A PLEAD FOR HELP

Hello my name is Annabelle

When I was 355 lbs, I could not wait until I had lost my weight and start living my life, and now after gastric bypass surgery, I can walk, play, and clean my home. It is everything I dreamed it would be. Before surgery, I was aware of the access skin, and didn’t think it would be such a handedness to my life, but it is.

The skin is in the way of how close fit me, intimacy, and last but not least, my mental, emotional side. When I go out I am so happy, I am loving life. I am doing things that I should have been doing all this time, but it has taken me 40 years to get where I am at. Now that I am living life, not jus****ching it pass by. I want to have someone special to walk this world with. My skin is preventing me to be all I can be. I don’t like looking at myself with no clothes, and can’t get past what I look like naked.   How can I move on from this? March 2011 will be three years since I had my gastric bypass, and now I cannot stop thinking about my skin. I cry when I’m naked.  This is such an emotional process, because I am so happy because I got my life back, but so sad at what I look like. I think if my body looks like this at 40, what it is going to look like in 20 years if I don’t get this skin removed. I hope that one day skin removal will be a part of the weight loss surgery program.  

Annabelle you sound like a wonderful person and you deserve to be happy.  My heart goes out to everyone who has taken the huge step of having weight loss surgery, losing the weight, having a full and wonderful life but still not being content because of the excess skin.

The first thing I would do is to schedule an appt. with my doctor and tell the receptionist you want a long appt. since talking about all this is going to take time.  I would be very honest about how I am feeling and what a negative impact the extra skin is having on you.

Emotional and mental health is also very important and you have decreased your risk for early death by losing your excess weight but if you are stuck and depressed that needs to be addressed as well.

Have you researched all the possibilities through your health insurance at work to see if anything like this could possibly be covered?  It's all in the wording. If you have a hanging belly, most companies will allow for that but if you want to upgrade to a tummy tuck where the muscles are tightened and you have a flat stomach you would have to pay for that yourself.  But many people are thrilled with the removal of stomach fat - called a Panniculectomy or Panni for short - and that in itself would give you a big boost to your self esteem.

Secondly I would try to get some counselling.  It's important to deal with this and have someone help you learn ways to accept your new body even if plastic surgery is not an option because of money or whatever.  You have every right to feel better about yourself and maybe a therapist can help you see yourself in a new way through different techniques they have.

I'm glad you reached out on this forum and please stay in touch and let us know how things are going.

Wishing you better days ahead :)

Hugs,
Mickie

Mickie, thank you for responding.  You have givin me some good ideas.  I have Medi-Cal,I was laid off from Wells Fargo last year and on unemployment. 

I have been submitting my story to TV shows, and even a couple plastic surgeons in my area, maybe a plastic surgeon will do this Pro Bono, you never know!

Have a good day also,
Annabelle