Top Stories

Police Officers Reveal The Arrests They Regret Making

Police Officers Reveal The Arrests They Regret Making
Getty Images

Police officers often have to make tough decisions when they're on the job, and not every case they deal with is necessarily black and white.

That was theme behind today's burning question from Redditor DarkAura777, who asked the online community: "Cops of Reddit: What was your biggest, "I truly am sorry I have to arrest you moment" and why?"

Officers and others in the field had plenty to say.


"The lady drove 3 miles..."

I draw the blood for DWI arrests so not a cop but... I was sitting in the assistant district attorney's office when an officer calls in and he stated that he felt horrible arresting this lady for drunk driving (even though she was plastered) because she was at her boyfriends house and they all were drinking and the boyfriends friend started trying to assault her and her boyfriend did nothing about it. so she hit the friend in the head and got in her car and fled from danger.

Another driver called her into 911 for swerving. The lady drove 3 miles and made it to a gas station where she was found trying to call her friends on her phone for help. He felt bad that he had to bring her in but the ADA didn't accept any charges on her and the officer took her to her friends house. Two other officers went back to the boyfriends house and they got arrested with existing warrants and the assault.

Seeing that woman sitting in the jail for the few minutes she was there was heartbreaking. She was covered in scratches and her clothes were torn. I'm so glad they didn't charge her.

PrincessShelbyy

"As a probation agent..."

As a probation agent, I was supervising Tim, early 20s on probation for Possession of Narcotics.

Tim lived in assisted living apartments due to severe mental health. Great person who just needed help learning more about his mental health.

I received a report that Tim started to like one of the staff members, Stacy. She worked 3rd shift at their main house and often handed out medication. I talked to Tim about healthy boundaries between client and staff.


Well, fast forward a couple days, Tim checked himself in the hospital because he tried to make a few advances with Stacy but it was denied. Stacy described it as "scary" as she was working in the main house and he followed her in a room and shut the door. Another staff member intervened. She then proceeds to make a report about other behaviors like he stares at her and tries to be around her. He was arrested and had a short term jail hold (4 days) and we placed a no contact.

Fast forward a few weeks, I received another report from Stacy stating Tim continues to linger around the main building when she's there at night. The night before, she was on med duty and he went to pick up his medication. She asked him to leave multiple times but he never did. He continued to try to make advances towards her. Finally, a staff member walked in and told him to leave. Which he then left. She feels extremely unsafe.

I issue a warrant and go to his apartment. I am waiting for police to arrive and I ask him about that contact. He kept repeated, "I shouldn't have listened to her" However, he wouldn't go in much depth. Police arrive and he goes to jail.

I staff with my supervisor if we should revoke his probation as Tim is engaging in stalking behavior. I was finishing up my investigation and Tim adamantly denied Stacy ever telling him to leave that night. Finally, he breaks down and said they've been having a relationship for the past few months. Sure, checked his Facebook account, and it is apparent they were dating. She assured him no one will find out. Arranging times to meet. Extremely flirty and sexual messages were sent between them.

Stacy told me he was stalking her so she wouldn't lose her job. She reported the gestures as unwanted because other staff members caught them together.

I was pissed that he went to jail let alone we almost proceeded with revocation. I felt awful and apologized for the time he spent in jail.

This was reported to the supervisor. But she didn't lose her job. Anyone else would have their social work listened revoked or face criminal charges. She just kept on working there. The county moved Tim to a different program.

TLDR: Client was accused of stalking a staff member of his assisted living program. Turns out staff and client were in a relationship and staff made a false report so she wouldn't get fired.

Probation_Agent

"I once got a call for domestic violence."

I once got a call for domestic violence. Another officer and I park are cars halfway up the block (for safety reasons) and start walking up to the house when we're approached by a man. He tells us that we're there to arrest him, but he refuses to give a statement, he just says he's sorry. We put him in handcuffs pending the investigation, and I go inside.

Short end is that dad was drunk, didn't like the way the son #1 was talking to him, and started beating him. Mom tried to step in and got pushed down, son #2 tries to help, but dad attacks him and chases him out of the house. Mom and son lock themselves in the bathroom and daughter, who was frightened, runs to a neighbor's house. Mom and two sons agree on what happened, so it's an easy arrest.

