Less aches and pains after WLS?

Sassylike
on 10/11/17 4:00 pm

im tired and achey all of the time. Does this get better after WLS?

(deactivated member)
on 10/11/17 4:11 pm
VSG on 03/28/17

If the problem has to do with your weight, then absolutely!

Highfunctioningfatman
on 10/11/17 4:36 pm
VSG on 08/29/16

I'm not going to lie, as I was losing weight with all of the changes in the way that my body was being supported by my muscles it was very uncomfortable. Now that I have lost the weight I feel absolutely amazing. That transition period was pretty tough though.

theAntiChick
on 10/11/17 5:05 pm - Arlington, TX
VSG on 08/17/16

Nothing is a guarantee, but I believe that taking weight off just overall takes strain and pressure off the body, and there are also chemical changes with some of the surgeries.

I have auto-immune arthritis and fibromyalgia. My rheumatologist advised for the VSG because the stomach tissue that is removed produce hormones that are part of the inflammatory cycle. She couldn't say if it would directly help my situation, but getting pressure off the joints and such is always good, and it had the potential to help my medication work better.

I'm not 100%. The fibro diagnosis is new since surgery, but isn't likely to be associated with the surgery. It's more likely triggered by the auto-immune arthritis. But my auto-immune is currently in remission, and the medications are working for the fibro. I also have osteo-arthritis in one knee and likely a few other joints as well.

Since surgery, I have gotten off all my blood pressure medications. I've gotten off of a med I was on to prevent migraines. (I still have them occasionally and take meds when I do, but getting off of the preventative was great because it had a bunch of side effects I didn't care for.) I'm off the meds for my auto-immune. It could come back, but right now I'm grateful for what I've gotten. I used to get winded and my pulse ridiculously high just walking from my car to the doctor's office. Now I'm back at the gym, and while I have to work into exercsie very slowly because of the auto-immune and fibro, I'm able to do it. I walked a 5K a couple of weeks ago, and I couldn't have even considered that a year ago. I took a trip to California and on 2 evenings walked over a mile each on the beach. Couldn't have done that a year ago. I have so much more energy than I had a year ago, even with the fibro. I don't feel like I'm slogging through mud every day like I used to.

My only regret is that I didn't do this years ago before the auto-immune became evident. There's no way to know if the auto-immune would have started anyway, but I know that the weight has made all of my health issues significantly worse.

* 8/16/2017 - ONEDERLAND!! *

HW 306 - SW 297 - GW 175 - Surg VSG with Melanie Hafford on 8/17/2016

My blog at http://www.theantichick.com or follow on Facebook TheAntiChick

Blog Posts - The Easy Way Out // Cheating on Post-Op Diet

Gwen M.
on 10/11/17 5:11 pm
VSG on 03/13/14

Depends on why you're tired and achy. For me, I frequently hurt just due to "existing while obese" so, yes, losing weight did help to resolve that. Then I started exercising a lot and, hey, I'm tired and achy a lot. There's a HUGE difference between hurting due to existence and hurting because I earned it exercising :)

VSG with Dr. Salameh - 3/13/2014
Diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder and started Vyvanse - 7/22/2016
Reconstructive Surgeries with Dr. Michaels - 6/5/2017 (LBL & brachioplasty), 8/14/2017 (UBL & mastopexy), 11/6/2017 (medial leg lift)

Age 42 Height 5'4" HW 319 (1/3/2014) SW 293 (3/13/2014) CW 149 (7/16/2017)
Next Goal 145 - normal BMI | Total Weight Lost 170

TrendWeight | Food Blog (sort of functional) | Journal (down for maintenance)

Sparklekitty, Science-Loving Derby Hag
on 10/11/17 7:32 pm
RNY on 08/05/19

Many people here, myself included, have a TON more energy after losing a lot of weight. Your body isn't trying to pump blood through so much extra mass, you're not hauling that extra fat up the stairs, and your joints have much less strain on them.

That said, the extra energy didn't come on right away. I was absolutely exhausted for months following my surgery, and it seems like most people are quite tired for at least the first few weeks post-op, if not longer. There's a lot of healing to do after WLS, and your body is working on far fewer calories than it's used to, and that does take a bit of a toll on things.

Sparklekitty / Julie / Nerdy Little Secret (#42)
Roller derby - cycling - triathlon
VSG 2013, RNY conversion 2019 due to GERD. Trendweight here!

(deactivated member)
on 10/11/17 8:08 pm

I have a lot more energy since having surgery. I do still have aches. But not like I did.

I think part of my pain sometimes is due to my depression issues. Or the fact I turned 50 this year.

Sassylike
on 10/12/17 3:16 am

Thank you for your responses! I'm 32 and have knee and back pain... I'm really hoping getting some weight off will alleviate it.

Liz WantsHealthForAll
on 10/12/17 3:54 am - Cape Cod, MA
VSG on 03/28/16

I am 30 years older than you and also had a lot of knee and back pain before WLS. Both have gone away for me. My daughter (29) is very overweight and has that same pain, which I'm guessing would be resolved by losing the weight but she isn't ready to commit to the lifestyle (yet).

Liz 5'3" HW: 219 SW: 185 GW: 125 LW: 113 Desired maintenance range: 120-123 CW: 120 (after losing 20 lb. regain)!

Dcgirl
on 10/12/17 8:18 am - DC
RNY on 12/16/13

I was 36 and 350 lbs when I had surgery. I had torn my meniscus in both knees at age 33 and 35, had surgeries to repair it, and had pretty much daily knee aching. I would wake up and just the act of heaving myself out of bed was a strain on my knees. Losing 180+ lbs, I have endless amounts of energy and no aches in my knees.

I do have alignment problems right now with one of my hips, and I believe it could have something to do with how I used to carry my weight vs. how I carry it now. However, my quality of life is 1000% better at a normal weight.

I say run, don't walk, to your new healthy life!

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