Excess skin and surgery

Hello

I know there have probably been loads of post about this, but I'm sure this effects lots of people when they lose a lot of weight. Ive lost over 90 pounds so far, and have around another 55 to go. I already have a lot of excess skin on my lower stomach (the "apron" effect), and on my upper arms. I work out at the gym 2-3 times a week doing a mixture of CV and toning exercises- but I know no amount of exercise will get rid of skin!

I would like to hear from people with the same issues- is there anyone who has already had surgery to remove the skin? Is there anyone with surgery planned? Or who is thinking about it?

I will definitely be having a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) once I have reached my target weight. It just seems a loooong way away! I am proud of myself for what I have acheived, but cant help but feel self conscious/upset about the skin. :(

Well, I've lost 66 lbs and have another 48 to go.  Just yesterday started noticing the "apron".  So it will probably get worse as I continue to lose.  Elsewhere on my body things are looking pretty good so far.

From what I understand, your skin will continue to adapt for a time after losing weight.

I was thinking of waiting 1-2 years after reaching my GW and then taking an objective look and deciding what needs fixing.

I'm 55 and have had 3 medically necessary surgeries.  They weren't horrible, but they weren't a walk in the park either.  All surgery has inherent risks - especially the anesthesia - and needs to be considered carefully.

My SIL had a tummy tuck and lipo and had significant pain and bruising for up to 6 weeks afterwards.  To this day she has not learned portion control and clean eating ... so her weight continues to skyrocket, then she does another fad diet, loses the weight, then she gains the weight again ...... and on and on and on.   (She also exercises like crazy and her metabolism is screwed up). So in her case, her belly apron doesn't hang, but she still gets round as a barrel.

I'm 18 and I've lost 175 pounds. I've been told by a doctor that my skin won't stretch back so, I've been looking into surgery. I'm currently looking for a surgeon so I can get an estimate, then I'll start saving.

But, yes, you're not alone. A lot of people on here have loose skin issues too.

I'm sooooo self concious about mine. It really makes me leary of dating :/

But, the arms can be improved I've found. The stomach, pelvic area and legs can only see minor improvements unfortunately.

Good luck.

Yeah dating is the main problem- clothes can hide a mulitude of sins but being naked freaks me out!

In the mean time I will just try and do as much exercise as I can!

I have lost 100lbs and I have been overweight most of my life im 21 but at 8 got sick with JRA very very bad and took medcines that made me gain alot of weight but I would have died without them so yeah not much of a choice there on what I had to do. Im finally in remission for a few years getting off the weight 2/3 of the way done 50lbs more to go. My doctor said since my skin has been stretched out for so long it would shrink back some which it has with working out and good diet. But that I would need surgery to get rid of the worst of it on my tummy and arms. I have never ever had a surgery or even been put under for any reason so im abit nervous about it. Your def. not alone with this and it is something many people im sure who lose alot of weight struggle with.

I've lost 180lb so far still have more to go. My problem area is my stomach. The skin around my upper arms has shrunk as has the skin on my thighs and elsewhere. So I'm lucky. But what I've noticed is that my skin on my stomach hasn't seemed to get too much worse as I've continued to lose, so I suspect it's tightening up, just really slowly. Like gpm55 said, I plan to wait a couple years after hitting maintenance and see if surgery is going to be needed.

I however, have already found and married my prince (do you know how many frogs I had to kiss to find him?), so I don't have any time constraints.

I feel a little reassured that people's arms have shrunk, I have been trying to tone them. I can feel that they are firming up on the top- but they are still super saggy underneath. I suppose there is still a lot of weight to lose there.

I'm down 135 and surgery is DEFINITELY on my to-do list. I am hoping to get it as soon as humanly possible, just trying to scrape together the funds. I am hoping to get a tummy tuck as my apron is huge and disgusting, a chin tuck (so expensive) to correct carrying around a HUGE double chin for decades (I look like a turkey now), and my arms done. My arms look almost amazing now, you can see the muscles and definition and when I flex, pow! However, there is still excess skin for me. I suppose that if I have patience it will shrink some but I'm not a patient gal. From what I've read it takes about 2 years for the skin to shrink as much as it's going to and after that it pretty much is what it is.

Maybe in a couple years I'll come back in and have my breasts fixed and maybe an inner thigh lift, those I'm not so frantic about, I SUPPOSE I can wait 2 years if I must.

Hi,

My name is Cheryl and I have lost 300 pounds and I had a tummy tuck done so far. My insurance paid for that surgery and they removed 5 pounds of skin from my stomach. I still need to get my arms, face and neck, legs and butt and breast done.