Need help of course....

I am 6 years out and so tired of hiding my excess skin. I call it elephant skin. I am too thin and do not want to even leave the house. I am seeing proper counseling, but I need help in finding the best and cheapest near Winona, MN that takes Minnesota Medical Assistance. I went to Gunderson in LaCrosse and that doctor just looked and said MA will never pay for it. Shoot he don't know me and that I excess skin down somewhere and it burns so bad, and that I tried suicide because I hate the way I look!!

I know the surgery will not solve eveerything but by go**** will get me out of the house on a warm day and hopefully in shorts or short sleeves! Inside becomes depressing.

Anyway, please anyone know of a the cheapest and best doc near winona mn that takes straight MA?

Thank you so much!

Angel

Hi Angel,

I don't know anything about MA or the area where you live.  I just wanted to give you a hug.  I do hope that you'll find a counselor that can help you deal with these feelings that you have about how you look.  WLS produces different emotions in all of us.  I have a small support group, aside from my Kaiser support groups where I can talk about what's going on for me.

Are you exercising?  For me, massive amounts of exercise since surgery have really helped me get in touch with how well my body functions and moves.  That helps me overlook the hanging skin and things that I don't like.  I'm grateful to not weigh 249 anymore and hope that I can look forward to a longer life without the things that go along with morbid obesity.   Maybe you can slowly begin to focus on the things that are positive in your life?

I hope you find someone to talk to,

I agree with Lee.

You sound like you're having a very hard time - and plastics won't help that for sure.  As a matter of fact - I found the emotions that went along with plastics made my "adjustment" to my new body even MORE difficult, not easier.  

In a lot of respects, you're trading skin for scars....if you can't accept the skin now - you'll have the same problem with scars post-plastics.  And so many people go into this thinking that plastics will make them look model-perfect...the reality is far from that.  Getting rid of the skin makes it easier to run, wear clothes that fit etc...but sometimes fixing one area makes the other areas stand out all the more.

I'd recommend getting some serious help with your body-image issues and deal with your feelings of depression and suicide FIRST.  When you learn to love your body the way it is, then you can think about getting a handle on what plastics does to that self-image. 

Hugs.

I'm with the previous posters.
Get some therapy before plastics.

Well said ladies, you probably need to feel good about yourself now where you are at before continuing your journey with plastics. I have struggled myself with this most of my adult life and have had therapy before as well. I am just now starting to feel decent about the results of my plastics and I'm 6 weeks out.

Maybe you can find some sort of WLS support group in your area to help you out and be around other people with the same struggles as you. I have been going to my WLS support group for 3 years this month and it has been invaluable to me. I'm actually a very private person and don't get out much but I rarely miss a meeting and I'm on the bariatric advisory board at the hospital where I had my surgery.
I'm usually only one of a couple of guys that show up and it's like going to a meeting with my mom only a bunch of them as I'm fairly younger than the rest of the crowd.

But I don't where I would be without this group as they help keep me sane. Maybe this could be a good step for you if your not ready for therapy right now.

Bubba