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I had the bypass, totally life changing My arms started out ~15 inches and are currently about ~11 inches. I have been really diligent about building muscle and taking my collagen and protein. Plus I think genetics play a huge roll in how our skin reacts

I didn’t eat 3 days before. I ate some food prior to the 3 days. I was super careful and didn’t eat junk. I have some boiled eggs and some chicken. Things that healthy. The 2 weeks prior to my original surgery I was good. I think I cheated because I had already lost more than what needed to loose.

Ok here it comes! I am going to pour my heart to you and I truly hope this forum can help me out. So, I am 27 years old, live in Europe, have a decent education, have my own studio apartment, car, some savings, good sence of humor, I am still studying to become a Vet. In my teenage years I was a strong athlete, fit. Then I got injured and never fully returned to sports, but recovered. As the years gone by I have focused on my studies, graduated as bachelor of Law, did not feel as if it was the right path for me so got in to Veterinary School. I am very happy with that decision and career wise completely satisfied. My problem was always relationships. Even when I was quite fit I only had one boyfriend for shorter time loved him, but after sime time he broke my heart. Experimented with a girl, nothing too serious and the I got overweight, then obessed, not morbidly but obessed never the less. I strained from dating because I was ugly, have never put myself into possition to date, hid, ran from relationships like from fire. I had my surgery half a year ago, and little by little I gotten into a better shape, no where near perfection or my goal, but I look decent. I have not told anyone apart from my family that I had RNY and I am not planning too. Which I know will be a problem in my future relationships too. I think about dating but I am terrified! So scared. Firstly, I am not experienced, and shy when it comes to that, I don’t trust guys, always think they will make fun. Secondly, I am scared of people seeing my body, I have loose skin, loads of stretchmarks and still fat on my belly, and my chest is deflated and crepey crikly. I just want to cry every single time I think how unatractive it must be, and that no man would actually want to touch this blahhhh body. I started to excercise but of course it is not making a change that would impact the skin that much I just feel a bit stronger. I feel like I have told my self that I will be happy I just need to lose some weight, now that I’ve lost 35 kg I am sad , because I realised I am not skinny nor at my goal, and the skin problem is still keeping me from wanting to date. All of my friends tell me to get Tinder etc. but I just panick that I would disappoint the guy when it would come to sex and stuff. As they see me dressed I seem quite ok, but imagine the disgust when undressed. I do love myself but I am disgusted by the thought that a man should see ir touch such body. Everyone just assume that I get loads of attention etc because my personality is fun and bubbly, but truly I am lost. I want to be loved and I know I could love someone like no one else. I know I am the most loyal and giving person, and once I have my eyes on a person I don’t need no one else. But I am afraid that no one would have eyes for me. I know that with time I could get some plastic surgery to lift or tuck. But I feel like this would be just another excuse for me, to “just wait until .... and then you can find your love” type of thing. I am not getting younger too, I don’t have loads of time to meet new people because I work a lot. I don’t even know what I want people to advise me on, but please do ❤️

Oh my goodness! Beyond happy! My joints don't hurt, my sleep apnea is almost gone, I can hike for hours, I can get down on the floor with my grandkids and actually get up again! My thighs don't rub together.My blood pressure is normal. I took a bath in our big tub this week and could actually get out by myself! I had to tarp a load of hay this week all by myself. It was going to rain and the tarp had to get on. I had to climb along the sides of the trailer to drag the tarp over the top of the hay and I did it! I could not have done that 6 months ago. I can squeeze through tight spots at work and reach over beds for equipment... and no one has to move aside for me. I went from 2-3X scrubs to MEDIUM! I don't have heartburn or asthma flares anymore. I have tons more energy and am less depressed. I am comfortable at 80 degrees instead of insisting that that ac be turned to 68. I have not gotten yeast infections in the skin folds this summer because most of the skin fold are GONE! I can stand up in church without my belly hitting the chair in front of me. I can ride my mule again! I can kayak without swamping the boat. Someone referred to me as "skinny" this week! Do you still want me to go on? My life is soooooo much better for having had this surgery. Giving up large quantities of food is nothing compared to the quality of life I have now. I have more confidence, and far less shame. I can hardly wait to get my 6 month labs back to see the difference in my A1C, cholesterol, triglycerides. PS - So sorry. I jumped the gun. I see your question was actually to DS patients. I had bypass and would also like to hear how DS patients feel about their surgeries.

It's closed up from the inside. The outermost part of the skin is left open to promote healing. I have to pack it daily with a wet bandage, covered by a dry one and wear an abdominal binder over it.

