Curious about excess skin
Hello,
I am hoping to have WLS and have scheduled my first consult with Dr. Macik. I have not quite decided that he is going to be my doctor, but it's the first step to determining which doctor is going to be best for me.
I am curious about the amount of excess skin that one would have after losing a large amount of weight. Can anyone tell me about there experience with that? Is plastic surgery always needed afterwards? Does exercise plan determine how well your skin will " snap back" per se?
I am hoping to have WLS and have scheduled my first consult with Dr. Macik. I have not quite decided that he is going to be my doctor, but it's the first step to determining which doctor is going to be best for me.
I am curious about the amount of excess skin that one would have after losing a large amount of weight. Can anyone tell me about there experience with that? Is plastic surgery always needed afterwards? Does exercise plan determine how well your skin will " snap back" per se?
Hi. I used Dr. Macik. He is a good surgeon. He doesn't say much but he will answer your questions. Northside employees use him for their surgeries so he must be good. Excess skin is different for everyone. You may want surgery but it may be too expensive. Not always covered under insurance. I wish you were at our Southside South Group meeting last night. We had a special speaker who is a plastic surgeon and she does many weight loss patients. If you have a lot to loose and you have a lot of hanging skin, then it might be bothersome for you. She had a lot of photos. Sometimes when the skin is removed or tightened up, you loose a lot more weight because they remove a bunch of skin. It does leave scars so it is a personal choice.
Linda
Linda
This is in reference to the excess skin. about the easiest way to understand about the excess skin is to think of a balloon.
The longer it has been blow up the less luckily it is to go back to its original shape. Your body is the same way. It is all according to how much you have to loose and how long you have been over weight...Good Luck
It is worth it, even with the excess skin...They do plastic surgery for that
The longer it has been blow up the less luckily it is to go back to its original shape. Your body is the same way. It is all according to how much you have to loose and how long you have been over weight...Good Luck
It is worth it, even with the excess skin...They do plastic surgery for that
The GREATEST POWER we have is the power to FORGIVE. Use your power daily......
It differs from person to person. Some points to consider are:
Do you already have excess skip pre-op? For instance, I already had loose skin on my lower abdomen from having my son 17 yrs ago. Pre-op I resigned to the fact that it is not going away, and I will likely need a tummy tuck down the road. I am still praying for a miracle though.
Are you going to exercise post op? Muscle to a certain extent will bulk up and fill in the blanks. For some people it works, but for others no amount of exercise will correct the loose skin. Even if you have plastics exercise is going to make you look better.
Do you have more melanin in your skin? People w/ darker complexions tend to have thicker skin and it is more resilient.
Are you going to eat your protein and take vitamins. This will help with elasticity. Your skin needs these nutrients to heal and regenerate itself.
Are you young? The older you are the more likely your skin will not bounce back. As we get older our skin loses elasticity even without wls. Add losing over 100 pounds into the equation and figure the results.
How much weight are you going to loose. If you loose 200 lbs, then you would obviously have more loose skin than if you loose 75 pounds.
Have you lost and gained, lost and gained, lost and gained... in the past? This damages your skin's elasticity and you would have that strike against you too.
I would venture to say most people who lose massive amts of weight by surgery or diet will have some loose skin, although I can't figure out how those Biggest Loser people look so darned good. If someone can tell me their secret I sure would appreciate it!
The amt of excess skin would vary from person to person. Whether you want to have surgery to remove the excess skin would be up to you. Some people by choice or because of finances choose to just wear restrictive undergarments to camouflage it and keep the skin from rubbing and causing rashes.
Once you get involved in a good support system, you will meet a lot of post ops. Some people look so good you can hardly tell they were ever fat and others really have a lot of loose skin. There really is no set rule to how your body will be.
There are some great books at the library about plastics after wls. Also if you google you can find links to plastic surgeons and look at their before and afters. It is mind boggling! I am praying I don't look like some of those pics, but if I do, I will just have to deal with it! It sucks to think I'll be tiny, but will be too ashamed to undress in front of anybody because I'll look gross. I guess that's just one of the trade offs of the surgery.
Do you already have excess skip pre-op? For instance, I already had loose skin on my lower abdomen from having my son 17 yrs ago. Pre-op I resigned to the fact that it is not going away, and I will likely need a tummy tuck down the road. I am still praying for a miracle though.
Are you going to exercise post op? Muscle to a certain extent will bulk up and fill in the blanks. For some people it works, but for others no amount of exercise will correct the loose skin. Even if you have plastics exercise is going to make you look better.
