Confused, Lost on Lower Body Lift scheduled for 02/13

Hello All,

New to the forums here...  I am looking for advice of those that have had a lower body lift. 

I lost over 200 lbs, did it the hard way but was able to do it.  Anyways I have seen several surgeons and they all advise I need a 360 lower body lift to get rid of all the rolls and extra skin.

I have been approved for financing and right now I am suppose to have surgery on 2/13.  

Is it normal to wonder if you made the right decision?  Should I just be happy with the weight loss and just continue to keep the weight off? My wife and others say I should not go through it.  I understand their feelings, but I am the one who looks in the mirror sees the extra skin, and wonder why did I loose all this weight, to look like this.  Now don't get me wrong when I have my clothes on I have nothing but compliments on how much I have changed.  But when I am a lone is when I just start to think was the weight loss worth it, when I look like this without clothes.  Of course my wife is very supportive and says I am fine and all those good things.

I guess I am just looking for advice and what others have done when you were in my shoes.

When you say did it the hard way, do you mean without surgery? Surgery is not the easy way out. It takes hard work and dedication. How long have you maintained your weight loss? The rate of regain for those with and especially those without wls is high. Make sure you can maintain your weight loss before spending alot of money on a body lift. 

I am down about 140lbs and also in need of plastics. Part of me feels like it is wasteful to spend so much money on appearances but then I know I will not be satisfied until I get rid of the extra skin. All the extra skin makes me feel fat, even though people are telling me I need to stop losing weight. I have 2 consults set up for Friday. We'll see what happens. 

Ouch Flo. 

I know the bristle we have when anyone suggests that surgery was the easy way. It wasn't.  We all know that.  The original poster worked hard too.  If I believed I could do it without surgery, that would have definitely have been my choice.

If I could only tell you how hurtful it was when I first sought support for my wls decision, people felt it necessary to tell me about everyone they have ever heard about who had surgery and then gained weight back. You know who I mean. Including mentioning that neighbor from 4 home moves ago--- her ex sister in law's cousin who had surgery in 1974 and gained it all back.  All of this to let me know I was going to gain it back and more.

Guess what. They were all wrong.

First off ,congratulations to the both of you for your weight loss . As for the Comment "The Hard Way" .... I think we need to get over the all about how the end results came about, and embrace what was achieved. 

Now that being said; If your are dissatisfied with how you are looking with all the loose and sagging skin ,go for it and and get it done because your overall well being is so important, and only you know how it truly feels to be living in that body. My husband didn't think the plastics were necessary" Because as he stated He loved me no matter what"! My answer to him was "I don't love myself and this is not about you"..... Needless to say, He's not blind and certainly enjoys the renovated me! 

 Stop feeling guilty, you have worked at this(no matter how ) and keep investing in yourself because "you/we" are worth it!

Good Luck!

I had a lower body lift and I am THRILLED with the results!  I was way too saggy before and now my butt and stomach (and even outer thighs) look fantastic.  I have zero regrets.  If you have gotten this far, it sounds like it's something you want, so just think about the end game.  Honestly, I had no incision pain, and the only pain was the muscle tightening in my abdomen for the first couple of days.  Set an alarm for 4 hours the first night you are home and wake up for your pain meds before the pain wakes you!  That's my only advice.  Good luck!

My before and after pics: 

Thank you everyone for your kind words and support.

Right now I am just not getting the support at home.  My wife and family all think I am nuts and should just be happy with the accomplishment alone of losing the weight.  They are all scared because of the risk factors involved in the operation, and I keep telling them any operation has risk factors.

The only support I am getting is from friends, no support from home what so ever which is making this decision even harder.  One side is saying you deserve go for it and the other is saying no just be happy with what you have done.  My wife keeps telling me I am happy with the way you look and thats all that should count.  But the big thing is I am not happy on how I look.  I am happy with the way I look when I have clothes on but when I see myself in the mirror with no cloths on its a different story.

I am starting to lean against this surgery which I think is a big mistake, but my surgeon stated he wont operate unless I have a support system at home because like he said I will have ups and downs during the healing process, and its not an easy surgery.

I am really confused.  I appreciate every ones feedback.

I'm sorry that your family isn't being supportive, it sounds like you said, that they are scared and don't really understand why this is important to you.

I think many of us who have lost a lot of weight (I'm down 184 lbs) feel the same way that you do.  It's great when we are dressed but feel crappy about ourselves when we aren't. It's something I think about almost every day - just like I thought about the weight when I was bigger.  

I also seem to remember a study that said that patients who lost a lot of weight and had plastic surgery were more likely to keep it off - that may also be another good reason to consider it (and to share with your family about why it may be a good thing.  

Your mental health and how you feel about your body is also important, maybe consider having her and you meet with a therapist (or maybe go to a support group with other patients who have lost a lot to hear them talk about it) to talk about how/why this could be a important factor in your mental health and how it's really common to feel this way.    

Ooh - just thought of something else, have her watch that show Skin Tight on TLC - it's about people who lost a lot of weight have skin surgery and they talk a lot about how it affects them - just an idea.

Wish you the best!

My boyfriend had the same feelings. He loved me skin and all and was worried about the risks of surgery. He repeatedly told me not to have plastic surgery. Of course, I did it anyway. Afterwards, he admitted I was right. He could see how much better I felt emotionally and that I needed it for my mental peace.

I also lost 200 pounds. If you search through my old posts on this forum, I have posted before/after pictures.

Just because your family does not agree, I am sure they will be supportive and help you as you recuperate. I don't think any surgeon can "require" that all family members agree with our decisions. That is not possible.

Great before and after pictures. 

The surgeon wants to make sure I have someone at home who agrees with what I did.  He is worried because patients have I guess a lot of ups and downs during the first few weeks, asking them selves why they did this to them selves, etc.  Is that true?    His big thing is he wants somewhere that is behind you 100% because it is a big change, and I do suffer from depression and he states some patients it can get worse for the first few weeks after the surgery.

And right now my wife is not on the same page as I, and neither is her family and unfortunately every one on my side of the family is gone, so I cant call mother or father and say come help me.

Maybe you just need to have a frank convo with your wife and say "look, I love you and I'm thrilled that you love me the way I am, but this is MY body and MY decision and I'm doing this for me, not you or anyone else.  I'm asking that you be a support system for me and help me through this when I'm recovering rather than saying 'told you so' if I find myself questioning things in a moment of pain.  Can you do that for me or not?"

Sure, there are definitely lots of people who have said that during about the first week or 2 they had moments where they questioned if it was the right call.... but that's because it's a painful recovery in the beginning, and who wants to be in pain?!  Or people see the gnarly scars when they're still super fresh and swollen and not pretty and who wants to have those?  BUT, the pain is temporary, the fresh scars are temporary (though a certain amount of scarring remains there forever.  People generally very quickly realize that they are in fact very happy they had it done and they'd do it all over again if they turned back time because it was worth it to feel like they finally got the body they wanted with the weight off.... myself included.