Loose Skin

[Crisscat 169]

How many post sleeve or bypass have the dreaded loose skin? Did you get it removed? Im sure its added weight still there and I imagine it could be a few pounds lost if removed. Im almost anticipating it to be bad for me. Im not sure if my insurance would pay or not. Pretty sure its considered cosmetic. I may pay out of pocket just to finally rid myself of it. Good thing is my Dr who does the sleeve also removes excess skin from weight loss but you have to maintain weight for 1 year before its even considered.

[catwoman7 10,846]

I think I can speak on behalf of most of the long-timers on here in that yes, we dreaded the loose skin at first, but we'd take it any day of the week over being morbidly obese again. ANY DAY!

I lost over 200 lbs, so I had a lot of loose skin. It was easy to hide in clothes, though (I'll post a picture below). I'd just wear long-ish tops with 3/4 or full-length sleeves and tummy-control leggings (although some thing like Spanx would have worked as well). I had my removed because it started to drive me crazy. My abdominal skin would slap up against me when I exercised - ugh. But yes - it was really just cosmetic, and like I said, no one but me (and my husband) knew it was there.

skin doesn't weigh very much. Unless you get a lot of Lipo done, too, we're talking less than five lbs. I think I "lost" maybe four lbs when I had it removed (which unfortunately came right back on!)

some insurance policies will cover removal if it's causing medical problems, like chronic rashes, that don't respond to conventional treatments. I never had any issues with anything like that, so I paid out of pocket.

anyway, here I am BEFORE I had plastic surgery. I had a TON of excess skin, but as you can see, it's pretty easy to hide it if you're wearing the right clothes.

[catwoman7 10,846]

P.S. it's actually good to wait a year after you've reached a stable weight, because unfortunately, the majority of us rebound 10-20 lbs after reaching our lowest weight. A 10-lb gain after plastic surgery is OK, but 20 lbs or more could effect the results.

[ms.sss 14,637]

Hi!

I had excess skin..and had some of it removed via tummy tick, breast lift and arm lift 14 months post WLS (would have done it earlier but my chosen surgeon was booked)

In all only 400g of “material” was removed as it was literally almost all skin (which weighs little) and minimal fat (which weighs lots)…so it had no real impact on my scale weight.

Insurance paid for the panniculectumy portion of the TT and i covered the rest.

I’m pro-plastics after massive weight loss. Its def a game changer.

[ms.sss 14,637]

46 minutes ago, catwoman7 said:

P.S. it's actually good to wait a year after you've reached a stable weight, because unfortunately, the majority of us rebound 10-20 lbs after reaching our lowest weight. A 10-lb gain after plastic surgery is OK, but 20 lbs or more could effect the results.

Further to this, i’ve been told as little as a 10lb LOSS after plastics may result in less-than-desired results. While regular skin tissue is more elastic and “shrinkable”, scar tissue is not.

BUT… full disclosure, i was impatient and had my procedures 6 months after i reached goal (and TBH, was at a “stable weight” for only the 3 months prior to surgery as i kept losing weight for a bit after goal). Im 3.5 years post wls and 2+ years post plastics now…and so far so good.

YMMV.

[blackcatsandbaddecisions 844]

I lost 175 lbs and I have a reasonable amount of loose skin. If I didn’t get it removed it would not be the end of the world, by far. I wear close fitting clothes and you can’t see it in pretty much anything I wear, outside of the arm skin for shorter sleeve shirts. I am a daily runner now (which would have been a comical thought a few years ago) and I do have to be mindful of what I wear to “hold in” the loose skin. But overall in daily life it just isn’t a huge issue.

I always said I wouldn’t get it removed and you’d think by now I would learn to knock it off with these sorts of statements because now I’m booked to get a fleur de lis Tummy Tuck, breast lift, and arm lift at the end of august. I have the funds and I just felt like it was time.

[Crisscat 169]

Thanks for the responses! And yes, catwoman7 you are correct you cannot tell. You did a great job hiding it in the pic and you look great! Ive often wondered if it will bother me or not. I guess Ill have a year to deal with it at minimum before having to make that decision. Seems I will most likely have it everywhere, I already have the preverbal dreaded "batwings" and a large belly. I have inner thigh "extras" as well. I pretty much believe my elasticity of my skin will be nonexistent. It took decades to get my body to this horrible state. I hope some of it will go away but if not at least I have some hope of hiding it for a time and getting it removed much later down the road!

