18 months out & considering plastic surgery

antonia_p
on 4/1/13 8:00 am - NJ

Soooo, I'm 18 months out & my excess skin is bugging me-.  I'm just not sure how much since I'm a GIANT chicken when it comes to pain & I'm not liking the scars that are left behind. AAAAAAAAND then there's the financial burden that comes with plastics.

I'm just curious who of you have considered taking this step, as well as those of you who actually took the leap & did it.  I'd like to pick your brain & see if you're happy with your decision, whatever it was.

 

 Every day is a test....choose wisely! 
Owlet
on 4/1/13 8:17 am

I talked with the nurse who runs out support group about this. She said you typically see the best results 2 years out. There is a nasty thing called rebound gain that happens in some people. You lose well for 18 months, then can have a 15-30 pounds rebound gain. Not exactly sure if this happens to everyone or not.

 

For that reason it was suggested I wait until I was 2 years out. I HATE my arms, I still have 50 more to go and just cringe thinking how it is going to look:-( So many have said they would rather have loose skin and feel healthy than to have a firmer body but he unhappy.

    
cajungirl
on 4/1/13 8:47 am
Had plastics 22 months after my WLS. Very happy with results and the money spent was well worth how I saw myself after and how I felt emotionally.

Proximal RNY Lap - 02/21/05

 9 years committed ~  100% EWL and Maintaining

www.dazzlinglashesandbeyond.com

 

Laura in Texas
on 4/1/13 8:47 am

I had my arms done 15 months post-op, about a month after I reached my goal weight. I HATED them and they made me feel horrible about myself. I figured even if I gained or lost a little, it would not affect my arms much. I waited another 18 months to get my torso work done. I wanted to make sure I could maintain my weight because I did not want to mess that up.

Mentally, I could not handle the excess skin. I know other people here can, and more power to them. It just wasn't me. I finally feel whole again.

Laura in Texas

53 years old; 5'7" tall; HW: 339 (BMI=53); GW: 140 CW: 170 (BMI=27)

RNY: 09-17-08 Dr. Garth Davis

brachioplasty: 12-18-09 Dr. Wainwright; lbl/bl: 06-28-11 Dr. LoMonaco

"May your choices reflect your hopes and not your fears."

avidreader
on 4/1/13 9:16 am - Cary, NC

I had TT with muscle tightening 3 years out - glad I did but some days I still 2nd guess the money spent, especially in this economy.  It does make you feel like a new person and the pain and inconvenience was definitely worth it.  I could certainly use a boob job but I seriously doubt I will ever self pay again to have my body worked on - now if I can get insurance to help, maybe.  And, my midline scar has all but disappeared over the past 2 years.  The side to side looks pretty good and it could be hidden in a bikini bottom if I wore one (NEVER).


Highest/Surgery/Current/Goal
250/241/139.5/125
I have a new philosophy, I'm only going to dread one day at a time.  Charlie Brown
MyLady Heidi
on 4/1/13 10:29 am

I had an extended tt with muscle tightening and a neck lift at 18 months out.  Pain isn't an issue, its mostly pressure and swelling, as for if its worth it, best money I ever spent.

Citizen Kim
on 4/1/13 11:12 am - Castle Rock, CO

I did not have a lot of excess skin and so had my PS purely for vanity sake at 22 months (16 months after reaching goal) ...

I had an abdominoplasty, lower face lift and breast lift and augmentation - all self pay because it was definitely NOT a medical necessity.   I had mine done in Thailand as I was living in Asia at the time and so it didn't cost as much as it would have done here but I don't regret a penny!!!

Proud Feminist, Atheist, LGBT friend, and Democratic Socialist

Cicerogirl, The PhD
Version

on 4/1/13 11:53 am, edited 4/1/13 11:32 pm - OH

I had a panniculectomy, mons lift, brachioplasty, and then, finally, a full tummy tuck with muscle tightening.  I did not have any lipo done with any of the procedures. I paid out of pocket for everything except the panniculectomy.

My pannus was huge, so insurance paid to have that done.  My mons also had residual fat (which, apparently, is common for women who had a large amount of fat there... for some reason the fat there is extra difficult to lose), and I was having to wear tunic length shirts and baggy pants to hide it, especially after the panniculectomy.  I cried every morning when getting dressed, trying to figure out what to wear, so it HAD to be done!

