How's the skin been???
POLL! 
Hi everyone!
So... how's it hangin???
1) Is the loose skin a problem for you or did you bounce back pretty well? Are you bothered by it?
I am really surprised I have a chicken neck now, I never expected that since I didn't feel like I carried a lot of weight there before. It is quite annoying. My tummy is hanging, which I totally expected, and my thighs are getting wrinkly. My upper arms are not horrible, but not good either. I have this yucky excess skin in my armpit region. It is bothering me a bit, but not a whole lot. Still would do this again in a heartbeat!!!
2) Are you going to consider any reconstructive surgery when you are finished with your weight loss? What would you consider doing or never consider doing? Why and/or why not? (money, risk of death, scars?)
I am pretty sure I'll get a tummy tuck. Three c-sections plus a predisposition to carrying weight in my belly have done a number on me!
I probably won't do much else, because I'm afraid to get too caught up in the pursuit of perfection that will never come, plus the cost, plus the risks. But you never know... the chicken neck is really on my nerves.
3) If you know anyone else who's had surgery and is further out than us, does some of the elasticity improve over time, or only get worse?
I don't really know the answer to this one. Looking forward to hear from you all. Hope you're all having a good week.
Love,
Sue
Hi everyone!
So... how's it hangin???
1) Is the loose skin a problem for you or did you bounce back pretty well? Are you bothered by it?
I am really surprised I have a chicken neck now, I never expected that since I didn't feel like I carried a lot of weight there before. It is quite annoying. My tummy is hanging, which I totally expected, and my thighs are getting wrinkly. My upper arms are not horrible, but not good either. I have this yucky excess skin in my armpit region. It is bothering me a bit, but not a whole lot. Still would do this again in a heartbeat!!!
2) Are you going to consider any reconstructive surgery when you are finished with your weight loss? What would you consider doing or never consider doing? Why and/or why not? (money, risk of death, scars?)
I am pretty sure I'll get a tummy tuck. Three c-sections plus a predisposition to carrying weight in my belly have done a number on me!
I probably won't do much else, because I'm afraid to get too caught up in the pursuit of perfection that will never come, plus the cost, plus the risks. But you never know... the chicken neck is really on my nerves.
3) If you know anyone else who's had surgery and is further out than us, does some of the elasticity improve over time, or only get worse?
I don't really know the answer to this one. Looking forward to hear from you all. Hope you're all having a good week.
Love,
Sue 
well i have lost 85 pounds and yes the skin is hanging. My face and neck look great!! My legs, well yuck, my stomach OH YES a tummy tuck for sure!! But more than all that you can see now that i have horrible varicose veins!!! YUCK!!!!! Went to see about getting them fixed!!! 2000$$ and thats with insurance uggg... so im not wearing shorts ever!!! Good luck~~~
Boy, is it hangin!!! lol I've lost 75 lbs. and my arms are the worst!! I'm pretty sure that I could "fly" if I flapped these "bat wings" hard enough. lol
My legs are pretty gross, too. Lots of flab. Actually my stomach is not as bad as I thought it would be at this point. Of course, I'm only half-way there... My doctor does the tummy tuck "free" after you get stabilized. I also "heard" that one of the hospitals in the area will do your arms and legs free if you will donate the skin to their burn unit. That's a no-brainer! I sure don't want to keep the stuff!! I'm not positive that I will do all of that though. The cost will be the biggest barrier, and at my age (49), I'm not really that vain. I've never worn shorts or a swim suit anyway, because of my weight, so I don't know if I will want to go through all that "pain". I guess I'll just have to wait and see when I get there. I think that my arms are going to bother me the most. I would like to at least wear short-sleeved blouses in the summer without all of that "hanging down"!! I know one girl who is pretty young (30ish) who had a boob job and a tummy tuck... But her mom, who is 50ish hasn't had to have anything done!!! I guess it just all depends on how you "feel" about the whole situation. Thanks, Sue for another fun poll!!!
Hi everyone,
Loose skin yes I have it. My tummy is hanging and is looking wrinkled, it is improving a little. My thighs which I didn't think would be an issue, is. I am hoping with working with weights more this will also start to improve. I notice more lines on my face, I think it goes through periods because some days are better than others. I would also do this again in a heartbeat. People do say we have to give our skin a chance to catch up with our rapid weight loss, so that is what I am trying to keep in mind. I like the way I am looking with my clothes on, not so much with my close off. Yes I will be looking into getting a tummy tuck and possibly my boobs done.
Sonya
Its hanging!
I am surprised too with the turkey neck!
My stomach is not as bad as I thought, but will probably look into TT.
