runs in my family, and seems to show up in my female relatives only. It's called Hashimoto's Thyroiditis https://www.thyroid.org/hashimotos-thyroiditis/ and it is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. It's diagnosed with a simple antibody test, but only if your doctor specifically orders this test. My advice for anyone who feels that their thyroid is an ongoing concern, would benefit from seeing an endocrinology (who specializes in, among other things, the thyroid). Many family practitioners mean well, but they often prescribe the wrong doses for thyroid meds. My family doctor gave me an amount, according to my endocrinologist, that would have been more appropriate for "an 80-year-old man with a heart condition." (I love my family doctor, but she is not a specialist with a specialist's knowledge.) A study was done last year, that talked about the impact of bariatric surgery on those with hypothyroidism. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28255851 Essentially, there is a favorable effect of bariatric surgery on the hypothyroid bariatric population. This includes improvement of thyroid function and a reduction of thyroid medication dosages.

I'm sorry to hear about the autoimmune disease. That must be rough. And thanks for the reminder that very rapid weight loss has its own set of problems. I don't want to rush into hair loss or loose skin, so maybe I'll just be content at my slow rate.

Hi, I would like to know if anyone had the VSG done that have any autoimmune diseases. If so did you have any setbacks, complications or relapses? Thanks? Sent from my SM-T217S using the BariatricPal App

Only connective tissue autoimmune diseases and a few specifically listed gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases are contradictions to the Lap Band. This is per the Allergan website. Psoriasis isn't one and isn't listed so you should be fine.

Do you have Fibro? I do know some people that have had a band and have it. But the manufacturer (Allergan) states that bands are contraindicated in Patients or family members with a known diagnosis or pre-existing symptoms of autoimmune connective-tissue disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus or scleroderma. Also it's not recommend for anyone that needs or takes NSAID's. Due to the possibility of developing Ulcer's That being said, I know people that have also developed Fibro after being banded. Good Luck !

I had gastric sleeve oct 29 2014 and still have about 50 pds to loose. I have an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and weakness in muscles. Anyway had a bad flare up and have been on 40 mg of prednisone for past month. I haven't gained any weight according to scale but I can tell in my clothes I have gained ... Very discouraged. I am praying that when I get off prednisone it will help. Has anyone experienced this ? Thanks Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi there- I was also diagnosed with celiac from the endoscopy. My GI took an intestinal biopsy that came up positive. After that we did the antibody and genetic blood testing just to be sure. My doctor said the sleeve wouldn't interfere with celiac treatment- as @@OutsideMatchInside said the post-op diet is essentially gluten free. The main difference is we will never go back to eating grains at all in small amounts when our plans allow it. I actually have a lifelong allergy to ri ce as well so I'll be practically carb free from here on out, with the exception of fruits, veggies, Beans etc. If you are having gastric bypass or another surgery that changes your intestines it is a problem. Sleeve should be fine. My GI has me doing a capsule endoscopy- I swallow a pill sized 360 camera that photographs my intestines and the damage caused to them by celiac. I'll repeat the procedure 6 months later so we can conpare the photos and see if my intestines have begun to repair themselves under the absence of gluten. My one big regret regarding the sleeve so far (and it's a big one, it bugs me every day) is that I didn't try 6 months of a gluten free diet before getting sleeved. Celiac is autoimmune and doesn't just act on your intestines- you can have immune responses in almost every system in your body. It's entirely possible that my great difficulty losing weight was in part due to celiac and many of the other problems I had chalked up to obesity. Experts now believe up to a third of celiac sufferers are obese. But in the end does it really matter? No, because getting healthy by losing weight is the plan and I'm doing that already. If you want to talk more let me know. I'm only 6 weeks post op and still learning about celiac and the gluten free diet myself. But, God I feel so much better already and I really don't think it's just the sleeve to thank for that. I hope you feel better too. Oh! And besides the obvious stuff like bread and pasta- gluten hides in other places you wouldn't expect. Soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, anything with malt vinegar, some Vitamins. So keep an eye out.

that is interesting to know; I have to take Singulair to treat an autoimmune condition in my lungs and I DEFINITELY feel like it makes me "derpy".

