Things that suck....

[smokinstella]

Ok what is one of the things that sucked most for you as starting out as a heavyweight?

Mine is I cant get my weight checked much of any where yet and I am curious as all get out to see what I am at. Its been a month since the surgeons office weighed me >.<

[vanishingmom]

For me it was keeping clean. It was so hard to move around. I couldn't reach most of my lower body until I was about 8 weeks out. My wife was great about helping but it sucked to have to need her too, not to mention embarrassing at times. I was having hard time reaching as a pre-op so once I had to deal with a full incision it was a no go.

[April M.]

I'm with vanishingmom on this one. Keeping clean as a fresh post op SUCKED. The day I realized I had lost enough weight that I could reach around and clean "back there" in the shower without acrobatics, I literally did a dance

Also, it took a LONG time for me to need new clothes, because I was so big to start with. And I still have only dropped from a 28/30 to a 20. Damn this giant panni. I figured losing 170 pounds, I'd lose more sizes than I have. *sigh*

[smokinstella]

I thankfully have always felt clean but its been with some help from bathpoofs on sticks and a dual shower head that has one head that can be hand held. Makes for easy cleaning of all those hard to reach places. Best of all the bathpoofs I have always found at the dollar store and they are already on their own sticks. No ghetto rigging it for me

[lisalou79]

I was curious when I read the topic of this post to see if anyone would have a similar issue as me. Looks like I'm not alone. I'm 2 months post-op, have lost 50 lbs., and am still wearing the same pants as pre-op. None are even baggy yet. I guess I am just so fluffy that it will take a while before I will need new attire. I have noticed it's easier to walk so far but that's about it. Really looking forward to noticing an actual change in my body.

[Deleted]

Hygiene. No matter how carefully I bathed and dried, with skin constantly rubbing the odors and infections were unending.

Lisalou, I'll bet money that there is a visible change in the fit of your clothes. You just don't see it yet .

[smokinstella]

Oh Lisalou I know how you feel, I am still wearing everything I was wearing preop, but I raided my closets to find stuff that was smaller and have been trying it on every few weeks. I was able to put on a pair of 34w jeans, omg thats amazing to me given they were super tight but I could button and zip them just cant sit in them yet. sleeves on shirts that use to be snug are really comfy now but I dont noticed in the preop clothes. Yet it is there.

EN I have ended up having to use a vinager solution in all the creases to keep things at bay, been doing that for about 9 years since I got hospitalized for a yeast infection in the panni folds. Plus I have kept my stash of panni cloths that I would stuff under there to keep it dry as well. I will be mindly sad to see mine go tho once I have this weight gone tho, since it is were my battle scar is from my first c-section

[lisalou79]

Ya know, I was thinking about it and the majority of my clothes are already stretchy. Like, even my jeans have a fair amount of Lycra added to provide an easier fit. With all that dang stretchy material I guess it would be harder to notice the changes. Huh, food for thought I suppose.

[lisalou79]

smokinstella- I had a yeast infection under my panni after my second c-section. What horrifying news to find out you could get a yeast infection, ya know, under there. I won't miss my panni. I hate how if I make a quick movement I can hear it flap against my body! I swear, I'm afraid I might take flight sometimes!

I know that the dang panni is adding to my back pain. Can't wait until I am in a position to have it taken off. Hey, I wonder if I could have it stuffed and turned into the world's first panni pillow? Ah, the possibilities!

[smokinstella]

lol a panni pillow. Like I said the only reason i would miss mine is cause its got my first c-section scar and I went through hell and back with that c-section. I wont have my battle wound to rub in my kids face lol yea mine claps for me as I go up and down the stairs, freaking embarrassing when not at home.

[April M.]

May 3, 2012 23:22:45 GMT -5 smokinstella said:

lol a panni pillow. Like I said the only reason i would miss mine is cause its got my first c-section scar and I went through hell and back with that c-section. I wont have my battle wound to rub in my kids face lol yea mine claps for me as I go up and down the stairs, freaking embarrassing when not at home.

I'll take the claps... mine freakin' THUNDERS!

[lisalou79]

lol @ Thunders! I SO feel you on that!

[Shawnie (kouklamonkey)]

For me the thing that sucks the most is seating. I mean being so large makes every single thing difficult but seating in public places is almost always intolerable for me. I should be going to Broadway shows on a regular basis but I can no longer take the hip pain/bruising after squeezing myself into one of those old theater seats. I haven't been able to sit in a restaurant booth in a few years now. I have to buy 2 seats when I fly, which is rare because using the bathroom on a plane is not even an option. Even church pews are a tight fit.

I don't expect businesses to offer seating for larger people but it I do wish business owners would be more accommodating whenever possible. The worst is when a host/hostess walks us to a booth I want to scream "LOOK AT ME!" but instead my husband or I will ask politely for a table instead.

Doctors' waiting rooms are one place that really suck in this regard. My surgeon's office waiting room seating is 100% wide seats, makes sense seeing as though all of his patients are obese. My endo's waiting room is nothing but those slim seats, so slim I don't go to see him anymore because it's so painful to sit in those chairs. Doctors waiting rooms of all places should have a few larger seat options or at least a few armless chairs, it's the one place obese people are forced to be.

