Hi! I'm new here! I will be having the DS in March 2021 (I have to wait 6 months for insurance). I have been considering WLS for years. I had the lap band 12 years ago and it failed and I has to have it removed due to complications.

I am a single mom to my daughter who I adopted. I am doing the surgery for us. I want to be the mom who can run and play with her at the park, ride all of the amusement park rides with her, go on her class field trips without concern of fitting, not hate myself for buying a 3 story house.. the list goes on..

Having had 3 abdominal surgeries in the past, I know what I'm getting into pain and post op recovery-wise.. having had bariatric surgery in the past I know what I'm getting into with the post op diet. My concern is my body after. I have always been overweight. Even as a child. And I honestly dont hate my body right now! I have a great butt! Lol I have no idea what I will look like after loosing 200 pounds. I am so worried about the excess skin and that I will loose the things that I feel like make me attractive. I know that is super superficial but I hope this is a safe place to express this.

Thanks for listening and providing encouragement!

Congrats on starting the process!!

Any loose skin is easily hidden under clothes. I can wear pretty much anything, and you can't see my jiggly parts through my clothes. If you want to rock a bikini someday, then just start saving up for plastic surgery, as many on this board have done (I'm scheduled for it in a few months myself!).

Best of luck to you!

38 minutes ago, shannonkr617 said:

I hope this is a safe place

Super safe place! Congratulations on the upcoming Surgery ♥️

here's me after losing 235 lbs (originally - I've since gained 15 lbs, give or take). See all that loose skin? I can assure you I had A LOT of it. I just tucked it into my pants and wore slightly oversized, long-ish tops with 3/4 length sleeves (or longer). Ta da! No more loose skin.

I should add that I've since had it removed, but that was for me. No one else knew all that loose skin was there since it was easy to hide. Again, this was BEFORE I had the loose skin removed.

Edited September 29, 20205 yr by catwoman7

P.S. Just wanted to add that most people really worry about losing hair and the loose skin - sometimes to the point that they don't go through with the surgery. I worried incessantly about this when I was pre-op and newly post-op as well. But I think I can speak for most of us that once you've lost a bunch of that excess weight, you'll start to wonder why you wasted any brain cells worrying about it. In the grand scheme of things, the skin and hair thing is really minor. I would take the loose skin any day over weighing 373 lbs again. ANY DAY!!

Edited September 29, 20205 yr by catwoman7

16 hours ago, catwoman7 said:

P.S. Just wanted to add that most people really worry about losing hair and the loose skin - sometimes to the point that they don't go through with the surgery. I worried incessantly about this when I was pre-op and newly post-op as well. But I think I can speak for most of us that once you've lost a bunch of that excess weight, you'll start to wonder why you wasted any brain cells worrying about it. In the grand scheme of things, the skin and hair thing is really minor. I would take the loose skin any day over weighing 373 lbs again. ANY DAY!!

AMEN!!!!!!!! 19 months now post op, I don't even think about loose skin anymore. I am too busy enjoying my new life. I thought about plastics soon after, but am so glad I did not go through all the expense and pain and risk. It doesn;t matter. My hair is back as good as new, and my amazing new body does more that I had even hoped for. It looks a little funny without clothes, but not an issue since I don't make a habit of going out in public naked! Besides, it is so fun wearing cute clothes now, that even with some sags and loose skin, I still look a LOT better now that I did 100 pounds ago!

Losing weight when you are younger ( I had surgery at 54 years old ) your skin has more elasticity and you will get more "bounce back" - I chose and continue to chose (now at 64 years old) not to have elective surgery. But that is both an economic choice as it is not covered by insurance, and a personal choice about surgery. Yes, IF I did have it I would lose more weight ! fat pockets hiding in skin would come off, but I did this to be a healthier weight and to live longer. I have saggy baggy arms and thighs but I wear those with pride ! I wear short sleeves and even sleeveless tops, because .... I can !! I would not worry about loose skin or anything else at this point. Exercise will help, if you can do it, as will keeping well hydrated and using good moisturizing creme on your body. I assure you, you will LOVE your smaller body.

