The Struggle

[ojibway 203]

I am almost half way thru my last month of my 6 month supervised diet, I am struggling... I keep on thinking in a couple of weeks my Dr office will be submitting my paperwork to the insurance for approval. I am so far maintaining my weight, (I've lost 34 lbs) but my exercise has been limited to short walks, because of knee pain again, I had another injection (synvisc) and I am not bouncing back to normal like usual. My ortho isn't sure if me losing a bunch of weight is really going to help with my knee pain since I only have about 1/3 of my meniscus in my left knee and 1/2 in my right knee, I hope when I weigh in on the 29th of July that I don't gain weight. My insurance doesn't say either way if I lose or gain weight during the 6 month, but I need to follow thru with the 6 month requirement. ANYONE else have severe knee issues like mine? How did WLS effect you?

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

I didn't have severe issues like you but I had arthritis in one knee from a softball injury. I would hear my knee making noises when I moved it, and it hurt all the time. Since I have lost weight, it never hurts anymore and I can't hear it when I bend my knee anymore.

I don't think insurance requires you lose weight. Some programs want you to lose weight and make it a requirement to make people prove they are dedicated.

[KristenLe 5,979]

@@ojibway Although weight loss itself may not "help" your knee - it will certainly ensure an easier recovery if knee surgery is required. I believe @@Cervidae had knee surgery after WLS.

[MarciaN 391]

I didn't have knee problems but I did have hip problems. It was extremely painful to even walk from my house to my car. I have lost almost 120 pounds now and am a walking guru. Does my hip still hurt-- yes-- but I am doing exercises and stretches. There is still pain but compared to what I used to have it is tolerable. If you have injured yourself, weight loss is not the magic cure- but it sure helps take the stress off of the injured joint. Good luck in your journey.

[Cervidae 2,389]

Hello! Thanks for the tag @@KristenLe

I had knee surgery two months and 6 days ago. Almost ten weeks at this point. My surgery involved the creation of a new ACL from the middle third of my patellar tendon (they just sliced it right out with a Wolverine-looking scalpel, as well as drilled out the bones each end was attached to) and regrafting these pieces into the back of my leg after taking out the destroyed ACL. And boy, was mine destroyed. I vividly remember the ortho surgeon looking at the mri and saying "well see here, this is supposed to be a solid structure... yours is in pieces!" He also fixed a huge meniscus tear (60%+) and trimmed another piece that was not repairable. It was a doozy. I'm still healing and my walking will probably be painful/unsteady for at least another month, but I will be in physical therapy until at least through December, because recovering from surgeries like these require quite a bit of physical therapy, as I'm sure you're aware.

Before I got it fixed two months ago, I weight about 245 and was FINALLY a low enough weight that the repair had a decent chance of sticking. I walked around on this horrible injury for about 8 years (still scratching my head about how I functioned with basically no ACL and multiple large tears in the meniscus... while weighing over 400 pounds...) and yes, I was in pain almost every day just from a minimal amount of walking. Increasing walking, like walking around a store for hours or visiting a park or some such was torture, and I would be recovering from that pain for days afterward. In the past two years, I've lost 222 pounds, and I can indeed say, with gusto and certainty, that YES, losing weight makes a huge difference with an injury like this! Not only does your leg automatically become more stable, but it lessens the pressure on the joint and subsequently the torn meniscus (or menisci, depending in if you have multiple tears). He wouldn't operate on me until I got below a certain bmi, and I totally understand now why not just in an abstract "okay, the doctor knows what he's talking about" way but from firsthand experience. When I came out of surgery, I was in an enormous amount of pain. I knew it was going to hurt but WOOOOW, was this truly horrid. I was not prepared for it. I've never experienced anything in my life as painful as this was for the first week. The reason it was so bad? Turns out my body lacks the enzymes to metabolize a certain pain medication, and I had the pleasure of discovering it after a major surgery, and then had to fight to make my doctors understand and convince them I am not a drug seeker. My point is, during this time, I could feel everything. I mean... everything. Forget walking, just sitting with my leg propped up put pressure on it, and I could feel how much even just the weight of my leg made a huge impact on my pain level in the beginning. As I've healed and been able to start walking at least somewhat normally, I can truly understand and appreciate how pointless this repair would have been had I been heavier. I know that I would have already reinjured it or be in far more pain than I am now. And I am definitely still in pain, but it's not like before surgery. Before, it was a "my knee is screwed forever :(" kind of pain, and now it's a "wow, this gets better every day. I can see a light at the end of this hellish tunnel. I'm going to be normal! Or at least my knee will be..." pain.