Do you have more melanin in your skin? People w/ darker complexions tend to have thicker skin and it is more resilient.
Are you going to eat your protein and take vitamins. This will help with elasticity. Your skin needs these nutrients to heal and regenerate itself.
Are you young? The older you are the more likely your skin will not bounce back. As we get older our skin loses elasticity even without wls. Add losing over 100 pounds into the equation and figure the results.
How much weight are you going to loose. If you loose 200 lbs, then you would obviously have more loose skin than if you loose 75 pounds.
Have you lost and gained, lost and gained, lost and gained... in the past? This damages your skin's elasticity and you would have that strike against you too.
I would venture to say most people who lose massive amts of weight by surgery or diet will have some loose skin, although I can't figure out how those Biggest Loser people look so darned good. If someone can tell me their secret I sure would appreciate it!
The amt of excess skin would vary from person to person. Whether you want to have surgery to remove the excess skin would be up to you. Some people by choice or because of finances choose to just wear restrictive undergarments to camouflage it and keep the skin from rubbing and causing rashes.
Once you get involved in a good support system, you will meet a lot of post ops. Some people look so good you can hardly tell they were ever fat and others really have a lot of loose skin. There really is no set rule to how your body will be.
There are some great books at the library about plastics after wls. Also if you google you can find links to plastic surgeons and look at their before and afters. It is mind boggling! I am praying I don't look like some of those pics, but if I do, I will just have to deal with it! It sucks to think I'll be tiny, but will be too ashamed to undress in front of anybody because I'll look gross. I guess that's just one of the trade offs of the surgery.
**** I AM AN OH SUPPORT GROUP LEADER ****
WHY I CHOSE DS: No dumping. Highest percentage of weight loss, Best long term results, Won't regain weight! Eat normal sized meals, 96% diabeties, 90% high blood pressure, 80% sleep apnea cured. I 
MY DS!
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Thank you so mucj for the insight. I think my issue is that I have been looking at all these before and after pictures. Of course, the after pictures look awesome, but it raises the question if the end results are with or without plastics.
Thank you for mentioning " The Biggest Loser". I commend all the contestants for making the choice to better themselves. It gives me the impression that continous excercise post-op will result in less unflattering excess skin.
We shall see..........
Thank you for mentioning " The Biggest Loser". I commend all the contestants for making the choice to better themselves. It gives me the impression that continous excercise post-op will result in less unflattering excess skin.
We shall see..........
Hello,
I had Gastric Bypass 8 1/2 years ago. I was 400 lbs. I also had all the redundant skin removed by the plastic surgeon that did the support group at the South Side support group meeting. Marisa Lawrence is AWESOME! I fought the insurance company and won to have the redundant skin removed. . You can read about how I did it on my blog if you like. www.gingerrock.blogspot.com
I must say that even if I didn't have the redundant skin removed, I would have rather lost the weight and lived with the excess skin rather than stay 400 lbs.
Good luck with your journey and if you have any questions you can contact me.
Ginger
I had Gastric Bypass 8 1/2 years ago. I was 400 lbs. I also had all the redundant skin removed by the plastic surgeon that did the support group at the South Side support group meeting. Marisa Lawrence is AWESOME! I fought the insurance company and won to have the redundant skin removed. . You can read about how I did it on my blog if you like. www.gingerrock.blogspot.com
I must say that even if I didn't have the redundant skin removed, I would have rather lost the weight and lived with the excess skin rather than stay 400 lbs.
Good luck with your journey and if you have any questions you can contact me.
Ginger
Open RNY 3/27/01 400 lbs - 170lb. Please visit my blog at www.gingerrock.blogspot.com. You can also find me on facebook www.facebook.com/GingerRock and Twitter www.twitter.com/GingerRock
~Ginger~ 
I'm six months out and used Dr. Macik... can't say enough great things... he is there for you. I have lost 85 pnds and feel wonderful
Skin, well it is different for everyone... age, amount of wt loss etc etc. For me I'll need my arms and probably just a tummy tuck.
WLS surgery was priceless for me and if I have some skin so be it...
Good luck and keep in touch
CC
Last game was a disappointment. "Mr. Dependable" ( Reed) let us down. He better get it together! And dont get me started on #23. Been fussing about him all week. Come back Troy, we need you!
My appt with Dr. Macik is on 10/22. Thursdays are best for me, but 10/1 and 10/8 I have to take my stepfather for radiation treatment.
My appt with Dr. Macik is on 10/22. Thursdays are best for me, but 10/1 and 10/8 I have to take my stepfather for radiation treatment.
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