Stretch marks question and support
 

Hi all, I'm new here.

From 1999-2003 I gained up to 50 lb due mostly to my medication but also of course overeating, no exercise. In 2003 I lost about 25 lb. Sure I had a few stretch marks but nothing to get too upset over.

Then in 2004 I gained back 30 lb.

Since 2005 until now I have lost 40 lb. NOW I have horrible stretch marks, and they pretty much all came out after about the 30 lb mark. UNLESS they were there all along and I didn't care or didn't notice.

Of course I am devastated. My boobs, calves and front of thighs were entirely free up until about Xmas 2005 when I noticed them after losing the 30 lb.

Now I stare at them in disbelief and anger and curse myself for gaining the weight the second time which I believe my skin just couldn't handle and hence the stretch marks.

I am:
* excerising 3x weekly (cardio 40 min/weights 15 min)
* water, water, water
* TONS of supplements including Omega 3 fatty acids, Vitamin E, etc.
* rubbing creams, lotions, emu/rosehip oil, massaging, dry skin brushing

I don't want to seem rude but I am sooo devastated and frustrated and I don't want to hear:
* they are battle scars, badges of honor, whatever
* self-tanner will help the appearance - it doesn't, in fact I believe it makes them stand out more

My question is....will they get worse with the next 20 lb loss? Will I get more? The ones on the front of my thigh seem to be creeping downwards - I'm afriad I'll end up at 140 lb with them all the way down to my knees!!! Has this ever happened to anyone?

Thank you all!!!

Hi ChoirGirl and welcome!

My dermatologist told me that if the stretch marks are red and new, there's a prescription cream that can help (sorry, I don't remember the name). She said if they're older and silver, there isn't anything that helps.

It might be worth checking with your doctor?

Hi again,

Just to mention - my stretch marks are ALL white/silver. I have never ever had a red one in my life! Wierd huh. Even my new ones are white.

Hmm, she explained to me that new stretch marks are red, but apparently not so in your case! I still think it might be worth checking with your doctor because she said that stretch marks can be treated if you catch them within something like nine months. Mine were all too old to be treated, unfortunately. :(

I googled it and it looks like the cream she was talking about is Retin-A. Hope that helps!

Yeah, that may work, I will ask about it. Thanks!

But the question about the creeping down? I mean, I have never seen anyone with stretch marks ALL THE WAY down the front of their thigh to their knee!! Please god don't let me be the first one :?:

I've found that my stretch marks are getting -more- apparent as I lose weight. The fact that they aren't red and new means they aren't exactly "new", just newly seen. Basically, when you've got excess weight, the stretch marks aren't as obvious, because they are backed up with all that fat. When you lose, they lose their fat backing and become more obvious with sagging skin. So these are probably old stretch marks that you're only seeing now, at least by my experience.

That means that they may get worse looking as you lose the next 20 lbs, but they shouldn't get any longer than they already are. Its not like losing weight gives you -new- marks, it just makes the old marks more apparent.

Well, I happen to agree with you, but I have read that people actually develop new stretch marks as they lose weight because their skin is changing. That really doesn't make sense to me, but it doesn't make sense that I am seeing all these new ones now.

If they were there before, at least they would be very faint when I was fat and now more prominent, but it seems like they were never there before and I'm just seeing them now.
All in all, it's very devastating and I'm kicking myself for gaining that weight in the first place. :(

They will fade in time...but will never completely go away. I have them too. It's just one of those things we will have to live with. You can buy creams to make them less noticable...but they will still be there. Good luck!

I actually have ones in my inner thigh (and they are REALLY faded ~ because I got them when I was 9 or 10) and they extend all the way down to behind my knees and my upper calves. And I actually have a few right at the top of my knees and that's something I never seen on anyone before ever. Don't worry about them though, all women get them. I remember the SKINNIEST cheerleaders in high school would have them on their hips and lower backs. And it's a MIRACLE for a woman to have a baby and not get any. The majority of women have them and those who don't are the lucky minority.

If they are faded/silvery-then they are NOT new marks. They are just "newly seen". I can use current pregnancy as a perfect example of this.

When you actually "get" the stretch marks...it is because weight gain or pregnancy stretches your skin out past the point of its natural elasticity. It is simply a "tear" in the outer skin...almost like a "runner" in a pair of pantyhose.
When you are still fat, or still pregnant-the tear happens over skin that is pulled very tight/taut over the fat or pregnancy-simply because this is what causes them in the first place. Because the skin is so taut-the ridges and the color are not as noticeable until AFTER the pregnancy is over...or after you have lost some weight and the skin isn't stretched out so much any longer.

Right now I have avoided all but a couple of new marks with this baby-but the coupel new ones that I have are *slightly* pink in tint. Once this baby is born and the skin isn't as tightly pulled-the pink and the ridge will be more "apparent".

