Loose skin after surgery

[jenrobbar951 0]

Hi! I am new here and I am sure that this has been answered many times, but please, bear with me. :thumbup:

Okay, so I told my Mom that I had looked into LapBand and was going through the approval process for the surgery. At first she was supportive, but as time went on, she became angry at my decision to "take the easy road." Whatever...one of her main concerns that triggered a concern in my mind, is loose skin. I was just wondering how many of you have had problems with loose skin, or with your skin not being so resilient. I was told that because of my age, as long as I work out, my skin SHOULD bounce back.....just wanted to hear everyone elses experience on the subject.

Thank you for taking the time to reply!!!! I appreciate it! :laugh:

[karibensea 7]

I am not an expert here but I have learned the hard way on this topic. I do believe that Milk will help with your skin and if you do not lose weight super fast this will also help a lot along with exercise once you are able. There is something in Milk that helps with the elasticity of the strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation (obesity) Do remember to speak to the doctor before you do any kind of exercise as to not hurt your recovery.

This is all I know...

Michele

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Does your mom REALLY think that it's healthier for you to weigh 268 than to have some loose skin? REALLY? Or is that masking another worry of hers?

Loose skin depends on many things including age, genetics, general health, life style, how fat you WERE, how LONG you were that fat, etc.

The younger you are, the healthier, the less likely you are to have bad issues.

However if you are like many of us, weighing 269 at age 29...(I weighed 186 at age 28...just as an FYI) means that unless you are one of the rare ones who diets and it works, by age 39 you'll have gained, and so on.

So things probably won't get better...you won't get younger, your skin won't get more elastic. This is primo time for you; the tide is in right now, jump on the boat!

And as to easy...just wait. It is a tool, the band. Not a panacea. You must make healthy choices and modify not just your eating habits but the mechanics of eating, or you'll end up with a pricey plastic insert.

The band can be a miracle, just like a hammer is wonderful for hammering nails. But if you don't use it, the nail just lies there. Same with the band. You'll work.

And as to the skin...maybe you'll have some, maybe you won't. (probably you won't, or not enough to matter)But it beats open heart surgery which may face you down the liine, or knee surgery, or diabetes II...or many of the other comorbidities of being heavy.

[canary1 0]

I was just wondering how many of you have had problems with loose skin, or with your skin not being so resilient. I was told that because of my age, as long as I work out, my skin SHOULD bounce back.....just wanted to hear everyone elses experience on the subject.

I agree: Your age, the slowness with which you lose, and the fact that you will exercise will stand you in good stead.

I lost about a lb a week while I was losing. That felt slow. I walked 5 miles a day in addition to shorter walks with my dog. I also

"ran" stairs -- about 1000 every other day. I put "ran" in quotes since mostly I dragged myself up them. But it worked and it's much easier now. I do think that exercise is a main key to the whole success of your process.

You can't fight your mom's argument so don't try. If you have the money to live your own life, just do it. Ignore everyone else's nay saying. In fact, I'd stop talking about it. Use this and other sites for your support. People here understand. Besides, there's a lot more to your life than this operation and weight loss process. Talk about the other things.

Best to you.

[RestlessMonkey 7]

exercise is great for our health..and can be another great tool. BUT skin is an organ...exercise exercises muscles underneath the skin. They can pump up some and fill areas where we've lost some fat...they can tone and tighten and look better underneath the skin, but exercise will not diminish skin. Time and whatever inherent elasticity will do that, if it's going to happen.

AND losing slow won't make a difference....people may think that but the skin will tighten up on it's own schedule. Say you lose 100 pounds in 2 years and are tight, or lose 100 pounds in 1 year and then the skin keeps on tightening...at 2 years you'll be the same.

Slower loss may let your skin "keep up" but it won't end up any tighter than it would if you lost more quickly.

(think of a brand new balloon. Blow it up. let the air out fast or slow...it's still stretched some and won't ever be like it was)

[greytz 4]

I am 51 and I know I will have some hanging skin. I would rather be healthy and thin that worry about that before I even know how I will look. I guess your perspective changes once you reach a certain age I don't know. My skin has already started to show little wrinkles but I just keep on truckin' and smilin' because I am losing the weight. I do know from all my earlier days of the gym (I used to be an instructor at Elaine Power's) that it does help if you had really good muscle tone and skin before. But, as said above, genetics and your personal exercise will make the difference. That is one of those, I will wait and see how I look and cross that bridge when I meet it.

[canary1 0]

Slower loss may let your skin "keep up" but it won't end up any tighter than it would if you lost more quickly.

