excess skin

i know this isnt what anybody wants to hear, but it's a concern of mine. i'm fat. i'm obese. etc. but i've been this way all my life! i'm sad about it, very depressed about it, and it's preventing me from living my life. but at the Same Time, i'm used to it! it's familiar to me, this fat stretched out body. it's all i know. it aint pretty. but i look at all the before and after pics on plastic surgery sites and it really scares me. yes yes yes, this surgery is about getting healthy.. but you can't tell me those size 4 or 6 or 8 jeans dont make you friekn happy. i'm really afraid that i'll get this surgery and turn into mounds of excess skin and not be able to fix it. i'm confident i can eat right and exercise. i've already started to do that, (again) but nobody knows if your skin is going to shrink u*****t. i'm not about being perfect. but i do have a sense of style and i am well manicured, even at my weight. i just wonder if anyone had the surgery and was more grossed out by their after body than their fat body? i have an appointment tomorrow to see if i can even get the surgery. i'm nervous. about being denied, about actually being able to get it. everything. i just dont want to regret it. i've done my research. and some of the stuff i've found out really worries me. i'm single, 25. i dont wanna look like a 70 year old bag of skin. i'm looking into open RNY by the way. thankyou

Hi Sarah, Fist I want to ask why you want an open surgery??? LapRNY has a much shorter recovery in general and the scars are less which is helpful if you do have excess skin. The less in terms of previous scars the better for you. I am also single and have gone from a 32+ to now a 4/6. I didn't like my body before and I still have a hard time not seeing myself as fat. My skin looks like a sharpai and I have started reconstruction. Although my skin did retract very well and the rest you wouldn't know about but I knew. I was a size 8 and had 8 pounds of skin removed from my abdomen and back. Would I do it all again.....absolutely! I am healthier and happier. I am because of the 4/6 no. I feel better about me, but I admit I am still a work in progress. I wish you all the best. Just start a savings jar for your PS if you need it. Good Luck and shoot for the lap instead of the open.... Robin

hi Robin. thanks for responding. i was thinking open rny because i've read so many journals that talked about nicked intestines with lap rny and becoming septic and a couple deaths. it was scary. plus i'm not sure if the center of excellence does lap rny in my area. i need to go there because i have medicare. i cant believe you said you look like a sharpai! going from a 32 to a 4/6 is amazing. i'm a tight 18 right now. with a gut that hangs over my pants. it's cute. i've already started saving the 4grand for a tummy tuck! 8 lbs of skin is carazy! i'd wanna see it after they took it off.. haha. but i'm weird like that. where are your pics, girl?!

Hi again Sarah. I forget to mention that I feel the same way you do regarding Lap vs Open procedures. If someone is going to replumb my guts, I want them to do it with their HANDS and with good visibility of my entire abdomen, not just of the area-at-a-time the way it works with lap procedures. It's the same operation on the inside, just a bigger incision on the outside. I consider that a minimal tradeoff for a far higher degree of security--or at least for my peace of mind anyhow! When I was considering the RNY, I specifically picked a surgeon who eschewed lap procedures for those same reasons. I will be having the DS done open as well. The other thing that made the decision easy for me is that people who get lap procedures done, at least with the DS, are under anesthesia significantly longer most times than those with open procedures. I am a high risk for anesthesia and need the least possible amount and time of the stuff. I went through a total hysterectomy, open, over two years ago, that left me with a 14 in*****ision and around 50 staples, plus these two HUGE support suture things. The surgeon could have left off an inch or two on the incision, but the extra cut made things easier and got me off the table faster, so I don't begrudge him that at all. It was one heck of a mess of an operation, and all the docs tell me that in sheer terms of surgery, the DS will be easier on me than that was.

Hi Sarah, I had open RNY 2.5 years ago..started at 22/24 and now am a size 6 bottom, size 10 top because of the girls....yes, a size 6 makes ME feel wonderful.... now back to your post... First, remember, take one bite out of the apple at a time.... First, WLS, then maybe a year, two, three years down the road you MIGHT need some plastics...but you might not!!! Did I have plastics? yes, I did have a tummy tuck and then a second procedure of a breast lift....I dress very well, always did....could I have lived without the plastics and looked "normal"? yes, I could have and I still looked 125 lbs better than I did before the WLS...you get the idea.... bTW, I had 8.5 lbs of skin removed from my tummy...and I looked VERY nice before the tummy tuck...after the TT I looked amazing...but I could have lived without it if that was the way life went. Without the plastics I would not have been wearing my bikini or my midriff tops...but I wasn't wearing those before WLS either...so, I gained something by having WLS and I gained a little more by having plastics.... so, take one bite out of the apple....see your surgeon about WLS....take it slow, learn all your can...but you have a whole lot of apple before you need to worry about plastics.... Best wishes to you... RAE

thanks RAE. i am jumping the gun aren't i? thankyou for your input. i'm totally encouraged now. i want the surgery! congratulations on your journey! i'm so thrilled for you.

Hey Sarah...Im in the same place as you. Im terrified of the extra saggy skin, but you know what? I really dont think it can be any worse than this fat. I know I will need a tummy tuck and my upper arms done, but oh well. At least Ill be healthy and thin and able to do the things I enjoy. I saw you have tattoos and so do I. Im worried about how they will look after surgery. Im waiting to get my half sleeves done after I have my upper arm ps though. It sucks waiting, but I want them to look good. We are young though and that helps with the skin being elastic. Im sure we will look great after our surgeries! Meg

Sara, I personally have not lost enuff for saggy skin but my sister in law had the open RNY 3 years ago. She is 5ft even and weighed in at 426 pounds. Her docs have estimated that now, at 165 pounds she has approx 50 pounds of excess skin. She is saving for the removal surgery but is really not that displeased. She says she feels better and if she dresses right noone knows LoL.

yeah i bet she feels better! wow. have u had ur surgery yet? i'm not sure if u just havent updated your profile yet. thankyou for you input by the way.

Here's an interesting article from a MN newspaper about this topic. http://www.startribune.com/1244/story/702627.html