Has anyone experienced health/body issues as a result of losing a significant amount of weight?

evilfairies

I overheard someone at work talking about how, after losing 75lbs, now she has problems with her feet. Not sure of the details since I wasn't part of the conversation, but it was interesting since it wasn't something I would have associated with losing weight. Just curious to see if anyone else has experienced problems too.

amyepdx

I’m guessing the problems with her feet started as a result of being overweight and now that she’s able to be more active, she’s noticing it.
Please don’t let fear of the unknown (loose skin is another one people use) be an excuse or stop you!
For every (perceived) downside, there are 100 upsides to being at a healthy weight.

jemhh

What do you mean by problems with her feet? There's an actual physical problem with her feet? Or now she is unhappy with what her feet look like? I would think that losing weight would help her feet (not as much weight to carry) but it's possible that there could be problems due to activities she's now participating in. There are people, also, who find that losing weight makes them feel more self conscious--less "invisible" and more prone to worrying how others see them--and they obsess over body parts.

inertiastrength

If it being easier to do everything is a problem then yes. I agree with Amy, her problems were probably from being so heavy and she's noticing it now that she's using her body in a more physically demanding way.

livingleanlivingclean

My foot issue with losing weight occurred when I had to get rid of most of my shoes as my feet got smaller.

psychod787

Yes, I know the struggle. I lost a kitten ton of weight. Some wayyyyy to quickly. I actually have become what I call "fatarexic". I hate to look at my body in the mirror. I am actually "lean" bulking to regain some of my lost muscle mass and because people who get too lean regain quicker. I can see and feel every ounce of fat gain. I can also see the muscle gain, but still plays with my head. The struggle is real. I don't need hugs, just wanted to post on this and let you know that yes, it has happened to me.

iowalinda

evilfairies wrote: »

I overheard someone at work talking about how, after losing 75lbs, now she has problems with her feet. Not sure of the details since I wasn't part of the conversation, but it was interesting since it wasn't something I would have associated with losing weight. Just curious to see if anyone else has experienced problems too.

My resting blood pressure has dropped to 91/60. Normal is supposed to be 120/80. I read that it shouldn't go below 90/60, so not sure if I need to be concerned or what I would need to do to get it a little higher. I do feel the best I have in years.

Diatonic12

I had plantar fasciitis. I learned how to tape my own feet because it helped me take it back outside when I started hiking. Our mileage will always vary. Feet, knees, ankles, joints, backs, shoulders, wrists, necks. I used KT tape for my knees and athletic tape for my feet. When you get the tension just right you can walk without that bone on bone grinding pain.

zyxst

I've developed foot corns and full-blown Raynaud's, and my eczema went from a little dry spot to swollen, fiery knuckles covered with itchy lumps that hurt so much I want to cut off my hand. My mental health went fully into the toilet, too.

amusedmonkey

Not so much weight loss as the activity that accompanied it, I managed to give myself chronic achilles issues by overtraining.

mywayroche

I just want to say that losing a lot of weight doesn't ALWAYS affect people negatively. I lost 112lbs and only good things happened.

People can lose weight by simply eating less food. Eating nutritious foods to support your health and wellbeing isn't a requirement for weight loss. When you eat fewer amounts of already low nutrition foods you're asking for trouble. Don't always assume that people lost weight in a healthy way.

Fflpnari

My blood prressure and heart rate have gone way down. Sometimes it bothers me, and i feel dizxy and don't have a lot of energy. I also have a lot of joint problems/ pain.

RunsWithBees

Extremely small body issue... after losing weight I uncovered a lipoma (benign tumor) on my ribcage about the size of an egg that I didn’t realize I had because it was previously covered under layers of fat. I didn’t like how it looked so I had it removed by my dermatologist and it was surprisingly quite a painful ordeal. Now the scar is barely visible and by far losing weight has been the best thing I ever did for my health!

cmriverside

I think if this worries you, ask her what happened.

