Anyone willing to share thier experience with Excess Skin
Hi Maria!
I had nine pounds of excess abdominal skin, which was uncomfortable, unsightly, and made it difficult to exercise.
It was removed, and muscles were tightened -- I'm thrilled. I have a very very normal looking body right now.
The only thing keeping me from having more reconstructive surgery is ...., fear. The surgery is still done with knives and needles, go figure! But I do still have a big ole turkey waddle and slight batwing arms.
Those, however, I can live with.
I see that you got pretty roughly handled on the main board, sorry about that. But let me add this final note: YES, the skin is icky and noticeable. But my leftover skin was a lot LESS noticeable than the 165 pounds of fat had been carrying around!
I had nine pounds of excess abdominal skin, which was uncomfortable, unsightly, and made it difficult to exercise.
It was removed, and muscles were tightened -- I'm thrilled. I have a very very normal looking body right now.
The only thing keeping me from having more reconstructive surgery is ...., fear. The surgery is still done with knives and needles, go figure! But I do still have a big ole turkey waddle and slight batwing arms.
Those, however, I can live with.
I see that you got pretty roughly handled on the main board, sorry about that. But let me add this final note: YES, the skin is icky and noticeable. But my leftover skin was a lot LESS noticeable than the 165 pounds of fat had been carrying around!
Interested in low-carb nutrition? Thinking of trying Atkins? Want to try high-fat and/or high-protein eating? Whether or not you have had (or are thinking about) WLS http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/atkins/
NoMore B.
on 12/29/10 10:32 am
on 12/29/10 10:32 am
I lost 135 pounds and have excess skin. I dont think it looks bad in my clothes, but obviously naked is another story. The way I look at it, I still look better naked than I did 135 pounds heavier, so I'm ok with it.
I think I will have plastics, but for me it's more a "want" than a "need". There are other people I've seen where it is definitely a "need" - their excess skin interferes with exercise, or they get rashes or backaches. If that is the case you can fight with your insurance company to pay at least a part of plastics.
You have to expect you will have some loose skin to deal with. Age is in your favor because younger skin is more elastic, but it's not reasonable to expect it to just snap back like and you'll look like a swimsuit model. You have a whole lifetime to live in your new body and to save for plastics, so I wouldnt dwell too much on it.
I think I will have plastics, but for me it's more a "want" than a "need". There are other people I've seen where it is definitely a "need" - their excess skin interferes with exercise, or they get rashes or backaches. If that is the case you can fight with your insurance company to pay at least a part of plastics.
You have to expect you will have some loose skin to deal with. Age is in your favor because younger skin is more elastic, but it's not reasonable to expect it to just snap back like and you'll look like a swimsuit model. You have a whole lifetime to live in your new body and to save for plastics, so I wouldnt dwell too much on it.
I lost about 145lbs. I'm 5'8.5" and was 294lbs. I'm 40 years old. Fat, I carried more of my weight in my butt/thighs...but was generally a pretty well-rounded fat girl. I ended up with pretty well-distributed saggy skin afterward. Moderately saggy breasts, crepe-paper bat wings, two tummy rolls (one above and one below the belly button), 3 chins on my butt, and some pretty saggy thighs (inner and outer).
I can't fix all this. I don't want the scars, the pain of surgery, the recovery time off work, the numbness and loss of range of motion that requires exercise to fix, etc. etc. So I decided to tackle what bothered me the most FIRST and then see if I could be done there or need more.
I had my arms and tummy done (anchor cut extended TT) in mid-October. I am SO glad I did it. I looked OK with foundation garments before, but now I don't need to wear any of that. I don't stretch out the front of my jeans. My arms aren't stretching out the sleeves of my shirts. I still don't wear short sleeves due to the scar...but I'm hoping that lightens and then I'll be fine with it. Mostly I just don't want people seeing this big scar and saying "WOW - WHAT happened to YOU!?!".
I'm considering getting a breast lift...if my dr. can get me some insurance coverage and do fat grafting so that I don't need implants to not look like a man. If not, I might leave them alone. I don't think I'll do anything else.
I have pics on my profile if you wanna see. Add me as a friend and ask...I'll pm you the password. Good luck!
I can't fix all this. I don't want the scars, the pain of surgery, the recovery time off work, the numbness and loss of range of motion that requires exercise to fix, etc. etc. So I decided to tackle what bothered me the most FIRST and then see if I could be done there or need more.
