I am thinking about getting a brachioplasty and NOT waiting until all the weight is gone. I have weird fat pockets that bother me. I consulted a doctor at Mayo Clinic and she thought there was no reason to wait. I really want this but am scared.

I've attached some pictures of my arm.

What do you think? Would these bother you enough to get an arm lift? Has anyone had one - what was recovery like?

I am toying with waiting to lose more weight - but I think then I will still have at least pockets of skin. Also the weird fat pockets appeared even when I was much thinner so I don't have high hopes they will disappear so I guess I figure - why wait?

Any thoughts (pro or con) or support/encouragement would be appreciated.

If they bother you, the doctor gave the ok, and you can afford it, go for it! If it were me I would.

I'd do it. I hate my arms as well and plan to have this done.

some places offer financing too. when I'm at goal I'm financing an arm lift and boobie lift and anything else I need done so you can look into that and pay it off over three years instead of in one chunk.

Thanks guys! I will definitely give your after pics. I went to a few plastic surgeons and they all said no reason to wait for finished weight loss. I didn't fully trust them because they make money off of my surgery. When I went to the Mayo Clinic to get another opinion, I felt much better about it. The Dr's at Mayo are salaried and don't have a direct financial interest in whether or not you do surgery. It was clear she was prepared to tell me to wait for weight loss - and the PA told me that's what they usually tell people, but after examining me the doctor thought there was no reason to wait based on the weird fat distribution in my arms and the fact that the rest of my arms are fine. I trusted this so I decided to do it and I'm scheduled for the 21st!

Plus the Mayo clinic is charging me less than half of what the fancy plastic surgery clinics wanted to charge. Total cost is $3400. I think the cost is so low because they only have to do a small portion of each arm instead of elbow to armpit like most armlifts.

I am excited (and scared) about this. But I feel like this is a wonderful opportunity to fix something that I am constantly self-conscious about. Even though I'm scared, I think I would regret not doing it. The one downside is that brachioplasty's tend to have bad scars ... its one of the worst places for scar healing. But heck, the scars can't look that much worse than the stretchmarked wrinkly skin on my arms and at least my arm won't keep waving back when I dance!

Miss pixie - do your thighs rub together? Mine do, and I think they always will. I had that problem much thinner and I can even remember as a little kid having that issue even though I wasn't fat. If after weight loss my thighs still chafe, I am totally going to have them liposuctioned.

Cherry Quinn - Yes! My plan was to do financing through care credit - particularly when the quotes I was getting from fancy plastic surgery clinics were around 7 - 8k. But Mayo doesn't do care credit. However, they cut me such a good deal, its worth it. I fortunately do have enough saved to pay mostly cash, and the rest will go on a credit card that I will just pay off over the next few months. I am a graduate student, so it is a LOT of money to me - even as good of a deal as it is - but in the grand scheme of life its not that much and I just think its going to make me feel so much better about myself.

Thank you everyone for your support. I think I am just having some "buyers remorse" (I booked it yesterday) - and I was really fishing for encouragement that I was doing the right thing. I am scared shitless - but like I said - I know I would regret NOT doing it.

good luck and good healing

OMG. I just saw this thread. I never ever ever thought I would come across someone else with the same weird arm flab issue that I have!!! I just want to give you a big giant hug and tell you, I feel your pain. You have no idea how many times I wished for regular "fat girl arms". I have that same little dip/crease where the flabby arm fat just stops and hangs. I've had it since I was in grade 6 so I've never been able to wear pretty sleeveless dresses or shirts with any semblance of confidence. Personally I am waiting until I'm at goal weight for a few years just because the cost of a surgery like that scares the crap out of me and I want to make sure I can't change it with diet and exercise alone. All the power to you though, girl. Keep us updated. I am particularly interested in the scar length difference for us irregular flab girls. Good luck and speedy healing!!

I once called for a consultation at Sono Bello (or however you spell that place) and they basically told me that I had to wait until I reached a certain BMI. I have the same problem so I feel your pain. Mine aren't too bad and I don't intend to let them get worse but as of now, I always make sure to wear shirts with sleeves that cover my arm fat. There's so many pretty shirts that I can't wear because of it so I say, if it's going to make you feel better about yourself and happy and the doctors gave you the OK, then GO FOR IT!

Good luck!

Skellig - So glad to find an arm fat pocket sister. I searched long and hard on the internet and could only find ONE picture of someone with arms like mine. I will post again after surgery so you can all see before and after pictures. Supposedly the scar will be much shorter than a traditional arm lift. She will only do the part affected by the fat.

SweetMerlot - after researching things, I really advice against SonoBello. Look into a more reputable plastic surgeon or liposuction specialist. Sonobello has some quality control issues and I think its risky. Also, you can have a high BMI and still do liposuction. However, you may not be happy with it because the skin doesn't tend to retract that well on your arms.

MissPixie - I don't think that picture looks that bad! I'd love to have legs like that. But if it bothers you - I say get it sucked out. Modern liposuction is practically non-invasive. You don't even have ot go under for liposuction. Or get a lift if you need it! I do think people should do things that make them feel good about themselves.

Everyone - thank you thank you thank you for your support. I go under the knife two weeks from Monday. The week of the 21st (probably towards the end of the week), I'll post with some updates.
xxxxx

Believe it or not .. I go in tomorrow. SOO nervous but excited.

Good luck and I can't wait to see the results!

I was thinking about you last night. I remembered today is the day you were going in. Hoping you have a speedy recovery and all goes well.

Oh my goodness! The surgery is done! I hope it went well (i'm sure it did!) I can't wait to see pix!