I had gastric bypass surgery on January 3, 2005 and I have done very well. No issues with my pouch-dumping or vomiting because of following doctor’s orders-no carbonated beverages, no sweets, no fried foods, no eating and drinking at the same time and exercise 5 days a week. After trying skin wraps in my arms and seeing no changes my husband suggested arm surgery. I had my first plastic surgery in December 2015-arm lifts (7 inches of skin removed from both arms). I was so happy and still very happy with my results. February 2017-liposuction in both legs(knees and calves). December 2019-extended tummy tuck (6 pounds of skin removed). March 2020-lipo 360(11 pounds of fat removed from stomach, flanks, and entire back). With removal of the excess skin I am able to wear size 4/6 in dresses , 8/10 in pants and some junior clothing. Starting size 15 years ago was 24/26. Preparing for breast reduction surgery around October or November. All surgeries have been preformed at the same practice. I am glad I had surgery many years later because I learned to plan/prepare meals daily. Exercise 5 days a week, and continue to follow the 4 D’s:

Desire, determination, dedication, and discipline.

Please share your story with me.

I had my lower body lift 26 months after my RNY and my arm lift & breast lift almost three years after my RNY. I never asked the surgeon how much all of that weighed - I probably should have!

How far out are you with your surgery?

2 minutes ago, Tammie G said:

How far out are you with your surgery?

a little over 5 years out

I find it fascinating that those that shed comparable amounts of weight at that same rate as WLS patients by extended fasting (3 - 5 days or more) have NO lose skin. Jason Fung, Peter Attia, Satchin Panda ( the godfathers of true fasting) put this down to autophagy.

Thanks for sharing. My excess skin was due to being morbid obese for 30+ years

2 hours ago, Pckeys said:

I find it fascinating that those that shed comparable amounts of weight at that same rate as WLS patients by extended fasting (3 - 5 days or more) have NO lose skin. Jason Fung, Peter Attia, Satchin Panda ( the godfathers of true fasting) put this down to autophagy.

I've never heard this - it sounds a bit odd, though. I'll see if I can find anything on it.

LATER: not finding anything in scholarly literature about it (I'm a retired university research librarian and still have access to the university's databases). I see things in popular articles, but I never know how much to trust info in these. Although in the case of a lot of WLS patients, the skin is so stretched and damaged by weighing 300 - or 400 - or more lbs, that if autophagy did have some effect, it would probably be minimal. A lot of us have really damaged skin - I don't think there's much you can do about it other than have it surgically removed.

Edited August 16, 20205 yr by catwoman7

33 minutes ago, catwoman7 said:

I've never heard this - it sounds a bit odd, though. I'll see if I can find anything on it.

Jason Fung and Peter Attia and many others in the field have spoken extensively about this over the past few years. Both have used fasting as part of treatment options for 1000s of patients for metabolic diseases such as obesity/diabetes/kidney disease/alzheimers etc..

Patients that lost considerable weight over short periods of time DID NOT have lose skin when using longer fasts (3 days or more) as part of their strategy... this did not include "time restricted feeding" like 16/8 which is generally not long enough to reach needed levels of autophagy.

I should add, once the nutrient sensing pathways for autophagy is understood, it is very easy to see why this happens.

Edited August 16, 20205 yr by Pckeys

I was 56 when I had my sleeve done. I knew I was not a bikini person and there did not seem to be enough loose skin that clothing could not disguise but my chubby cheeks were gone, leaving flabby pockets, and I had jowls. I had a face and neck lift 15 months after my sleeve and I was so happy with the results, still am. My surgeon said I had so much loose skin mid-face it covered my ears on both sides of my head before he removed it. So worth it not to look like a Shar-Pei.

I will be 18 months post op when I have my breast lift/augmentation, tummy tuck, and arm lift in January. Both my plastic surgeon and Bariatric surgeon are supportive of this timeline, both state that patients who have PS post Bariatric surgery do better maintaining their weight in the long term. I’m so excited to be rid of my flappy bat wings! It was near 100 degrees today, yet I was in a long sleeved shirt to cover my awful arms :(

Congratulation on your upcoming surgeries. I do understand the bat wings situation. I felt like I had been set free when the skin was removed. I remember waking up saying to my husband-look what he did to my arms. I am planning breast reduction/life for possibly November. I am currently being treated for varicose veins.

Will all your procedures be performed during one surgery?

Yes, all at once. I ended up speaking with six surgeons in total, half said they’d do all the procedures at once, half said they wouldn’t. I’d prefer to just get it all done and over with.

I dedicated a lot of time for caring for myself after each procedure. The tummy tuck required my husband assistance because I had drains that he had to measure the liquid and I was walking bent over for 2 weeks.

Had my Plastics done 14 months after my sleeve surgery: arm lift, breast lift and tummy tuck (with muscle tightening and some lipo on the flanks) all in one shot. I had a whopping 400g of skin/tissue removed, lol.

Recovery was a little rough (self-imposed roughness...I did not follow doc’s orders about refraining from exercise, so I accept full responsibility), and I tend to scar badly, so some incision areas are still pretty dark pink and raised. But I know they will be better in a year or so, so I’m good with them for now.

Today, I’m 8 months post plastics and very pleased with my results.