tropicalgal

I had LapBand surgery in August 2010. I lost 30 pounds fairly quickly; was exercising 3-4 times per week. Then the pain in my knees kicked in. I had back surgery in 2008 & had been on a prescription Anti-inflammatory for 2 years to help manage back & knee pain. I stopped taking it 2 weeks before the lapband surgery & stayed off of it for 5 months. I began to have excruciating knee pain again. I'm 53 years old, & was told by an Ortho surgeon that it is very common for women to have knee problems by this time in their life. Unfortunatly, this particular surgeon would not do surgery. We tried shots to no avail. She told me that my problems were located on the inside of my knees which is the hardest place to treat. I had to stop exercising....which lead to regaining almost all of my weight. I had a choice of keeping my band & not having anti-inflammatory pain meds which was self-defeating since I could hardly walk up my stairs without meds, or I could take the band out. I chose getting rid of the band & in the process opting for a revision with a sleeve. I had an endoscopy in June because my band wasn't feeling right. It turns out my band had moved 5cm (or mm, whichever they measure by). Insurance finally cleared & I had my LapBand removed on Oct. 12th & my sleeve done on Nov. 22. YAHOO!! These first 3 weeks have been difficult, but I keep reminding myself that [i]this is [/i]the worse part; Having to drink fluids while cooking "real" meals for my family, being on liquids, now puree, etc. But, I will get to eat real food again, it is just all a process. Many thanks to you "sleevers" who have been sleeved for awhile & are willing to share your advice, struggles & wins with us "newbies". :)