But inside the house there was a door with a bunch of locks on it that piqued my curiosity. It was obviously used to lock someone inside. Mom and sons wouldn't tell me what it was for, so I asked dad. He said that the door was thier daughter's room. His sons would assault her at night so they locked her in to protect her. He said son # 1 had been arrested for it, but he wasn't given any jail time and a judge said it was okay as long as they locked the daughter in her room at night. He told me that when he drank he would get angry at his sons, but felt guilty that he did.

When I asked dad about it, he said that he had a hard time dealing with it at the time and left everything up to his wife.

CPS ended up doing an emergency removal on the daughter and another small child. I still had to arrest dad for attacking his family, but I felt bad for it. I have no idea what happened to any of them after that.

bestattemptataname

"Not sure how the guy ended up here..."

Just happened. Not sure how the guy ended up here but he had no phone, no family to call. Wasn't welcome at the homeless shelter because he was caught drinking there. Very cold outside. Mental health evaluated him and kicked him free saying they couldn't help. Didn't have any vouchers or money to stay at a motel. He asked to go to jail. I warned him of trespassing at the police department for the next 24 hours. He refused to leave. Arrested for trespassing. Was the best worst option.

sonofabunch

"It was Christmas Eve..."

It was Christmas Eve at a super fancy hotel downtown in my city. Lady drove her vehicle into a parking barrier and hotel security called it in. Got out there and she had her daughter in the car with her. Mom had recently bought her a Christmas puppy, a tiny little corgi. So anyways, I called for one of our DWI units to do the test because it's a a felony for the child passenger. Mom fails and we have to handcuff her. She tried to run and my partner takes her to the ground as he falls slipping all in front of daughter and Christmas puppy.

Mom goes to jail and I had to stay with the little girl until her aunt arrived. Learned dad walked out on them earlier in month and mom was having a tough time dealing with it. Mom needed to go to jail, she was drunk but I felt for her and her daughter.

theghostfacekilla

"I'm no longer a cop..."

I'm no longer a cop but my first ever DUI arrest was a guy I went to a very small college with and we graduated together. I knew his family, his dog's name; we were friends.

He was weaving all over both lanes and running onto the shoulder on both sides of the road. He cried and begged me to just let him go and he'd walk home and that he was sorry.

He had to go to jail.

Daxos157

"Had a patient..."

Not a cop but a paramedic. Had a patient that was driving on a Freeway at 100km/h when she started having a seizure. A man also driving on the Freeway noticed her slumped at the wheel so he sped up, pulled in front of her then used his car to slow hers down.

I rock up, assess and go to transport the lady to hospital. Cops rock up as they do and find the man had warrants out for his arrest. Slightly awkward, but he had to leave his car on the Freeway and go off to the cells.

TheHuskyHideaway

"She was called to a shoplifting incident..."

I've told this story here before but I used to live with a cop.

She was called to a shoplifting incident and found a young, totally emaciated looking boy (couldn't have been older than 12) who the shopkeeper had pinched stealing some bare essential, a loaf of bread or a can of beans or something.

She and her partner did everything they could to talk him out of pressing charges on the kid but the shop keeper insisted and unfortunately her partner that day happened to be a superior or something and whether or not to follow through with the arrest was out of her hands. She had to take this crying, scared, starving boy to juvenile prison with teenagers who had committed real crimes.

She did everything she could to ensure he got immediate social services attention and lobbied to keep the charges from appearing on his record at all. But she still felt broken having to do that to a kid who needed help.

ligamentary

"My mother..."

My mother told me about a case she had. She didn't make the arrest but was the investigator. So basically the woman was stalked by her ex and constantly harassed. She tried to go to the police about it, 17 times, with proof and everything and they didn't do shit.

So she and her friends kidnapped him, beat him up and threw him naked in a ditch.

Mad_Maddin​

"So I'm finishing up some preliminary paperwork..."

So I'm finishing up some preliminary paperwork in the Dollar General parking lot in reference to a shoplifting when I see a pickup go passed me at a high rate of speed. I didn't have the opportunity to radar or pace it, but it was highway speeds in a 35. So I get on him after the 7 or 8 blocks to catch up he turns into the cemetery. I activate lights and here we goooooooo...

Get out, signs of an obvious DUI. I begin Standardized Field Sobriety Tests when he starts bawling. Gotta play the nice guy, tell him to take his time and collect himself. Well he asks, through his tears, if we can move to a different area. This is an issue, because the cemetery isn't very flat and the area we were was more optimal than any other area nearby. Well then I look behind him and see a tombstone with a familiar name. This guy was doing SFSTs in front of his dead mother.

