Looking for more info...

I am 31 years old, and had my DS surgery on January 7th of 2013. I weighed 356 lb. going into surgery with many health issues. Since than I am no 175 lb. and feeling good for the first time in my life. I exercise and eat right, and try to stay active, but for some reason I can not seem to tighten the skin in my arms, stomach, and legs. I have a hard time wearing tank tops and shorts because of the extra skin, and feel very self conscious. I was told that a plastic surgeon wouldn't even talk to me until two years after my surgery.. So my question is, does anyone know of a good surgeon in or around the Idaho area? and How bad is it really? I have heard that getting the extra skin removed is really really painful, but I have also heard it is not so bad as long as you stay up on your pain meds. Any information dealing with cost, post op, and suggestions on surgeons would be greatly helpful. Thank you. 

Surgeons will talk to you any time you want.  They prefer that you be at a stable weight, with no plans to lose a lot more, for anywhere from 6 months to a year before they do surgery.  The best thing you can do to get answers to your questions is to do a few consults with a few different surgeons.

Yes, it hurts.  Yes, the pain meds make it tolerable, but it still hurts.  But the pain stops and you'll be happy with the results.  The one thing you need to make sure of is whether you can live with the scars.  There is NO scarless plastic surgery.

Thank you for your reply. How bad are the scars? I can handle the pain. I mean, the DS wasn't no walk in the park. 

A lot depends on how you scar.  If you're average, you'll have just a thin, white line after a year or two.  You need to be prepared for the fact that the scars get worse before they start getting better.  The tummy tuck scar - no biggie.  That area is usually covered up anyway, and the scar is faint, but visible.  The arms and legs - again the scar is faint, but it's in areas that are often uncovered, so they're more seen.  No one's ever commented on them, but if you tend to be self-conscious you might still not like the idea of wearing sleeveless or shorts.

If you have any problems with scarring, like keloids, I'd think long and hard about the arms and legs.

Congrats on your excellent accomplishments. I agree with what the pother posters say, especially about timing and stable weight.  Good sources of information include:  the discussion boards here, the excellent community on RealSelf.com, seeing actual bariatric plastic surgeons to learn about the procedures, scars, risks, downtime, etc.

Plastic surgeons from your state reviewed on this site can be found at http://www.obesityhelp.com/find/plastic-surgeon/ID/more/

And anybody is welcome to email me for a free (hardback!) copy of my book at [email protected]

http://www.amazon.com/Bariatric-Plastic-Surgery-Cosmetic-Weight/dp/1886039925

Nothing is going to tighten the skin other than plastic surgery. Surgeons will consult with you at any time and give you their recommendations on how much more weight they would recommend you losing, etc. I was nothing but skin at 14 months - so I had my first round at 18 months post op RNY.

Sorry I am in NC. So I would check realself.com it will have info on surgeons in your area.

It was very painful but drugs are very good. Just make sure you have enough recovery time!

Several of us have traveled to Monterrey Mexico and let Dr Sauceda redo our bodies.  You can take pics from the front, side, back, side and send to [email protected] and he'll send you a quote with what he can do for you.  You can check over on the group here on OH by clicking Dr Sauceda in my siggy line.

Scar removal treatment is most popular these days. There are lot of techniques. I personally know best skin doctor in indore.