Question:
I'm 1 year post-op (yea for me!!) and I've turned into a klutz!
I've never been what I would call graceful, but I am a total klutz now. I seem to stumble a lot and frequently lose my balance. I haven't fallen, but I seem to walk into things more and lose my footing. Yesterday I cut my hand somehow for the 5th time in a week and managed to knock the mess out of my head on the dresser. I just seem to have a lot of these incidences...has anyone else noticed they've become clumsy post-op? BTW...I've lost 210 pounds...woohoo! — Pamela P. (posted on December 23, 2002)
December 23, 2002
You might want to ask your PCP about this. There are some physical causes
for losing your balance, stumbling, etc. and those should be ruled out.
— garw
December 23, 2002
It could also be the fact that you have lost a whole man or two small women
in a year and your body is still trying to adjust to NOT carrying around
those X-tra pounds. I was a little clumsy for a while but have adjusted,
so it may be that. Wow-congrats on the amazing loss, you must feel
wonderful!
— Cindy R.
December 23, 2002
Wow...great weightloss!!! Yes, I have noticed the same thing...it's kind
of like when you take roller skates off after you've been skating for quite
awhile and you feel like you're floating when you try to walk normally
again. I have lost 135 pounds in 7 months and I notice when I do certain
things, like get out of bed or stand up, I about fall over because I'm so
used to dragging the extra pounds up with me. Since they aren't there
anymore, I end up basically jumping up with ease when I'm expecting to be
dragged down into slowly getting up. This causes me to almost lose
balance. It's not too out of control yet, but I love the floating feeling
when it happens! Being dragged down by so much weight was definitely not
much fun!
— Kelly M.
December 23, 2002
It's been a while since Iv'e lost weight but when I lost 70 lbs I fell
more, ran into things constantly, tripped and droped stuff all the time. As
for myself, I went to the doctor and he told me I had gotten more hyper and
much busier then I was when I was heavy. My mind had not caught up with my
movement per say so he suggested I stop,slow down,and make a mental list
before doing the things I plan to do. I did just that and guess what? It
worked. I will do the same thing after I have my surgery. I hope this
works for you. If not, then see a doctor by all means. Better to be safe
then sorry. I hope to lose at least 100 lbs. after my surgery Jan. 17 at
Fresno surgery center. I'm really excited. Hope things settle-down for you
and congrats on your substantial weight loss.
— BETTY M.
December 23, 2002
If you think about it..it's in some ways like a toddler who is becoming
more and more active the more mobile he gets..but is growing and having to
learn where his body is in space. LIke a previous post said, you are
becoming more active and doing things you probably never dreamed of
before..and having to RELEARN how to move. Anyone else still turn sideways
when going through spaces they can easily fit through walking normally now?
That's kinda an example of what I mean. Of course, I was/am clumsy both pre
and post op. I've been known to sprain my ankle on many occasions stepping
off the curb and I tend to somehow manage to fall UP the stairs! (although
I have fallen down them too..)
— sheltie
December 24, 2002
On one hand, I agree with everyone else... it's probably your body
adjusting to the weightloss... BUT.. when I was evaluated by a physical
therapy chiropractic office a short while ago - "Have you noticed that
you are clumsier or are dropping things?" was one of the questions
they asked in the screening and I hadnt even told them about the WLS at
that point. You could have a pinched nerve somewhere and not even know
it.. which coud be causing a delay in the signal reaching your brain. Find
a chiropractic office that offers free or low-cost evaluations and see what
they have to say. :)
— Valerie H.
December 24, 2002
I'd have to agree that you should get it checked by a professional.
But....My mom had surgery (I am still pre-op) She said that she felt
reallly clumsy after too. She would go to a store and go to walk through
the swinging door just like she always does not realizing that she didn't
have that extra weight to help push the door open and she would run into
it. Her thighs were much thinner and therefore her feet were closer
together and she would trip all the time. There are a lot of things like
this that happen after major weight loss.
— Amber F.
December 26, 2002
Before surgery I was diagnosed with a B-12 Deficiency. The reason they did
the lab for this deficiency was because I made the comment that I was
clumbsy and seemed to drop things alot, of course there were other symptoms
as well, but this alerted my doctor to check for the deficiency.
\
— Renee A.
December 26, 2002
WOW ! What a great "loss". I am pre-op, so I am encouraged by
your wonderful loss. I will need to drop about the same. Hopefully your
klutziness isn't medical, I don't know. But I will look forward to being a
klutz if it's a side effect. The other answers make sense. Less of you to
lug around.
Good Luck
— Tammyjo
December 29, 2002
YES!!! The first 6 months, I kept falling down everywhere. At one point,
I realized my shoes were too big, and that was making me fall. I think the
other falls and trips were because the weight was falling off and the
remaining weight was distributed differently. When I would try to
automatically self-correct a normal stumble, I couldn't do it! At 10 1/2
months out, I'm starting to be less klutzy now. I'm finally bruise
free....lol.
— Kathy J.
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