Good afternoon all! I just was thinking of all the surprises I've experienced since WLS...and I wanted to ask others what's surprised them about their weight loss/surgery journey that they weren't told by their bariatric team?!

I'll go first:

1. All the aches and pains in my hips and butt. My butt hurts now when I sit since I'm missing my butt padding! Also, since losing weight my posture and gait have changed so now I'm in PT for hip abductor pain.

2. The ever increasing and changing locations of skin irritation. The skin now droops in places I wasn't told to expect and I get red irritation under my butt creases from over lap - sorry for the unpleasant visual!

3. I've shrunk..so driving I now need extra padding to be at my former "sitting height" I feel like a kid driving my parents car now.

4. I've had to buy new glasses, mine were stretched out from digging into my fat head ? and now they keep falling off when I look down.

5. I've had to buy new shoes, all my old shoes no longer fit. They just flop around. I was expecting new clothing..not shoes.

6. I feel more clumsy and weak despite working out. My manual dexterity is horrible now.

7. I still feel hunger ?

These are just a few of the changes I've experienced that my bariatric team never mentioned. Do you have any to add that can take the surprise out of it for people just starting their WLS journey?! I eagerly await your responses!

6 hours ago, BlondePatriotInCDA said:

Thank you! Now do you have one that works well on those resealable food packages..or heat sealed bags? ?

Oh, I use scissors to open them ? & either pour the contents into other containers or use those clip seals (love my IKEA ones). Some of those zip seals are impossible to open - those teeny tiny tabs you’re supposed to pull to reveal the zip. I had a skin graft on my dominant hand thumb & have reduced sensitivity which makes it harder to grip & yank. My seed mix comes in the worst one & second is the bag of my washing powder pods.

8 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Oh, I use scissors to open them ? & either pour the contents into other containers or use those clip seals (love my IKEA ones). Some of those zip seals are impossible to open - those teeny tiny tabs you’re supposed to pull to reveal the zip. I had a skin graft on my dominant hand thumb & have reduced sensitivity which makes it harder to grip & yank. My seed mix comes in the worst one & second is the bag of my washing powder pods.

if you mean PODS for the clothes washer, I still have yet to figure out that childproof bag, I just cut it open and dump them into a plastic container the moment I get home from the store. I want to know who has found a trick to opening the cartons of protein shakes though. The premiere protein at least, If you buy the 12 pack it comes in thick cardboard with the flaps glued down with some super ultra magic glue that takes tremendous hand and finger strength to pull apart. I aways think to myself that in a few more years I will truly not be able to do this for myself. Maybe a butter knife would get it started now that I sit here and think about it but of course I’m too frustrated in the moment to think of that.

I am not sure if its the same around the world but our milk comes in 1,4 or 6 pint plastic containers. The inner seal, under the cap has me every time. I used to be so strong, my hubby would pass jars to me to open. Now they put seals on toothpaste tubes that I have to pull off with my teeth. My dentist would go berserk if he knew

7 hours ago, summerseeker said:

I am not sure if its the same around the world but our milk comes in 1,4 or 6 pint plastic containers. The inner seal, under the cap has me every time. I used to be so strong, my hubby would pass jars to me to open. Now they put seals on toothpaste tubes that I have to pull off with my teeth. My dentist would go berserk if he knew

I hate those tooth paste safety covers! Shhhh I won't tell your dentist if you don't tell mine!

You will look lighter than you are.

A few weeks ago i was talking to a coach who's been working with strength athletes for decades, a guy who knows what weight looks like on bodies. He looks at me and is like, you're what 120 pounds now? I was just barely into the 150s.

I'm in the 140s now and I'm practically skeletal. I'm much, much thinner than when I was this weight as a teenager. I had initially set a goal of the highest calculated ideal weight for my height and am now thinking that if I actually reach it I'll need to buy clothes from the kids section. Which.... I mean, there's way more dinosaur print options so I'm not necessarily complaining.

So let that influence your goals.

I am 4.5 months out, still early but lost the weight very fast and kept changing my goal weight, here is what I noticed:

- I feel cold ALL THE TIME

- My butt hurts when sitting down, because all the fat is gone

- My whole life being athletic, I had an hourglass figure even when overweight the past few years, now I'm linear ?

- I am much much weaker to the point of struggling to lift my skinny 5 year old (weighing 16 Kgs) off the ground, I can't open water bottles, jars or even the protein chips bag (which is pretty tough to crack if I say so myself)

- I have this weird type of digging pain under the right side of my rib cage, feels like something used to be there and now it's hollow and it's uncomfortable, it's weird I can't even explain it

- My period pains have decreased significantly and my cycles went from 35 days to 28 days, go figure Ha!