Aw man I'm all worked up now! I'm really sick of being do damn fat

[Deleted]

I, too, fail to understand why doctors' offices can't figure out how to offer decent seating options for people of many sizes. That REALLY pisses me off. Or how about the damned gowns? I got so that I took a gown with me to most appointments. My primary doc was good and so was my gyn doc. But fergawdsakes, the endocrinologist?! Thankfully that one never required disrobing, but you'd think someone whose practice consists of a huge percentage of type II diabetes (who are much more likely to be obese than are other patients) would figure out how to invest in some armless chairs.

[luckylibrarian]

I can relate to all of your stories. Recently, I started getting hickies on the back of my neck from the shampoo bowl in the salon. I guess the extra weight is causing it. Thankfully, my mom is the stylist and loves me anyway. Also, I love the free cuts and colors. My mom rocks.

[willowrayne]

I can relate to the public seating. Also the arms of my computer chair press onto my thighs so I can't sit in them long or my legs swell.

I can also really relate to not being able to reach 'things'... It was a deciding factor to have the surgery for me.

But the thing that sucks the most is feeling invisible. The people who can't look at you so they pretend you aren't there..

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using ProBoards

[lisalou79]

May 6, 2012 7:32:29 GMT -5 willowrayne said:

But the thing that sucks the most is feeling invisible. The people who can't look at you so they pretend you aren't there..

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using ProBoards

Or the people who avoid you like fat is contagious. I've been in college for what seems like forever now, slowly earning my B.A. in Business. I have clearly noticed that unless the person knows me no one will sit next to me.

When I first noticed this I thought I was being paranoid. As time went on it became obvious. People would rather climb past a whole row of people then sit in any of the open chairs on either side of me. Granted, these are mostly younger adults so I guess appearence is even more important, but do they think they may catch my fatness?

The class I had last week a young man walked in a little late and approached me to sit at the table I was at (I was alone at the table) I began to scooch forward to give him room to pass but he just looked at me and turned around. I watched him heard through a whole row of students to sit at the far right of the room.

My mind began to race with questions like, "Do I smell?" "Is there a large spider on my head?"

Eh, oh well. I bathe regulary and mostly where clean clothes to class. I should offer that young man a hug this week! ;D

[smokinstella]

That or eat some gas inducing food and let one silent one rip next to him then blame it on him. But you would need an amazing poker face to pull it off

[lisalou79]

can't do it because farts are always funny! I'm 32 years old and still can't help but giggle at toots. Meh, it would still be worth it to let one slip.

[firedancer722]

I just wanted to jump in and say that I can SO relate to everything y'all have mentioned. From the too small booths to arms of chairs bruising your legs to not being able to being completely out of breath after one flight of stairs.... i can relate to it all. Ughhh... it sucks. What finally pushed me over the edge was the day not too long ago when I came home from the grocery store (imagine that!) and carried two bags of groceries across the yard in front of my apartment building (probably 30 yards) then I had to take a breather for a moment before I went up the steps. It was just one flight, but by the time I got to the top, I was so out of breath that I had to put my bags down and lean up against the outer wall for a good 2 or 3 minutes. I finally calmed down a little and picked up my bags in one hand and went to get my keys out of my pocket with the other hand. Well, I dropped my keys on the porch. So, I put the bags down and proceeded to try and bend down to get my keys. Problem was that I was wearing some jeans that didn't really stretch at all (and were too tight to begin with) and I honest to goodness could NOT bend down far enough to pick up the darn keys. So... I had to freakin unbutton my jeans and unzip them to be able to reach down and get my keys. I finally got inside, put away my groceries, put my pajamas on and got online to research WLS. I'd been "considering it" for a few years, but that was the straw that finally broke the camel's back.

Candace

[MrsGMO]

1. Not being able to fit into our lawn chairs.
2. Outweighing my husband.
3. Not being able to give myself a pedicure or paint my toenails.
4. Not being able to shave my massive legs.
5. Feeling myself growing back into my flying squirrel suit.
6. Finding a hair stylist after losing 150 pounds but feeling ashamed and avoiding the mirror every time I go back.
7. Not making eye contact with anyone in public.
8. Mail-ordering everything except groceries.
9. Wearing empire-waisted cotton dresses and flat sandals outdoors and sleeveless cotton nightgowns and slippers indoors.
10. Having my Well Woman exam performed by my 100-lb. botoxed lady doctor.
11. Not giving a damn about anything except food.
12. Being morbidly obese for the fifth time in my life.
13. Begging God for just one more chance to be of normal size through the DS surgery.

[ginany]

I remember before my RNY I was about 350 pounds and my oldest was 4 0r 5 and I was sitting in my mothers dining room chair with arms and my son come over and pushed on my fat hanging over the arms and thru the arms and said, mommy are you stuck in front of a whole bunch of people. I was so embaressed.

[sheilal]

My dad didn't want me to sit on his new furniture, he was afraid it would break.
Not being able to participate in life.
I have a 7 year old and I am always too tired to play or can't get on the floor.
When my husband explained that even after I showered, I smelled. constant yeast infections.
I can't wait until I loose enough to get rid of the fat apron!!!!!!!!!!!

[msteamshrink]

I have to say weighing myself once a month at the surgeons office, because there isn't an affordable scale I can buy to weigh every week.