I like this terminology and is what I mean when I think about the skin problem. I suppose if there is an inordinant amount of skin, it may need to be surgically removed. I lost very slowly and my skin "kept up" with me until the very end.

I have a small bit of loose skin that I am willing to live with -- and, who knows, it may "tighten" in time. But at my age, I'm willing to take the trade-off. Thank God for 3/4 and long sleeves!.....and exercise!

[biggyb75 0]

I had my band surgery in January and have lost almost 60 pounds since then and lost close to 40 before the surgery from October until January and I do not have any problem with loose skin yet. I am 34 years old and had stretch marks from putting on the weight so I thought I was going to have loose sking but so far so good.

[jenrobbar951 0]

Thank you everyone who has taken the time to respond!! I know that each person's body is different, so some people will have loose skin and other's wont. I guess I will find out which I am......if I get to that point. Going to call the Psychiatrist's office tomorrow and give them the fax number to my Surgeon. Then my file goes off to the insurance for approval or denial. Crossing my fingers for the best, but not holding my breath. :cool:

[canary1 0]

I had my band surgery in January and have lost almost 60 pounds since then and lost close to 40 before the surgery from October until January and I do not have any problem with loose skin yet. I am 34 years old and had stretch marks from putting on the weight so I thought I was going to have loose sking but so far so good.

Wow! That's fantastic....and it is what I would suspect for your age range. I'm 60 and feel lucky that the sag isn't any worse than it is......BUT clothes cover a multitude of sins. I can live with it!!

[ThinAli 0]

When I had my psych eval I was told to wear things like Spanx. I think this was for a couple of reasons one it will give you a sleeker look. And according to her she said it would help the elasticity. I don't know if that is true but I won't be a guinea pig I am going to wear them regardless. If it helps great if not and it doesn't then I still didn't hurt myself any!

[Jachut 487]

There's really no way to tell. I think I got off lightly, and I've had 3 babies to boot, here's my stomach:

I'd honestly say in all my years here, I've been one of the luckiest ones I know of (of those that share their pics, or talk about their skin!) I despair over my tummy periodically, I'll stand in the mirror, poking, pulling, planning tummy tucks etc but in reality I figure I'm 42 and nobody's forcing me into a bikini on the beach. I can always just not show it.

I lost slowly and i did a lot of exercise - primarily running.

I also had the foresight and good sense to choose parents that gave me good genes, and I think I chose pretty well in deciding to be 5ft 10 tall and basically well proportioned. When I got fat, I think I was sensible in deciding to carry it evently and not all on my stomach.

I'm being silly of course. None of us have control over the factors that deterimine what our skin will do and very few of us will end up with the kind of skin we'd dream of - in reality we're ALL going to harbour some signs of having been fat enough for weight loss surgery.

BUT - the only think I'd swap my life now for is to have never ever have gotten fat in the first place. My stomach wasnt worth showing BEFORE I had my surgery so is it really relevant whether it is after?

[Nanook 2]

I have my own theory on loose skin and I'm sure what most people have mentioned prior play a roll like genetics etc... I had always been chubby as a kid but when I was 18 I dropped about 100 lbs in less than a year. I didn't have what I called "loose skin" the scary kind that no one wants and what plastic surgeons seem to remove. I gained it back over a period of time and lost it again. Still no major loose skin and I was still in my early 20s. Then my first pregnancy and I popped out fairly quickly, my stomach that is and had loose skin afterwards and a few years later had my second and last child and really put on weight. Since that last pregnancy I've had loose skin so I kind of think it might also have to do with how fast you put the weight on not just how fast you lose it. My daughter has a lot of loose skin and she had her surgery when she was only 18, the RNY but she had put on most of her pre-surgery weight in a few months due to some major depression issues.

So I'm no expert but have lost a lot and gained a lot but didnt' have the really bad loose skin until my last pregnancy when I put on a lot of weight rather quickly. Just my 2 little cents, Nancy.

PS thank God for spanx!

[sandiegokate 0]

I also had the foresight and good sense to choose parents that gave me good genes, and I think I chose pretty well in deciding to be 5ft 10 tall and basically well proportioned. When I got fat, I think I was sensible in deciding to carry it evently and not all on my stomach.

This made me laugh!

I always say "my fat doesn't discriminate.. its all over pretty evenly".

I had people mention loose skin as an issue/concern of losing weight and I reply back "I would really like to have that problem"!

I wometimes think that people just don't want you to change, or they fear that if you change for the better that it might bring to the surface their faults?

At your age... you will be fine. Stay out of the sun!!!! I wish I did that when I was younger... you won't realize its importance until you are in your 40's and all those little sun spots and wrinkles from the sun 20+ years ago show up. :cool: