Hi all, I am a VSG hopeful and I was wondering about knee pain. I've been heavy my whole life and always had some mild knee pain. Recently it has increased greatly due to kneeling and being on the floor to play with my 1 year old son. It's is to the point that every time I stand up from sitting or go up the stairs my left knee grinds and my right knee pops. I'm only 27, but I know I'm probably looking at knee replacements at some point in my life. After losing weight did your knee pain alleviate or was the damage too far gone? I'm sure it'll vary person to person, but in general.... Thanks!

I had ACL replacement surgery(left knee) at 16 yrs of age, diagnosed with arthritis at 19 in that knee, and then torn the replacement "tendon" they put in place of the torn ligament, I have 2 titanium screws in that knee. When I torn it again in 1999(5 years after first surgery), they went in, cleaned it, removed part of my meniscus cartilage, and the rest that is left is pretty much hamburger meat. They could not replace the torn ACL because my right knee is so shot, and they transplanted from the tendon on my knee cap of my left knee the first time. It was a big mess. Ortho doc told me "if you don't lose this weight, you'll have knee replacement by the time you're 40" Mind you, I only weighed 200lbs back then, and was in decent shape back. Least to say, I had chronic pain daily and my right knee is shot as well with arthritis in that knee, plus meniscus damage. BUT, good news is that once I dropped 50 pounds, I noticed that my knees didn't throb as much, and now 145lbs lighter, my knee pain is minimal. Lunges and squats are not my favorite exercise because it's bone on bone in my left knee, and I have that lovely grinding in my right knee. I still have some discomfort when it gets really cold outside or right before it rains, but it's not severe like it was pre-op. I still get inflammation in my knees, and due to my left knee being so damaged for so many years, I overcompensated when I walked and have hip pain from walking "crooked" and using my right leg to compensate for the pain and pressure.

Sorry for the ramble, but thought I'd give you the whole story.

There's lots of different causes for knee problems, so without knowing the reason, it's tough to tell whether the surgery will help you. But I think that even if your condition is not entirely due to obesity, losing weight would still improve how your joints are. I have plica syndrome from an old soccer injury, it tends to flare up on occasion, and there are certain things that really exacerbate it, like walking up a steep hill or running either downhill or uphill. Bending the knee excessively and repeatedly is generally a trigger (hence why I could run on a flat surface without too much of a problem, but not up or down a hill). At 208 and living in a hilly area for the summer, it was really bothering me. But now that I'm 50 lbs down, I realized it hasn't bothered me for months, even though I'm doing an exercise program that involves a lot of stress on the knees - lots of jump squats, scissor lunges, and other things that would've caused a lot of grief for my knee before. It still pops on occasion, but it no longer hurts.

I have trouble with knees only when going upstairs. And it still hurts. I think I tore something, I heard it. And I just avoid stairs.

I had foot trouble, plantar faciatis on and off. I totally did not expect to ever have trouble with that again, and in fact I have not had trouble with it in several years. Low and behold down 70 lbs and it starts acting up. My feet are so damn skinny I think my heel pad is all but gone.

I still have trouble with my left knee. I thought that after losing 50 lbs, it would start to ease up but so far, not so much. It isn't a constant pain; it only hurts when going up or down the stairs or if my crazy ass trainer gets me to do lunges. I'm hoping that the smaller I get, it will eventually start to decrease. Having another surgery is NOT something I want.....

With any body pain, individual results vary based on actual injury BUT I can say I was diagnosed with some arthritis in my left knee and even had a meniscus tear repaired yet still had knee pain. Played a lot of tennis and softball (at least to the extent my weight allowed) and still experienced knee pain. 5 mths and 110 lbs later - no knee pain. Like I said, there is no guarantee but I had so much weight sitting on the joints and the loss really made a difference. Would never think twice or advise against this surgery - portion control was my albatross and it is the only thing that enables me to control that now.