Some Surprises I didn't expect with WLS

[HealthyLifeStyle 351]

My shoe size has also changed from a 10WW to a 9W. Even though I lost so much weight, my feet are always a problem due to neuropathy.

Dressing in layers is something I never had to do before, I was always hot before.

I can do housework now. I couldn't even vacuum before.

My bum is completely gone, and it hurts when I sit down even after 10 minutes or so.

The really weird thing is that my freckles have come back. I used to only get them in the summer. It is dead winter here, and they are all over my face.

I used to drink ice cold Water, and now can only drink room temp.

The biggest one for me is that I can walk without a cane. No longer have to use a wheelchair to get around.

I am sure there are lots more....it is a journey.

[jpeits52 30]

I dress in layers ALL the time. But I have hot flashes, so it is sweater on sweater off sweater on sweater off. LOL At 68 thought I would be past hot flashes...

Must use a pillow between my leg as or my knees hurt Also sitting on certain chairs make my tailbone hurt ( Never had THAT problem before WLS) LOL

At 1yr 8months post-op I am still breaking out

Have lost 1/2 a shoe size

Not happy with extra skin, but at my age not going to spend megabucks on plastics surgery

I can move sooooo much better than I could 10- 20 years ago

so much more energy, LOVE buying single digit size clothes

So grateful to God for all these changes!!!

[Krestel 329]

On 1/29/2021 at 10:24 PM, Holodisplay said:

A few things I wasn't expecting 5 months out from surgery.

6. I would have to get smaller shoes. I was a size ten 1/2 in shoes and now 8.5.

5. Also always being cold, I wear thermals almost every day to work , but I live in a cold environment. I always wear a scarf.

4. Loosing hair was a bit traumatic for me, but it has stabilized

3. the amount of time I think of food has been transferred into new coping skills, like crafts with yarn and having fun science experiments with my kids.

2. the need for silence to be alone with my thoughts.

1. how anxious I get when buying new clothes. what are some surprise that you had?

5. I feel ya there about being cold...I have started wearing polyester or cotton thermals at work or even wool ones (gosh they are so nice nowadays) during the winter. The worst part is my feet and hands that are cold year round...even in the summer. That could be circulation problems though.

4. My hair never really had a problem. I have tons of really fine hair so I may not have noticed. BUT now that I have lost my weight and am almost 50% of what I used to be...ive taken advantage of my weight and now have a really short pixie cut! I've always thought that pixie cuts look better on thiner ppl...and now I am one. That and when I play beach volleyball it's so easy to just run Water through it.

3. Hehe...I think having to do things with your hands is also a covid thing right now. Ive just started as well.

2. As a teacher, I LOVE my alone time. When ppl are going on about what large events they are going to during the weekend, I am thinking about either sitting alone with Netflix or just walking in the woods with the dogs.

1. I was sooooo anxious before as well when dealing with the whole clothes issue. It took me a few cautious times to go in to stores during off times and discretely try on clothes. I always started with the biggest size and went down until it was just a bit too small. (Women's sizes were usually too short (Im a 5'11" woman), so I had to look at the smaller guys sizes.) It took me a while progressing to more normal behaviours but now I am slowly becoming a clothes hog again. Even more now that I've been at around the same weight for about a year (and still losing a bit...but more building muscle now), it's only now that I am getting it through my head that certain clothes size wont get smaller anymore....because I am a just normal human being! Now, it's me choosing styles and materials that I like. Ive discovered that I LOVE tights in the summer when before they were a HUGE taboo. (I am never going back to shorts because of skin hanging on my legs though.)

Much love to you all!

[Krestel 329]

On 2/20/2021 at 5:50 PM, HealthyLifeStyle said:

My bum is completely gone, and it hurts when I sit down even after 10 minutes or so.

I used to drink ice cold Water, and now can only drink room temp.

The bum problem is REAL! My tailbone huts like a MF. Ive started just today using a rolled up towel like a donut pillow to deal with tailbone issues. I wonder if I'm going to have to have towels with me everywhere just for this.

