Top Stories

Doctors Who Are Glad A Patient Stopped Seeing Them Reveal Why

Doctors Who Are Glad A Patient Stopped Seeing Them Reveal Why

[rebelmouse-image 18346596 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Doctors and nurses put up with a lot of crap from patients and some end up being too much to handle, or even abusive. For example, patients sometimes blame doctors if they miss appointments; or they don't want to wait for treatment to work, or they're simply rude to staff. Whatever the case, doctors are often happy to see some patients leave and never come back.

elwheeler99 asked, [Serious] Doctors and Therapists of Reddit, have you ever been glad that a patient stopped coming to you? What happened?

Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.

No eating before surgery - this is universal.

[rebelmouse-image 18348296 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Orthopedic Surgeon here. Best (worst) patient shows up for elective surgery munching on a big cup of ice. Big nope. Tell her we have to reschedule her case. She throws a tantrum. "But I have dry mouth and have to chew this ice". I understand, but we can't put you under with a belly full of water (risk of throwing up and sucking all that stomach goo into your lungs and dying). Go back and forth like this for a few minutes. I say to her "You know, talking to you is like talking to a toddler". She didn't like that at all. Finally tell her to go home and I leave the preop area. A few minutes later the nurse finds me and says Ms. Pain in the Ass won't leave, she says she doesn't have a ride home. I give the nurse $20 to call her a cab. To this day still the best use of a twenty ever. Never heard from her again.

Doctors can lose their licenses for fooling around with patients.

[rebelmouse-image 18348297 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I had a patient that I saw quite often for a number of simple illnesses. She would often joke that she came in just because I was working the clinic that day, said she would check if my vehicle was outside. Over the course of several months, I noticed she was coming in more often and with less clothing on. Short skirts, low cut tops. Last straw was her coming in with a loose fitting shirt and no bra. I fired her as a patient after that.

What? It takes time to make stuff?

[rebelmouse-image 18348298 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Angry dude started ramming his head into the wall repeatedly, so hard that a bold receptionist walked into the room without knocking to check I wasn't the one being slammed into the wall. All of this occurred because he wasn't willing to accept a two week wait time for a completely custom medical device to be manufactured and shipped from another COUNTRY

From experience: some pain, like in the gut, is only alleviated by opioids.

[rebelmouse-image 18348302 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Yes, but almost exclusively patients that are seeking controlled substances that I don't believe are indicated for their condition. I've never fired a patient, but I've definitely had patients that don't appreciate my attempts to wean them off their chronic opioids. Many patients with chronic pain are happy to try my suggestions. However for those that aren't interested in reducing their dependence on these medications, I don't think I'm a great fit as their doctor.

Pharmacists aren't the fun type of drug dealers, sorry.

[rebelmouse-image 18348304 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I work in a pharmacy and get yelled at all the time by customers over pain meds- almost always public aid also. "What do you mean I can't have it early?!" (13 days too soon.) "Why won't my dr refill that?!"

Best one was a customer recently yelled at us for giving their dr a medication list, She told me on the phone "I'm trying to get something stronger than Tylenol 3. Don't tell my dr what I'm on!!" Yeah, good luck.

Being pinned by an non-medicated patient with schizophrenia...who thinks the appointment is a date...with no panic button...or exit...

[rebelmouse-image 18348305 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I used to manage clinical trials for some bigger name places...one of the last trials I managed required working with folks with schizophrenia who were not on medication. To be fair, this story is NOT typical of those folks, and I don't want to stereotype them, but I'm just saying this to explain the behavior in this instance. The study involved 3-4 visits totaling 10-12 hours with these folks, so I got to know them fairly well. My portion involved an extensive clinical/diagnostic assessment and some other computerized tasks, so all told I spent 4ish hours alone with them (the rest was taking them to other providers/appts for the study). This all occurred in a room that (A) didn't have a panic alarm and (B) where I was not closest to the door, which are two big no-nos. I did bring it up when I first started but was younger, naive, and figured the odds of something happening in this context was low.

I worked with upwards of 120 people and heard all kinds of stuff, like a little old lady who described her vivid hallucinations of people being cut up into pieces, slaughtering others, etc. just as calmly as she talked about her love of scrapbooking. None of this stuff ever bothered me, largely because even when people describe stuff like that there are so many other indicators to tell you whether or not they're dangerous, and most of the time they're not. Several others were pretty terrified of the other portions of the study (not disclosing, but people without schizophrenia were afraid of it, so it was normal) but were so compelled to help our research so others wouldn't have to feel the way they felt that it was inspiring.