I had my arms and tummy done (anchor cut extended TT) in mid-October. I am SO glad I did it. I looked OK with foundation garments before, but now I don't need to wear any of that. I don't stretch out the front of my jeans. My arms aren't stretching out the sleeves of my shirts. I still don't wear short sleeves due to the scar...but I'm hoping that lightens and then I'll be fine with it. Mostly I just don't want people seeing this big scar and saying "WOW - WHAT happened to YOU!?!".
I'm considering getting a breast lift...if my dr. can get me some insurance coverage and do fat grafting so that I don't need implants to not look like a man. If not, I might leave them alone. I don't think I'll do anything else.
I have pics on my profile if you wanna see. Add me as a friend and ask...I'll pm you the password. Good luck!
Proud Member of the Cambridge Crew! 
HW293/LW147/CW158 Height 5'9" Working on Maintenance!
Fleur de lis TT and Brachioplasty - Oct. 19, 2010 Breast reduction and scar revision August 2, 2011
HW293/LW147/CW158 Height 5'9" Working on Maintenance!
Fleur de lis TT and Brachioplasty - Oct. 19, 2010 Breast reduction and scar revision August 2, 2011
Saw that you moved from the Main board and didn't want to add to that thread, but wanted to say that contrary to what people say NOT EVERYONE has a problem with excess skin after surgery.. You are young. You MAY have excess skin and you MAY NOT. Your genetics and general health and skin elasticity will have a lot to do with it. I have some pics on my profile if you are interested and I did not have any plastic surgery at all... do I look like a supermodel? NO, but it isn't because of my weight loss, lol.
Either way, one thing I agree with everyone about is that the fear of excess skin is no reason to avoid surgery and getting healthy.. The skin is better than the fat for almost everyone and plastic surgery can take care of what you cannot live with...
Either way, one thing I agree with everyone about is that the fear of excess skin is no reason to avoid surgery and getting healthy.. The skin is better than the fat for almost everyone and plastic surgery can take care of what you cannot live with...
I am still loving life with my sleeve! Been maintaining at or below goal for over 4 years!
"People spend a lifetime searching for happiness; looking for peace. They chase idle dreams, addictions, religions, even other people, hoping to fill the emptiness that plagues them. The irony is the only place they ever needed to search was within." - Ramona L. Anderson
as i said on the main board before you had a tantrum:
Post Date: 12/29/10 4:03 pm
that skin looks a lot worse and is a lot more dangerous full of fat than empty. i had a tummy tuck because i had to have a stem-to-stern hernia repair that was best fixed with my own tissue. but the rest of me has flapping skin and i'm fine with it. it's just skin and if someone doesn't like it, tough bananas. I wear shorts, tank tops and swim suits and don't give a crap who looks at me.
addition for here:
listen, fat kills. skin doesn't. skin is uncomfortable and in some people a true medical problem. maybe you'll have real medical problems and maybe you'll need to learn how to not buy into the myth of hollywood hawtness. i'mhere to tell you that reconstructive surgery is risky and potentially godawful painful, even if you never have a drop of infection. i had tissue necrosis, which has nothing to do infection or nutritional deficiencies or poor healing. it's about skin dying, as skin will do when the blood flow is cut off. pics at http//www.angelfire.com/mt/lovelylovely/mt/tummytuck . i am no child and no pansy and have had many surgeries, and this one was hell compared to all others. the pain and disability were hideous. i dug turds out of my butt with gloved hands to fight the inability to poop. i dropped 25 pounds i couldn't afford to lose. the stench and misery of that dead tissue was horrific. and it was a MILD complication.
lemme tell you, flopping skin is NOTHING compared to that experience. i flap my arm and leg skin in the face of anyone who dares to even glance in my direction. and let em even so much as begin to formulate a comment. they're dead where they stand.
Post Date: 12/29/10 4:03 pm
that skin looks a lot worse and is a lot more dangerous full of fat than empty. i had a tummy tuck because i had to have a stem-to-stern hernia repair that was best fixed with my own tissue. but the rest of me has flapping skin and i'm fine with it. it's just skin and if someone doesn't like it, tough bananas. I wear shorts, tank tops and swim suits and don't give a crap who looks at me.
addition for here:
listen, fat kills. skin doesn't. skin is uncomfortable and in some people a true medical problem. maybe you'll have real medical problems and maybe you'll need to learn how to not buy into the myth of hollywood hawtness. i'mhere to tell you that reconstructive surgery is risky and potentially godawful painful, even if you never have a drop of infection. i had tissue necrosis, which has nothing to do infection or nutritional deficiencies or poor healing. it's about skin dying, as skin will do when the blood flow is cut off. pics at http//www.angelfire.com/mt/lovelylovely/mt/tummytuck . i am no child and no pansy and have had many surgeries, and this one was hell compared to all others. the pain and disability were hideous. i dug turds out of my butt with gloved hands to fight the inability to poop. i dropped 25 pounds i couldn't afford to lose. the stench and misery of that dead tissue was horrific. and it was a MILD complication.