I too have rheumatoid arthritis and was concerned that would mean I couldn't have the lap band. Since RA is an autoimmune disorder and not like regular arthritis, it's important to talk with your doctor since some autoimmune issues can disqualify you for the surgery. My doctor said that it shouldn't be a problem for me though. I am worried though about after the surgery because the autoimmune issues make me heal slower and leave me with so much extra pain from any minor trauma to the body. Doctors like to tell you to expect "soreness" but that can be anything from feeling like you worked out really hard to laying on the couch crying in pain. I just wish I had a better idea of the pain I can expect.

I too have RA and OA, recently had a partial hip replacement due to necrosis cause by long term steroid use for the autoimmune disorders. both my rheumatolgist and orthopedics doctors HIGHLY recommend the lap banding and are will to write letters to that effect if needed by the bariatric surgeon. I do understand that some bariatric surgeons do not want to do the lap banding with certain autoimmune disorders, have even had one deny me, but he never gave a rationale for not doing it. So i do not know what the problem is unless it is the slowed healing process related to medications, etc. but good luck with yours. I am still waiting on the 3 months supervised documentation by my primary care doc of my diet as required by medicare and then to see this surgeon. hoping it works out,

Welcome, Your story sounds similar to mine. In the beginning I was only for the Band. I didn't want to have to go through anymore major surgery. But after attending Dr. Husted's Seminar here in Somerset, Ky I was leaning more toward something else. I decided that I did not want to go through all the maintenence of fills and unfills and getting stuck with the needles. Then I found out I had an autoimmune disorder, which the Band is not recommended for those patients. The sleeve was not an approved procedure at the beginning of my journey, but the Duodenal Switch was, so I was leaning towards that procedure. But Dr. Husted said that he would prefer to do the sleeve for me and he hoped that by the time my surgery would take place that the sleeve would be approved. He was going to try to convince Medicaid to start approving it. He really encouraged me to hang in there, which I did and now this Month I got my approval from Medicaid for the sleeve. I hope more states start approving it. It is less evasive than some of the other procedures for the people who can't or don't wish to have the band. Also it has less risks and is less expensive. He told me recently that he does not have to make 5 incisions, now he only has to make one small incision. I wish you all the best with whatever you decide. There are alot of good reveiws on the sleeve.

Hey everyone! I’m coming to ask out of desperation. I’m almost 3 years post op gastric sleeve (in July). I had my second child (the only post op child I have— my first was preop) in November 2020. Previous to pregnancy I had been maintaining a comfortable weight for myself and was so happy with where I was. I did great throughout the pregnancy and had only gained 25 pounds and then on week 37 my weight shot up SO fast.. to 44 pounds gained! Turns out I had to deliver immediately due to blood pressure (which I had never had an issue with in my entire life). fast forward to two weeks postpartum I had lost 22 pounds. Great.. so 22 pounds to get back to my comfort weight. Easy peasy! NOT. I’m now 6 months postpartum and STILL have 22 pounds to lose. I have been tracking my intake meticulously. I even bought a new food scale thinking maybe my old one was wrong. I measure in grams mostly. I am eating 1200-1400 calories a day (I’m not breast feeding). I’m making sure to get at least 10k steps a day. And I am losing the same 5 pounds over and over again! I’ve tried basically eliminating carbs and intermittent fasting. I’ve tried adding more calories. I’ve tried eating less than 1200. And this dang weight is NOT budging. I don’t even know what else to do. It’s laughable at this point. If being meticulous and tracking every gram of food isn’t working— wtf is wrong with me?! I do have a 3 year follow up with my bariatric team in July.. but I’d like to be closer to my maintenance weight by then so they don’t freak out on me 🙄. has anyone experienced anything like this? I should note: I DO have an autoimmune thyroid disease— but according to bloodwork, it’s in my normal range. HALP!

Hi everyone, I have been thinking of getting lap band on and off for a while, but have always been too nervous. I have autoimmune hepatitis and the combo of steroids/imuran has caused me to gain about 60 lbs in the last 3 years. I am off steroids but will have to continue my other medications for who knows how long and after all efforts on my own, I do not think I can do this without help. Finally after being told by 2 different dr's of mine that it is something I should really consider I went and meet with Dr. Luckey of Scales in Thousand Oaks. He was very nice and I have the first group meeting on Tuesday. I am still very nervous about having surgery and hope that I get insurance coverage (I do have bariatric coverage but I need the pre-service review). I am very glad that there is this board available.