Then I had one who was incredibly obsessive. I didn't spend enough time with her to figure out if this was separate from or a part of her schizophrenia, but she ended up pinning me in the corner, grilling me in an aggressive-but-crying manner about why I kept asking her to come back to these appointments but didn't want to date her (she had NEVER mentioned this until this point). Again, no panic buttons, no way out. I'm a small guy and she was taller and much larger than me. Thankfully her mom came to pick her up a little early and it saved my ass. But it happened in a matter of a minute or less and that's what scared me most.

Suffice to say I told my supervisor I would NOT be continuing that study until he rearranged the clinic so I was closest to the door and we had a panic button/protocol in place.

People who want opinion after opinion but won't take advice..

[rebelmouse-image 18348306 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

In my homeland, I used to run an outpatient clinic together with several other GPs. The patients can freely choose which doctor they want to visit, or if they're regular patients, to change doctor if they want. Somehow, I was always stuck with annoying patients, like those who were overdemanding, tried to steer the doctors on what to examine and what to prescribe, impossibly uncooperative or non-compliant, hardheaded and in complete denial, like to argue back, all you can name it. Most of them are also doctor shoppers and like to boast about that - a clear red flag.

Usually, most doctors would try to be sugary sweet and nice and suck up to these patients no matter what, but I just couldn't - I treated them like any other patients - yes means yes and no means no, we can discuss the medications and course of examinations but you can't steer me around like a car and have it all your way as you please.

Most of these difficult patients were often displeased and somewhat crossed by my policy - yet they keep returning to me, despite me giving very clear sign I'm never going to treat them specially or give in to their demand. Eventually, after several consultations, a lot of them would never return (which was completely expected from their doctor shopping behavior). I always feel a lot relieved while wondering why they didn't go away sooner. Even my colleagues and nurses often joked whenever a new difficult patient came, saying my calling had come.???????

It's almost as if a doctor's time is valuable.

[rebelmouse-image 18348307 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Just a recent one that popped into mind. Had a lady in her 40's come in the other day who had an extensive and complex medical history and some psychiatric illnesses. She showed up 15 minutes late so by the time I brought her in the next patient whos turn it was already there. She had a list of about 6 things she wanted to go over. We got through a few of the issues and then mainly focussed on her issue with some pain while peeing on and off for 6 months, and she wanted antibiotics for it. She refused to supply a urine sample or undergo an STI screen.

About 2 weeks later I got a note from the nurse that the lady wanted to lay a "big complaint" about me because I didn't 'check her blood pressure.'

Like holy sh_t, you have 6 things you want to get through in your 15 minutes, you show up late (and so I could have declined to see her and just asked her to reschedule) and now you are angry at me for not doing something that would take more time and wasn't even relevant to the consult. So happy she never came back.

As George Carlin said, "pricks live forever."

[rebelmouse-image 18348308 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I used to practice in a clinical situation where most of my patients were older or elderly. It didn't happen often, but the patients that I would always dread seeing were the ones who were starting to lose cognitive skills and memory abilities but had absolutely nobody else I was legally authorized to speak about their care with (spouse was deceased, no kids or kids were estranged, etc.). Appointments could often turn into he-said-she-said, so it would take me forever to write reports for those patients because I essentially had to include every word said by either of us into the report to document that I told them something... for when they inevitably returned, later on, complaining that I never told them that exact thing. I'd never wish anyone harm, but I did occasionally find myself searching local obituaries when I'd realize I hadn't seen certain patients like that in a while, in the hopes that maybe I wouldn't have to. (Pro tip: The mean ones never die.)

When your patients bore you to death...

[rebelmouse-image 18348309 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Totally mundane anecdote - had a person who insisted on regular contact (no cost to them they received general support from our service but wanted a regular appointment with a psychologist) that didn't really have a purpose other than a general chat, basically just encouraged spacing out appointments and then at some point they just decided they couldn't be bothered walking in. It's kind of surprising how draining it is to have a benign but knowingly un-useful appointment on the regular

Brace for a plot twist...

[rebelmouse-image 18348310 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

A couple of years after becoming an attending surgeon, I had this miserably pessimistic patient with problems mostly related to self-neglect. She was agoraphobic, barely left her house, and a glutton for misery, basically refusing to do anything that might better her circumstance. She came to see me because she had a gastric bypass somewhere else in the past and wanted continuity of care.

