I need some personal opinions re skin removal - see pic

[JerseyCityGal 231]

First of all, I'm female. I look like a dude in the photo, lol. I took it in the bathroom at work and I can't take a selfie to save my life, lol. I have to wear really loose shapeless tops to hide all the loose skin on my arms and middle so I dress like a lumberjack or truck driver on most days.

I'm not at MY goal yet ... I have about 40 more lbs to lose. I'm not a large person (5' 3") and my frame is pretty small (my thighs don't touch at this point), so even though I am wearing a size 6 jeans, I am still wearing a size XL top because of all the loose skin (and fat) attached to the skin. My gastric surgeon guesstimated I have 15 to 20 lbs of skin. You are seeing just the bottom of it in the photo. Only one handful, lol.

From personal experience, do you all feel I should go ahead in a month or two or wait until I am all done losing weight? I can't afford to do it twice. The skin is driving me nuts. It weighs me down. I was built like a top before surgery, so it's mostly concentrated around my middle.

What say you all?

Be honest.

[My Bariatric Life 764]

I would remove the skin now. Losing another 20 pounds should not affect the results of your Tummy Tuck.< /p>

[IcanMakeit 1,318]

My plastic surgeon advised me to wait until my weight was stable before having the TT. I was also impatient because of the discomfort, but I think I'm glad I waited. As you said, we can only do this once.

[JerseyCityGal 231]

I should mention the skin (and attached fat) is on my stomach and side(s) from under my chest all the way down to my groin - if that makes a difference.

[Cupcake 801]

I agree I think I would wait until I have lost all of my weight before having the surgury you have the support of your doctor so I would trust in them and just wear a body shaper until you reach your goal , I am thinking about a mommie makeover now but I have been told I have to wait at least 1 yearbtom2 years I'm only 9 months post opt. Good luck

[MichiganChic 3,262]

I think this is a good time to consult a plastic surgeon. Only they can tell you what would get the best results. Another thing - you may or may not be able to lose all the weight you want. Once I got closer to goal, no more would come off.

I saw a couple of plastic surgeons and even though I had more to lose, they both said I was a good candidate. And even though I'm technically overweight, my plastic surgeon said I didn't need to lose more. Since then, she has cut of 12 pounds in a variety of surgeries, and I still weigh the same.

Anyway, it takes a while to get appointments, and you probably are going to want to see more than one, so it can't hurt to start now. You'll probably need some time to come to a decision, so it's likely going to be a few months start to surgery.

Good luck - having plastics was the second best thing I ever did for myself, right after gastric sleeve. I

[AmyFromCincy 56]

Im also 5'3" and small frame. I have a big belly so I guess this is what i will face later too. Jersey city gal, how long fid it take you to get to current size?

[JerseyCityGal 231]

@@AmyFromCincy

Hi Amy. One of my brothers lives in Cincy.

I started out at 268 and was 255 on operating day. I don't update my ticker very often. I've lost 91 lbs and my surgery was on June 16th.

[BayougirlMrsS 3,933]

i would deff do a consult or two or three....now. How long has it been since you have lost any lbs? if it's been a while, your body may be telling you.... Hey, this is where i belong..... Removing 15-20lbs of skin is a lot.... and if your already a 6 ... i would think that you would end up in 2-4 jeans....

Some ps also do skin donation and will give you a discount.... Never hurts to ask

[Bluesea71 698]

It's hard for me to get a good idea of what were talking about with just the picture you posted. Lol. Hold on, let me take off my "fake" plastic surgeon's hat now and put on my "fellow Barriatric gal obsessed with her gut" hat. I would suggest going on the real self website and look at pictures of people who have body types similar to you. That is what helped me realize that I want to be as close to goal before I even consider getting a Tummy Tuck. There are people on there who are candidates for a tuck (and get it done) but I look at their after pictures and know I wouldn't be happy with the results. If I still have flab to grab, then I still know I have fat to lose in my gut. I'm 11 months out and I've been amazed how my skin transforms every month. I will lose weight and there's times my belly/thighs look horrific. Then awhile later the skin snaps back. I read somewhere every-time you have a loss, it takes your skin anywhere from 2-3 months to adjust. At 5'7" I'm currently 153. I'd like to get to 140- 145 (or whenever my belly fat is almost gone) and maintain for awhile and consider surgery summer 2016. I had two very large babies and for me, the tummy tuck would repair the torn abdominal muscles (goodbye mommy pouch) and remove the Freddy Krueger stretch marks I have on my lower abdomen below my belly button. I can't even blame this damage on being overweight as I was fit before I had kids! Don't get me wrong, there is excess skin to loose, but I actually get excited as the "fat" disappears and the skin is left because I know if I keep doing this, the surgeon will be able to remove MORE skin at surgery time and the better the results. This encourages me to keep truckin along.....