Before surgery, the 200 or so pounds I had lost made an enormous difference as well. I almost wasn't going to bother getting it fixed until I came back from vacation in California and my ortho said I had damaged it further and it was definitely now or never to get the meniscus repair. I didn't have a huge chunk of it taken out, but I'm told recovery feels similar and takes a similar (long) time. The point to all of this rambling is YES, losing weight will help you so, so much, whether you choose to try to work around the injury in physical therapy by strengthening your muscles, or if you need to get it fixed and go through recovery. This experience has been far easier than I could have hoped since losing a bunch of weight. And I am, by all accounts, still fat. But taking all that pressure off my knee made a world of difference. As we speak, I am sitting up with my legs bent comfortably, though my left leg that was repaired it still stiff. Still working on it! I hope this helps you! Feel free to message me if you have questions or anything. My inbox is always open.

[kmorri 1,689]

I am almost half way thru my last month of my 6 month supervised diet, I am struggling... I keep on thinking in a couple of weeks my Dr office will be submitting my paperwork to the insurance for approval. I am so far maintaining my weight, (I've lost 34 lbs) but my exercise has been limited to short walks, because of knee pain again, I had another injection (synvisc) and I am not bouncing back to normal like usual. My ortho isn't sure if me losing a bunch of weight is really going to help with my knee pain since I only have about 1/3 of my meniscus in my left knee and 1/2 in my right knee, I hope when I weigh in on the 29th of July that I don't gain weight. My insurance doesn't say either way if I lose or gain weight during the 6 month, but I need to follow thru with the 6 month requirement. ANYONE else have severe knee issues like mine? How did WLS effect you?

I didn't have knee pain prior to surgery but I wanted to tell you something my surgeon said the very first time I met him and it just stuck in my head............This was during the initial seminar so there was a large group of people there....He made this statement, "Obesity makes EVERYTHING worse"....and then he said, "let me say that again, but slower this time...Obesity makes EVERYTHING worse" To me that was just a very powerful statement and it just stuck with me.....So what I'm saying to you now, is even if your knee pain is not completely cured by getting rid of the weight....They will get better! Good luck to you!!!

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I have a very bad knee. I have lost over 200 pounds so far and it is much easier to move, walk, and stand. I still do about 95% of my exercise in the Water which is much easier in the joints. I am sure at least one knee replacement is in my future, but I couldn't even begin to imagine going through that and rehab 200 pounds ago.

[Diana_in_Philly 1,426]

I have really bad knees. As in I should have had replacements done about 6 or 8 years ago and I'm only 55. (I was a major athlete in my teens and 20s and screwed both knees up.) I am bone on bone in both knees. In between Synvisc injections, I get cortisone shots. So, if I can get Synvisc every 6 months, at month 3 I get cortisone to hold me to the next Synvisc.

I know I'm still going to need to have my knees replaced, but I'm hoping to buy time to 60 or 65 with this surgery. My ortho has been treating me since 1993, so he's seen the weight go up and down and up and down. The cortisone will take down the inflammation in the knees and you'll be able to walk more.

I had bi-lateral cortisone done at the end of May. Saturday I worked out in the gym for 90 minutes. Sunday, I did a 4 mile trail walk and then walked through the mall for 2 hours with my teenage daughters. Monday I walked 20 city blocks round trip to run an errand at lunch. I'm not fast, it's not pretty, but I can get it done.

Talk to your ortho about cortisone.

The 16 pounds I have most recently lost have made a huge difference. I don't need nearly as much Vicodin to control my break-through pain, but I take an NSAID (Rx strength) 2x every day. Every pound off your body is 5 pounds to your knees. Keep going. You're headed in the right direction.