My "batwings" were also huge, and I have always wanted to be able to wear sleeveless outfits, so that was next on my list.  The scars are quite long (mine go from my elbows all the way up into and through the armpit and down along the breast (so he could remove the extra skin on the side under my bra (some people call them "side boobs")).  The scars are hidden as much as they can be in the natural valley in the arm, but they are definitely still visible when I wear sleeveless tops.  I don't like the scars, but the scars look SO much better than the 3 inches of skin hanging down that he took off.  I see some people who are very bothered by excess skin on their arms that doesn't look bad to me.  They aren't anywhere near big enough (if they were on my body) to be worth trading for the scars. I don't fault someone else for having an arm lift no matter how little excess skin they have... I just find the scars unsightly enough that, for me, the excess skin would have to be a certain size for the scars to look better than the excess skin.

I finally opted for a tummy tuck.  I felt my body looked odd with a very flat lower belly, but with the extra skin above the waist. Because I had already had the panni removal, I had a reverse tummy tuck (a true "T" incision).  The entire incision turned necrotic and I had a large "crater" in my belly for over 5 months while the tissue and skin regenerated.  The crater had to be cleaned and packed twice a day every day for that entire time.  Because of that experience, I will not have any more plastic surgery done.  (I would love to lose the excess skin on my thighs (which makes it impossible for me to wear shorts above the knee), but the thighs are notorious for necrosis and I cannot imagine having open incisions between my legs for months!  I am just not willing to take that risk.)  I love having a flat belly for the first time in my adult life, but I wish I had paid the extra couple of hundred dollars to get him to do a little lipo on the two small pockets of fat that I have at the waist on both sides (they are just on the sides, not in the back or in front).  It was hard enough for me to be able to figure out a way to pay the $7500 for the tummy tuck, though, so it was a choice between lipo and getting the On-Q pain ball to ease the pain. It took me three years to pay off the tummy tuck (part of it was put on a credit card with a 9% interest rate).  I sometimes think about other things that I could (and probably SHOULD) have used the money for, but I cannot tell you whether I would make the same decision again. It is hard to say because I cannot put the whole experience with the necrosis aside, and that was extremely difficult. (I had to take Ativan for several weeks just so I could even look at the wound to clean it... my belly looked like something on a cadaver, and now I have scarring that looks like burn scars.)

i don't know how helpful that all is, but that is my experience.

Lora

p.s. My panniculectomy was a very easy surgery and recovery other than swelling; the was almost no pain except at the endpoints on my hips where the skin pulled when I would bend or twist.  The mons lift was also mot painful, but i did have a seroma that had to be drained a number of times. The arms hurt more than I expected (since there is no muscle cutting invoked), but most of that was from swelling (which lasted off and on for a couple of months) and from pulling the armpit area.  The tummy tuck was the most painful surgery I have ever had.  Even once I went back to work, I had trouble walking completely upright... more than about 6 steps and the pain and tightness had me hunching back over.

14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained

You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.

plum21
on 4/1/13 10:17 pm - Miami, FL

I did it all, in Mexico, with Dr Sauceda - thighs, LBL, UBL, arms, BL/BA last December at 2.5 years out. The pain wasn't bad. Had no problem swelling. The scars are still red, but they're beginning to fade at 4months. My body is not perfect, but it is soooooooo much better. I am more confident ( and I was pretty confident before) Most people don't notice anything, cause I looked pretty good with clothes on. I live in Miami and wear shortish skirts and swim suits year round, so that makes a difference. I'm wearing the same size clothes, but without a muffin top.  I thought I'd lose a lot of weight, but I weigh the same, just look better naked. Well worth it for me.

Also, the after care in Mexico was terrific, and important to me as I am single and wouldn't have done well if they'd kept me one night in the hospital. I spent three days in the clinic and then moved to a hotel where the nurse and doctor stopped by every day to check on me. You take pain pills and by the end of the week, you don't need pain pills anymore. I took it easy for six weeks altogether and never had any problems. I'm happy I did this.

antonia_p
on 4/2/13 12:52 am - NJ

thanks for your honest input.

i'm really trying to figure out what i  REALLY want... the thought of the scarring scares the hell out of me. I had reconstructive knee surgery 20 years ago after a bad skiing accident & although I understand that different parts of the body scar differently, that 8 1/2 inch scar haunts me to this day. i HATE it. So, to think that arm length scars could replace my sagging skin on both arms scares me to death. I'd LOVE for it all to be firm & pretty, but that would take a whole lotta money, pain, & patience.

I still want to have children ( i'm 37) so i should wait on a tummy tuck.. i don't think i could commit to a lower body lift for all of the reasons mentioned above! and then there's that whole "I'm not made of money" thing. LOL. honestly, i'm broke- so it all sounds stupid from that viewpoint but I have to see how much I am willing to accept in this new body of mine.

 

 Every day is a test....choose wisely! 
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