I think you should do it. To have that much skin and all the problems isn't worth it. You will feel better about yourself and you deserve it. You have put in so much hard work and changed your life around. I know it will hurt and is a little scary, but hasn't the rest of the journey been the same way to get where you are now? If you ever want someone to talk to with all of this I will be here for you. I pray all goes well for you today.
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O ya, I really like your new picture. You are looking wonderful!
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Sarah I was in nearly YOUR EXACT position a little over 2 years ago. I don't know if you remembered reading my journal telling the tale of it but I'll look back and try to find the date of it rather than retell it all here. PM me if you want to chat about it. My abdominoplasty/pannulectomy was less than perfect - including a near death experience - but being younger & unmarried & childless, it made me feel better about my body and allowed me to take up running. And I did two half marathons this year and wore a bikini this summer. Albeit, I still have some post op weight to lose. Day of surgery I was 180, they removed 4.5lbs of skin. I got up to 200 after 13 weeks of not being allowed to exercise. As high at 218 with water weight. So frustrating. Still dicking around in the low 190s, about 20 pounds more than I should be. I feel like the surgery & complications messed up my metabolism.
14 Jan 13 by member: JessWhatINeeded
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Keld had one too, and I think he has had post op trouble losing the weight he put back on after surgery. Be prepared.
14 Jan 13 by member: JessWhatINeeded
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My journal on March 25th has pictures...I haven't taken a current one...maybe I will tonight for my building muscles challenge.
14 Jan 13 by member: JessWhatINeeded
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Firstly, congratulations on losing that much weight! I haven't lost as much weight as you, though my current weight is a lot lower than my highest. By the sounds of it I don't have as much loose skin as you do, but I can definitely see it on several parts of my body. I also have a good friend who has lost about the same amount as you, she has kept the weight off for quite a while and also has a lot of loose skin. We are both about 10 years or so older than you, so the skin is less elastic. I'm certainly not a doctor, but overall my understanding is that if you have kept the weight off for over a year, then that's pretty much as good as it's going to get in terms of the skin tightening. And I do think you are correct when you say that really no amount of exercise is going to fix the problem to a reasonable degree. Given your age, I would probably wait a bit longer to see if it tightens a bit more...but at the end of the day I do think that realistically the only way to get rid of a lot of excess skin is surgery (and personally, if I had the money I'd do it tomorrow). I know it's a big decision, and I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do :-).
14 Jan 13 by member: blueniamh
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My initial reaction is to say "ABSOLUTELY go do it right now!!" just because I can imagine how annoying it is to have that extra skin just hanging around, and I think you could do so much more with your workouts if it was gone. However, Jess' story of her surgery was really scary, and goes to show that it's not something to take lightly. Be sure that you totally trust your doctor and that he/she encourages you to do this because it will be best for YOU, not because it will line their pockets a bit more. Good luck, girl!
14 Jan 13 by member: erika2633
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Welcome back, Sarah! And congrats on losing so much weight and keeping it off - I love your profile picture! Sorry to hear that the skin isn't shrinking as fast as you do. I hope you'll be able to find a great doctor who would fix that, but it IS a huge decision. Get opinions from multiple doctors and follow your gut feeling!
14 Jan 13 by member: lenakh
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Hey Sarah. Welcome back. You look amazing. Love the new profile pic. Same bf? So cool. I can't wait to see you hit your goal. There's lots of people with experience here, so I won't comment on the surgery. But it is a VERY big decision.
15 Jan 13 by member: Helewis
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I think you should do it. You are a beautiful girl, and you will always be self-conscious of the loose skin. They have come a long way with those surgeries; I don't think you will be scarred. Obviously Kingkeld and Jess have been through it, and are more qualified than I am to comment on this.
17 Jan 13 by member: DairyKing
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Hi Sarah! I think you should do it, because you deserve to love your body and enjoy all your hard work. As long as you have the extra skin you will not really enjoy your new body the way you deserve to enjoy it. I know I will be facing this exact same decision when I get to my goal weight and I will be telling myself the same thing. Good Luck on whatever you decide to do.
20 Jan 13 by member: Tarla
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I would say go for it, but I personally would wait until you've lost as much as you want to loose. I don't know if it would be true, but it just seems like if you did it now, you might just have to go back in to have another one done once you've lost ALL of the weight.
P.S. You're looking FANTASTIC!!! Very proud of you!!!
07 Feb 13 by member: Terrylm1
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tough decision! what did the doc say? Love the pic, you look great!
28 Feb 13 by member: jessabridge4444
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i am terrified of the extra skin and i actually think that is one of the reasons for me never keeping going with a diet
28 Feb 13 by member: countess sherry
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