I was just wondering how people are doing with loose skin and stretch marks? Im 24 and am going to be banded on April 30th.

Im excited but not too happy about the possability of having a whole bunch of loose skin. Do a lot of you have this problem, is there any way to help prevent it? Lose weight slower maybe? My mom said that maybe because im young that it might work in my favor....I dunno!

Also after weight loss do your stretch marks become less noticable, is there any good cream or treatments that anyone knows of to lessen the noticability of these awful things?

Thanks to you all!

hi jamie! stretch marks and loose skin are a concern for me too so i've already started taking care of it pre-band. i use a cocoa butter moisturizer daily all over my body, and after showering i apply Palmer's Cocoa Butter Oil and massage it in before moisturizing. I figure the added moisture will help with the elasticity and after the band help fade and prevent stretch marks. I also use a dry loofah on my body a couple times a week (or when i remember) to increase circulation and help break up celulite. Until a few days ago, i was taking Omega oils and it's been great for my skin (i've stopped pre-op because it's a blood thinner and i don't want to risk anything with my surgery coming up). Lastly, i drink lots and lots of Water.

Personally, i'm not sure if anything i'm doing will actually have much impact, but i'd rather try than do nothing and regret it later.

Loose skin issues can be lessened by loosing no more than 1-2 pounds a week. Too rapid of a loss doesn't give your skin enough time to snap back. Exercise helps as well in that toned muscles fill out the skin better. Staying well hydrated, a healthy diet and taking Vitamins contributes to general good health as well and puts your body in the best shape to heal itself or go back to a more normal size.

Mostly it is heredity, age and skin elasticity that will have the biggest impact on how well you shrink back to normal size. Even though items listed above help, most is dependent on factors you can't change.

Unfortunately stretch marks never go away, they only fade in color to match the rest of your skin.

I got lucky in that I have almost no loose skin except for a little on my rear, upper thighs and a little stomach poochiness at the bottom . . . but nothing terrible.

Well, I gave birth two babies and stretch marks are all over the place. I live with them. They don't bother me. Plus, I never found any magical cream to make them fade.

Now, I don't have lose skin as of yet. I never has lose skin before. But I am older now, with more weight to get rid of, so I am not sure what my body will look like when I reach a normal BMI.

I am definitely planning to have some type of breast lift augmentation, but I just cannot get my hear wrapped around the TT scar. I will just have to cross the bridge when I get there.

Good luck!

If you've already got stretch marks that skin wont recover. It will go that crepey sort of texture. The skin is already ruined. If you dont have lots, then you might be OK, but there's no way to tell.

I was very very lucky, I had 3 babies and I have one stretch mark on my tummy. My stomach is fine, tiny bit of crepiness below the bikini line, my only real problem is a tiny residual fat pocket on the upper abdomen, which given my overall body fat is so low is a blessing because my port would look absolutely awful, its already very visible.

My breasts grew literally overnight. I went to bed a flat chested fourteen year old and woke up with a pair of DD's. Stretch marks galore. That skin now is utterly revolting, you can pinch it and it stays pinched, it kind of just puddles up, I find my *cleavage* very difficult to manage, as the skin just kind of falls out of everything and I'm rejoicing now that they've shrunk to C's because now, even a triangle bikini top covers them entirely.

I can promise, there's NOTHING you can do if there's stretch marks like that. But otherwise, whatever preventative you can take, its not going to do any harm.

ive lost 61 pounds since may and i have loose skin and stretch marks but im exercising and the skin is getting tighter

but you need to do weights

I do weight training to improve my muscle tone. I also apply skin firming lotion by the ton! lol...It seems to help. I do plan on getting a tummy tuck and whatever else needs to be taken care of once I hit my goal.. Still got a lot of work to do, but I will get there eventually.

Dr. Michael Snyder “Denver Bariatics”

Surgery date 10/9/08

1st Fill 11/11/08=3.5cc

2nd Fill 12/9/08=1.5cc

3rd Fill 1/9/08=.75cc

Total 5.75cc in a 14 cc band

Just wanted to thank everyone for there comments and suggestions. I pray I dont have ugly sking after all is said and done. Im too young! But I guess there is always surgery, I just dont want to wind up looking like a plastic surgery pin cushion!

Being 24 will definitely work in your favor. When I was 30 I lost 74 pounds (phen/fen) and my stomach and everything looked pretty good. I was surprised. (And I lost the weight really fast.. about 7 months). Now that I am 44, I am afraid that it is not going to go quite as well. However, this is what I take comfort in....

1. Before surgery: Fat with stretch marks

2. After reaching goal: Thin with stretch marks...

I will opt for the 2nd choice anytime!!!

Babies wreaked havoc on my tummy, my butt and the skin on the inside of my thighs above my knees. What babies didn't completely disfigure.... Gaining almost 100 extra pounds did. If I have been able to live with all these stretch marks fat, then I will be fine living with them at goal weight!

95% of us women have stretch marks, loose skin, and some flabby parts. (It may even be a higher percentage). I know one of the things I realized quite a while back, (long before deciding to have WLS) is that if we don't learn to love ourselves fat, we will probably still have some problems with loving ourselves when we reach goal. I am not saying that I loved "being" fat. I just learned to love me in spite of being fat. After losing the weight when I was 30, I still felt disappointed with my body. Now I understand that I am who I am. I am so excited to have this opportunity to lose weight and get some control over this area of my life, but I don't have any preconceived notions about what I am going to look like. I am hoping that I don't end up with a bunch of face wrinkles, but if so, then I will learn to love my little skinny wrinkly face. :confused:

Good luck to you in your weight loss journey. And it is a journey and it is about much much more than just losing weight.

I've lost 60lbs so far and only have trouble with loose skin under my arm. It is not too bad but it is a little giggly. Every where else is good. I do have stretch marks but I had those after having my daughter.

Your age is definitely on your side! You should have a lot of elasticity in your skin and I would think it would snap back pretty easily but keeping moisturized is a great idea.

Do you have stretch marks now? Good news - If not, you won't get them unless you gain weight back again. Stretch marks come from stretching or tearing of the skin. You won't get them from losing weight. Most people get them when they are pregnant - some when they get their breasts. I've got them on my stomach (baby), breasts and arms. Mine were never purple like I've seen on some people but they aren't that pretty.