No More Surgeries!!!!

ClaudiaSunshine · June 30, 2007

Hi all!

I am still an infant bandster- only 6 months out- but I'm starting to hear much about excess skin and it's freaking me out!

I'm thinking that as the popularity of band and bypass surgery exponentially increases, so is the rush towards cosmetic surgery. It's going so far where people (bandsters included!) are willing to give themselves rashes and other potentially harmful conditions in order to "qualify" for the procedures!!! Are we going nuts?

I understand that there are 2 schools of thought on the subject of why excess skin develops:

There are those who believe that by being obese and carrying excess weight, you have irrevocably damaged your skin and the only way to combat sag, flab, droop, drop, etc... is through plastic surgery. Plastic surgeons, I'm sure, LOVE this, since they're getting a TON of business. I mean, at my Bariatric center, they have Plastic Surgeons' cards and fliers on the waiting tables!!!

Then there's the other school of thought that skin is incredibly resilient and takes time to heal. Moreover, that the sag, flab, droop, drop we're experiencing isn't actually excess skin at all, but rather still excess fat! Skin is only so thick- half an inch or so- at it's thickest. So, when we're losing weight, yes, we're losing some fat, but it's also Water and muscle. That is why believers in this school of thought insist not on gauging loss by your weight on a scale, but rather percentage of body fat.

After being totally terrified by what I read on the PS boards where folks were coming up with ways to give themselves rashes or otherwise "scam" the insurance companies... I figured that we need to discuss this and see what the scoop is. Maybe do a little research.

(By the way, I work for an insurance company- not medical- and always have to hear about how people have to "scam" us and then wonder why everyone's premiums are so high)

Maybe we don't need to have the additional surgeries at all!

I think that having cosmetic or plastic surgery should be a last resort, just like our band surgery was. There are so many people who are trying to use both surgeries as a quick fix for things that might correct themselves with some time and discipline.

Don't get me wrong, lack of discipline is what brought me to the band in the first place!

These people try to gain weight to qualify for the band procedure, or give themselves rashes to qualify for the cosmetic surgery... These are very dangerous undertakings!!! Heart attack or stroke, cellulitis, necrotizing fasciitis... bad, bad, bad!!!

So what do youse guys think?

ClaudiaSunshine

Jachut · June 30, 2007

Well, nobody HAS to have PS if they dont want to no matter what the condition of their skin. Its your choice, so if you're afraid of it, dont do it.

But you can believe all you like that skin is resilient and will recover, but it wont change the fact that if yours isnt, if you've been obese enough, if you carry the weight concentrated in certain places etc then chances are you WILL have problematic excess skin at the end of this. Those two schools of thought arent mutually exclusive, they're just different ends of the same spectrum.

That said, I'm not a big fan of PS probably because I'm lucky not to have a skin problem of any major degree. I've got a little lose skin and would look better naked if it were removed, but I dont feel strongly enough about it to risk surgery. And I think its vitally important that you love yourself enough to have a stopping point, people scare me sometimes with how *hot* they're going to be etc etc and really they are just the same people they always were, with or without the fact and with or without extra skin. If you dont like that person, no amount of PS is going to fix it.

But everybody has their reasons and their right to choice.

liz2007 · June 30, 2007

HI CLAUDIA. I HAD MY T/T DUE TO PERSONAL CHOICE, MY B4 AND AFTER PICS ARE ON THIS P/S SECTION IM 6 WEEKS POST T/T. ITS BEEN ALOT OF PAIN BUT MADE A DIFFERENCE TO HOW I FEEL,BASICALLY I WANTED TO FINISH THE JOURNEY I STARTED OVER 2 YEARS AGO, AND I FEEL IM JUST STARTING TOO GET THERE NOW. IT WAS THE RIGHT DECISION 4 ME, BUT I DONT AGREE WITH PEOPLE MAKING THEM SELF MORE ILL JUST TO GET OPERATIONS THATS WRONG!! PLASIC SURGERY ISNT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY AS ITS MAJOR SURGERY AND NEEDS ALOT OF THOUGHT AND CONSIDERATION B4 THE FINAL DECISION IS MADE. ANY WAY THATS MY THOUGHTS ON THE MATTER.

LIZ XXX

Pacomomma · July 1, 2007

My T/T was also a personal choice.I didn't make my rash happen. It was there on and off as long as I can remember. Same as sugarplum I am finishing a 2 1/2 yr journey. I feel that PS is a very personal choice it is something that should be done for you,not for anyone else.When I was first banded I had told everyone that I was not going to have anymore surgeries. but as time went by and I lost weight my skin remained in the same place. Do what you want to do and forget about everyone else.