So I have been back and forth a lot over the past year about getting this procedure done. 2 of my family members both have done the sleeve and the bypass surgery and their progress is amazing! The closer it gets the more I am getting nervous. I have read a lot of these discussions and the liquid post op diet scares me. The hormone changes and mood changes scare me too. It is totally a decision that I won't change because I am so in NEED of this but... Nerves are kicking in. To know a little about me... I am 30 years old and a mother of an 8 year old daughter. I have struggled with weight my entire life, as I know many of us have, and I have tried all the diets possible. None of which got me to where I want/need to be. I gave up on believing I would ever be healthy and happy in my skin until I got divorced. When I got divorced I moved into my own place with my daughter for the 1st time in my adult life. I was unpacking and cleaning and became so EXHAUSTED I was in physical pain and had to sit/lay down. I was so embarrassed and ashamed of myself that I had become that tired over CLEANING! I told myself that day that was it. I couldn't live like this anymore. My insurance requires 6 weight management appointments and a psych appointment as well as a sleep study and a endo/gi screening. I have completed 2 weight management appointments and my psych and sleep study are in the beginning of August. I am so happy I found this website to have all the support of all of you guys going through it as well!!!

It's not really open. The incision is actually sutured at the lowest portion of the skin. The wound is left open like that so it heals and doesn't get infected. If you look closely you can see it's starting to close up at the top of the wound. Gastric Bypass reversal isn't a simple procedure but it's definitely possible, as you can see. Good luck with your surgery! I wouldn't let my complication worry you!!

I've heard it's hard for Medicaid or Medicare to cover it unless you're getting like really bad rashes or something and surgeons deem the skin removal medically necessary.

I'm the same...have lost almost 100# and, frankly, don't have as much sagginess as I thought I would. But that said, my butt, inner thighs, bat wings and abdomen are saggy now. I have always worn clothing that covers thighs and upper arms anyway so they don't bother me, plus I exercise (walking and lifting weights) and the muscle in becoming more defined. It's my abdomen that I want the skin removed from, but I'm also older (66) and not crazy about the recovery of such invasive surgery. I plan to talk about it with my surgeon at my one year visit.

It’s been great. Not a single complication. Very minimal loose skin. No weight gains.

I’m having surgery tomorrow and i was not good at the liquid diet but here is what happened. I was to have the sleeve a month ago and then i followed the diet. I lost all the weight I needed to loose and i was going to the gym. Then I rescheduled and went on vacation and couple of celebrations. I ate but not bad. I was conscious and being careful. I have followed the diet to a t for the last three days and I do feel fine. I don’t feel deprived since this is a gift to me and for me. What I’m worried about is what if they cancel my surgery. It might also just be nerves and my anxiety kicking in but I have no one to talk to because most people won’t understand. What do you think?

Yep, I'd not do it until you are healed. They don't want any risk of skin born pathogens causing sores or healing issues. But what a thoughtful dude!!!

Yes I had to wash with the soap for three days prior to surgery. They may not want any lotions or things of that nature on your skin

Good things to know. We have to keep ourselves educated, when it comes to loosing weight after weightless surgery 😊

It is so funny – – every time I lose weight (enough to make a visible difference or hit a benchmark number on the scale) I kind of go into shock about my “new body”. Then, about two weeks later, I adjust and decide that I want to lose more weight. I am at that point now. Finally pulled the trigger and bought some smaller clothes. Some of them are actually too small and it’s making me feel OK about continuing to lose. I am closing in every week on my goal weight. At one point I decided I didn’t even want to hit my goal because it almost seemed too thin. Everything is relative, isn’t it?! Also, my stomach (skin) looks pretty gross. In my clothes it is pretty flat now but the texture of it is well - horrifying. I guess my only resolution will be plastic surgery.... Size 6 shorts and a small T-shirt. Both new! I am proud of my new body and rocking it! I am 14 pounds away from my original goal weight of 100 pounds. Let’s gooooo!

actually, those foods you mentioned - fried, breaded, carbonated, alcohol - are things we're not supposed to be eating anyway. I get the same "side effect" from fried foods (not so much the other three - but I usually avoid those as well). It's a reminder (to me, anyway), NOT to eat them! I had a (catered) meal once from Cracker Barrel the day before a memorial service. There was almost nothing on the buffet that was on my plan, but I put together what I could (a piece a chicken with the skin removed - plus some of their greasy green beans). I was in the bathroom throwing up afterward. I just can't tolerate grease anymore - and that's a probably a good thing!! (other than when it's my only option!)