- My boobs remain perky thank goodness, but can't say the same about my rear as mentioned

- My hair is falling like crazy, which freaks me out because it's not something I ever experienced, even postpartum

- My body hair growth has slowed down drastically

- My voice is softer (it's weird but I swear it's true)

If any other weird phenomenon's come to mind, I will be sure to come back

Edited May 7, 20242 yr by Lilia_90

Lilla_90 "- I have this weird type of digging pain under the right side of my rib cage, feels like something used to be there and now it's hollow and it's uncomfortable, it's weird I can't even explain it."

-I have a sharp pain right under my rib cage (think its a gallstones in my biliary tract - tho doctors say not possible since I no longer have a gallbladder although the pain feels the same as when I had it)!

-The weakness opening things is annoying, simple things that were easy - suck now. My poor husband has become my opener of all things!

-Yes, the cold weather is just stupid - cold cold all the time!

- I'm also forgetful. I'm also forgetful. Oops already said that! ?

-What I don't get is I have bones I didn't have before, I feel them now when I didn't before for my example my xiphoid process sticks out now and back when I was thin (108lbs) it didn't!

-Lastly, I'm moody now, I attribute it to being weaker and clumsy now - I get sick of dropping things over and over, bumping into things and again not being able to open things - I'm looking it at you powdered Tylenol!

Don’t fret yet @Lilia_90. I too thought I’d lost my hourglass shape but it came back although the hip waist breast ratio was smaller. Once my weight stabilised, my remaining fat resettled & my waist & hips came back. My boobs were there too but needed hoisting up in a well fitting bra-LOL!

6 hours ago, BlondePatriotInCDA said:

Lilla_90 "- I have this weird type of digging pain under the right side of my rib cage, feels like something used to be there and now it's hollow and it's uncomfortable, it's weird I can't even explain it."

-I have a sharp pain right under my rib cage (think its a gallstones in my biliary tract - tho doctors say not possible since I no longer have a gallbladder although the pain feels the same as when I had it)!

-The weakness opening things is annoying, simple things that were easy - suck now. My poor husband has become my opener of all things!

-Yes, the cold weather is just stupid - cold cold all the time!

- I'm also forgetful. I'm also forgetful. Oops already said that! ?

-What I don't get is I have bones I didn't have before, I feel them now when I didn't before for my example my xiphoid process sticks out now and back when I was thin (108lbs) it didn't!

-Lastly, I'm moody now, I attribute it to being weaker and clumsy now - I get sick of dropping things over and over, bumping into things and again not being able to open things - I'm looking it at you powdered Tylenol!

Omg the forgetfulness is so true! I didn't know it's a symptom of WLS! I keep forgetting important things and I was never like that! Explains a lot! Thank you lol.

Edited May 8, 20242 yr by Lilia_90

All of my fitted baseball hats are huge now. Didn’t realize how much fat I had on my head.

Its funny, or not but I didn't have any fold/skin rashes before surgery..but boy am I getting them now! No matter how much I shower, powder and keep dry all the extra skin on/under my pancake butt and thigh creases - ouch!! Its making walking painful. ?

On a side note..I fit in the MRI easily now, before WLS I touched the edges.

1 hour ago, BlondePatriotInCDA said:

Its funny, or not but I didn't have any fold/skin rashes before surgery..but boy am I getting them now! No matter how much I shower, powder and keep dry all the extra skin on/under my pancake butt and thigh creases - ouch!! Its making walking painful. ?

On a side note..I fit in the MRI easily now, before WLS I touched the edges.

side tip: document your rashes and skin issues (pictures, videos, with dates)...if u are ever in the position that u want to get a tummy tuck or panniculectomy, you can use the collected evidence for insurance to cover the cost (if this is available for you..)

3 hours ago, ms.sss said:

side tip: document your rashes and skin issues (pictures, videos, with dates)...if u are ever in the position that u want to get a Tummy Tuck or panniculectomy, you can use the collected evidence for insurance to cover the cost (if this is available for you..)

Thank you! My doctor said when I told her about the rash "lets start the paper trail to get you the tummy tuck!" She's a bypass patient and understands having been there! Thank you again.

Here’s an unexpected thing that just dawned on me today while doing laundry. Pre-WLS I would never wear light colored shirts because of the fact that I was forever dropping food on my chest or belly and staining my clothes. Now if I’m clumsy and drop something it hits the napkin in my lap instead, saving my clothing :)

On 4/7/2024 at 4:21 PM, BlondePatriotInCDA said:

Good afternoon all! I just was thinking of all the surprises I've experienced since WLS...and I wanted to ask others what's surprised them about their weight loss/surgery journey that they weren't told by their bariatric team?!

I'll go first:

1. All the aches and pains in my hips and butt. My butt hurts now when I sit since I'm missing my butt padding! Also, since losing weight my posture and gait have changed so now I'm in PT for hip abductor pain.

[...]

The pain I felt was my tailbone hurting so bad when I was sitting down. My surgeon's practical nurse said that everyone gets this after surgery, but my primary care physician ordered a CT and found Multilevel spondylosis, which is a degenerative disease that impacts your spine. I'm more than one year out now and the pain has subsided, which may be because of the weight loss.