Hehe...Ive gone the other way, even though I am cold most of the time, I can ONLY drink ice cold Water with TONS of ice. In Europe we dont do ice, but since I grew up in the US, ice is a normal thing for me. We even went so far as to buy an ice machine. (We can't get water to the wall the fridge sits on.😔) So ppl kinda laugh at me when I go around with cold coffee year-round.

[Katja 15]

I'm now 3 months post-op. I am having the worst problems with Constipation. I have an underachieve thyroid so constipation is a tendency but not like this! I take 2 spoons of Fiber at Breakfast, try to eat fiber at all 3 meals, take 3 stool softeners after dinner and a 1/2 dose of Miralax before bed. If I take any more laxative I get leakage and my entire intestinal track hurts. The stool softeners give me a belly ache for at least an hour after I take them too. I think I am also losing the natural urge and signals to go. I also get very uncomfortable - bloated, pressure and a funny feeling in my intestines and stomach when I haven't gone for a day. I have made an appointment with a gastroenterologist - maybe they have my answer, but I'm not very hopeful. Has anyone else these problems? Will this ever go away? Will it get better when I can introduce more starches? I don't want to take stool softeners and laxatives the rest of my life! I'm so tired of tummy and intestinal pains.. I am really sorry I had the bypass done, but needed to as my lap band was giving me too many problems... sigh.

[GreenTealael 24,890]

4 hours ago, Katja said:

I'm now 3 months post-op. I am having the worst problems with constipation. I have an underachieve thyroid so Constipation is a tendency but not like this! I take 2 spoons of Fiber at Breakfast, try to eat fiber at all 3 meals, take 3 stool softeners after dinner and a 1/2 dose of Miralax before bed. If I take any more laxative I get leakage and my entire intestinal track hurts. The stool softeners give me a belly ache for at least an hour after I take them too. I think I am also losing the natural urge and signals to go. I also get very uncomfortable - bloated, pressure and a funny feeling in my intestines and stomach when I haven't gone for a day. I have made an appointment with a gastroenterologist - maybe they have my answer, but I'm not very hopeful. Has anyone else these problems? Will this ever go away? Will it get better when I can introduce more starches? I don't want to take stool softeners and laxatives the rest of my life! I'm so tired of tummy and intestinal pains.. I am really sorry I had the bypass done, but needed to as my lap band was giving me too many problems... sigh.

The stool softeners draw Water into your stool. If I don’t drink enough water when taking it I can feel cramping also.

Eventually your nutritionist or surgeon may suggest eating higher fiber foods and taking fiber supplements. It actually only worked for me when I started eating higher fiber vegetables/legumes (mostly raw carrots and spinach, beans/ peas) at almost every every meal.

I was then able stop traditional laxatives. I now only take the stool softeners and incorporate fiber supplement when needed. Yes it can get better (I’m a few years out now ) but a lot of us will need some additional help long term.

[Tinyhounds 57]

On 07/26/2021 at 02:47, Krestel said:

The bum problem is REAL! My tailbone huts like a MF. Ive started just today using a rolled up towel like a donut pillow to deal with tailbone issues. I wonder if I'm going to have to have towels with me everywhere just for this.

Hehe...Ive gone the other way, even though I am cold most of the time, I can ONLY drink ice cold Water with TONS of ice. In Europe we dont do ice, but since I grew up in the US, ice is a normal thing for me. We even went so far as to buy an ice machine. (We can't get Water to the wall the fridge sits on.😔) So ppl kinda laugh at me when I go around with cold coffee year-round.

Save yourself some buttache and get a Tushcush! I had an accident and injured my spine and even with my big old butt, but tailbone KILLS when I sit. My spine doctor recommended this tushcush pillow which is a wedge shaped pillow with a little arch shaped hole for the tailbone. I take it EVERYWHERE.

[Wahinebythesea 49]

They said my tastes would change, but I thought to myself "Sure, right . . . "

But there are so many foods that I really used to like that taste entirely unappealing now, like coffee. Same coffee, made the same way as usual, and it is just . . . so blah.