Question:
Will you always feel cold after WLS?

I notice many people post-op have said they always feel cold. Is this a tempoary thing or will you probably feel cold the rest of your life?    — Cindee A. (posted on November 11, 2001)

November 10, 2001
I don't really know the answer to that question, but I hope it's not forever! I am sooooo cold all the time now. I just bought a new coat yesterday, a really heavy one. This is quite the new phenomenon for me, as I was always hot and sweating, even in the middle of winter. I guess the insulation is gone now! Good luck.
   — Vicki K.

November 10, 2001
After spending my entire life TOO HOT, I am enjoying being cold. Although when the real cold coomes to pittsburgh I will undoubtedly be unhappy. I traded a permanent coat of fat for removable real coats, a good trade.
   — bob-haller

November 11, 2001
Since my surgery on 9-26-01 I have felt cold most of the time,I told my DH that I am losing all my insulation.(LOL)I think it is normal for anyone who has lost weight to start feeling colder. I just put on a lt. wt jacket or in the evening I just cover up with a blanket while watching TV seems to help,I will see how I feel about this when it starts getting really cold out!!!!!!
   — Jennie D.

November 11, 2001
The newsletter from our hospital's support group addressed this question recently. I thought the coldness came just from losing all the fat, but it also has to do with all the capillaries your body developed to supply all that flab. Even when you lose weight, the capillaries remain, and they shed heat, thus you feel cold. Many of us have battled being too hot all the time, so this is quite a change. The advice of our newsletter: invest in sweaters.
   — Debbie C.

November 11, 2001
This is my second fall and winter post op (I live in the upper midwest) and I froze last year! I don't feel as cold this year, although I still have some times and feel colder than when I was fat. For me, it is getting better.
   — M B.

November 11, 2001
I had not been able able to wear sweaters or socks for the last few years because I was so hot. But now, after 7 yrs, I've developed a huge sweater & sock collection.I LOVE thrift stores. I've gotten Eddie Bauer & LL Bean & cheapo sweaters for a quarter, many new with tags. This is the fun side of being cold. All these cool long sleeved shirts, sweaters, cute warm underwear! OH BOY! I'd rather be cold and dress UP than hot & sweaty and unable to undress past naked, you know?
   — vitalady

November 11, 2001
I am still pre-op. I am scheduled for this Thursday. I still have my insulation but it does not help. Ever since I had pneumonia last spring, I have been cold. I use blankets whenever I sit down for any length of time. I have complained for years about how hot my office is and now I feel good when it is 85 degrees in there. I think there has to be something more than just our fat that regulates our temperatures.
   — Julia O.

November 12, 2001
My surgeon told me that the body's reaction to large weight loss is an inability to react well to cold. Your body is essentially feeding off itself (deliberate malabsorption). PLUS, there are some really nice sweaters out there...
   — Chris S.

November 13, 2001
Well, try being post-menopausal after wls. I get hot AND cold flashes. Pretty confusing. :-) Erica Manfred
   — Erica M.

November 13, 2001
I'm almost 2 years post-op and have SAVED a bundle on AC bills (never use them).. of course my kids and Dh think I'm nuts... It can be 85 degrees and I'm freezing.. Don't know if it's the loss of body insulation or the capillaries thing.. I have heard both ...so go figure.. Oklahoma has pretty warm temps most of the time, so this comes in handy I have enjoyed this side-affect of major weightloss..
   — Victoria B.

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