I don't think I'll ever have plastics

I agree, and I know it probably won't be perfect and I will still be loose, especially in my stomach, but I am eager to replace all the fat in my body with muscle!

You may be pleasantly surprised. I was/have been.

You aren't alone in not wanting plastics. I really have no desire, but also, like yourself, I have other financial obligations that are more of a priority to me at this time in my life.

I think it really says a lot about you that you want to make sure you help your grandmother.

In the end it's all about what you want.

Having plastics or not is a very personal decision.

I'm 71 years old, lost 100 pounds after having had a VSG, and have maintained all my weight loss for the last year and a half. I probably won't be doing any plastics either.

Admittedly, PS is a little term for a lotta, lotta procedures that one might (or might not) opt for. But the many posts I've read by those who've had plastics make it abundantly clear that PS recovery can be a booger -- and often tougher than WLS recovery. The recovery time and the potential for complications, not to mention occasional disappointing results, seem much greater than with WLS. That's not to say there aren't very happy PS recipients out there. But there are also some unhappy recipients.

A more specific PS concern I have about myself relates to breast surgery. I've never been pregnant, which raises my odds of developing breast cancer (see https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/h ormones/reproductive-history-fact-sheet ). Perhaps my concern is born of ignorance, but I imagine that treatment/surgery for breast cancer might be more complicated with breast implants than without. If I wind up with breast cancer I'd prefer to get fake boobies AFTER cancer treatment.

Still ... if I could wave a magic wand and have the ideal PS benefits (and no PS complications) I'd choose a neck lift and brachioplasty.

If you ever lose to a weight close to a normal weight, Plastic surgery will not because of vanity. It will be medically necessary for your quality of life.

About 60% of my arm is hanging skin. I already have nice defined muscles. It is impossible for me to build enough muscle to fill that amount of skin. If I did what would I wear? I am already in a situation where clothes fit me everywhere but the arms. If I made my arms bigger I would look like a freak show. What would I look like with dress size 28 arms but a 28 inch waist? If it was even possible to fill them with muscle but it isn't. My thighs are about 40% skin. My entire stomach is just playdough that I can lift and mold and move all around.

I really can't imagine living another 40 or 50 years trying to tuck this skin and hide it and more importantly find ways to support it so it doesn't HURT me.

You haven't lost enough weight to know what real loose skin is like, get back to us in another 150 pounds lost and let us know how you feel then. Your goal is to lose 325 pounds, is that a fictitious goal or a real goal?. I have lost around 180 and I am about 1/2 the size I used to be and the amount of skin I have is amazing. You are still super morbidly obese. I am not judging I am just being honest. If you ever get under 250 pounds, I think you are going to feel very different about skin, and it won't just be an optional thing or an abstract idea.

Fat people are always obsessed with loose skin but most of them have never even got to the point they actually have it. I still have another 20 to go, then I can seriously evaluate my loose skin. If you aren't even close to a healthy normal BMI it is a moot conversation.

We will see if you are right. Whether I change my mind about wanting it doesn't matter though since the initial idea of the post is being able to afford it vs using that money to provide a better life for a family member and myself. I do find your post rather judgemental though and saying that you are just being honest doesn't change that. I think it is important to start accepting my body and what it will be like before it gets there not when it gets there. Good luck with your journey and wish you all the best you have done amazing.

My goal isn't to be judgmental it is to be honest. I can't really control how other people interpret my words, no matter what my intentions are.

If you are successful, you are going to be in a class with very few people.

Most people that are super morbidly obese never ever get to a normal BMI or anywhere close. You aren't going to get many responses or opinions from other people anywhere close to your start weight.

Almost no one that responded to your post is anywhere near your start weight. The amount of skin that someone who starts in the 200s compared to someone that starts much higher is completely different.

Plastic surgery is more affordable every day. It is also very likely that you could have it covered by insurance.

I LOVED my fat body. If I could still be fat and be healthy I would still be fat. I had no issues with how I looked at all. My WLS experience has been entirely about health. Skin removal is going to be about maintaining my health, not vanity.

You are right, my weight loss journey is much different than many of the people who have commented. I weighed a lot more to start than many of the people posting. I am sure you mean well with your comment, I don't doubt that. It is just that I can't help but feel that you are just sort of very negative about my weight loss situation. Anyway, I do know you have good intentions even if I misinterpreted the tone of your words, thank you for your advice and some insight about how things might be later on. I do plan to get to a healthy BMI, and the fact that most morbidly obese people never seem to, doesn't matter to me. I am not them. I might not get it done in a year (I probably definitely won't), but that won't stop me from continuing until I'm healthy.

If I come across as negative it is because a lot of my journey has been fairly negative. All the people that had surgery when I did or before, people that were larger than me and smaller. I have passed them all up. They are all still plus sized or no where near their goal and regaining.

Being successful at something that other people are not that successful at brings out a lot of feelings and reactions from people that you don't expect.

Work out buddies don't want to work out because they can't keep up. Friends don't want to go shopping because we don't shop in the same stores.

When you are super morbidly obese no on ever expects you to get to normal sizes. Not even doctors. When you do the reaction are fairly shocking.

Even in the WLS world there are very few people that can relate to my starting place and where I am now.

It has been a lonely solitary experience that just seems to be going further down that exclusionary path...

I've read the same thing - that about 10% of SMO people make it down to a normal weight - but there seem to be a fair number of us on OH. In fact, I think most of that 10% must be on here! You're in good company...