I spent most of my life wanting to lose weight to look better. I didn't seriously consider wls because I didn't want loose skin or hair loss. That all changed when I became unhealthy. Maybe it's because I'm 49, but I just don't care if I have either. I just want to be active and healthy and maybe live longer than I would have had I not had surgery. I don't feel anywhere near 49 and I want a body that feels the same.
I've accepted that loose skin and hair loss are inevitable. There is surgery of course, but at my age I don't know if it would be worth it and I know my husband will love me no matter what, and he's the only one who sees me naked.
I still have a lot of weight to lose, so I don't know how much skin I'll have, but I'm not too worried about it. There are so many positive things that outweigh it!

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2 hours ago, STLoser said:

I spent most of my life wanting to lose weight to look better. I didn't seriously consider wls because I didn't want loose skin or Hair loss. That all changed when I became unhealthy. Maybe it's because I'm 49, but I just don't care if I have either. I just want to be active and healthy and maybe live longer than I would have had I not had surgery. I don't feel anywhere near 49 and I want a body that feels the same.
I've accepted that loose skin and hair loss are inevitable. There is surgery of course, but at my age I don't know if it would be worth it and I know my husband will love me no matter what, and he's the only one who sees me naked.
I still have a lot of weight to lose, so I don't know how much skin I'll have, but I'm not too worried about it. There are so many positive things that outweigh it!

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I had a sleeve at 54 years old, 10 years ago. I am now 64 !! BEST THING I EVER DID !!!

I did not do it for vanity or to look better or to wear a smaller size. I did it for my health and to live longer, and be able to be more active. I started my journey at 320 plus pounds. I had surgery at about 300 pounds. I now weigh 174. No, I did not get to my doctor's initial goal, but he later told me he never expected me to get there either. At my age adjusted BMI I am considered overweight. I started 10 years ago wearing size 28 plus. I now wear petite 16 or a regular 14. But I like the fit of a petite 16 better. I have saggy baggy skin, and my hair is thinner than it was, but who knows if that is my age and or the hysterectomy or the weight loss. I am happy, healthy and active. I work full time, take care of my home, raise chickens for organic eggs, I have an organic vegetable garden. I walk, I take care of my chickens, muck out the coops, and swim when the weather is nice and the pool is warm. I do more than most of my age group, and I do not regret having weight loss surgery for even a second.

My best advice is to research well. I chose a sleeve because I have asthma and end up on oral steroids at least yearly. I needed to be able to take certain medications, and a bypass would not have allowed me to do that. My pulmonologist recommended that I have whatever surgery would allow me to treat my lung disease as recommended. Again, for me, I am happy !!!

I had a sleeve at 54 years old, 10 years ago. I am now 64 !! BEST THING I EVER DID !!!
I did not do it for vanity or to look better or to wear a smaller size. I did it for my health and to live longer, and be able to be more active. I started my journey at 320 plus pounds. I had surgery at about 300 pounds. I now weigh 174. No, I did not get to my doctor's initial goal, but he later told me he never expected me to get there either. At my age adjusted BMI I am considered overweight. I started 10 years ago wearing size 28 plus. I now wear petite 16 or a regular 14. But I like the fit of a petite 16 better. I have saggy baggy skin, and my hair is thinner than it was, but who knows if that is my age and or the hysterectomy or the weight loss. I am happy, healthy and active. I work full time, take care of my home, raise chickens for organic eggs, I have an organic vegetable garden. I walk, I take care of my chickens, muck out the coops, and swim when the weather is nice and the pool is warm. I do more than most of my age group, and I do not regret having weight loss surgery for even a second.
My best advice is to research well. I chose a sleeve because I have asthma and end up on oral steroids at least yearly. I needed to be able to take certain medications, and a bypass would not have allowed me to do that. My pulmonologist recommended that I have whatever surgery would allow me to treat my lung disease as recommended. Again, for me, I am happy !!!

Thank you for sharing your experience. It's so inspiring!!

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