I have been losing weight without the gastric bypass.  so far I have lost 311 pounds and I still have at 294 pounds to lose (I started out at 750 and I am now down to 439 pounds).  I have been told I have Lymphedema all all over my body.  Now after losing this much weight, I already have a lot of loose skin.  My stomach has started flattening out and it is hanging really low now and putting a lot of strain on my belly button.  A little over a week ago my belly button got all inflamed.  Several days ago, it ripped and a lot of drainage and blood gushed out of it.  I am in a lot of pain right now.  I saw my doctor about it and he says that it is the weight of the apron with all the excess skin pulling down that has caused this to happen because my belly button is getting too much strain on it.  He says the only thing to prevent this from happening again and to fix it is for me to have the apron surgically removed.  He put me on some antibiotics, but I have a hole in my belly button and clear drainage is still running out of it. The only problem is, I can't afford to pay for it.  I live in the state of California and I am on Medi-Cal (Medicaid).  My doctor talked to someone there about this and he says they say that more than likely they won't pay for it.  They don't pay for skin removal at all, even if you are getting complications from it.  What does someone like me who has no many do to get help for this?  Has anyone else here been through this?

I wish there could be more info about this on OH.  Seems like people could have a lot to share about their experiences. Perhaps some stocking directory or comparison theme.  I imagine a key word searh on lymphadema on member profiles in the past half year could turn up a list of individuals who could be emailed to read and comment on some mag content put up on line.

I never even heard of lymphedema. That is, until I had a consultation w/Dr Katzen! His office was going to give me the name of someone who specialized in it... but when they called the office they always refered people to, they found out that they no longer did that. I asked my regular doctor, my rheumatologist and my barriatrics doctors IF I had lymphedema and, if so, what can be done. All 3 said, "Yea, you probably have it" and, "don't worry about it. Meanwhile my ankles and calves were getting bigger and bigger and "solid".  I just recently found an AWESOME physical therapist that specializes in lymphedemic drainage massage. After the first 4 days I saw something I hadn't seen in 2 years... ANKLES! And, the swelling has gone down considerably! Let me know if you'd like more info. And... good luck w/the PS!  Eventually I will go to Dr Katzen for a bodylift.

Just continue as much as possible and I hope it continues to improve for you. My legs still swell often and I need to watch them closely.

Yes, we're doing a full body massage. My PT showed me a more extensive massage to do myself than what I was trained on initially to try to keep anything from building up in the abdomen area. She thought that given my surgery, that might help things move better.