Hi, im new here.  Im 26 years old, 5'4 and 282 pounds.  I've been fat all my life, i've lost 80 pounds in the past and gained more than that back.  I have many health issues (Polycistic Ovary, Polycistic Kidney, High blood pressure, Bipolar, and lots more).  I've tried every diet on earth but i am a MAJOR compulsive overeater.  Im too scared to get weight loss surgery, i think the risks of what could happen long term is too great for me to take that chance.  So, im going to once again attempt to change things for the better.  One thing im scared of though, is if i ever did loose the weight, i would have tons of saggy skin.  And i would NEVER have the money to get it cut off ( i have horrible credit and no way to save the money, im on disability).   Would it be better to be lighter but have saggy skin? Or just stay fat ?  Im almost thinking the loose skin would be worse.  But if i dont loose weight i will die soon.  I guess i shouldnt care so much about how i look, but since my health is so bad, i doubt i'll make it to age 40.  Anyone with loose skin issues, please let me know what you think.  Im most worried about my upper arms and stomach.

I've been overweight most of my life and obese for at least 1/3rd of it.
I've lost it all (about 165 lbs) and was left with some saggy skin...but I am MUCH healthier!  Plastic surgery can take of any extra skin you are left with.
If you are trying to decide if it is better to stay overweight and sick instead of having some saggy skin....come on....you should know the answer to that.  GET HEALTHY!!!!  You are young, your skin will retract much better than mine did (I'm twice your age).  When I was your age and lost 100 lbs I had no saggy skin issues.

So get going on your weight loss plan......do whatever exercise you can to tone your body and don't worry about some saggy skin.

PM me if you want to chat about the skin stuff....

I know you are right.  But i cant get the skin cut off ever, i owe over $50,000 in bills i cant pay, that i built up once i got sick with my panic attacks, so skin removal isnt a option.  I guess i'll just have to deal with it and wear long sleeves.  It just makes me so mad that no matter what i do i'll always be 'big' and to me, very ugly because of it.   Im so sick of everyone making fun of me, even my family and strangers.  I do want to loose the weight so badly.  I dont know how to do it though.  I've tried everything.  Im always hungry no matter what i do.  My whole life is built for failure.  Everything cost money,  and i dont have any.  Im at a loss for ideas of how to loose this weight.  If i could get down to 180 even i'd be SOOOO happy.  And i know i'd feel 1000% better too.

Hi Melissa, welcome to the non-op board.  I have so much to say that I'm not even sure where to begin.  I'm sure you know that losing the weight is more important than the loose skin issue because of health reasons but when I was big I use to think, what is worse, being fat with hanging skin or being thin with hanging skin?  Either way, I was going to be miserable.  

Now here's the thing.  The amount of redundant skin you will have after losing weight depends on several factors.  Your age, how long you have been obese, smoking, skin elasticity, and how fast you lost the weight.  Losing weight so fast is why most WLS patients are in need of plastic surgery, their skin doesn't have time to catch up with the weight loss because it happens so fast.  And if you do find yourself in need of reconstructive plastic surgery, I assume that if you are on disability that you are also on Medicaid and Medicaid will usually pay for a panniculectomy for belly skin and a breast lift for saggy boobalage.  If your arms are really bad they will even pay for a brachioplasty.  But at the tender age of 26 and no weight loss surgery, I doubt that you will have much need for these things.  Be sure to drink lots and lots of water, it's very important for healthy skin cells and flushing out toxins.

So my SoulCyster, you have PCOS, too?  I gained over a hundred pounds in one YEAR, so I know the heartbreak that accompanies the syndrome, it sucks doesn't it?  For me, my case is so severe that the only plan I could ever lose weight on was Atkins.  I later found out that most women with PCOS have insulin resistance so at the very least you should be on a low carb plan to help lower that.  Are you on Metformin or and other kind of medication?  Of course, diet and exercise are the main ways of controlling PCOS but for me, the Metformin helped with my last forty pounds that had refused to budge.

This weight loss bidness is so much harder for us because of our syndrome, but it gets even worse the older we get if we don't take care of it, so I'm happy to see that you are going to get things under control now.  Let me know if you have any questions,

Mary    

Melissa, I'm 37 and I have lost 89 pounds and so far I have very very little loose skin. I have kept up with my exercise, I go to curves 5 days a week and use the wii fit also and it seems to have helped my loose skin issue. I have a very very tiny bit on the inside of my thighs and a even smaller amount on my stomach.  I definately think the most important thing is to get healthy even if you do have a bit of loose skin.  But at your age, I honestly don't think you will have much issues at all with loose skin. I'm at 156 right now and I orginally set my goal at 150 but I'm thinking I will likely drop that goal to about 140 and start maintaining at that point.  So, I really am not expecting to have any more loose skin then the tiny bit I have now. And I'm hoping with keeping up my exercise even the bit  Ihave might tighten up some.  

What I did when I first started noticing it on my inner thighs (it was worse then it is now) I started focusing on that area, with using the machines at curves that work those areas a bit longer then normal and I actually told quite a bit of difference.  So if you noticed some areas as you loose your weight you could possibly try some exercises that might work those particular areas.



Johnita

I've lost -255 lbs. - no where near what you need to lose. I have loose skin but I can tell you this- my life is 1000% times better now, even with the loose skin I have. Skin can be covered. I have had at least 5 different people make comments to me that I "don't have loose skin."

I have exercised nearly the entire 4 years I've been losing weight and for 2.5 of those years I've been doing moderate/high intensity Zumba classes 3-5x a week as well as toning and weight machines 2x a week. I still have loose skin, but under the skin I'm very toned! lol

You can have loose skin and still be healthy. You can't have excess fat and still be healthy. You make the choice!

Good luck to you!

It's better to have the loose skin--trust me! I have tons on my belly, butt and thighs, but I can run for 10.82 miles doing a 9 minute 25 second pace. I'd rather jiggle than die young, baby!

Your at the good age right now where you wont have too much of that to worry about, but do it NOW while you still have that youthful elasticity to your skin.
As for this rot of this question....its not a matter of appearance when you are this overweight....loose skin will not cause you to have severe to fatal health problems like obesity does. So in the long run, its better to have loose skin.
Remember to workout and drink lots of water.  I have riends your age who lost lots of weight, evn fast on the surgery, and have little to no saggy skin.

Dont worry about something you dont even know is going to happen.

But saggy skin or not, the weight will kill you. Lose it for that.

Plus, if you do get saggy, insurance or medicare will cover removal because extra skin can cause issues such as skin infections and such.