Topic : 08/22 Unforgettable Weight Stories

I really applaud you, Jenn.  It took a lot of courage to get on TV and talk about what no one ever wants to talk about - that weight loss isn't always the 'happily ever after' ending to the story of our battle with obesity.  I just saw your story (repeated) for the first time today and it was so nice to see someone talking about it.  There are so few people who understand what it's like.  People think you should just be sooooooooo happy to finally be rid of the weight and they don't want to hear it when you talk about the downsides and there are a few.  Some aren't even appearance related.

You are right, removing the skin is a NEED that we have.  It's reconstructive surgery.  I don't understand how insurance companies can encourage us to lose the weight and then just leave us hanging (no pun intended) after we do. It just doesn't make sense to do half the job, IMO.  Just as our obesity compromised our health, so does the loose skin.  It's not just a cosmetic issue.

I don't think there are many (if any) here who would turn down a chance at surgery if it were offered.  I know I wouldn't .  My hubby has said that when I lose the weight he'd be willing to do whatever it takes to get the money for surgery if that's what I want/need but, the thought of spending tens of thousands of dollars on my body and putting us into debt, makes me feel incredibly guilty. 

At this point I am 85# down from my highest weight but I was 140# down at one point.  I have to admit, the looser the skin got, the more panicked I felt.  If that makes people think I'm vain or shallow, well, so be it.  I don't think any of them would volunteer to have inches of loose skin on THEIR bodies.  I could totally relate when you said that at least if you gained some of the weight back, you'd be filled out more. 

I am back working on the rest of my weight loss at this point and I try really hard to convince myself that a saggy size 8/10 will be better than a firm 32 but, I have to admit, there are times when I have my doubts.

Good luck with your recovery.  You are in my prayers. :)

I understand what you mean about the health concerns being more important than the loose skin.  I think most people (myself included) would agree with you about that but, that doesn't mean we can all be of the mind where the loose skin just doesn't matter. 

Depending on how much you have to lose and your individual skin tone, it can be a HUGE quality of life issue.  You say you'd like to run again well, try running with a foot of loose skin hanging from both your thighs or 15 pounds of skin flopping onto your thighs from your stomach.  That's what some people who have lost over 100# are dealing with.  We're not talking about a little bit of arm jiggle here or a pouchy tummy. 

My mother recently had her arms done after losing more than 100# and with the hanging flesh, her arms were larger than a normal persons thigh.  Even WITH the surgery her arms are larger than 'normal' but, at least she can lift her arms to wash her hair without being in agony now and reach across the stove top without burning the flesh on a pot because it hung down so low. 

I'm not trying to come down on you.  I just wanted to give you some perspective on this.  It's not all about looking 'pretty'.  I wish you all the best with your weight loss. :) 

I did not think that was a good follow up segment  to trying to help Nicole lose weight. You follow it with a women who has lost 146lbs and has tons of skin hanging. You just know what that poor girl is thinking. Great, I give up everything I love to eat, my comfort foods, think I am going to look as good as my friends' body when I am done and I too get to have skin hanging down all over the place. I am suppose to have surgery and each time I see that, I don't want it anymore. Then I get scared of my weight again and think I have to do it. That was wonderful of Dr. Phil to help her with surgery but what about the rest of us watching, that was no solution to our fear about it. I don't want to look like that after working so hard to lose weight. Dr. Phil can't foot the bill for all of us who lose over 100lbs. My insurance will cover the surgery and then says sorry the skin is your problem to get off, no coverage there. I was sitting there praying for a real answer for the rest of us and felt let down. I was happy for her, don't get me wrong but I wanted a real answer for the rest of us watching, who have so much to lose and are afraid to end up with tons of hanging skin.

You make a great point but, unfortunately, the loose skin is a fact of life with massive weight loss.  There are some people who end up less saggy than others but, there are a lot of factors that determine whether you will be one of the 'lucky' ones or not - heredity, age, ethnic background, skin care, exercise habits, how much you lost, how quickly you lost it, what method you used, etc.

I think Nicole and all the rest of us out there need the reality check.  I'd say the vast majority of us go into this massive undertaking thinking that we will look good or at least normal when we reach our goal weights but, that's just not so for the majority of us. 

You're right, Dr. Phil (or any other talk show host for that matter) certainly cannot foot the bill for all the surgery the hundreds of people who will lose weight may need.  So, we all need to get busy and start lobbying our congressman or state health agencies to make sure this NECESSARY surgery is covered by insurance.  It wasn't too long ago that reconstructive breast surgery after mastectomy wasn't covered by insurance either but, women fought for it and won.  It's time we exercised our political clout along with exercising our bodies.

 I am 57 will be 58 next week.  I did have gastric bypass and lost 60 lbs so far but since 11 yrs old I have been 50 to 111 lbs over weight so I have skin, loose skin but with exercise your muscles do get tighter and make your body look better.  It takes  alot of exercise but it is worth it.  I raised my daughter as a single parent, she is now 22 and I have 2 grandchildren so I want to be able to have fun with them also.  Don't give up the fight, just start a little at a time walking and maybe join a gym.  I would still like to have my apron cut off , I wish the skin fairy would shine on my too and take it away but until them the main thing is living as healthy a life as we can.  I pray for all who has the weight problem, it's not something we wanted, it's something we have had to learn to deal with and hopefully concur.  Best of luck to you and all the people out them fighting the battle to a healthy life.

First of all, your INSURANCE COMPANY that you pay premiums to is NOT the government. 

You seem to feel that, because this is self inflicted, you should be refused benefits to fix the affects of the problem.  So, I guess people with lung cancer who have smoked should just die because they brought it on themselves?  People with liver disease from drinking should die too I guess.  The fact that we 'caused' our obesity, if you want to embrace that train of thought, has nothing to do with the repercussions caused by it and whether or not they 'deserve' to be treated.  So, if insurance companies shouldn't pay for the sagging skin from our VICTORY over this battle, I guess they shouldn't pay for the treatment of diabetes, high blood pressure, acid reflux disease, and the other myriad of conditions caused by obesity either.  Compared to the money they are saving by not having to pay for the chronic conditions caused by obesity (should we be fortunate enough to get to our ideal weights) paying for RECONSTRUCTIVE surgery is a drop in the bucket.

I'm actually baffled that you think the way you do.

By the way, just to clarify further on this 'government' issue.  Government regulates insurance.  They set maximum premiums and mandate what MUST be covered.  If it were strictly up to insurance companies, which are FOR PROFIT enterprises, there would be much less covered than we currently have.  It was insurance companies who tried to get women to leave the hospital within hours of giving birth.  Also, as I mentioned previously, insurance companies did not pay for reconstructive breast surgery after a mastectomy either until Government made them.  I'm sure there are many other conditions and treatments that were initially denied by insurance companies but, that doesn't make it right. 

I don't know if you all get similar law firm commercials to the ones we get here but, as one of the lawyers says "insurance adjusters are there to make money for their companies and pay the consumer as little as possible" and that's absolutely right.  Not that there's anything wrong with making money, after all, that's what they are in business to do but, sometimes they need to be 'nudged' into doing the right thing and that's where Government comes in.