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That is interesting Meg. Really the problem is the root of obesity in the first place. If we could stop the upward trend of obesity then we wouldn't have so many people who would need reconstructive surgery after losing excess weight. I'm not saying that obesity would be preventable but just much less if we became a society that didn't eat so much junk and didn't move so little.

From what I see on TV, it seems that we are a society in which surgery is becoming very common for obesity related issues. First, people gain weight, then they get WLS then they get excess skin, then they need surgery for that.

You're absolutely right that the root of the problem is the obesity epidemic and if we can solve that, then skin isn't an issue.

If I had realized the consequences of my obesity, it might have woken me up a lot sooner. But I was one of the 'lucky' ones who didn't have problems with high blood pressure or diabetes or anything like that, so I thought my 120 excess pounds were purely a cosmetic issue. Boy, was I wrong! Now that I'm at a normal weight, I'm living with knees that were trashed by excess weight and all the leftover skin. Perhaps if people were aware of what they're doing to themselves when they chow down on that double quarter pounder and Big Gulp - damage that can't be undone! - they'd stop and make different choices.

I want to cry after reading that. I HATE, HATE, HATE my extra skin. I want to just tear it off of my body. But, there is nothing I can do about it. I just can't afford the surgery to have it removed. It's not cosmetic surgery for someone who has lost so much weight. I just want to feel "normal". Stupid insurance companies.
I tried talking to someone from mine about whether the surgery would be covered at all, and they said that since it's cosmetic, it would not be. Do they not understand that it's not cosmetic? Do they know how uncomfortable it is to walk around with all the extra skin hanging off? How it PULLS on you when you bed over? How disheartening it is to lose tons of weight and then be left with THIS?
I really just want to cry.

.

Thanks for posting this. I have the same loose skin issues after losing 93 lbs. I see the skin from my hips and thighs floating loosely in the tub. Due to my health problems, I know that surgery is not currently an option. I also can't afford the expense right now. Even with this skin, I am happier with my body than I was before weight loss. With only reaching goal a month ago, I am hoping that my skin might start to look better in time. I am able to feel the muscles under my skin, but just too much skin on top. Yes, I wish I had taken the weight off before it got so out of control that I would have these skin issues. My point is that if a person had done damage to their body with alcohol or drugs or smoking, they would still receive medical care from their insurance company. We did ours with food and can't get insurance coverage to help repair our damage. Now, that just isn't fair.

Some insurance companies will cover the skinification surgery. The only way they will cover it, is if the patient has continual recurrent skin infections caused because of the excess skin. You have to have it all documented through your doctor: every rash, every fungal infection. It is a long arduous fight, and unless you know your insurance company will eventually give in, not worth the trouble in my opinion. So, for those that take care to guard against said infections, you have to pay for the surgeries yourself. Many insurances will also cover the hospitalization for any of your plastic surgeries, you will have to pay the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. (spelling?)

One exception is breast reduction, most insurances will pony up for that without arguement. If you have the breast reduction it is much more cost effective to have other procedures done at the same time. **** for recovery time, but easier on the pocket book.

I checked this stuff out before I made any attempt to lose weight. I'm one of the lucky few whose breasts don't lose cup size with sizeable weight loss. At age 14 I blossomed to a DDD, which is one of my reasons for gaining weight in the first place: too much unwanted attention.

I'm planning a breast reduction with a tummy tuck thrown in....

Good luck to any of you that choose plastic surgery, check with your insurance companies. Many will cover more than you expect.

Yeah, mine will cover just as much as I expected. ZERO! ZILCH! NOTHING!
It's ridiculous. Just because I don't have infections and rashes because of it does not mean that it's not completely uncomfortable and that it doesn't cause me mental anguish. I jump around or dance and my skin does too. I lay in the bathtub and it floats all around me. I can't wear tight shirts because it jiggles when I walk. It's ugly, ugly ugly, ugly and I hate it. Our government, our healthcare system it's all a bunch of bullcrap.

My doctor wrote an impassioned plea to my insurance company and it didn't do any good at all. He says that he's never seen insurance coverage for anyone who didn't have WLS -- but that WLS patients are frequently covered. OK, we saved the insurance companies how much $$ by not having surgery? And now we can't get coverage for the excess skin? Yep, it's bullcrap.

My gripe exactly Meg! I mean c'mon already, hellooooooo! And I don't know why it bothers me so much considering I don't even have insurance. So its not like this particular bit of pure stupidity will ever affect me personally since I can't be turned down by something I don't even have, but its just the principle of the thing, y'know? Why don't we get the same rights as WLS patients? Do you think its because we non-WLS patients didn't permanently alter the way our bodies will function for the rest of our lives, so they figure we have such a higher likelihood of regaining the weight that they won't even bother taking the risk by insuring our reconstructive surgery? Its the only explanation that makes sense to me, what do ya'll think? BTW, nothing against WLS or WLS patients of course, I say more power to ‘em if they can get their skin removal covered, my problem is with the insurance companies getting to decide who gets to be “normalized” and who doesn’t. Its just not right! Okay, rant over, thank you for indulging me!

Beverly

Although I feel the same about insurance companies and coverage (not just for weight loss and skin issues, but everything), I feel that I can't much complain... My husband and I are a few of the lucky people in this country who have health insurance (and good coverage at that)...so for what all it does cover for us and the money it has saved us, if it isn't ever going to cover me getting rid of my excess skin, oh well... I'll save for it if it is that much of a problem (physical or psychological) for me.
This is also one of the reasons that becoming a nurse case manager is appealing to me... you can get insurance companies to cover all kinds of expenses (which is one aspect of case management) that they would normally say no to...
I hate our health care system. I hate that I feel like I'm becoming part of the problem rather than part of the solution. I hate that people have to suffer because there is no equality in health care. Its not right, but I don't know if it could be changed... health care is an out of control monster.

What struck me about the article were the risks associated with the surgery (e.g., fluid buildup, infection). I guess there are risks with every surgery, but given the lack of knowledge about how frequent these results are, I don't even know if I would want the surgery, provided I could even afford it...

I would love to see more research done on this!