Edited March 12, 2015 by Bluesea71

[JerseyCityGal 231]

@@bayougirlmrsc

The "skin donation" thing is a myth. Here the University of Michigan Trauma Burn Center explains exactly why this is unworkable.

http://www.traumaburn.org/who/skinbank/faq.shtml

[JerseyCityGal 231]

It's hard for me to get a good idea of what were talking about with just the picture you posted. Lol. Hold on, let me take off my "fake" plastic surgeon's hat now and put on my "fellow Barriatric gal obsessed with her gut" hat. I would suggest going on the real self website and look at pictures of people who have body types similar to you. That is what helped me realize that I want to be as close to goal before I even consider getting a Tummy Tuck. There are people on there who are candidates for a tuck (and get it done) but I look at their after pictures and know I wouldn't be happy with the results. If I still have flab to grab, then I still know I have fat to lose in my gut. I'm 11 months out and I've been amazed how my skin transforms every month. I will lose weight and there's times my belly/thighs look horrific. Then awhile later the skin snaps back. I read somewhere every-time you have a loss, it takes your skin anywhere from 2-3 months to adjust. At 5'7" I'm currently 153. I'd like to get to 140- 145 (or whenever my belly fat is almost gone) and maintain for awhile and consider surgery summer 2016. I had two very large babies and for me, the tummy tuck would repair the torn abdominal muscles (goodbye mommy pouch) and removed the Freddy Krueger stretch marks I have on my lower abdomen below my belly button. I can't even blame this damage on being overweight as I was fit before I had kids! Don't get me wrong, there is excess skin to loose, but I actually get excited as the "fat" disappears and the skin is left because I know if I keep doing this, the surgeon will be able to remove MORE skin at surgery time and the better the results. This encourages me to keep truckin along.....

Oh, I look at sites every night, lol.

I'm 54, almost 55. Nothing is snapping back, lol. Trust me. I pull it out and it just lays there like a dead cat in the road for the next 6 months.

I was looking for people who actually had it done; some before they lost all the weight, some after, for their personal opinions. If they had it done before, did it still hold up after all the weight came off, etc? Do they wish they waited, etc? Or did they wait and wish they had done it earlier?

Been there, done that and glad you did OR wish you hadn't opinions are very valuable. Nothing is better than the words of someone who has been there before you.

I work out with a personal trainer 3 times a week and on my own the rest of the week. Because I was shaped like a top before, my middle is disproportionate skin-wise. That and my arms.

I was in the bathroom at work when I took that pic so I couldn't strip down bare ass and get a real good photo, lol.

[BayougirlMrsS 3,933]

maybe it's a houston & louisiana thing.... one of my mentors, had surgery at the university of Louisiana and they took her skin to the LSU burn center .... this was 8 years ago, maybe things have changed

Not sure

[JerseyCityGal 231]

i would deff do a consult or two or three....now. How long has it been since you have lost any lbs? if it's been a while, your body may be telling you.... Hey, this is where i belong..... Removing 15-20lbs of skin is a lot.... and if your already a 6 ... i would think that you would end up in 2-4 jeans....

I lose weight every week. Some weeks more than others. This week was only 1/2 lb.

I'm a gym rat and love exercise. I wasn't always obese and know I can make it to my goal. I hit my surgeons goal for me months ago.

[Bluesea71 698]

I carried weight in my midsection too and chances of it "snapping back" are slim to none! I do consider myself one of the "lucky ones" as my skin could look much worse! It's snapped back everywhere except my gut. Standing upright, outside of a few wrinkles, I actually look pretty decent. But I can grab handfuls and handfuls of skin starting right under my breastbone all the way down to my waist. It becomes the most obvious if I'm down on all fours. It just.... Hangs. Sigh. It's an expensive surgery. $10,000 where I live. I only want to do it once. If I was experiencing any kind of discomfort, I may consider it early. At this point it's more of a vanity issue. I wear a size 8 jeans but I typically elect to wear my looser 10's because I don't have to worry as much about tucking in the muffin top skin of fat! Regardless, from the reviews I've read on real self, the more belly fat I can lose, the more the excess skin I have can be stretched down and removed. That's what is keeping me focused. Good luck. I think you need to make a decision that feels right for you and go for it!