OK, so I've had two strange changes happen to me in the last two months. I'm 6 months post op and 110lbs down and just 10 from my goal. Recently I've been tripping and falling at least twice a week - before surgery I probably fell 4 times in my entire adult life. What gives?

The second issue is that now I sleep with my mouth open - I've never done that. It's so bad I wake up with my lips and mouth completely dry.

Anyone else have these issues?

For the tripping, I have two suggestions:

1) You have lost so much weight that your body has to get used to a new center of gravity, or

2) You have an inner-ear issue not related to your surgery.

About the open mouth shile sleeping, I don't know.

The nurse case manager for my Bariatric program recommends that we do balance exercises like standing on tip toes or balancing on one foot to help get used to a new center of gravity. She also says playing with the Wii Fit helps.

I've heard tripping and falling is pretty common the first 18 months post op because losing so much weight messes with our center of gravity and we have to learn our bodies all over again. So, the good news is this problem should work itself out. You can help it along by doing core exercises. Try doing planks. Also pilates helps.

I'll attack the sleeping with mouth open thing. Are you a back sleeper? Have your head propped up on a pillow? Before surgery your double/triple chin made it difficult/uncomfortable to open your mouth in this position. Now that you've lost this, while you sleep, tour mouth naturally relaxes and opens. As far as excessively dry mouth, thats a really good sign that you might need a bit more water in your diet.

I'll attack the sleeping with mouth open thing. Are you a back sleeper? Have your head propped up on a pillow? Before surgery your double/triple chin made it difficult/uncomfortable to open your mouth in this position. Now that you've lost this, while you sleep, tour mouth naturally relaxes and opens. As far as excessively dry mouth, thats a really good sign that you might need a bit more Water in your diet.

Oh. I thought maybe she was having food dreams and hoping someone would drop some yummy food in-- like a baby bird.

I'm glad you asked these questions. I haven't read much on the different center of gravity and balance. I don't have a lot to offer on the topics other than that I used to be a mouth breather at ***ht (and still am sometimes) and making sure I was drinking Water before bed and brushing my teeth right before bed helped a little. I have found that I generally do not mouth breathe if I lay on my side, so maybe different positions would be helpful?

AND congratulations on your loss!!! That is so amazing =)

I started waking up with extreme dry mouth as well. It started about the time I began taking Nexium. I don't know if it's connected, but I bet it is.