Excess Skin Fears

I'm worried that once I lose a ton of weight I'll have a lot of extra skin.  My surgeon advised me that I may not have much if I exercise and tone a lot as I'm losing.  Can VSG veterans talk to me about their experience.  Do you have excess skin? Did you manage to reach your goal and tighten at the same time? Did you get plastic surgery? Do you plan to get plastic surgery? For those living with extra skin and do not plan to get plastic surgery, do you feel yourself struggling physically, mentally, and emotionally?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

I was wondering about this also.  Thx u for asking it....

Excess skin depends on age, how long you have been obese, and genetics.  I am 45 and lost 150+ pounds.  I carried most all of my weight in the abdominal area and had a very thick neck.  I had excess skin for sure with tons of sag.  But, I would take that any day of the week over the fat!!!  It could be managed well with careful clothing choices (spanx). I did elect to have PS- a tummy tuck.  I had documented a rash issue, and the insurance paid for a pannilectomy (spelling?), and I chipped in $2,000 more for the vertical cut and muscle tightening.  I have the abdomon now of a 20 year old- super tight, super flat.  I couldn't be happier with the results!  I do have a large vertical scar that will slowly fade, but I don't care at all about the scar.  I do have a "turkey" waddle neck, but surprisingly either it has gotten a touch better as time progressed or I simply have completely adjusted.  I would get PS for that if I could afford it, but my PS wants 10K, and I just can't part with that.  My breasts were deflated and saggy (tube sock syndrome), but with a good bra under clothing I looked fine.  I recently had a double mastectomy and am in the middle of a full reconstruction, so that is now a mute point as well. I have some mild sag on my inner thighs, easily covered by shorts.  I have very slight sag on the arms, but not noticable unless you really look for it.  Check out Bonnie on this site (Miss150 I think is her avatar name)- she posted before and after pics of her PS.  Julia (Iwantmylife avatar) also posted pics.  It will give you a couple of comparison points.  

Overall, lose the weight.  The benefits of that so completely outweigh the excess skin issues!

In interested in what others say but for me as long as I don't have issues such as infections I don't care. If rather have extra skin than extra fat.

Extra skin is a fact of life and based on a lot of things like age and genetics.  If you're going to have it, you're going to have it and muscle can fill the skin out some, but it won't make the skin tight.  

That said, I've read/seen that skin can tighten for up to 24 months post-goal, so I'm not even going to consider plastics until I've been at goal for 2 years.  I'm only 36% of the way to my goal now and I'm already seeing the places that will be loose, but I'd much rather have that loose skin than the fat!  I feel like I've hated my body for long enough, I'm not going to hate it for having excess skin now that I'm finally taking control of my health.  

It really depends on the person and how their skin holds up. I'm 27 and I've lost 150lbs so far. Going from 350lbs to 200lbs. Not done yet, but I've been having trouble with rashes with the excess skin. Mainly the bellybutton. My skin folds in half over my bellybutton, so you can't even see that I have one lol.  I have an appointment with a plastic surgeon on Tuesday to see if I can get the excess stomach skin done now. My sleeve surgeon thinks it would help me so much. In a perfect world I would get a fleur de lis lower body lift, arms, and a thigh lift. :P

Anywho I'd much rather have all this skin than fat any day! I can get around so much easier and have more energy. I wish I had the sleeve done years ago! :)

I lost 210 pounds and I have a lot of excess skin.  I did notice it tightening during the weight loss process.  For example, at times I'd notice a lot of loose skin on my neck, and a few weeks later, it would be gone. Similarly, with my face and arms. Right now my upper thighs have a lot of loose skin, and my belly is the last to go down, so I've got a lot of skin there now too.

 I've always felt that if I need plastics, I'll make it happen.  Now that I'm at goal, I'll see how my skin does over the next few months, and then make a decision.  Its not fun, but its not a big stressor, either.  Its just part of the process. 

best of luck,

Carol

Here is a big old long post from my 12 month surgiversary last month with photos of my loose skin with muscle tone underneath it. The next day, I hit my goal - 100# gone. It'll give you an idea of what a 5'9", 46 year old person who started at a BMI of 40 and lost 100 pounds looks like without clothes. I was MO for about 15 years on and off.

I have a puddle of skin that follows me around but is really easily managed at the moment with shapewear. I'm researching plastics, and at this point, the jury is still out. If I were to go after them, I'd be looking at a breast lift (look at my pre-post side photos and see how my boobs have VANISHED) and tummy tuck. Although my upper thighs bug me, they are manageable. I can live with the arms and the wrinkles disappear the more I do arm workouts - I have been slack lately.

Feel free to ask me any questions you have - Good luck.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/vsg/5259255/A-year-post-op -with-numbers-and-lots-of-images/