Lupus AFTER Gastric Bypass surgery

    Hello, my name is (here) is Achy.  For years I have suffered from aches and pains, all over my body.  Fatigue was a major issue, single mother of two teens, thank God for their help.  The Lord blessed me in 2005 with a wonderful man who is now my wonderful husband.  At time we met I was 225 lbs, and I'm only 5'2".  Trust me, my husband is a looker too.  He was driving his dune buggy to work one morning and this woman literally followed him to work to talk with him.  Can you say psycho!   Anyway, in the first 2 1/2 years together, things were good.  He often would force me out of the house to go to fun things.  By the end of the day, I was exhausted.  Pain, pain is all I knew, but I didn't want him to think he caused me pain.  To make a long story short, in 2008 I scheduled a trip to the doctor regarding the all-over pain and fatigue.  After 15 vials of blood (I swear, there must be a nest of vampires nearby, I have to go get blood drawn almost twice a month, on rare occasions, I might get lucky with just one time in 30 days) my doctor gave me the news that I had Lupus.  Then came more blood work, now Lupus, I am told was primary and Sjogren's is secondary.  At 225 lbs, I figured dropping some weight might be beneficial.  At that point, I hurt, and was tired, but I still managed to make it to work every day, Get out and do things with my children when they were home.  Dieting was always a problem with me, I do not have any willpower, and therefore, I opted for the gastric bypass surgery.  That surgery occurred 1 1/2 years ago.  I have lost right 120 lbs.  One would think the pain would have lessened.  NOT.  In fact, the pain has become worse; I have also been diagnosed now with Fibromyalgia.  Before the gastric, I really never had flare ups, now, I have them every so often.  MY old boss created A LOT of stress on me; she was out to get me fired.  I was stressing over that, both of my children being in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc.   I was out a lot during that time with my ex-boss, in and out of the hospital.  Since she has left, I have a wonderful new boss and my kids are back home.  I am really not suffering from stress, except from the pain.    Is it possible that the gastric bypass has caused my flare ups to occur more often and more severe?  The following is the list of medication that I have been on for 3 1/2 years now.  Plaquenil, Methylprednisolone, Nexium, Hydrocodone Elixir (because the tablet form now irritates my stomach.)  Klonopin to help me sleep with the pain, which I still toss and turn at night and never can get comfortable.  Recently I had to have a Dexascan (bone density scan) done since I have been on the steroids for over one year.  Oh and thanks to my ex-boss, I still take xanax occasionally if I need it.    I just find it odd with things better at work, things at home are great, and my husband is truly a wonderful man.  Why am I having more frequent and severe episodes?  It was never this bad before.  Again, I am all out of sick and annual leave.  Back in March, I was transported by ambulance from my office (embarrassing) for chest pains.  They found that my heart was in good shape, although I didn't pass the treadmill test, shortly after getting off the treadmill and waiting the 45 minute duration for the medication stress test to begin, I had another chest pain attack.  This time I had jaw pain.  The physician's assistant, who I am sure looked at my chart and saw where I take xanax, came to check me over and the first question was, "Do you suffer from anxiety?"  You don't know how bad I want to smack him in his face at that moment.  I know the difference between panic attack and chest pain.  He had the nurse go get a pill for me.  I mentioned to him that I can go days without taking any xanax and that I know this is not a panic attack.  He just looked at me with a smug grin, like I said, I reallllly wanted to smack that grin off of his face.    I know I have written a novel and I do apologize.  I am just curious to know if anyone else has had lupus diagnosed first, then went and had the gastric bypass surgery  and if they noticed their symptoms worsening????     I would appreciate any replies...   Thank you, Achy!  

I have not been officially diagnosed with lupus but I do have fibro and some sort of autoimmune disorder. I'm really not sure. But, anyway, I had the surgery too and not until after did I get all the symptoms, infections, issues.......But, it wasn't until about 5 years out that they all started.

The problem could be that your b-12 levels are low. I have to get b-12 shots every month for the rest of my life because I cannot absorb b-12 thru my food. It usually takes about 5 years for your body to use up its storage of b-12 but maybe its happening a little faster for you. Low b-12 can also cause pernitious anemia. I would have these checked because very low levels of either of these can cause a lot of the same symptoms as fibro.


I know that you get lots of blood work but B-12 is not something they always think to check, and people with the gastric by pass and vegetarians are on the top of the list for defficiencies in it.

hope this helps.

Achy:

I have had Lupus symptoms most of my life (not realizing I had Lupus until recently) and also suffered with weight trouble for most of my life. At my heaviest I was 257 at 5'1 about 8 months ago. I decided to have Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy surgery on Sept. 14th. I thought that weight was the primary factor in why I was always tired, achy, etc... I figured my symptoms would all improve with the weight loss surgery. Unfortunately, it did not, despite the fact that I have lost 105 lbs so far... and am still losing.  Just like you described it almost seemed to cause my symptoms to flare up! In the last 6 or 7 months I have had even worse pain in my body, it is worse late in the evening and early morning. It takes me a good hour to get up... I feel almost frozen all over, especially my arms and legs. The pain and fatigue is overwhelming in the morning and late night. It is hard to feel comfortable going to sleep too. I am now realizing that perhaps I am going through a flare. I am new to all this, since I have only learned I have Lupus in the last month. I just went to a Rheumatologist for the fist time this week. So... at least know that you are not alone! I am not on any meds yet, but my doc has recommended Planquenil, which I am supposed to start after an eye exam and my labs return next week. Any advice anyone has on Planquenil, and side effects? I wish we knew more about how the Lupus affects people with WLS (weight loss surgery). I know it causes some challenges because people with VSG surgery or Bypass should not take NSAIDS, but perhaps there is even more to it? I also by the way take B12 shots monthly, but I did that even before I knew about my Lupus.

Anyhow.... a little comforting to see I am not alone. If I learn anything new I will be sure to share with you Achy! :)

~sisleb~

Post Edited (sisleb) : 4/28/2011 8:45:23 AM (GMT-6)

Have you been tested for Lyme disease?

I suspect I may have lupus, and I am eight years post-op from RNY (gastric bypass). I have always suffered from fatigue, rashes, and general aches (even as a teen). I can tell now that I have these "flareups," and when they happen, the rash appears and I literally have to go to bed I am so exhausted. I also just found out I have moderate to severe osteoarthritis - I am 38 years old. I am not sure which came first, or what may have caused my symptoms to worsen, but they definitely have after gastric bypass. Otherwise, I am healthy and have kept my weight off.

Achy~Achy... Did things ever get better? I am not quite a week out from my Gastric Sleeve, I have Lupus SLE (among other things), and from the time I woke up from surgery I have been horrified that I have made the biggest mistake of my life :( The pain from the surgery just seems never-ending, not to mention the nausea. I can barely swallow my miriad of medications that I have to take on a daily basis. I am praying it gets better.

Laura & Jezme,

Welcome to Healing Well. Achy hasn't been on since April of 2011, so she probably won't be joining the discussion. We do have one current member, Butterflake, who has had some sort of bypass but had complications and ended up having it reversed. I don't recall if it was sleeve or what kind.

Best wishes,