lacroixje

Hi all, I'm new here and would really appreciate advice! I had the Lap-Band back in 2003. I started out at 515lbs and my surgeon set a goal weight of 350 (expected weight loss for Lap-Band tends to be lower, but the surgery was the right choice for me because I was only 21 when I had it). Anyway, I got down to 295, which I maintained for about 10 years. Most recently I started losing again through food planning and exercise and am now at 279. Lately I am really frustrated by all the sagging skin. It isn't causing infections or major mobility issues (thankfully), but I would really like to experience how my body moves (and looks) with less of the excess. I know some guidelines say a WLS should consider PS after they've lost 40% of their body weight or 100lbs. I've lost 46% of my full body weight, and 236lbs. The issue is that, because my original goal was so high, I have no idea what my target weight would be to make me a candidate for PS. I'm mostly interested in a breast lift w small implant, removal of excess arm skin (which is a lot!). I'd also like a LBL or TT down the line, but there's still a good amount of belly fat, so I don't know if that would be an option for me. I should say that the most beautiful part of this lap band journey for me has been letting go of the idea of ever being thin. I'm 6 feet tall and have a large skeletal frame, and I actually really like my body shape-- I'm just not a huge fan of all the sagging skin. For that reason, I don't really want to have to reach what the CDC recommends as a "healthy" weight for me (which is 136-184lbs) in order to get rid of the extra skin. I don't know that my body will ever reach that range, and I don't really feel like I need it to. I just want to be able to enjoy my body to the fullest now. Has anyone with a very high starting weight had PS while in the 250lb weight range? And do you know of good surgeons in the NY, Philadelphia, or DC areas who are good with high BMI patients? Any insights welcome! Many Thanks! Hope you're all having a great weekend! J'amile

Thanks, Nologoz for reviving this post! And thanks everyone for weighing in. Ssflbelle, thanks for sharing your story. I'm so sorry to hear you've had such a tough time, but I'm glad things are looking up. I'm still in the researching stage. I consulted with a surgeon in Philadelphia who had no issues performing my PS, but the two procedures would be quite expensive. I'm planning to continue researching and getting the weight down even further while I figure out the money. And, in the meantime, I've started working out twice a day and ran my first 5k! Will keep folks posted. Thanks again for sharing your experiences!

Thanks!