Excess skin after 170 pound weight loss (*warning, pics)

After my recent success story post went out I got inboxed a lot of questions about the excess skin issue and I realized its a real fear people have and they don't really know what to expect or how to handle it when they reach goal. I tried to reply on my original post but it wasn't until page three so it got lost in a sea of comments. I wanted to share this again on a separate post for those with the same concerns can see. So, here was my original general response to your questions...

I got inboxed a lot of questions about the excess skin, and it would probably be easier to answer it generally in this post than reply to each one separately. As I said before, yes, I had excess skin. The primary areas of concern were my tummy, breasts, under arms and thighs. Had I not had gastric bypass and lost it slowly and utilized more exercise early on, I'm sure this could have been less of an issue, but you will never be that big and go back to a tight firm hot bod again. I also had stretch marks galore. (Mind you I also had things in my favor. I was only 25, so I had some bounceback left in my skin. So, everyone's results will be different. I carried my weight everywhere rather than just tummy, or just hips and butt. That too will make a difference) I remember being at my smallest weight and just being very depressed because I still looked a mess. I still looked obese, and in these pics I was only 145 pounds. That wasn't what I had signed up for. I expected to have bikini body like everyone else hopes for. But in actuality, I looked like a melted candle everywhere. I did ultimately have a tummy tuck and breast augmentation, but the rest wasn't within reach for me. It's just something I have to accept and live with. I used to be extremely worried about it, but over time it has gotten better and muscle helps considerably. For the sake of being brutally honest I am about to post the pics from the doctor's office when I had my plastic surgery. This will give you an honest idea of what a 170 pound weight loss can do to a formerly morbidly obese body. Please no snide comments. They aren't pretty and this takes a lot of trust in you guys to put this out there.


[img]http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb41/Thin1day/before and after/tummybefore.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb41/Thin1day/before and after/breastsbefore2.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb41/Thin1day/before and after/2monthspostop.jpg[/img]
and this was 2 months after surgery. The scars were still very red and you can see the doctor had to do an achor cut, and it still didn't get all the skin left in the ribcage area. He said he would have to cut from the backside to get all of that as well, and I wasn't up for that. He was able to do muscle repair though, and I did have to have a new belly button created for me. Insurance did not cover any of this. If I wanted to fight for insurance approval I would have had to prove that it was causing a medical condition such as skin rashes, and even then they would have only approved a panni (or the removal of the tummy flap overhang) This was in 2006 and the scars have since faded to next to nothing and I haven't had any further concerns....but I did notice when I started gaining weight again it got very tight and uncomfortable. I still plan to have another baby in the next couple of years and I really don't know what to expect at that point.