lemme tell you, flopping skin is NOTHING compared to that experience. i flap my arm and leg skin in the face of anyone who dares to even glance in my direction. and let em even so much as begin to formulate a comment. they're dead where they stand.
it was a combination of umbilical hernia recurrence plus incisional hernia from hell. i'd had an open hysterectomy two years before my ds, wherein i had an umbilical hernia repair. so i had that vertical incision, plus belly button funkiness, plus wayyyy extended ds vertical incision funkiness. in my hysterectomy, i had this horrible colony of aliens removed--basically you could say i probably never threw an egg without growing a cyst, so it was a horrible HUMONGOUS mess, the size of at least two six month total pregnancies (not just feti but whole reproductive systems) plus the funkiness of growths all over the place of every benign kind.
this left a huge huge gap in my gut and my guts went wandering all over the place. so when i had my ds, nothing was where it belonged, to the great discomfort of my surgeon, and he had to go on a spelunking projecting to find all the appropriate parts. he had a pretty funny story to tell about how he opened my gut and found nothing ;-p.
result was that i had incision lines from breastbone to pubic bone, plus my greatly weakened belly button area. the hernia started in belly button and went up and down all along the zipper line of the two incisions. it looked pretty freaky and thank god there was so much space for my guts to splat out into the world cuz it meant nothing ever strangulated. but it all had to be repaired and put back into something resembling a human abdominal cavity.
because i was enormous in my trunk i had loads and loads of unused tissue once the fat went away. so the surgeon used that excess abdominal wall in a truly impressive abdominoplasty procedure to turn my belly into a double-plus thick layer, taking off over seven inches from my waist and hips straight off the OR table, totaling over nine inches once it healed and shrank.
the panniculectomy part removed about three pounds of skin...thought it would be lots more, but they weigh skin once it's detached and free of most blood and fluid. it was a double armload hanging off my belly. basically pretty simple. unfortunately the blood supply was very compromised with lots of stretch marks and stuff, and i had significant tissue necrosis with a patch of deadness the size of my hand and about a half a pregnancy worth of necrotic fluid sloshing around above my pubic bone and stinking to high heaven. it was a horrific experience. got it all revised four weeks after first procedure. pics at http://www.angelfire.com/mt/lovelylovely/tummytuck . be very grateful odor can't be conveyed via internet. the stench is unique and horrible....and i am a rancher's daughter from montana who knows what many different species smell like dead and rotting. human rot is special.
this left a huge huge gap in my gut and my guts went wandering all over the place. so when i had my ds, nothing was where it belonged, to the great discomfort of my surgeon, and he had to go on a spelunking projecting to find all the appropriate parts. he had a pretty funny story to tell about how he opened my gut and found nothing ;-p.
result was that i had incision lines from breastbone to pubic bone, plus my greatly weakened belly button area. the hernia started in belly button and went up and down all along the zipper line of the two incisions. it looked pretty freaky and thank god there was so much space for my guts to splat out into the world cuz it meant nothing ever strangulated. but it all had to be repaired and put back into something resembling a human abdominal cavity.
because i was enormous in my trunk i had loads and loads of unused tissue once the fat went away. so the surgeon used that excess abdominal wall in a truly impressive abdominoplasty procedure to turn my belly into a double-plus thick layer, taking off over seven inches from my waist and hips straight off the OR table, totaling over nine inches once it healed and shrank.
the panniculectomy part removed about three pounds of skin...thought it would be lots more, but they weigh skin once it's detached and free of most blood and fluid. it was a double armload hanging off my belly. basically pretty simple. unfortunately the blood supply was very compromised with lots of stretch marks and stuff, and i had significant tissue necrosis with a patch of deadness the size of my hand and about a half a pregnancy worth of necrotic fluid sloshing around above my pubic bone and stinking to high heaven. it was a horrific experience. got it all revised four weeks after first procedure. pics at http://www.angelfire.com/mt/lovelylovely/tummytuck . be very grateful odor can't be conveyed via internet. the stench is unique and horrible....and i am a rancher's daughter from montana who knows what many different species smell like dead and rotting. human rot is special.
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