Saddle Bag

Hello Everyone, My question is am I the only one carrying a saddle bag around my mid section? My stomach is so grosse. I mean I do not regret this wls but this saddle bag I am carrying is a problem. It just hangs there getting in the way.I wear a girdle so I donot look so grosse in my clothes but I am sure if I got rid of this saddle bag I'd go down about four pant sizes. The rest of my body has shrunk and the skin isn't so bad except in the middle. It's like all the fat in my body has moved to my tummy (UGH) Please any advice would be greatly appreciated. Sit ups are almost impossible but I try. I really hope I donot have to carry this bag over another year before I can have it removed. Does anyone know if we can have plastic surgery earily.I mean I am under the impression we should wait at least two years and be at goal. The thing is I'd be at goal if this fourty so pound saddle bag was gone!!! I thankyou in advance. I truely love this board , it has provided me with so much support and advice and alot of laughs as well.This surgery was truely a blessing and thank God everyday , I also thank him for all of you. May he bless us and watch over us. Take Care, Trisha

Trisha, I also have the saddle bag, and I plan on having it removed after a year. I will be close enough to goal by a year, and that's good enough for me. I know it seems as though it's 40 lbs or so, but in actuality, it is really only between 5-10 lbs. I definatley agree that having it removed would result in going down several pants sizes. Barb

Hello Barb, I am currently in a 18 and feel if this were removed I'd easlily fit into a 12.My legs are so skinny and so is the rest of me compared to my tummy. I want to lose some more weight so I will be patient and work out more. I mean waiting another year isnt that bad, considering I was super morbidly obese for 10 years. So I will be more patient and a little less critical of my body image. Take Care Trisha

Trisha, I heard a plastic surgeon speak at a local support group meeting recently. He will not do a tummy tuck unless the person has been at a stabilized weight for at least 6 months (some surgeons say 3 months). They want to be sure you are at the weight you want to be at and have stabilized. Otherwise if you lose more weight, the effects of the tummy tuck will not be the same. He also recommended that any one planning to have children should wait for the tummy tuc****il afterwards. If the tummy tuck is done too early in our progress, it would need to be done again later and he does not recommend that at all. The hanging skin can differ for each person depending on how overweight they were and how long they were overweight. The longer the person was overweight, the less elasticity the skin has. After losing 119 lbs I, too, have loose skin --- tummy, upper arms, thighs. I try to exercise each day, drink lots of fluids to minimize it along the way as I lose more weight. Exercise does help. Mary

Hello Mary, Thankyou for replying, I do love your posts. I will start exercisng more and increase my fluids. I do want to lose about another 70 pounds, so I will be patient and work out harder. My tummy isn't hanging loose skin it is hanging and mushy fat. I look pregnant when I wear my girdle, but I still look a great deal better than before wls and I feel a thousand times better. Thanks Again and conmtinued success. Take Care Trisha

Trisha, I've been looking into things a little myself lately, and what I've also seen is that the surgeons really do want you at a stable weight for a while before they consider it. I've been having problems with my neck and shoulders that disappeared when I couldn't run for 2 weeks after gall bladder surgery. I know that these problems are related to the boobs and loose skin bouncing when I run, but I'm not yet stabilized, so it wouldn't do me much good to try to have surgery yet. I'm planning on doing a triathlon next summer, and I think what I'm going to do is try to have whatever I can get approved for after that. Sooooo, it looks like I'm going to have my friend the loose skin around for a while. I know it doesn't help much, but a good surgeon wouldn't touch you yet. Linn

Hello Linn, Wow a Triathlon....thats great. Yes the loose skin will be around for at least another year it seems. I have gotten some good advice on exercise so I will enter the gym and try that until I can have it removed.I truely hope I didn't sound ungrateful for this wls because I am. Life before wls was not very fun. Now I am able to do so much more and feel a thousand times better. How are you training for the triathlon? I'd love to do that but I think I hurt myself if I did I am very clumsy. Take Care, Trisha

Trisha, I already "train" by running, but I've just bought a swimsuit and will start swimming. There are several good websites that give training schedules, so I'm going to try doing one of those. I wanted to do the running first because I was the most afraid of that. I'm not a very good swimmer, so I thought that as soon as I felt comfortable running, I'd concentrate on that for a while this winter. I love to mountain bike, so getting into that will be last on the priority list when I'm only a couple months away from the race. I'm clumsy also, so I just started slowly. I used a walk-to-jog program to get into the running. I started by walking 4 minutes and jogging for 2. Now I run 3-5 miles 4-5 days/week. It did take a little over 4 months to get to that point, though. By the way, I didn't think you sounded ungrateful for your surgery, just a little frustrated by the skin. Like I said, I feel your pain, and it looks like we just need to be patient for a while longer. Take care, Linn

Hi Trisha, I know exactly what your talking about with the loose and flabby skin. I have what I call wings under my arms and my leggs are mushy and my tummy too. I heard several things too like most likely insurance will cover it if medically needed. Like when you get a rash under the stomach or breasts let them know( your surgeon) so it can be noted in your chart. I heard the best thing is to wait as long as possible a year and a half to 2 years is worth waiting for. At least for me it's getting cooler so I will get long sleeves but now I am down 9 sizes and can actually put on old pants and shorts that I couldn't get past my knees for at least 4 years. The surgery was worth it and I am so glad I did it, and would do it again in a heart beat. Be patient and good Luck, Jill

Hello Jill, Patient is what I am going to have to be. Thanks for the advice I have an appointment so see my doctor for the rash under my tummy. I know this was to be expected I went from a size 34 to a size 18. It is just everywhere else on my body is melting, my tummy is to but not as quickly. My stomach my weigh 50 or 60 pounds. Even so I am so much better than I was before. Take Care Trisha