Osteoarthritis and the Sleeve

[logicwand 269]

At 41, I never expected to deal with advanced osteoarthritis. I have degenerative disc disease and sacroiliac joint dysfunction. Ankles, knees, wrists, hips, back, and neck hurt every. single. day. A large part of my decision to have this surgery is to alleviate some of my joint pain. Have any of you with osteoarthritis felt a difference after surgery? I’d love to hear your story.

[orionburn 1,023]

I suffer from psoriatic arthritis. My tipping point for WLS was due to having a degenerative disc as well. Did four rounds of cortisone shots into my lower back and didn’t get any relief. My sciatica was crippling me and my life. Since the shots did no good the doc said the only other option was back surgery, but they wouldn’t do surgery unless I dropped weight. If I tried to exercise, like doing 10 minutes on an elliptical machine, my body would be wrecked for a week because my sciatica would flare up so bad. So it was a total catch 22. Talked with my family doc and he thought the route of WLS was the best way to go.

Being a year out I feel so much better. I probably went through 2000mg of ibuprofen a day on top of my arthritis meds and never got much relief. I am still taking arthritis meds but things are much more manageable now. I think a big part of the improvement to my overall well being is due to diet changes as well and getting rid of things like diet pop and other high sodium foods. My sciatica is 90-95% better. If it weren’t for having a damned desk job I’d feel even better. Sitting all day takes its toll on me and I have a long drive to/from work. Looking a job change soon and hoping that further improves things.

Getting the weight off will make a big improvement to your joint health. You’re gonna love it.

[logicwand 269]

Yes, I've done the steroid shots as well. In the beginning, they really worked well. Six months to a year later, the second round did nothing. It was so disappointing. I have a desk job too and I asked our office manager if I could get a sit/stand desk. We'll see. LOL

I can't believe your sciatica has all but disappeared. That is amazing. I suffer from meralgia paresthetica which causes numbness and burning on my right thigh. sleeping at night is torture because that right thigh can wake me up from its horrible burning sensation and my arms or hands will "fall asleep" and become numb. Have to toss and turn so neither side of my hip gets too much pressure. Ugh. Your story is so promising though b/c I think the weight loss will probably alleviate these conditions too. *Fingers crossed* Thank you for sharing!!

[orionburn 1,023]

10 hours ago, logicwand said:

Yes, I've done the steroid shots as well. In the beginning, they really worked well. Six months to a year later, the second round did nothing. It was so disappointing. I have a desk job too and I asked our office manager if I could get a sit/stand desk. We'll see. LOL

I can't believe your sciatica has all but disappeared. That is amazing. I suffer from meralgia paresthetica which causes numbness and burning on my right thigh. sleeping at night is torture because that right thigh can wake me up from its horrible burning sensation and my arms or hands will "fall asleep" and become numb. Have to toss and turn so neither side of my hip gets too much pressure. Ugh. Your story is so promising though b/c I think the weight loss will probably alleviate these conditions too. *Fingers crossed* Thank you for sharing!!

I never thought I would see this much improvement, so it's a welcome relief and surprise. If I spent the afternoon doing yard work I knew that night I would be completely worthless because the pain was going to be horrendous. Can't promise you'll improve as much as I did, but I would think you'll see at least a big improvement on overall well being. It is so terrible living in pain on a daily basis so I feel for you. I tried one of those Varidesk units for a bit but didn't help me much. Then again at the time I still had the weight and nothing was giving me any relief. I had thought about giving it another try but with a different brand. Wasn't too impressed with the Varidesk unit. There are some other options out there that offer more flexibility.

Anyway, hope you can find some relief on the other side of WLS. For me it feels like I've gotten my life back again.

[FloridaGal1976 77]

I'm having WLS in an effort to avoid a knee replacement. I had a partial at 37 in my left knee, and I'm in need of a total in my right knee (I'm 41). If you've ever used an anti-gravity treadmill, you can really feel the difference the weight makes. I'm being sleeved on the 1st and my hopes are high.

