I've made it to the 6th month mark today and am down 73 pounds(plus the 20 I lost pre-op). I've gone from a size 22 to a size 14/16. While I am happy with my progress...it has not been an easy journey. Around the same time I started the pre-op process, I was diagnosed with a herniated disc in my lower back that made walking, sitting, and standing a painful experience. I received an epidural injection and it helped tremendously, but I naively thought that was the end of my woes. Shortly after that, I began experiencing terrible upper back pain that made my day to day activities painful and after I was sleeved things only went downhill. I became chronically dehydrated because of my swollen tummy and became depressed which in turn caused me to drop most of my classes during spring semester. My upper back pain progressively got worse and it forced me to miss half the semester(miraculously I still passed). I finally got answers earlier this week after an MRI of the thoracic spine, they found 7 things wrong with me...7!! A complex surgery involving moving my lungs out of the way to fix my spine was suggested. I asked my chiropractor what caused all of this to happen to me, and she said what I've always known all along...my weight. Years of being obese and then morbidly obese caused wear and tear on my spine. I'm 24 years old and was told I had the spine of a 35 year old...that's a hard pill to swallow. It's sad to know that my bad choices and irresponsibility led to the painful nightmare I'm living right now. My biggest regret is not getting this surgery sooner but what's done is done and in time I hope things can get better. For those who are young like me and are considering surgery, just do it....the benefits outweigh the risks...a little extra weight may seem harmless but the truth is we don't know all the potential consequences of obesity until its too late.

I'm so sorry to hear about all the other issues. Hopefully there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you can live pain free again. Hang in there! You have your whole life ahead of you and you are doing everything to make the most out of it already! Kudos to you!

don't beat yourself up--there is obviously a congenital/structural issue at play, too, bc lots of people have weight issues and don't have these same types of back problems. Congratulations on doing the surgery and I hope that you find some solutions soon to your back issues and start feeling better.

Soccer girl, let me tell you I can relate. We're close in age and I also have a killer bad back. I did everything short of daily narcotics because I didn't want to develop dependence. I've used muscle relaxants long term and had epidurals as well. The only thing that ever really ameliorated the pain for more than a day was exercising - more specifically rowing and weight training my back muscles. But once I started skipping the gym a few days I was back to pain central.

I am so sorry to hear about your struggles. I too got this surgery to tackle my back pain. Losing the excess weight and correcting posture will be the best, most permanent solution in the end.

If you go in for the surgery they recommend, I wish you a speedy recovery. Keep us posted! Hugs!