Question:
Is there any hope for this saggy skin?

I was wondering if anyone (post-ops who are 1&1/2 years or 2 years out)has been able to tighten up their sagging skin with exercise or do you have to resort to plastic surgery. I cannot afford surgery (insurance will only pay for panniculectomy) but I want to be able to someday wear shorts and/or a bathting suit without feeling self-concious or embarrassed. My starting weight was 373 lbs. and I have lost 173 lbs. so far and hope for 20-25 more, at least). Is this just a pipe-dream or can it be done? Any help will be greatly appreciated! God Bless You All and Thank You God for this surgery!    — Sonya V. (posted on July 10, 2003)

July 10, 2003
First, congrats on the fabulous weight loss! I'm afraid that the only hope for saggy baggy skin is to either live with it or remove it. Exercise can help to tighten the muscles underneath and tone but nothing will help pure baggy skin other than removing it. Sorry.
   — Cindy R.

July 10, 2003
Well I am only 18 weeks into my surgery but I have a friend on the internet that had surgery for tt, batwings, legs, and breast. Her insurance would pay for the tt and the breast reduction but not the batwings or legs. This is what she did; when she had her tummy tuck, she just scrapped up enough money to pay the surgeon's cost for the addiontional surgery....like when she had the tt she was in the hospital already so she didn't have to pay any addiontal cost to stay for her legs, the only thing she had to pay for was the additional cost to the surgeon for performing her surgery. The same went for her breast reduction, when she had it done she just had to pay the additional cost for the bat wing surgery. You may want to strike up a deal with your surgeon. Ask him what the additional cost would be if you had the breast or what ever you want done at the same time you have the adominalpasty(tt)...hope this helps a little.
   — Kathy L.

July 10, 2003
Honey, you are IN LUCK! LOL!! I am 18 months post op, started at 378 lbs and 5'6" I am down 227 lbs and six months ago would never have believed my skin would tighten up... but it has! I talked to a professional trainer and he gave me some exercises to do... and they WORK! :~) There are specific ones to do with each flappy area... if you are interested, let me know and I will send you a copy of the pages he gave me!:~) There is hope for tight skin without surgery!!! I am actually seeing ab muscles for the first time in 39 years!! LOL!!
   — Sharon M. B.

July 10, 2003
You are lucky that your insurance will even pay for a panni. Mine won't and I'm going to try to have a TT. I am 2-1/2 yrs. post-op. The plastic surgeons office mgr. said that drs. & hospitals give big discounts to self-pay patients because they want the business. They will also not charge the usual prices they do for insurance companies, such as $10 for a 50 cent razor or $5 for a $1 box of kleenex. Anything worth having is worth going for...so go for it. I have flab above and below my waist and my breasts, that used to point to heaven are not pointing to the ground & I hope I can gather enough $$$ to have them lifted also.
   — Betty Todd

July 10, 2003
whether you can tighten it up or not is anyone's guess. Some people get lucky and hard work pays off...others, no matter how many different exercises they do, they still look like a wrinkle dog. I have hanging skin on my legs (have lost 165+ pounds in 11 months) and tomorrow I am putting on a bathing suit and enjoying a day with my kids at a water park. I couldn't "hide" the fact I was fat and I was debilitated by it - both by the shame and by the limitations obesity put on me. I refuse to let shame debilitate me any further. If someone doesn't like my wrinkled thighs, they can just look somewhere else. I owe it to me to enjoy my body anyway I can now that I can USE it and move it around. Good luck on getting your skin tighter, but more importantly I'd suggest some good self-talk to improve your outlook on what's really important.
   — [Deactivated Member]

July 11, 2003
After losing about 125 pounds after 20 months, I still find that I look like a sharpei. The skin has not tightened up. Plastic surgery is the only option. If your insurance will only pay for the tt, you should try to finance one or two of the other surgeries yourself and have it done at the same time so that the insurance is paying for almost all of the hospital and anesthesia charges and you only end up paying the plastic surgeon.
   — Patty H.