Excess Skin Vent...

OK, I have been holding this in but can't any more after I was asked one more time today by another friend. When I tell you that I have had Weight Loss Surgery please don't ask me if I'm worried about the skin. F*CK the skin is the least of my worries. It's the FAT that is killing me and that is the problem at hand and what I am trying to solve now. The FAT is what would have caused me to have Diabetes, Heart Disease, Cancers, Joint Pain, etc... It is not the SKIN. I am not dumb and I know that I will likely have some skin hanging from places that I don't want when I am done. That is a problem that I will take care of if and when I need to. From my current thinking, if it is not causing me a medical problem then I don't really think that I am vain enough to actually have surgery to remove it.

So, word of advice to all of my friends that want to ask me about my weight loss surgery. Ask me how my diet is going? I will be more than happy to tell you about my trials and tribulations. If one of those trials is that the skin is bothering me or causing me troubles be comforted in the fact that I'll let you know. But until then don't ask me about my excess SKIN!!!

Sorry, I had to vent but some people hear all of this sh*t in the media about WLS and immediately follow it up with excess skin and I want to just nip it in the bud in my social circle. Be forewarned if we don't chat very often and you ask me about my skin you may not get a friendly response...

Hi Mike!

If you did not know it there is a Men's board on OH.  Come see.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/men/

Excess skin is part of the journey we all have to deal with to some degree or another.  I'm fortunate in that mine is not all that bad but I would not turn down a LBL if one came along!

Thanks for the tip.  Yeah, I'm new to these forums and really not sure where I should settle in yet but that seems like a good place to start.  Thanks again.

Michael, I know exactly what you mean.  I just had my surgery, but the entire time I was preparing for it all I heard from people was "Aren't you worried about the excess skin after you lose the weight?"  I got so tired of hearing it.  Sometimes I felt like saying "Oh, I never thought of that!  I am so vain I will now call off this life-saving surgery that will give my husband and kids a happier and healthier wife and mom in order to avoid excess skin!  Thanks for saving me.".  Now I just laugh when people ask me that.

I agree 100%.  It is crazy that people feel empowered to ask that and associate it with the large amount of weight I have to lose.

Hey, excess skin is a sign of SUCCESS!! in what really counts.

That was one of the things I was most asked also! I'm like you, its the fat that is killing us not the skin! Its the diabetes, and high cholesterol, and high blood pressure that we are most concerned with!
I'm here for you! I promise I won't ask about the extra skin!
I am 4 weeks out on tuesday and if you have any questions or need a shoulder, I'm here.

Thanks Karen, It is nice to have like minded people going through the same journey that I am here.  Thanks again.

I just tell them "I have lots of skin. My choice is whether I keep it pumped up with fat, or empty out the fat, but the skin amount isn't going to change." 

Then I look around me (here in AZ, that's easy) at all the old/young/thin/fat/wrinkly/smooth people and see lots of loose skin flapping here there and everywhere and realize "who the heck cares?" 

My RNY surgery is next Tuesday the 22nd. I can tell you that I have had many people tell me that I'm going to hate my body afterwards because I will look like a charpee (sp) dog...all wrinkly. Also, they say my breasts will turn into tube socks and my face will droop. Well, Ok. None of this is pleasant to think about and I don't want any of this to happen but at the same time, my diabetes has already caused significant problems with my vision and my feet are about half numb now. I've got high blood pressure too. So as others have said, what is worse? To look old and haggard and to actually live to be old and haggard, or stay young looking and have to have limbs amputated or be blind? No problem in this decision. It's surgery time.....wish me luck.

Lori