[ssflbelle 829]

• I don't have bad knees but I was born with half of a hip bone and my back was injuried in the 1990's. I was told by the Doctors if I ever got below 250 to come back. At that time I was over 400 pounds and went even higher due to the injury. I couldn't walk and have been using an electric mobility device since 1994. I have since lost 253 pounds. Due to the weight loss I am finally beginning to walk short distances with 1 cane. I still have horrible hip and back pain and will probably need surgery but it is better than it was. I use to have horrible pain in my back within 1 minute of standing if I was able to even get up. Now I can not only stand up but can also walk for about 5 minutes before the pain starts. So yes the weight loss will help.
• I also wanted to thank those whom have had surgeries and talked about all they want through. Based on what you wrote Crevidae I think I will continue to wait until I am below 200 pounds. I am on disability and use the scooter anyhow and I think it would be an even better recovery for me if I waited. So I thank you and the others for all the detailed info even if it was dealing with your knees.The info has helped me in making a surgery decision.

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

severe knee issues

@@ojibway

since your knee does sound so bad - any thoughts to a knee replacement (i'm not a doctor)

obviously carrying less weight on your body - will put less pressure on your poor aching knees

i had a torn meniscus at one time that was operated on

doc told me i had veryyy little cartlige on my knee (bone over bone)

my knee replacement was scheduled to happen a few months prior to WLS

i happened to mention about getting the sleeve to doc

the surgeon almost "dropped his pants" and said let's wait til after knee replacement

after a few months you have lost some weight!!

recovery (PT) would be much easier weighing less

at 5'3 i was at my heaviest of 235 lbs

doc was right about waiting, things afterwards were "alittle" easier

still very painful!!

hopefully YOUR knee will improve with surgery

take those small walks for now

as time and weight "lessens" - you will be able to move and walk more!!

it sure helped me

as far as your comment about hopefully maintaining weight before surgery

i have faith in you (someone has to )

keep working hard pre-op, you still have time to lose a little more weight

you've already lost 34 lbs!!!

party dance party dance

good luck

think positive

speedy recovery

kathy

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

I take an NSAID (Rx strength) 2x every day.

@@Diana_in_Philly

since i was knee high to a grasshopper

Do Not Use NSAID!

that "should" still hold true

it has been drilled into my head!!!

check with bariatric and ortho surgeons

i am now 4.5 years PO

good luck with surgery

speedy recovery

kathy

[ojibway 203]

Hello! Thanks for the tag @@KristenLe

I had knee surgery two months and 6 days ago. Almost ten weeks at this point. My surgery involved the creation of a new ACL from the middle third of my patellar tendon (they just sliced it right out with a Wolverine-looking scalpel, as well as drilled out the bones each end was attached to) and regrafting these pieces into the back of my leg after taking out the destroyed ACL. And boy, was mine destroyed. I vividly remember the ortho surgeon looking at the mri and saying "well see here, this is supposed to be a solid structure... yours is in pieces!" He also fixed a huge meniscus tear (60%+) and trimmed another piece that was not repairable. It was a doozy. I'm still healing and my walking will probably be painful/unsteady for at least another month, but I will be in physical therapy until at least through December, because recovering from surgeries like these require quite a bit of physical therapy, as I'm sure you're aware.

Before I got it fixed two months ago, I weight about 245 and was FINALLY a low enough weight that the repair had a decent chance of sticking. I walked around on this horrible injury for about 8 years (still scratching my head about how I functioned with basically no ACL and multiple large tears in the meniscus... while weighing over 400 pounds...) and yes, I was in pain almost every day just from a minimal amount of walking. Increasing walking, like walking around a store for hours or visiting a park or some such was torture, and I would be recovering from that pain for days afterward. In the past two years, I've lost 222 pounds, and I can indeed say, with gusto and certainty, that YES, losing weight makes a huge difference with an injury like this! Not only does your leg automatically become more stable, but it lessens the pressure on the joint and subsequently the torn meniscus (or menisci, depending in if you have multiple tears). He wouldn't operate on me until I got below a certain bmi, and I totally understand now why not just in an abstract "okay, the doctor knows what he's talking about" way but from firsthand experience. When I came out of surgery, I was in an enormous amount of pain. I knew it was going to hurt but WOOOOW, was this truly horrid. I was not prepared for it. I've never experienced anything in my life as painful as this was for the first week. The reason it was so bad? Turns out my body lacks the enzymes to metabolize a certain pain medication, and I had the pleasure of discovering it after a major surgery, and then had to fight to make my doctors understand and convince them I am not a drug seeker. My point is, during this time, I could feel everything. I mean... everything. Forget walking, just sitting with my leg propped up put pressure on it, and I could feel how much even just the weight of my leg made a huge impact on my pain level in the beginning. As I've healed and been able to start walking at least somewhat normally, I can truly understand and appreciate how pointless this repair would have been had I been heavier. I know that I would have already reinjured it or be in far more pain than I am now. And I am definitely still in pain, but it's not like before surgery. Before, it was a "my knee is screwed forever :(" kind of pain, and now it's a "wow, this gets better every day. I can see a light at the end of this hellish tunnel. I'm going to be normal! Or at least my knee will be..." pain.

