How likely is it that I will have excess skin?!

lbrown1428
lbrown1428 Posts: 116 Member
I'm 24 years old. Im barely 5 ft tall at 214 lbs. How likely is it that I would have excess skin after my sleeve?

Replies

  • Mangopickle
    Mangopickle Posts: 1,509 Member
    Hard to tell, have you been obese for many years? Do you have any stretch marks? Do you have thick skin in your family? Do your elderly relatives look their age or much younger? Time, level of obesity, youth and genetics are the biggest factors. I am 5'5" 45 yrs old obese for 34 of those years, with prior stretch marks and family that tends to look 5-8 yrs younger than their actual age. I have lots of loose skin. I have noticed about a 10% improvement in its texture and firmness as my wt has settled around 156, except for my boobs. I have gone from 42D to 38B and they look like deflated balloons. Loose skin is just a reality for most of who lose 100 lbs. I mean we just lost an entire 5' person from under our skin. I don't care. I look fabulous in my size 6 Ann Taylor jeans and my husband loves holding me in his lap.
  • lbrown1428
    lbrown1428 Posts: 116 Member
    I was in the 120's til 2006 when I had my 1st child. I have stretch marks really bad on my stomach from my 1st pregnancy. After my pregnanCy I got down it 140's-150's. Then in 2008 I started gaining and got up to 230's. I'm now 214, I'm the only one of my female family members that has stretch marks bad and my family looks their age. So basically I have been morbidly obese for the last 6 years or so.
  • Mangopickle
    Mangopickle Posts: 1,509 Member
    Probably you will have significant excess skin on your belly . My excess skin is most noticeable where I have stretch marks, upper arms , boobs and belly. The other areas aren't as noticeable. I have 2 friends who had the body lift but they will be the fIrst to tell you it is extremely painful and doesn't give you a pretty model body, just makes clothes fit better.
  • ScoutingMomRosnick
    ScoutingMomRosnick Posts: 11 Member
    lbrown1428...Along with all the factors that mangopickle mentioned, I was told in my class to make sure I keep my protein level up after surgery to help with healing. This is supposed to help allow the skin to heal and "shrink" after surgery as well. For some reason we all seem to worry about the extra skin before surgery, but very few really care after the weight is off!
  • lbrown1428
    lbrown1428 Posts: 116 Member
    Okay, thank you ladies for the info. Thats what I have been worrying about this whole time. I just keep asking myself if I'd rather have the excess skin or extra weight. My stomach is the biggest part of my body and already hangs down so I'm sure it will have extra skin.
  • rpyle111
    rpyle111 Posts: 1,066 Member
    Remember that your youth will really help you here. Skin elasticity is a young person's trait. I remember being able to pinch some skin on the back of my grandfather's hand and have it stay there (a long time ago). Now my skin is starting to get there.
  • Mangopickle
    Mangopickle Posts: 1,509 Member
    Sometimes insurance will pay to have the belly panus removed 2 yrs after you have kept the wt off. This is NOT a tummy tuck involving sculpting your abdomen. This is just cutting off the excess skin and usually taking your navel along with it.
  • pawoodhull
    pawoodhull Posts: 1,759 Member
    Age and amount of loss are the two factors that determine excess skin. Your age is in your favor because your skin has a lot of elasticity in it still. Most insurance companies cover excess skin removal only if it's causing issues (constant ulcers that get infected for instance). I know mine will take care of a tummy tuck because I have two hernias that need to be repaired. They will do it all at the same time. The rest of it however, upper arms and thighs, is all on my dime unless I develope severe ulcers and infections. Sigh.