Yep! NSV = non-scale victory 🙂 Because sometimes it's more important to keep track of things that feel better than just a number on a scale! Especially when mental health things come in to play -- can't measure those improvements on a scale. Super important for me right now, because I once again haven't lost anything since 28 June which is, what? About a week and a half? I know from weight tracking in fitbit that I have little 'stalls' or slow downs like, around twice a month. This has been the longest, and I keep going up and down about 2-3 pounds. But I'm not too worried, because soon enough I'll probably lose again and I'll be like 'oh, fudgesticks! I don't wanna be just skin and bones!' Lol. This surgery totally stuffs with your brain, I swear. All the best for your upcoming move, Recidivist! I hope you have a pleasant, as-least-stressful-as-possible journey! 🙂

Really, all I made use of was: Phone (mostly so I could watch stuff online - woot for hospital wifi) Phone charger Bluetooth Headphones (listened to some music to stay calm before the surgery, but I wound up with a private room after, so not as useful as I'd expected) Loose, comfy clothes, that aren't going to suck to wear on the way out (pressure on your abdomen is probably not going to feel nice). CPAP Realistically, most of my time there was spent: Drifting off to sleep. Being woken up by the nurses/doctor to be poked and prodded. Taking walks (the first walk was SOOO pressure relieving internally - felt like a million bucks after it) Drifting off to sleep again Being constantly woken up by the (@_)($ heart monitor alarm because my sleeping heart rate is super low. Drifting off to sleep again Being woken up so they could give me a tylenol drip (not even tylenol with hydrocodone.... just straight tylenol, believe it or not). Attempting to eat, and getting roughly half a teaspoon of jello in after 15 minutes. Watching a little bit of Games Done Quick, since it was still going while I was there. Rinse and repeat until it's time to go the next morning. Also: people dis the hospital socks, but mine were comfy and super grippy on the bottom. Given how unstable I was when I was first walking, I very much appreciated them.

I take a bariatric multivitamin and hair, skin & nails vitamins. O don't think it helps. I'm also losing hair rapidly. I have plenty of hair, but still worried. Im also 4.5 months out. I can feel short stubby hairs all over in my scalp coming in, so maybe that is a good sign it will be growing back soon. Good luck!

Not as tall as you all, 5'9". Weight is as follows 333 at the start of Pre-Op program 306 Surgery date 3/7/19 264 3 months 240 6 months 201 12 months 178 today 16 months With bypass you should be loose more up front than the sleeve.

Well I do celebrate my weight loss, ready to tumble over into overweight from straight obesity. My PCP is going to delete morbid obesity from my post- visit summery if I have to stand over him with a pointed stick. It has not an easy struggle, I have the BMR of a seasick sea slug, my skin tone has gone pfft, I have wrinkles on each side of my lips , I think I look like a scrawny French bulldog. And Tomkitten, bless his devious little mind, found an ad in one of our newspapers, either the MOUNT VERNON NEWS or the COKUMBUS DISPATCH, came to where I was at waving the paper. " Look Mom, some lady is adverising French bulldog puppies for $750, and YOU thought YOU were worthless!. Back when I was expecting him I got brown patches of pregnancy over my cheeks, told they would get better after I delivered WRONG WRONG WRONG! And nowv that I have lost weight, have cheekbones, they look more prominent. Still could be the Native American blood Daddy's side denies having any of. Well people are paying more attention to me now, remember Obese people are ignored, just like we are ignored we will slink off to a cave somewhere. Well I am having people ask if I have been abused, are those healing bruises on my cheeks? Well the last person who tried yo belittle me died 7 years ago the 4th of this month; if I try to tell them they are leftovers from pregnancy, they look at me, they look st Tomkitten, and then they shake their heads. One lady even pressed into my hand, a business card from our local battered woman shelter. Told her I really don't need it. Nobody will ever lay a hand on me in that manner, this I do promise! If they suspect my Tomkitten that way, isn't going,to happen. He would have to cook his own meals, a toaster , blender and microwave only go so far, the laundry TINKER BELL will go on sabbatical, and he does. ❤clean clothes. So since my poor little brown spots are of General Concern, I will be visiting our local dermatologist, Dr Kathleen something, she just relocated her practice here, I want to say it's Thompson but I think I'm miss-remembering. Okay I looked it up, her last name is Rogers, her picture doesn't do her justice, everybody has a bad day, and they chose hers for Picture DAY. When she talks and appears more lively she is pretty pleasant to look at! And I am down to a size 18, but you can see my collarbones, I have a turtle neck, if you would hug me you can feel my ribs, and a worse facet of this WLS? I now sit on my rear pelvic,bones because my lovely tushie fat pad is gone forever. I just will take my egg crate support pillow wherever I go. TK had a fit when I bought it, but it has justified the expense over and over. BABY AIN'T GOT NO BACK NO'MORE! Poor Sir MIX A LOTs he is gone depression meds, he doesn't have ME to sing about ANY LONGER!💦😧

