Personality Change?

I was wondering if anyone has heard of this or experienced it...  I have heard that some people can experience personality changes after surgery.  Not necessarily from lifestyle changes/depression...but, like chemical?  Some people turn into a '"different" person??

In the first six months or so there are a lot of hormones released into the system that were stored in the fat cells..... and people react differently to the raging hormones..... seeming to have a personality change....this is temporary, just an artifact of having too many hormones running through the system.

Yes, people who have WLS do sometimes experience personality changes but it has nothing to do with chemical changes... it is related to experiencing life in new ways without the weight.  Some overweight people who are very quiet/shy because of their weight may become much more outgoing once the weight comes off and they find a sense of self-confidence that they had before.  Some people who used humor (the "jolly" fat person) to be accepted despite their weight np longer need to hide behind the humor once the weight is gone.  Some people may respond to many years of being silent and meek by becoming very assertive after the weigth is gone... some can become quite aggressive because of anger about the way they were treated when they were obese.  Some people "settled" for a romantic relationship that they were not particularly happy in because deep down they felt it was the best they could do because of the weight... and once the weight is gone, they no longer want to "settle"... they want a relationship that truly makes them happy... so they seek various ways to end the relationship.  Some people, especially if they were overweight as adolescents and young adults and had limited or NO dating experience, become extremely sexually active once the weight comes off.  Their are LOTS of ways that people's personalities can change after surgery... some fo the positive and some of them not so positive!

Lora

You know more about this stuff than me

Glad you are here and have so much to contribute to this forum!

The beauty of this forum is the sum of the parts...  I presented a response to long-term personality change (because that is what I deal with and know about) and you presented a response to short-term (hormonal) personality change... and both are very common!

Lora

Indeed, that IS the beauty of this place!

Overall, I feel like I'm very much the same person I always was. But I was more sensitive those first six months.

wow! who knew.

I don't think my personality changed that much, no.

Hmm...I guess there are several reasons a person's personality can seem to change after surgery.  I am early out but have lose enough weight that I am feeling much better and a friend of mine told me the other day that I was so much nicer to her and others since my surgery and that now I always have  smile when she sees me and before I looked sad all the time.  And for the most part, I was.  I felt about half alive.  Just going through the necessary motions for the sake of my loved ones.  I was tired and miserible and walking around in a constant diabetic high sugar stupor.  It was tiring and sucked all my energy away from me and that will make some people miserible and when now that I no longer feel that way, I do have many many reasons to be thankful and to smile now.  This surgery gave me my life back!

Over 10 years ago, I dieted and loss close to 100 pounds. Yes, my personality changed.  This knucklehead (me) actually thought I was skinny.  I was so happy, bubbly, bouncy and thrilled!!!  Yes, I was a brand new me!

Then the weight came back with a vengenance because my fat eating habits continued.

This time, following GBS, I think I learned my lesson.  NO, my personality has not changed.  I may be more subdued and focused on health.  I changed jobs, so no one knows my previous status.  Its good as there is no discussions about my significant weight loss.

My personality has not changed because I believe I learned a very valuable lesson.