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Meds, Medical Conditions, and Treatment >> Meds, Medical Conditions, and Treatment

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night_shade
Threadhead


Reged: 08/26/03
Posts: 907
Loc: The State of Hockey
Weight loss and extra skin
      #133235 - 02/01/04 09:24 AM

Maybe a bizarre question, but I have lost around 60 pounds in the last year. And I have lost nearly 20 of that in the last 6 weeks. I was slighlty overweight when I weighed my highest (192 lbs at 5' 8") and am now looking almost unhealthy at 125 lbs (yep, I'm still 5' 8" )

Anyway, I wonder about the extra skin. In some places I have light stretch marks (not sure if it is from losing weight too quickly or from gaining it when I did) and definite "flab" that just looks like "extra skin"...

Will this shrink in time? Or is plastic surgery the only way to remove it. Just to clarify, it isn't a gross amount of extra skin...just enough to bother me. I'm only 31 and am slighlty vain about this (sorry! )...

No, I did not use medications or a diet to lose the weight. Once my methadone dose decreased significantly, I lost the hypoglycemic urge to be constantly eating sugar. I have always been underweight with the exception of the years I was on high doses of methadone. The weight has exponentially decreased with my methadone dose reduction. The last 20lbs has been the result of life's stress and a complete loss of appetite.

Thanks in advance.

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Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.


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yawkaw3
Pooh-Bah


Reged: 03/22/03
Posts: 1193
Re: Weight loss and extra skin [Re: night_shade]
      #133239 - 02/01/04 09:46 AM

Congratulations first of all on parting with 60-70 lbs!

It really depends how bad it is, how long you've been at your current weight, how much you exercise, etc.

I don't know what you consider a gross amount of extra skin- it would be hard for anyone to give you an educated guess without physically examining you.

But my understanding is that the excess skin from losing 60-70 pounds will not disappear with exercise alone, and if it bothers you- all the more reason to consult with a plastic surgeon. They really would be the ones who could make that judgment better than any other doctor.

Most plastic surgeons though, would want your weight to stabilize before doing a procedure like that- if you see one, s(he) will probably tell you that. Your happiness with your current weight and your future plans with methadone and opiates in general would be more determining factors.

Really can't hurt to have the consultation, let us know what happens either way.

-yawkaw


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D2003
Member


Reged: 12/12/03
Posts: 193
Loc: Texas
Re: Weight loss and extra skin [Re: night_shade]
      #133240 - 02/01/04 09:47 AM

Some years back my boss underwent that stomach stapling surgery and lost over half her body weight in the years since. (She was over 400 pounds prior to the surgery.) She had a LOT of excess skin to deal with. The downside of losing a significant amount of weight is this excess skin. Once stretched out to cover up the extra weight, the only recourse is surgery. It rarely, if ever shrinks back to its former self.

My boss has already had two surgeries to remove the excess skin from her arms and her stomach region. (They also repaired three huge hernias that had developed by covering her entire abdominal area with an internal mesh.) I nursed her back to full health on both ocassions as well as ran the business for her. You're about 85% recovered at the 6-8 week mark, but it can take up to another 3 months for get that last 15% back again. She still has her legs (including hips) and butt to do yet, as well as reconstruction of her breasts.

There's a whole bunch more I could go on about (diet, exercise, the use of pain meds etc), but enough to say that the only lasting option you have is surgery.

D2003


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lemongrass
Board Addict


Reged: 09/23/03
Posts: 361
Loc: IL
Re: Weight loss and extra skin [Re: night_shade]
      #133241 - 02/01/04 09:52 AM

Hi, Night_Shade!

First, I absolutely love your name because I'm such a nocturnal thing. Always have been...since birth, according to my mother.

Anway, to your question at hand. The extra skin will not diminish on its own. You need to do some exercising in order to tighten those muscles, which will in turn tighten your skin.

At the weight loss that you're speaking off, it doesn't sound like it will be such a difficult feat and won't warrant any cosmetic surgery. Just need to tighten, baby! LOL

And those stretch marks are from weight fluctuation. I've been on the yo-yo thing for years. Up and down, up and down. I've got the stretch marks but nothing that I'm too worried about. It's the cottage cheese look that's disgusting me. I need to lose weight and tighten my skin as well. I just started a low-carb diet, which means no more sugar! Ugh! So we shall see how that goes.

Coco butter really does have an effect on reducing those stretch marks. And can you believe they actually have lazers to remove those marks? You see, in the summer, when we tan, our stretchmarks don't tan, so they are very noticable. When you get this lazer surgery it darkens those marks so it blends naturally with your skin. Amazing what technology comes up with. Probably costs an arm and a leg though.

lemongrass

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night_shade
Threadhead


Reged: 08/26/03
Posts: 907
Loc: The State of Hockey
Re: Weight loss and extra skin [Re: lemongrass]
      #133276 - 02/01/04 02:29 PM

Hey thanks everyone.

First off all, my weight loss, although it SOUNDS significant, doesn't really seem like a big, noticable deal to those who see me regularly. My weight was carried very evenly--not an apple or pear...just even.

I wore a womens' size 18 when I was 192 and now wear size 7 at 125. Still, it is the skin in the abdomen area that bugs me. It's flabby---like a woman looks right after she's given birth (but not quite so jello-y)...it's NOT fat, just extra skin. To make matters worse, I had a c-section and hysterectomy through the same incision (on 2 different surgeries) and the scar acts like the "catch point" for that extra skin. Which makes me think that if a woman's abdominal skin goes back naturally after birth, so why not now?

I can't afford cosmetic surgery, but wonder if it couldn't be classified as medically necessary due to the huge scar I have from my surgeries.

I am still losing weight (but not intentionally) because of an extremely poor appetite. I do not have any eating disorders, just stress-related appetite loss. So I suppose doing something now about the extra skin wouldn't be wise.

Thanks again for the responses to my post. It is more a vanity issue than a medical one. By the way, I don't advocate the starvation diet I have been on. Very stressful to your heart and other organs and I'm paying for it.


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Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.


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537
Threadhead


Reged: 12/08/01
Posts: 750
Loc: west coast CA
Re: Weight loss and extra skin [Re: night_shade]
      #133387 - 02/02/04 06:36 AM

I am in the same boat as you. For the past six years, I have either been pregnant or carrying around a baby. My three children were all about 10 pounds. My stomach got so huge each time I was pregnant. I also had a problem with my first pregnancy, in that I thought I could eat whatever I wanted, and it was all for the baby. Yeah right. I ended up weighing 45 pounds more after he was born. And that weight was not easy for me to lose! But something happened to me after my daughter was born in Oct, 2002. I just started losing weight, and I didn't know why. Near as I can figure, with 3 kids in 4 1/2 years, I don't have time to eat and my metabolism must be through the roof from all the stress I have, not to mention my chronic pain issues.

But I'm left with so much extra skin, I don't know what to do with it. I love being able to wear cute clothes again. And my husband, who never ever made me feel overweight when I was, loves it too, but I will never be able to wear a two piece swimsuit or cut off t-shirts, like I could in high school. All because of that skin. Bummer.


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