Does obesity chabge your body forever?

[mistysj 1,940]

You know how you hear about quitting smoking, that your lungs start to recover in X days and are fully recovered in X months or whatever? I wonder if that happens with obesity.

I'm not talking about things like stretch marks or saggy skin. But does obesity make changes to the ways our bodies work, and are any of those changes permanent even after being at a healthy weight for months or years? Or does your body just bounce back after so long and have a normal metabolism, normal food cravings, etc?

I hope this makes sense. Maybe some of the veterans will weigh in. I wonder if there is research into this.

Maybe someone can fix the title. Sorry about that. I'm on my iPad.

[makemyownluck 785]

I think that would differ for everyone. Being overweight means you have a lot of fat on and around your organs, so losing weight will help them function better by not being overcrowded in your body with fat. Your heart will definitely improve because it won't have to work so hard to maintain your smaller body, as I'm sure is true for other organs as well.

As far as statistical data like with quitting smoking, I think there's probably too many variables to come up with a number that would be relevant anyway. When you're evaluating a single organ like the lungs, you can get a test group of people with similar stats to compare, but with a whole body, there's no way to predict how all of these organs would work together any more than you can predict where someone is going to get cancer in 20 years.

lol, forgive me if that makes NO sense, I'm in a pre-op liquid diet head fog.

[luckysmomma 407]

I think I remember my knee dr telling me once - for every lb a person loses; it is like 4 lbs of pressure off the knees...

[mistysj 1,940]

Thanks! This is great info and does make sense. I just wonder if there is permanent internal damage from being obese for 20 years.

[southernsoul 773]

Like luckysmomma said, my ortho surgeon told me that for every 10 lbs of weight I can lose, I'll take 40 lbs of pressure off my knees. My weight didn't cause my mobility issues, but it sure did exacerbate them. That damage won't disappear completely, but I definitely expect to be able to walk & move much better. If obesity has contributed to heart disease or diabetes or something like that, the same thing may be true...the damage may not be totally wiped out, but hopefully improved significantly.

[MrsG 329]

Well I can tell you this....I just tore some cartilage in my knee and I have to have surgery. I went to an orthopedic surgeon who is awesome. Anyway, he looked at my X-rays and he a tally looked sorry for me when he told me I have severe arthritis in BOTH of my knees. I wanted to cry. He said I actually need knee replacements. The problem is that I'm only 39, he said that's way too young. His plan is to fix my cartilage then do something to stave off replacing my knees til I'm older I'm thinking cortisone shots. Point being is I've ruined my knees from being overweight for so long. I felt so depressed after my appt. he was very nice tho and commended me for having weight loss surgery and thinks I will be doing much better in a few more months as the weight continues to come off.

As far as internal damage, I do wonder about my heart. I mean carrying all this weight and making it work so hard for so long I'm sure has taken its tole and probably knocked off a few years. I guess all I can do is go forward from here. I mean if diabetes in some ppl can go away and others get off bp meds that's got to mean something right?

[southernsoul 773]

MrsG, I'm trying to hold off on double knee replacements, too. My knee issues actually began before I got heavy, but over the years the weight gain has made them so much worse. I've had 4 surgeries, and every kind of injection you can name. For the last few years, my ortho has been trying everything to delay knee replacements until I am at least over 50 (I turn 49 next week). About 6 months ago, he finally told me he had done all he could & said I needed to think about scheduling the surgery. I came home from his office & made a list of all the things I could do just 2 years ago that are impossible for me now. The list was MUCH longer than I had realized. I know that knee replacement surgery would definitely help my knees, but I also know it won't help as much as it could if I am carrying all this extra weight. WLS will help my knees, plus other things, as well. I will most likely still have to have my knees replaced at some point, but I'm hoping I might get another decade out of my OEM ones, once a bunch of this weight is gone.

[mistysj 1,940]

I'm so sorry to hear about both your knees.

[MrsG 329]

I'm so sorry to hear about both your knees.

Thank you Mistysj.

To Southernsoul I can tell you that I had surgery on 1/15, I've lost 80lbs since surgery and before this unfortunate event in which I tore my cartilage my knees were doing great. In fact I was noticing that they didnt hurt as much and felt better when I was exercising. I really think getting some weight off does help. No it won't reverse the damage and arthritis we have but losing weight does make them feel better! I'm sorry about your knees! I hope wls helps your knees feel better too and you're able to hold off on replacements as well!

[Chubarella 87]

I think I remember my knee dr telling me once - for every lb a person loses; it is like 4 lbs of pressure off the knees...

That's awesome, I remember when I got below 300, my knees stopped hurting. That was with a 27 pound loss, so 108 pounds of pressure!!!