One day she hands me an envelope and tells me I've been served and that she's sorry her husband the process server couldn't ever catch me at home because I work too much. It's true, I was working quite a lot because my wife of 12 years was being insufferable since we had moved away from her best friend in Miami for an incredibly better quality of life and work situation.

Anyways, they were divorce papers and my wife was leaving me to marry her friend's brother which I was already anticipating. It worked out well because then I was free to start over fresh with someone who shared my current priorities. Now we have 3 kids and a great life of rewarding work for only half-days, frequent travel and leisure, and three awesome young children. The miserable patient didn't feel comfortable having me as her provider after that even though I offered to continue to do so.

Huge win on all counts.

It's not the doctor's fault if you don't show up.

[rebelmouse-image 18348311 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Sure. Sometimes it's just not a good fit and that's a relief. The one I recall the most relief around worked hard to blame me for her lack of attendance and no-shows, going as far as to scream at me on the phone and accuse me of lying after I had been crystal clear regarding my boundaries and attendance expectations. She was not ready for therapy in the way I was able to provide it. She came back to the clinic later and saw someone else and did a lot better. I felt for her, but I'm not putting up with that.

Good things won't happen if you bad mouth coworkers to each other.

[rebelmouse-image 18348312 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Neither a doctor or therapist, but I'm a manager at Laser Hair Removal Clinic which also does chemical peels.

We had this one client who we will call Dumb B** (DB).

So she would come to use for treatment for laser, and go to one of our therapists. Now typically our clients will always see the same therapist for consistency, but this time we couldnt. After the treatment, she complimented our therapist and then when our therapist left, DB said to our receptionist that she was terrible and wants to see someone else.. Okay cool so we booked her in with the next therapist and during her treatment, she just starts b**ing about her previous one. Comes out and compliments our therapist, then asks to see a different one - like what???

She then starts b*ing to the next therapist about the previous two. She did the same pattern through all 5 of our therapists and then goes back to her original and b*es about the other therapists and says "You're the only one I like, the others are just horrible and you're the nice one."

Now she said some very racist and harsh remarks during her YELLING, so I had to talk to her about it and tell her that we cannot treat her anymore.

When the shrink can't handle the patient's trauma... my curiosity is peaking.

[rebelmouse-image 18348313 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Friend of my parents who is a therapist told me this story when I asked her about how she coped with her patients' suffering. She told me that there was one patient she had and wished she would never have met, through no fault of his own, though. She wouldn't give me much detail of course, but this is the gist of the story. She had a patient who came to counseling after decades of trying to cope with his childhood on his own and failing. It took quite some time for him to finally be able to tell her how he had been terribly abused as a kid. He proceeded to tell her about all the horrific things that had been done to him. It was absolutely terrifying and heart-breaking that anyone could go through this and according to my parent's friend it was surprising he even could survive. The horrors the patient described made a lasting impression on his therapist and started messing with her badly for some reason. She was not used to treating trauma of this kind and it came to a point when she would be reluctant meeting her patient because she knew he would talk about things that frightened her. She didn't want to break his trust, though, and he really needed the therapy, so she said nothing. After a while, however, the patient noticed that he was unwillingly making her uncomfortable and mentioned it in a session. They both agreed that she couldn't help him in these conditions and it would be better if she referred him to a colleague. She told me she was quite relieved not having to deal with this patient anymore but at the same time felt inadequate and unprofessional for being frightened by his pain.

Managing expectations with doctors is difficult, especially when you're in pain.

[rebelmouse-image 18348314 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

Unrealistic expectations. Expectation management is a real thing and I have had patients come to me demanding the guaranteed investigation/procedure that will solve their problems that they were promised earlier in their referral pathway or from some internet forum (!). Usually, education with relevant facts clear things up but it eats into the next patients waiting time and that is one reason why clinics overrun. I remember being particularly relieved but felt sorry for a patient who kept coming back with "alternative" treatments for his very curable cancer despite attempts to educate and support him on the merits of modern medicine. Eventually, he went elsewhere presumably to try and find someone who would give him the answers he wanted to hear.

Watch out for the black bathwater...

[rebelmouse-image 18348315 is_animated_gif= dam=1 expand=1]

I did peer support and residential support specialist stuff so not a therapist or anything. But I had one client who was severely symptomatic. Heard voices a lot and would argue loudly with them. Would hurt themselves for attention. Had awful boundary issues with other clients that was borderline stalking. Was reprimanded multiple times for bouts of harassment towards other clients. Didn't like to shower and believed that when bathwater turned black it was toxins leaving your body and not just because they were that dirty. I truly hope this person found the help they needed and the right therapy though.

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.