Hi all,

This is my first post here. I have been reading for the past few days, but haven't found any posts about how having fibromyalgia may affect the surgery recovery or anything like that. I have fibromyalgia and a bad back, and have gained too much weight between the new medications and the fact that I can't exercise like I used to. My rheumy is referring me to a bariatrics doctor, and I have been trying to do as much research on my own as possible. I had my gallbladder out about a year ago, and the recovery took much longer and was much more painful than normal because of the (then-undiagnosed) fibromyalgia. I have to admit, the thought of going through another recovery like that scares the you-know-what out of me. But on the other hand, I have a family history of heart disease, and my quality of life now is practically non-existant. I'm only 27 and that's way too young to feel as bad as I do; plus I have a 3-year-old to raise, and I want him to have the best mommy possible. I'm all for the surgery, except for that one thing.

Does anybody have any experience with this? I would appreciate any help you can offer.

Thanks!

I have fibrmyalgia as well as PCOS and my doctor says that neither of these should impact it : )

I'm a bandster with fibro, though my fibro wasn't diagnosed until 18 months after I got to my goal weight.

What is your main concern? That your initial recovery will be difficult? Or that your fibro will affect your weight loss, or that the band might affect your fibro?

When you had your gall bladder removed, you weren't being treated for fibro, but if you're being treated for it now, I would expect your recover from band surgery to be a bit easier, but that's very hard to predict. You might need to enlist more help from friends and family to make the first week or so more manageable.

I've encountered quite a few bandsters with fibro. One has had very disappointing weight loss, partly because along with fibro she has some other serious health conditions and can't even walk without a walker. Another lost all her excess weight and feels that the weight loss has improved her mobility and reduced her fatigue, but it hasn't cured her fibro either.

I write for Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain LIFE magazine and have a lot of information about the relationship between obesity & fibro that I could share with you, depending on what your main conern is. Let me know if I can help you in any way.

Jean

Thanks for the replies.

@Jean, I read the article you wrote not too long ago and it was fascinating. I appreciate you taking the time to research these things and shed some light on them.

@Kassie, thank you. I have heard that PCOS can be greatly improved after WLS, and I hope that is the case for you.

I guess when I wrote this I was concerned both about post-op pain and recovery as well as inability to exercise. Since I wrote it I have talked to my surgeon and he assures me that it shouldn't cause any issues, and that they will make sure to keep me as comfortable as possible post-op. I've also found some exercises that I am able to do fairly easily, and am working to get my body in as good a shape as possible before I'm banded. I have been trying to give up worrying about things like this and just learn to trust that God has good plans for me.

Bless you both, and you and all the other fibro bandsters are in my prayers. <3

I have fibrmyalgia as well as PCOS and my doctor says that neither of these should impact it : )

I also have a friend with the same and she is banded seems to be no problem except slower losing as she can't always exercise. Cheri