Well good for you gabybab- what I did- my jeans and pants also getting pretty loose so bought inch-wide non- roll elastic from w-mart and ran it through the waistband, a little more wear that way of my 20s, that will have until I can afford 18s and less. I had dropped from 4x-5x down to 3x, then when my PICC line was d/cd the end of February, I dropped 30 pounds ka- thunk, never was in 22-24, went down to 20s. Actually bought 3 pair of leggings in size 19 junior, before this last time of weight-dropping I would not have had the "guts" to wear them, my legs looked that much like a fat sausage, now I have definition and shapliness starting to show. Shoot I KNEW I WAS CUTE, I just kept it hidden for many years. Don't know who I will finally resemble, have gone through looking like relatives, dead ones- the other day I looked in the mirror and saw my maternal grandmother Cora's face. Now even with post- menopausal shrinkage, I'm still 5ft8in, Grandma Cora wouldn't have made 5ft4in unless she stood on a stool or tried to stand tippy-toes. Oh well as long as I don't resemble a cattle thief or embezzler, I'm cool! Never had my picture on the wall of local Post Office, and at 73 I doubt I ever will! When I had to go to my County Courthouse to pick up a copy of Late Lamented and my Marriage licence , it was the first time I had been there since our application 44 and a half years before. This proves either I lived a felony- free existence or I am duller than dishwater. Suspect it might be the latter!😄😝😀

I've lost 66 pounds so far and have had to replace my whole wardrobe. I was in a size 24-26 pants and now a 20 in jeans. I also wore a 4x top and now wear a 3x and they're getting loose. I'm hoping to wait 3-4 months to do so again.

Hello ladies and the one other guy, I don't think is even still with us....I haven't checked in in a bit. Just wanted to stop by and say all is well, feeling great.....or I was until today. I finally went and got a Black Card membership at PF and went today. Managed 3 miles on the treadmill, walking mostly but I was able to do a couple of intermittent jogs. Did some leg presses and then some ab killers....5 sets of 30 Russian Twists with a 10 lb medicine ball. My abs were on FIRE and I thought that would be the one I would regret but as it turns out, the leg presses were a bit too much, I can barely walk now and almost fell on my face a little while ago trying to go down the stairs. My legs are like jello. LMAO As much as I am hurting, I still feel awesome that I went and was able to do as well as I did. Other victories....Before surgery I was in a tight 46' jeans, I can now get into 40s but they're a bit tight so I'll stay in the loose 42s another week or so. Guy at the gym gave me a 3xl that I asked for but then he threw me a Large and said there's an extra one for you to set yourself a goal. Hell yeah!! Started on soft foods yesterday. I can tell it's going to be hard to get in the protein goals with just food so I guess i will keep some shakes handy. It wasn't so bad with the sleeve but with this revision, a spoonful of food fills me up. It's crazy. I make a bowl of scrambled eggs, mix in some unjury unflavored protein and just eat a bite every 10-15 minutes. Hope everyone is doing well. Best Wishes.

Happy belated birthday! I am 50. I'm looking very forward to getting rid of the "chins" for sure! I've been using face creams, etc. for years to help combat some slight sun damage. I also have to be very diligent on sunscreen since I had a malignant melanoma diagnosis last year (early stage, malignant mole removed..but melanoma is sneaky). I know sun damage can add to the age of your skin's appearance so I will continue to apply the things that I have found that help my skin look better, especially in the 'tone' of my skin. I knew going into this what I'd be getting into in terms of my face and yes...my chest. I was just surprised that I could see such a loss of 'fat/padding' when I haven't yet had surgery..lol. Whether I have craters on my face, a turkey wobble, and a chest that deflates...is not going to stop me as I know I've only 'hidden' what would have been seen if I was not morbidly obese. The world can think what it will think. I'm too old to worry overly much about some of these things but I'd be lying if I said there was no vanity involved whatsoever...or just...some light regret about the excess skin, etc. and wondering how hubby will feel about the changes but in no way will I let that deter me from doing something to help me keep living no matter what I end up looking like (and I believe that most changes will be extremely positive). I love the pics you linked to. She looks great!!