Chronic pain, WLS, and exercise

[LindsayT 599]

I'm trying to think ahead before surgery. I have fibromyalgia, aka chronic pain and other fun stuff. It's hard to be overly active because it flares the pain and I'm down for awhile. Tips? Tricks? Is anyone else in the same boat? I guess my concern comes down to being active enough to help maintain weight after surgery.

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[RickM 1,753]

Exercise helps, but is not absolutely essential. Many don't bother or feel like it until they have lost much of their weight, if ever. My wife is still quite averse to it, and does suffer some from it as she is getting older, but that didn't greatly impact her weight loss from the surgery (some say that the loss you achieve is 80% diet, 20% exercise, if that.)

Exercise if great, and needed for simply maintaining our various body functions, so do what you can for your needs, but don't think in terms of your weight loss being overly influenced by it. Do what is needed to tend to your other issues, and let the surgery and diet take care of the weight.

[summerseeker 2,398]

I have fibromyalgia and have found I need much less of my pain medication now. I am very active now and in my case this really helps.. I have only had one bad bout where I needed masses of medication. It came about because I caught covid for the second time. The pain was as bad as before surgery.

After surgery, I was quite ill with nausea and vomiting and it took me some time to be able to take any medication. I think it was 2 months until I could swallow tablets whole. I had Patches in case of an attack but thankfully managed on crushed, disgusting tasting pain meds

[The Greater Fool 2,072]

One gets used to chewed pain meds.

As with everyone, you do the best you can with what you have.

Good luck,

Tek

[Arabesque 7,601]

I didn’t exercise in the traditional sense & I lost all my weight & more. I made my everyday tasks more active. Walked up & down escalators, took stairs not lifts, parked further away from where I was going, took the long way round, made multiple trips up & down my stairs even if I could do it in one trip, etc.

Now I do some stretches, use resistance bands, some wall pushups & sit ups. Mainly for my back - have oozing discs. Honestly what I do takes about 20 mins max over a three or four separate sessions. Wouldn’t burn 30 calories. 😆.

Exercising accounts for only about 10% of the weight you have to lose. So want to lose 100lbs, exercise will only account for about 10lbs. Of course there are many benefits to exercising.

There are lots of low impact, gentle exercises designed for various physical limitations available online which you may be able to do without causing a flare up. Give them a go & see how you go.

[LindsayT 599]

I think I'm going to talk with a trainer who is familiar with chronic pain issues.

[Chiggerbug 1]

I'm trying to think ahead before surgery. I have fibromyalgia, aka chronic pain and other fun stuff. It's hard to be overly active because it flares the pain and I'm down for awhile. Tips? Tricks? Is anyone else in the same boat? I guess my concern comes down to being active enough to help maintain weight after surgery.
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I have Fibro and am also bone on bone in both knees, one worse than the other. Conventional exercise is not an option for me atm. I'm awaiting surgery for the sleeve and then a knee replacement.

For now, since October, I joined my local gym which has a pool. I attended multiple group classes with various instructors. Most times don't mesh well with my schedule so I've taken the things that work for me and make my own routine. My husband has noticed, as have my clothes (lol) a definite loss of inches. And on the machine at the gym I've gained muscle mass and lost fat, even though the number on the scale has seemingly stayed the same. My husband also says I move better although I do still favor that one knee.

If you've got a gym close by that has a pool, it would be worth the effort. I go 3 to 4 times a week, for at least an hour. I jog in place for 30 to 40 minutes, then finish with my strength exercises. Then, I treat myself to the hot tub.

I can say that outside of pilates on a reformer, this is something I really look forward to since I've never been a huge exercise advocate. I love stretching and yoga, but I do that on my bed.

Hope this helps. I know moving and staying active is key to keeping that Fibro pain at bay and in check.

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[LindsayT 599]

Thanks for the information. I mostly sit around feeling sorry for myself for the pain and then feel frustrated because I'm not doing anything about it. I'm doing PT and OT at the moment, I just need to get to the gym.

[LeighaTR 2]

Lindsay, how did you do with adding exercise? I have fibromyalgia myself and am four days out from surgery. So far my best exercise is Water walking and exercises in the therapy pool, but will not be able to go until I have healed after surgery. I have started walking goals and purchased resistance bands but so far have only used them once. I am really curious about the strength training with fibro.

[SpartanMaker 1,379]

35 minutes ago, LeighaTR said:

Lindsay, how did you do with adding exercise? I have fibromyalgia myself and am four days out from surgery. So far my best exercise is Water walking and exercises in the therapy pool, but will not be able to go until I have healed after surgery. I have started walking goals and purchased resistance bands but so far have only used them once. I am really curious about the strength training with fibro.

I don't know if @LindsayT is still active here, so she might not reply considering how old this thread is. You might consider starting a new thread to see if there are other active members that have any input for you.

Personally, I would recommend seeking out an Exercise Physiologist to assist you. Unlike PTs and OTs. an EP focuses on designing exercise programs for people managing chronic conditions that limit or impede their ability to exercise. Most large health systems have a rehab center that should employ at least a few EPs, so that's where I'd recommend starting.

[LeighaTR 2]

On 6/18/2025 at 12:35 PM, SpartanMaker said:

I don't know if @LindsayT is still active here, so she might not reply considering how old this thread is. You might consider starting a new thread to see if there are other active members that have any input for you.

Personally, I would recommend seeking out an Exercise Physiologist to assist you. Unlike PTs and OTs. an EP focuses on designing exercise programs for people managing chronic conditions that limit or impede their ability to exercise. Most large health systems have a rehab center that should employ at least a few EPs, so that's where I'd recommend starting.

Thank you for the idea. I am sorry it took so long getting back to you... tying up loose ends before surgery first thing Monday morning. I appreciate your reply! 😊