Within the past two years, this guy had is house burn down, his mother died, and his wife divorced. And I knew all of this.

I didn't feel bad or guilty making the arrest, it definitely had to happen. However, I did feel for the person. I can only hope he's working to better himself now. This was about four months ago.

TheCommonFear

"Friend of mine..."

Friend of mine who is a cop woke me at 3 in the morning to tell me this story. I completely understand why, I would be bawling my eyes out at making an arrest he did.

He was called in to deal with a domestic dispute and arrested the woman because she beat the ever loving sh!t out of the man. He told me he probably had a broken nose and wouldn't be shocked if he had vision problems one of his eyes for the rest of his life. My friend brought the woman in and she had some fresh marks as well, a couple cuts and a solid bruise on her arm. She also had a couple wounds that had clearly been there for a couple days and a couple that looked like they had just healed.

My friend thinks that the man was abusing her for the longest time and she just snapped and defended herself.

Thing is...my friends mother was also abused by his father, so arresting who seemed to be the overall victim broke his heart.

Pythnator

"Legal limit..."

Legal limit in our state for drink driving is .05.

Setup a random site on a straight stretch of road, could probably see us for 2km in every direction.

This guy comes through, with his 2 kids in the back. He's returning home from a mates birthday.

Blows .06. Just over. He lived 3 houses down from where we setup the site... he could've gone backstreets or dodged us 50 different ways, but he was too honest / thought he was okay.

Felt bad then!

Cuebiyari

"I was in law school..."

Not a cop but a prosecutor. I was in law school working as a prosecutor for my summer job under the supervision of an assistant DA. I'm getting ready for my first trial of the summer. It's a fairly bad one. This guy was drunk and lit a random car on fire. The fire spread to the house because it was under a connected structure. An elderly man was inside and barely escaped and is messed up from smoke inhalation.

So it's my first week in the office (but my second summer, so I'm comfortable just stepping in and doing the work). My job is going to be jury selection and nothing else to get me back in the groove. In walks the defendant through the jail door into the courtroom, shackled at the wrists and ankle. I instantly recognize him. It's a guy who I used to work with/had some classes with who was constantly trying to convince my college girlfriend to date him instead of me.

I told my boss I needed to recuse myself from the case, but I stuck around and watched him get convicted. Ended up talking my boss into a lighter sentence recommendation though by vouching for his character/potential before he became an alcoholic. Ended up recommending, and getting, jail time plus rehab. I assume he's out by now.

Quackattackaggie

"I got a call to a barber shop..."

I got a call to a barber shop at like 4 AM for a women outside who wanted her boyfriend, who she stated was on the inside, to give her her house key back. She initially told me that she had no way to get into her house because her boyfriend, now Ex, had the key and so she needed it back. She also decided it was a good time to tell me he had a felony warrant. I ran him and sure enough he had one.

I felt bad for her so I started to pound on the front door of this barbershop. I knew he probably wasn't going to answer so I yelled something about if he didn't open up I would report the barbershop to our problem properties unit for having someone sleeping overnight in the business.

Sure enough he comes to the door and opens it up. I immediately recognize him as a Janitor at one of the grocery stores I frequented while working midnight's, as it was the only thing open to get food. He was always really cool with me and seemed like a really hard working guy. He explains to me he has no key of hers and the only reason she is there is because she knows he has a warrant and she just wants him to go to jail. He said he planned on turning himself in soon but just wanted to get some things straightened out first with his kids.

Unfortunately I had already run his information on my car computer so I had no choice but to arrest him for the warrant. I felt so terrible but he was very understanding. I sit him in my patrol car and while another officer watches him I go and speak with her again. I tell her I wasn't able to get a key so she would have to find another way to get inside the house. She tells me that's ok she has a spare key....

I ask her for her information now and go run her and am praying to whatever God is out there that she also has any type of warrant as I was going to arrest her too. But she does not and she gets to go on her merry way.

On the way down to intake I ask the guy why he had to come to the door. Said it was his friends barbershop and he didn't want him to get in trouble over his drama. I felt so bad because I had to tell him I was just bluffing and none of that would have happened. Still feel terrible to this day.

dtns13

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.