For The Folks Worried About "Loose Skin" After WLS

Good Morning Everyone,

I see this topic come up a lot. In the past, I spoke at a support group where a woman who was on high blood pressure meds, diabetic, had a heart attack, could barely walk from her car to the meeting, had to wear a CPAP every night, raise her hand after my comments and said she was so very worried about her loose skin that will be there after she looses the weight. she admitted to us that the thought of having excess skin was worse, in her mind, than having those co-morbities. Since I have heard this topic a lot as of late, I thought I would share my experiences with this...

I am coming up on 3 years post-op and I was 6'2" and weighed 400 pounds...


I knew that if I got to goal, the skin was something I would have to deal with. BUT, the reason I had WLS was to be here for my kids, and be able to watch them grow up, so I focused on that. I started walking on the treadmill, that turned into a jog, jog turned into a run, next thing you know, I was running marathons, traithlons, and found myself pushing the limits of my body and began running 50-100 mile trail runs in a day, and tons of other endurance stuff. All the while, totting around LOTS of extra skin. Here is a picture of what I looked like WITH my shirt on (Most people did not know I had a lot of skin, but I did)...



I had a lot of skin on my chest, where my love handles were, and on my legs. In order for me to compete in these events and Ironman Triathlons, I wore, as I am wearing in the 2 pictures above, compression of course, but underneath the shirt, that you cannot see, I wore a lycra-type back brace / slimming belt. I wore this for the same reason a woman wears a bra, because IT HURT to run without it with the skin flapping around. So, here are some pictures of what I looked like underneath the compression gear...


The reason why I wanted to share this, is because I DID NOT let my skin keep me back from persuing my dreams. I am living proof that diet and excercise cannot really change the reality of loose skin. On a typical week, I run 40-50 miles, swim 6-8 miles, and ride my bike 150-175 miles and in these pictures above, even though you cannot tell, I was a little over 10% body fat. The reality is, most of us will have to get the skin removed by Plastic Surgery. I was bummed with this fact because I knew that with the cost of Plastic Surgery, and the fact that my wife stays at home with our 3 kids, financially, PS was not realistically in my future, so I just kept plugging away, chasing my dreams and putting in blood sweat and tears. I got word that a Plastic Surgeon (Dr. Affifi) in Newport Beach, CA was intrigued by my story. So after hearing about my journey, my goals, and my life, she decided to take me on as a patient and donated her services. AN ABSOLUTE BLESSING, and something I could never have dreamed of happening.

Fast forward the tape from Jan 2008 @ 400 pounds, to June 2010 when I had my first round of plastic surgery whi*****luded an Extended Tummy Tuck, Hernia repair, Male Chest Reconstruction, and Pubic Lift, I could not be happier. I am smiling in all of my post-op pics because of the tremendous gift / blessing I recieved. To be honest, I was VERY scared about the pain associated with surgery. In reality, on a scale of 1-10 on the pain chart, I never got above a 4, and I stopped taking pain meds the 2nd day after my surgery. I recovered VERY quickly, more quickly than ANYONE my Plastic Surgeon had ever seen, and it was attributed to my great cardiovascular fitness. As a matter of fact 15 weeks after Plastic Surgery, I competed in a Half Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile ride, and 13.1 mile run) and took 3rd in my division. 

I hope this reaches at least one person who is more worried, and affraid of the extra skin issues that typically accompany WLS, than the co-morbidities that are taking years off of your life, and not let that keep you from seeking the life you have always wanted and dreamed about. Things have a way of working themselves out, and of all the things I have learned, it is this... Good things happen to those who work hard. I am preparing to go in for the second and final round of Plastic Surgery in February to finish the Lower Body Lift, which I will post updated pictures on. Don't let ANYTHING keep you from gaining your health and fitness! In closing, what good is adding years to your life, if you don't add life to your years? Here are a few post-op pics... Have an awesome day!

Your story is an inspiration to us all!  You look great and good luck in your future!

Thanks for sharing your story!

I have just lost 100 lbs and still dropping.  I may have to have a skin reduction as well.  I appreciate your post.  Was the surgery painful?

JB

On a scale of 1-10 for pain. Never worse than a 4, and I stopped taking pain meds 2 days post-op. Thank you for your comments and I wish you luck on the rest of your journey...

I'm not worried about the pain as much as I am about the cost.  Do you mind me asking how much your plastic surgery has/will cost?

Thanks in advance and congratulations! 

Some will also look similar to this after losing the weight:

http://www.yourplasticsurgeryguide.com/art14/photos/fatroll. jpg

I have a friend who was around your size when he began losing through cardio and nutrition.  He successfully lost over 200 pounds (his frame is smaller than yours, so I'm guessing his BMI was higher originally).  When he got down around goal, he looked great in clothes but his tummy did the little pouch/panni/foldy/wrinkly thing.  He was SO FRUSTRATED.  Months of weight training reduced it but did not eliminate it.  Loose Skin happens when we do it "the right way," too!

Depending on how large the woman at your support group is, the skin issue could be the bane of her existance at goal weight.  Some people DO indeed go through traumatizing stuff with folds and folds of skin (I'll just point you over to google images and leave it at that, it ain't pretty).  Still, for the vast majority of us, life will be 100% or more improved after surgery when we approach goal, and flappies are not only fixable, but they're little more than a mild embarassment for most of us.

Thank you for sharing the pictures.  I'm glad I didn't eat first though... surgical pics give me twitches.

Glad I didn't show the ones of the 11 pounds of skin the lopped off!

THEY GAVE YOU PICTURES OF THAT?!!?

How long were your drains kept in?

Well, I kinda asked for the pics! I am sick like that... I got the 2 in my chest out 4 days after. One of the 3 drains in abdomen out 1 week post op... another removed at 10 days, and the last out 20 days post op.