Marimaru · July 3, 2007

I believe that some people do rush into PS, but that is their choice. My intention is to give most of my skin time to heal and see where it ends up. Some spots I wont have surgery on even if they stay the way they are now, mostly it's my thighs and my tummy that I am going to wait and see what they do. Both have come back pretty nicely so far, and with 55 lbs to go, could end up lookin' pretty darn good! One thing that I am having done one way or the other is to have my breasts lifted. I don't have any rashes, and I wouldn't try to create them for the sake of insurance, but I have asked my insurance how much tissue has to be removed in order to qualify for a reduction. If my insurance will pay for my F cups to be D cups, I will probably go that route, otherwise I'll pay for a lift myself, because I don't want them any smaller than that.

JulieNYC · July 3, 2007

Freedom from my pannus was worth every minute of pain from my Tummy Tuck. Even assuming it would have gone back to something tolerable over, say 2 years, if I'd have waited, I would still rather have those 2 years free from my pannus. It really limited my movement.

Insurance fraud is one thing. Self pay for cosmetic surgery by informed adults is another. I can't wait to have my thighs done in December. After losing nearly 200 lbs, my surgeon says he can take 8 inches off each thigh. Bring it on.

enterprise01 · July 5, 2007

So what do youse guys think?

That you are far too judgmental. Perhaps you've been blessed with resilient skin, but most of us haven't been. You might be singing a different tune if you were going through this weight loss journey at 41 or 51 instead of 31.

While plastic surgery is rarely necessary, it can greatly improve one's quality of life and that alone makes it OK in my book. I was desperate enough to undergo major surgery and have a foreign object placed around my stomach in an attempt to improve my quality of life, so I'm sure I will have plastic surgery for the same reason. Mental health is as important as physical health. And when I look in the mirror everyday and hate what I see (the boobs hanging unevenly at my waist, the skin drooping from my upper arms, the flab on my inner thighs), if it's within my power (and my budget) to change those things, I will when the time is right. I still have another 40 or so pounds to lose, but I know plastic surgery will be necessary for me to regain my self-esteem. I envy people who can feel good about themselves with the loose, sagging skin, but I'm not just one of them.

Jachut · July 5, 2007

I'd be the first to admit that my reasons for lap band surgery were at LEAST as much for vanity as for my health. Yes my health has improved enormously, and I'm thrilled about that and about the prospect of a long, fit and healthy old age. But what I'm really excited about is how I look and the clothes I can wear! I dont see how my lapband surgery was not cosmetic surgery also.

So I wont be having any further PS - that's because I feel good enough despite my flaws now. Not becuase I think PS is somehow less worthy or less valid than the surgery I've already had.

only1lgt · July 8, 2007

At your age your skin still has some "spring" in it. I am 61 and am afraid that mine will not be as resilient. I have hopes that i won't need anymore surgery, and would never create a rash to qualify, but if my belly hangs as low as my boobs, it just might be necessary!

derbygirl · July 8, 2007

I used to be against PS earlier in life, but it's become so popular and I believe, like someone else said, that mental health is as important as physical.

I have suffered severe depression and self-image issues from years of being overweight. I want to look and feel "normal" and I don't want to wait 2 more years for that. I've already waited 34.

I don't have money for PS but I am damn well gonna find it even if I have to live without certain luxuries I've grown accustomed to having and now consider "necessary". (i.e. cable TV, having both a land line and a cell phone, Starbucks, etc.)

I didn't have money for the lapband either, but I found it.

As far as rashes and such are concerned...more power to whoever gets an insurance company to pay for anything. How many times has the ins. company screwed ME over? I've lost count. I rarely get rashes, but I do a lot of preventative maintenance to keep them from happening. Most of us probably do. If simply stopping those preventative measures brings about a rash, then that's totally legit.

LaNalga · July 12, 2007

I'm totally for PS! I want to look and feel like every other woman without a weight problem, that's why I'm getting banded. When I've lost the weight, I don't want my extra skin hanging around as a reminder. I have 125 pounds to lose and I'm sure I will have excess skin left, and I'm absolutely positive that even after 2 years or 10 years it will still be swinging in the breeze. How do I know, my mother, who has much more resilient skin than I, had a bypass 18+ years ago, she STILL has plenty of loose skin! Her skin didn't really shrink or tighten at all.

I think everyone should have the choice to do what makes them feel good, and as far as insurance companies are concerned, HA! Ever heard that childhood taunt "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit!" That about sums it up for how I feel about them.

TracyinKS · July 18, 2007

I've ALWAYS had big arms........... not blessed with small ones and so I know that my bat wings will be flapping in the air while riding my motorcycle even mores so after I lose my weight AGAIN and that is a major reason why if I had to chose just ONE ps it would be to get my arms done.... scars or not they would FIT better into clothes and I could for once in my life wear a tank top and not gross out spectators.......... it's just a part of MY journey... and a personal choice for ME.... I've had saggy boobs my entire life too.... but I can stuff them into a bra.... my arms not so much........