[coajangy 0]

Flabby skin does not necessarily sag, it is dry and rough to the touch. First of all, the loss of elasticity is noticeable on the inner surface of the thigh and shoulder. As a rule, after 35-40 years, folds appear under the armpits, above the bra. At the same time, a woman's abs and triceps can be pumped up. Yes, the muscles act as a framework and set the relief, but the skin itself loses elasticity due to a decrease in the synthesis of estrogen hormones. When the loss of turgor is caused by a metabolic disorder (for example, poor absorption of Iron or loss of Protein due to an unbalanced diet), patients complain of dryness and peeling of the shins, elbows and the outer surface of the shoulder. By the way, excessively dry elbows are a sign of endocrinological vomiting. I use the help of specialists https://www.nwcollege.edu/programs/advanced-aesthetics.

Edited May 17, 2022 by coajangy

[SleeveToBypass2023 1,798]

On 4/10/2022 at 12:03 PM, Crisscat said:

Thanks for the responses! And yes, catwoman7 you are correct you cannot tell. You did a great job hiding it in the pic and you look great! Ive often wondered if it will bother me or not. I guess Ill have a year to deal with it at minimum before having to make that decision. Seems I will most likely have it everywhere, I already have the preverbal dreaded "batwings" and a large belly. I have inner thigh "extras" as well. I pretty much believe my elasticity of my skin will be nonexistent. It took decades to get my body to this horrible state. I hope some of it will go away but if not at least I have some hope of hiding it for a time and getting it removed much later down the road!

My insurance will cover a panniculectomy (literally just the removal of the skin on the lower stomach that hangs down). No tightening of muscles, no Lipo, nothing. So I will be having that done once I hit goal. Once I'm a good 18 months out (or stable in my weight for at least 6 months past hitting goal) I'm going to have a Tummy Tuck, arm lift, breast lift and augmentation. Not sure if I'll do my thighs or not. Depends how my legs look after all that is done, I guess lol

[Crisscat 169]

7 minutes ago, SleeveDiva2022 said:

I'm going to have a Tummy Tuck, arm lift, breast lift and augmentation. Not sure if I'll do my thighs or not. Depends how my legs look after all that is done, I guess lol

Your going to be keeping yourself busy! lol

I dont know if I am ready to go through all of that. I would like to do my upper arms I have those dreaded bat wings!!! I hate that. My upper arms and belly hold a lot of fat so I should imagine those will be my biggest area of loose skin.

[SleeveToBypass2023 1,798]

5 minutes ago, Crisscat said:

Your going to be keeping yourself busy! lol

I dont know if I am ready to go through all of that. I would like to do my upper arms I have those dreaded bat wings!!! I hate that. My upper arms and belly hold a lot of fat so I should imagine those will be my biggest area of loose skin.

I have those horrible bat wings, too. And because I have PCOS, I hold a TON of weight in my stomach, so I already know that there will be a lot of skin to remove from my arms and stomach. I want my boobs done because they got demolished from having kids lol So this is as good a time as ever to get em fixed, The panniculectomy I want to get done first since it's covered by my insurance, and it'll take care of the whole skin slapping when I walk or work out lol

[Crisscat 169]

2 minutes ago, SleeveDiva2022 said:

I want my boobs done because they got demolished from having kids lol So this is as good a time as ever to get em fixed, The panniculectomy I want to get done first since it's covered by my insurance, and it'll take care of the whole skin slapping when I walk or work out lol

Very good point. I havent checked into my insurance yet to see if the panni is covered or not. I think if my doctor shows it as a medical need then I think it is. If Im not mistaken nothing else will be covered besides the panni since its considered as cosmetic. Ill need to check on the prices of all that stuff lol

[SleeveToBypass2023 1,798]

4 minutes ago, Crisscat said:

Very good point. I havent checked into my insurance yet to see if the panni is covered or not. I think if my doctor shows it as a medical need then I think it is. If Im not mistaken nothing else will be covered besides the panni since its considered as cosmetic. Ill need to check on the prices of all that stuff lol

That's correct. The panni is covered if there's a medical need (not hard to get it approved, I've heard). If you are self pay and bundle procedures, I've also heard the plastics can be cheaper, too. I'm hoping to get out with $15k or less, but we'll see when the time comes LOL

[vikingbeast 985]

Guy here. I have a "pooch" and for a while I was all "why won't this damn fat just go?" until someone saw me with my shirt off and said, dude, it's skin. It's all skin. So once I stabilize, I'll have it removed. I have worked too hard and want to know what it feels like to just... take my shirt off and go swimming.