HW 241
SW 238
GW 130
Getting sleeved 3/1

[TexasMommy80 297]

I had a TKR at 36 and my other knee is really starting to give me issues. I have no other comorbidities, so I am hoping Cigna accepts my case. I need my TKR to last as long as possible, and my knee surgeons thinks this will help tremendously.


Age: 37
Height: 5’6
BMI: 37
SW: 241
GW: 150-160
MFP: Fit4LifeAR

[mamamac2 17]

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis as well as Sjogren's and now Osteoarthritis in my spine and knees. I had surgery in August and my joints feel so much better! My knees were giving out on me before surgery and I was worried about having to recover from knee replacement surgery at my pre-surgery weight. My knees do not give out on my any more. I hope that you experience greatly improved symptoms!

[Losebig 508]

On 2/13/2018 at 7:12 AM, orionburn said:

I suffer from psoriatic arthritis. My tipping point for WLS was due to having a degenerative disc as well. Did four rounds of cortisone shots into my lower back and didn’t get any relief. My sciatica was crippling me and my life. Since the shots did no good the doc said the only other option was back surgery, but they wouldn’t do surgery unless I dropped weight. If I tried to exercise, like doing 10 minutes on an elliptical machine, my body would be wrecked for a week because my sciatica would flare up so bad. So it was a total catch 22. Talked with my family doc and he thought the route of WLS was the best way to go.

Being a year out I feel so much better. I probably went through 2000mg of ibuprofen a day on top of my arthritis meds and never got much relief. I am still taking arthritis meds but things are much more manageable now. I think a big part of the improvement to my overall well being is due to diet changes as well and getting rid of things like diet pop and other high sodium foods. My sciatica is 90-95% better. If it weren’t for having a damned desk job I’d feel even better. Sitting all day takes its toll on me and I have a long drive to/from work. Looking a job change soon and hoping that further improves things.

Getting the weight off will make a big improvement to your joint health. You’re gonna love it.

I have psoriatic arthritis as well and its great to hear the WLS helped! My rheumatologist thought it might, but didn’t have anything specific. I was treating it with NSAIDS - I tried a biologic, but it didn’t help. One fear was not being able to use NSAIDS. Do you use them now at all? My pain level went down a LOT even just 2 months out (mostly back pain). I haven’t had a flare up yet, so hopefully those will go away too.

[orionburn 1,023]

On 2/18/2018 at 10:21 PM, Losebig said:

I have psoriatic arthritis as well and its great to hear the WLS helped! My rheumatologist thought it might, but didn’t have anything specific. I was treating it with NSAIDS - I tried a biologic, but it didn’t help. One fear was not being able to use NSAIDS. Do you use them now at all? My pain level went down a LOT even just 2 months out (mostly back pain). I haven’t had a flare up yet, so hopefully those will go away too.

Before surgery I was taking a combo of Humira and methotrexate. Humira alone didn't cut it but that combined with the metho did help joint pain out a lot. Ironically at the time my arthritis started I hadn’t had any psoriasis related skin issues going on for years. It had cleared up when I was in my 20s, but probably 10-12 years later the joint pain started to set in. I had to give up my meds about a month prior to surgery as metho is pretty tough on the liver, and as with most arthritis meds it suppresses the immune system so they wanted me off of it to avoid delays in healing.

As far as NSAIDS go be prepared to wave bye-bye to them for good. They don’t want you taking them after surgery because of the increased risk of developing ulcers. You’re pretty well stuck with Tylenol based products only. Sucks on the days when I have headaches because the Tylenol doesn’t do near as good a job as the ibuprofen did. Still, I haven’t had a single ibuprofen in over a year now and have managed fine. And I was one that was chomping down at least 1600mg a day even with my arthritis meds.

[Losebig 508]

Thanks. That is hepful. I was also doing 4x motrin 2 - 3 times daily right up until 2 weeks before surgery. Haven’t had one since and it’s been ok.