My feet got smaller when I lost 70 pounds. Everything is better, though. Well worth it. She may have some issue that has nothing to do with weight loss and that just coincidentally happened near the same time.

ruqayyahsmum

My pain levels are so much worse now ive lost 158lb....... but its likely to be osteo-arthritis (doc has ordered knee xrays) caused by being morbidly obese for s decade (im 36)

try2again

Most of the complications I'm aware of are the ones that come from losing the weight too quickly- gallstones, muscle loss, hair loss, things like that. Some cases of loose skin become problematic and cause skin irritations & infections. As has been mentioned, I think people may attribute problems to losing weight when it was just how they personally went about it, or pure coincidence.

kommodevaran

Only saggy skin. I could pass as a mom

scarlett_k

I developed plantar fasciitis but I would more blame that on me taking up walkig further and further entirely on the pavements for the first few months of eating to lose weight. I can understand why someone else might make the leap to blame that on losing weight.

zyxst

mywayroche wrote: »

I just want to say that losing a lot of weight doesn't ALWAYS affect people negatively. I lost 112lbs and only good things happened.

You're right, but only hearing from those who've had good things happen makes what I'm going through more difficult.

sophia162

I've had ankle impingement injuries that suck (because they reiterate), but those are due to working out too intensely too quick (and too overweight probably) at the beginning of my journey, bad quality footwear through life, bad luck, etc.

Due to weight loss or my calorie deficit: I'm loosing hair like crazy D =

And yes, I eat mostly nutritios foods. As a staple, lots of fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, lean meats, whole grains, olive oil, avocado, greek yogurt, beans... and some chocolate, wine, cookies and ice cream for the soul, of course.

Like crazy! Loosing hair like crazy >.<

VUA21

The only issue I have is the excess belly skin that now requires me to wear compression gear in order to go for a run. I did a year of recomp and 90% of the rest of my skin shrank back....not the belly flap. (I lost 170lbs before my recomp). Every other health issue I had when I was obese has went away with the weight loss.

longbranch92

@sophia162 I was losing hair too! It really bothered me. But since, my naturopath has upped my B12 and I take Biotin and everything is back to normal.

toxikon

I feel cold ALL THE TIME and my hair is thinner. I'm not sure whether to attribute the hair thing to the weight loss or some other random issue. I'm ramping up my biotin consumption, focusing on lots of protein, and exploring a new BC method. So fingers are crossed!

sgriska

I've had trouble with lower back pain -- have an old injury that hasn't given me any trouble in many, many years and suddenly since losing weight has started acting up, which seems "wrong." But I suspect the culprit is altered body mechanics: walking, standing, sitting, etc., differently than I've been used to so even though there should be less stress on my back, what stresses there are are impacting it differently than they used to when I was heavier.

Also having a good bit of discomfort in my butt when I sit for a long period of time on just about any seat or cushion. Less padding, I guess.

netitheyeti

all my shoes got too big when I lost weight
also, fairly sure my diet made my hair thinning issues worse at one point (I already had issues due to PCOS)

yirara

I'm not sure if it's related to weight loss, but over the past few years I've always gotten blisters on the edge of my heels when I walk a bit more. It's as if there's too much skin. But surely, the padding of ones feet should not get smaller.

seltzermint555

Raynaud's, although for most of the year it is really not too bothersome...never had any symptoms until I was down by 100 lb or so. Mostly it's just embarrassing for me in the winter when random strangers say "A couple of your fingers are white WTF" in a panic.

But...BEFORE losing weight, I had debilitating migraines with vision blurring and days of residual pain. Now I've had 1 MILD migraine in 5 years.
Pain in my shins and ankles is gone.
Borderline high blood pressure is now normal.
Lower back pain issues are very rare now, like once every 2 years for a couple of days - versus previously several weeks of every year.

seekingdaintiness

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

My foot issue with losing weight occurred when I had to get rid of most of my shoes as my feet got smaller.

I was wondering (since OP didn't hear the whole conversation) if that might be it. It's a little known side effect of losing large amounts of weight that you can drop half a shoe size or more. Very strange. Happened to me.

1houndgal

Decades ago I lost a lot of weight on a diet and excercise regimen, and I ended up having to get my gallbladder removed. Still, a small price to pay for better health and fitness.

SLOgal

I've known people who have felt more pain in the bones in their feet when the fat pads on their feet got smaller.

callsitlikeiseeit

ive lost 100 pounds and have never looked or felt better or been healthier.

losing weight SOLVED the health issues i had (sore joints, muscle pain, back pain, etc)