Skin Removal--- NEED ADVICE

I need some advice. At my heaviest I was 335 lbs, now down to 205 (was down to 195 but I'm 7 months pregnant now). Most of my weight was in my stomach, so as you can imagine, I have TONS of loose skin. It didn't bother me that much at first, probably because I was so thankful for being thinner and extra skin was so much better than having it all filled in with fat... but now I'm developing some problems. I sweat underneath it a lot (gross, I know) and I've developed a couple of pimples (I call them pimples, but they're usually pretty large and are painful like a boil)... I have only had maybe 2 or 3 of them, but this last one hurt really really bad. After my pregnancy is over, I was thinking about looking into having the surgery removed. What steps could I take to get the ball rolling? Should I go to my family doctor and have her start documenting? Or should I go to my surgeon and have him document it? Or should I just go straight to a plastic surgery doctor and let them document it? Are these types of problems something that insurance would consider something that is medically necessary to fix? I still want to lose more weight, but would like to have that skin removed as soon as possible. Any insight is appreciated.

I've had the same problem with boils, which my doc said they were infected sweat glands, then I got one not to long ago that started out the same way but progressed more rapidly (a couple hours) and was extremely painful. Unfortunately for me the Doc said that it was MRSA, not easily treated, but the others cleared up overnight with a topical clyndamicin. Seems like if you can convince your surgeon that its effecting you severely, should be a medical necessity, but that's all speculation. It all depends on the surgeon.

If it were me I would document it NOW and EVERY time it happens with your PCP.  I had documentation of rashes and boils and have my abdominoplasty scheduled in September this year approved by insurance. 

Read your coverage documents, mine was called Policy #xxx on Abdominoplasty and pannicolectomy (probably spelled wrong lol)  It stated that 6 months of documented rashes  and pani skin hanging below the pubis would be covered and it was :)

 

I just called the cosmetic surgeon 2 days ago about the same thing. This is based on my insurance but in order to have it covered they need documentation stating the issue and what you've tried. For me that translates to go to my pcp, have it documented, have my pcp prescribe or recommend a cream, go back and say hey it's not working, have the pcp document that and try something else. The coordinator at the surgeons office said generally trying 2 or 3 treatments over 3-4 months time is more than sufficient. After that come in for a consult. The PS will take measurements and pictures and submit it to the insurance company at that time with all my medical documents from my pcp. The surgeon I'm going to sees a lot of bariatric patients. The coordinator I spoke with handles WLS patients specifically so I trust what she told me. Anyway like I said this is specific to my insurance. I would definitely go see your pcp and get it in your records. Then maybe find a surgeon in your area and call and ask them specially what else you should do.

Good luck!