Before surgery, the 200 or so pounds I had lost made an enormous difference as well. I almost wasn't going to bother getting it fixed until I came back from vacation in California and my ortho said I had damaged it further and it was definitely now or never to get the meniscus repair. I didn't have a huge chunk of it taken out, but I'm told recovery feels similar and takes a similar (long) time. The point to all of this rambling is YES, losing weight will help you so, so much, whether you choose to try to work around the injury in physical therapy by strengthening your muscles, or if you need to get it fixed and go through recovery. This experience has been far easier than I could have hoped since losing a bunch of weight. And I am, by all accounts, still fat. But taking all that pressure off my knee made a world of difference. As we speak, I am sitting up with my legs bent comfortably, though my left leg that was repaired it still stiff. Still working on it! I hope this helps you! Feel free to message me if you have questions or anything. My inbox is always open.

I've had 4 knee surgeries (2 on both knees) Dr won't replace both knees until the injections stop working, which could be soon since he had a hard time getting the needle in my joint this time. But we are both hoping that with some weight loss that he will be able to get the needles in better. Thanks for your reply

[ojibway 203]

I have really bad knees. As in I should have had replacements done about 6 or 8 years ago and I'm only 55. (I was a major athlete in my teens and 20s and screwed both knees up.) I am bone on bone in both knees. In between Synvisc injections, I get cortisone shots. So, if I can get Synvisc every 6 months, at month 3 I get cortisone to hold me to the next Synvisc.

I know I'm still going to need to have my knees replaced, but I'm hoping to buy time to 60 or 65 with this surgery. My ortho has been treating me since 1993, so he's seen the weight go up and down and up and down. The cortisone will take down the inflammation in the knees and you'll be able to walk more.

I had bi-lateral cortisone done at the end of May. Saturday I worked out in the gym for 90 minutes. Sunday, I did a 4 mile trail walk and then walked through the mall for 2 hours with my teenage daughters. Monday I walked 20 city blocks round trip to run an errand at lunch. I'm not fast, it's not pretty, but I can get it done.

Talk to your ortho about cortisone.

The 16 pounds I have most recently lost have made a huge difference. I don't need nearly as much Vicodin to control my break-through pain, but I take an NSAID (Rx strength) 2x every day. Every pound off your body is 5 pounds to your knees. Keep going. You're headed in the right direction.

Cortisone works for about a week for me. I need to use 1 shot Synvisc about every 4-5 months just to walk. I have 4 surgeries. I played a lot of sports from and my knees are just about done. Keep of the awesome work that you are doing!!!!

[ojibway 203]

Thanks for the replies

[ojibway 203]

Thanks for the encouragement, eventually both my knees will be replaced. but they are picking a bad time to give me so much pain right now! I forgot to add I take Naproxen 500mg twice a day too! I'm just having a hard time staying positive went my knees hurt so bad.

@@ojibway

severe knee issues

since your knee does sound so bad - any thoughts to a knee replacement (i'm not a doctor)

obviously carrying less weight on your body - will put less pressure on your poor aching knees

i had a torn meniscus at one time that was operated on

doc told me i had veryyy little cartlige on my knee (bone over bone)

my knee replacement was scheduled to happen a few months prior to WLS

i happened to mention about getting the sleeve to doc

the surgeon almost "dropped his pants" and said let's wait til after knee replacement

after a few months you have lost some weight!!

recovery (PT) would be much easier weighing less

at 5'3 i was at my heaviest of 235 lbs

doc was right about waiting, things afterwards were "alittle" easier

still very painful!!

hopefully YOUR knee will improve with surgery

take those small walks for now

as time and weight "lessens" - you will be able to move and walk more!!

it sure helped me

as far as your comment about hopefully maintaining weight before surgery

i have faith in you (someone has to )

keep working hard pre-op, you still have time to lose a little more weight

you've already lost 34 lbs!!!

party dance party dance

good luck

think positive

speedy recovery

kathy

Edited July 13, 2016 by ojibway