My boobs are really bad! I will look into a boob job.
My thighs are almost as big of a surprise as my turkey neck, but not sure
if I will look into a thigh lift... sounds horrible.
The issue with all of this is of course money, but also the fear of pushing the envelope to far. I have had many surgeries... gallbladder removal, hernia, endometriosis, appendix removal and RNY! To "pursue" surgery for looks ... I don't know.
Another big factor for me is that I don't do well on medication... that worries me.
I will wait to decide after I hit my goal... not quite half way there.
Karen
1) Is the loose skin a problem for you or did you bounce back pretty well? Are you bothered by it?
Answer: Yes loose skin is a problem for me.
Tummy: I have always had a big tummy due to the c-sections and all. Now is just hangs lower and is all jello like.
Arms: My arms are horrid looking no matter how much time I spend at the gym, but it is looking a lil bit better.
Legs: Well most of my leg looks great and shapely, except my thighs 
The best feeling is being able to sit in a straight backed chair and cross my legs without having to strain to keep them crossed.
Boobs: OMG, I used to have such nice luscious breasts. They were always so full and I had a ton of cleavage, not anymore! Now they are smaller, I went from a DDD to a plain D and now they sag, granted it was prolly my tummy holding them up before and I just never noticed but still 
~
2) Are you going to consider any reconstructive surgery when you are finished with your weight loss? What would you consider doing or never consider doing? Why and/or why not? (money, risk of death, scars?)
Answer: Hell yeah I am going to get plastics done! I even thought about calling the swan or something just to get it all done for free. I started saving for it before my actual surgery date in fact.
3) If you know anyone else who's had surgery and is further out than us, does some of the elasticity improve over time, or only get worse?
Answer: I know several people who are a few years out and they still have really loose skin, working out does help some but if you want a hard body you might just want to count on plastics.
Personally, I dont need a hard, tight body. I want one though. I work out several times a week in the gym and I have lost over 100 pounds and am feeling so good, I havent felt this way is ages and i want to look how I feel and that is like a hundred bucks.
Rachel
The best feeling is being able to sit in a straight backed chair and cross my legs without having to strain to keep them crossed.
Boobs: OMG, I used to have such nice luscious breasts. They were always so full and I had a ton of cleavage, not anymore! Now they are smaller, I went from a DDD to a plain D and now they sag, granted it was prolly my tummy holding them up before and I just never noticed but still ~
2) Are you going to consider any reconstructive surgery when you are finished with your weight loss? What would you consider doing or never consider doing? Why and/or why not? (money, risk of death, scars?)
Answer: Hell yeah I am going to get plastics done! I even thought about calling the swan or something just to get it all done for free. I started saving for it before my actual surgery date in fact.
3) If you know anyone else who's had surgery and is further out than us, does some of the elasticity improve over time, or only get worse?
Answer: I know several people who are a few years out and they still have really loose skin, working out does help some but if you want a hard body you might just want to count on plastics.
Personally, I dont need a hard, tight body. I want one though. I work out several times a week in the gym and I have lost over 100 pounds and am feeling so good, I havent felt this way is ages and i want to look how I feel and that is like a hundred bucks.
Rachel 
Hey Sue,
1. My skin has not bounced back yet. My face and neck are no problem at all. My upper arms are pretty flabby, but nothing i can't deal with. My tummy is probably the worst, i knew to expect that though. Then there are my thighs...i was totally not expecting them to look this bad, but they are pretty flabby too. I'm using a bike for my legs and weights for my arms, but nothing for my stomach yet.
2. As for reconstructive surgery, i'm sure that i will eventually have a tummy tuck and quite possibly get a boob job too. It will really just depend on how i look when i get to my goal and how much my body changes from exercise.
3. I do have a friend that is 4 1/2 months ahead of me and her skin is hanging too, not as much as mine is, but i'm sure that has to do with the fact that she was not overweight for a long time and she is a few years younger than i am.
I've been thinking that maybe this was a taboo question that no one wanted to address - glad you did Sue! Everyone has spoken and been happy about the losses but no one has openly talked about the hanging skin, yuck. I do notice the 'turkey' neck more in person than in pictures - I try to do neck exercises (stretching). Doesn't bother me that much. I'm with Pamela - my worse problem are my arms - they were big and now they are starting to hang even more and the skin is getting slowly wrinkly. My trainer works my arms alot but I don't think that will matter much - I do notice that I can feel and see my shoulder bones or is it chest bones? I can feel the knuckles and I can cross my legs a bit beter than before. My stomach has decreased quite a bit and I'm happy about that - it's giggly but not that bad and my thighs to. My boobs are okay thus far. I still have a ways to go before deciding on Plastics however I know that that is very costly and Painful - not sure I want to do that. My worse case scenario to do plastics would be my boobs - I couldn't stand having them to deflated if it happened. I pray that with all exercising, crunches, walking and slow loss I can be "stable". I'm taking donations now - if anyone is interested!
Oh My! The REAL question on everyone's mind has been asked finally! I was going to do it this weekend because I found something that is "supposed" to be a miracle worker.
I bought this stuff called StriVectin; see my link below: http://www.strivectin.com/
I was at the Clinique counter begging for advice on what to do with my new turkey neck that has sprouted in the past two weeks. They pointed me to this stuff even though it is not from Clinique. So I bought it for $135.00 (less than plastics right?) and then I went to GNC to buy my shakes for the month. It just so happens that they have it too! Same price - except I get 20% off the first 7 days of the month so it was about $105 AND they have a return policy of 30 days, used or unused. So I figure I can't lose because if it doesn't work, I will get my money back and if it does work I will buy more and still cost less than plastics. I started using it Monday evening. I can't tell a difference yet but I will let you know. I have threatened to take close up pictures of gross tummy and arms and neck to see if a difference really takes place. Their add banner says "Better than Botox" and is supposed to help with the face lines so I figure it will help with turkey neck, stretch marks and maybe tighten skin a bit. You have to use it three times a day every day. I have been using it twice a day because of my busy schedule and I can't see stripping down in the bathroom at work to put on my "miracle lotion" everyday.
Anyway... to answer your questions
1. Loose skin was expected but I have been fighting it with lotion and baby oil in the shower and exfoliation. Not much good but who knows if it would have been worse. I don't get enough exercise with the weights for toning and that may help so I am going to start that ... soon! My neck is enough turkey that I notice it every day but others haven't unless I point it out. My arms are weird because I can see definition but then below that I have flapping wings that my son tries to shake because he thinks that is funny. My stomach looks better than I expected but is still hanging. I almost wi**** would really hang so I can get TT covered because I hear insurance covers it if it covers your privates entirely. My thighs are fighting the good fight but would do well with a lower body lift. My butt is disappearing and I am not sure if that is a good thing. My breasts make me cry. I went from a 42F to a 36D and they look like sharpei puppies when I try to push them up. There is no full breast anymore. I was known for my great breasts. Now they are sad sacks of change. I look really good from my elbow to my fingertips though!
2. I am definitely considering plastic surgery. Hopefully under insurance but I also heard about the donate your skin to burn victims / science. Hmmn... gotta wonder if people have actually asked for their skin back? I would consider Lower Body Lift (if possible that would be my first choice) or Tummy Tuck. I WILL get a boob job of some sort... minimized with lift I think would be covered. I could handle a C cup if they were perky again. I am trying to avoid the arm surgery because those scars are horrible but if I am stuck with batwings no matter what I try... I will take the scars. Facelift: not sure about that. I like my face but I am not happy with the turkey neck. I'll decide on that in two years.
3. I know a BUNCH of people that have had the surgery and their arms look GREAT even though they didn't have plastics. I haven't asked to see the tummys of people but my friend from work showed me her tummy tuck scars and she is about to get a boob job (implants/lift). I know that she has not had her arms done and they look normal (unlike mine). I don't know if my skin got stretched too far to bounce back but I will continue to saturate my skin with lotion twice a day. I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worst with the elasticity bouncing back.
Laura RNY 9/7/04 330/216/140?
I was known for my great breasts. Now they are sad sacks of change. I look really good from my elbow to my fingertips though!
2. I am definitely considering plastic surgery. Hopefully under insurance but I also heard about the donate your skin to burn victims / science. Hmmn... gotta wonder if people have actually asked for their skin back? I would consider Lower Body Lift (if possible that would be my first choice) or Tummy Tuck. I WILL get a boob job of some sort... minimized with lift I think would be covered. I could handle a C cup if they were perky again. I am trying to avoid the arm surgery because those scars are horrible but if I am stuck with batwings no matter what I try... I will take the scars. Facelift: not sure about that. I like my face but I am not happy with the turkey neck. I'll decide on that in two years.
3. I know a BUNCH of people that have had the surgery and their arms look GREAT even though they didn't have plastics. I haven't asked to see the tummys of people but my friend from work showed me her tummy tuck scars and she is about to get a boob job (implants/lift). I know that she has not had her arms done and they look normal (unlike mine). I don't know if my skin got stretched too far to bounce back but I will continue to saturate my skin with lotion twice a day. I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worst with the elasticity bouncing back.
Laura RNY 9/7/04 330/216/140? Most Active
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