If you have a balloon around the house somewhere-write something on it in a black Sharpie marker. Then blow it up. When the balloon is deflated, the mark is darker black like when you wrote it...but when you blow it up taut, the mark isn't quite as dark-it is darker and more striking when the balloon is deflated. The same with pantyhose. The "feel" of the ridginess/texture in the hose is smoother when you are wearing them, and they are stretched taut over your leg. The "ridgy" feel is more apparent when you take them off.

It is VERY common to think that the marks were caused by losing the weight...but actually they are caused by the stretching/gaining of the weight-they just become more noticeable as you LOSE it and they aren't stretched so tight.

You should have seen my face the day AFTER I had my first baby when I saw my tummy and hips in the mirror. I thought I had done well with the marks until the "baby was out" and then I saw the real damage. :eek:

Same here
 

I've now lost 40 lbs too, and just yesterday I discovered new stretch marks. They keep popping up evey single week as I lose weight. I am not worried about them though, I know they were caused because of my weight gain and that will be here after i am done losing weight. For now I am focused on getting the weight off, and will surely find ways to deal with them later. Thankfully I don't really have them in areas that show, and if they do show, so what, most women, even the skinny ones have them!

I have had stretch marks all my life, so it's not really a thing of "oh my god what the h*ll are these things!" And I know so many other people have them, but honestly all I see (especially now as it's summer) are these beautiful women that have smooth perfect tan skin with not a stretch mark in sight, and I want to cry that they are so lucky - and they probaby don't even know how lucky they are. I used to think "oh, once I get this weight off I can't wait to wear a bathing suit or shorts" and now I feel like I still can never do that. What would it be like to just put on a pair of shorts and have normal nice legs and feel comfortable? What would it be like to even feel like "damn I have nice legs in these shorts".

I feel like I'm mourning my old body where I could actually do these things, and I never knew how lucky I was. Now I'm screwed because of my stupidity. For LIFE.

Now, just to point out - I know I am lucky to be alive, there are people out there with WAY worse things and I know this, and I think about it. But once in awhile I just want to wallow in self pity and write these things to get them out. :^:

Thanks everyone....:)

PS - While losing weight, make sure you moisturize LOTS all over your body and take lots of Omega 3 fatty acids! Oh, and skin brush! the skin brushign has really firmed up my legs so nicely - it works!

What is skin brushing?

Just because we have stretch marks, why CAN'T we wear shorts and feel good about ourselves?

I think so much of this journey is about learning to like my body and treat it well. I know that I won't look like a model at the end of it, but darn it, I will wear shorts and short sleeves and even a bathing suit and if I have stretch marks, well, so be it.

Choirgirl~I understand your frustration! Fortunately for me, the stretch marks I have are on my belly from very big babies, BUT, I do have spider veins on my left leg (just below shin on front and then all across front of my ankle) that are purple! Regardless of how much weight I lose, that will not change on its own, therefore no shorts for me either. Maybe someday I will look into laser surgery for that, we will see. I beat myself up often over gaining weight that caused that problem, but the only thing that I can do about it now is get the weight off and worry about a fix for those vanity issues later.

Heather~I commend you for your confidence, I need to work on that!

That's awesome. Whatever you want to do, do it.

Maybe if mine fade substantially I might too. I did before, but I have so many more now, so I don't know if I'll ever feel comfortable. That is why I feel so miserable.

As for skin brushing, you use a soft bristle round brush, kind of like the ones they have in the body shop on the end of the long handles, and you brush your dry skin towards your heart in long firm strokes starting at your ankles up to your neck area. Increases the blood flow, firms up your skin, good for stretch marks, awesome for cellulite.

Pregnancy with DS#1 I sincerely thought the stretch marks on my lower abdomen where gonna BLEED! Some are easily and inch wide, sorry if TMI. I've had stretch marks on my hips thighs and breasts since puberty. They have been there so long I don't remember what I looked like with out them!What ya gonna do? My legs ALREADY have spider veins and one varcose for each PG. Whatever. Beats weighing 260lbs. Hey! Another Tori Amos fan! Right on!

my dermatologist also said that there is practically nothing you can do about stretch marks other than plastic surgery or laser which can cost a lot! You can prevent them by using Vit E oil and cocoa butter regularly during the process of loosing weight or throughout pregnancy (to avoid more).

There is a cream called Strivectin-D which claims to fade existing mark but it costs like 130 bucks for a small tube. I saw an adv of this product which is much cheaper and claims similar outcomes. I dont know how it is though:

http://www.walgreens.com/store/produ...id=prod1557258

yeah, i'm going to try Fraxel (laser). i don't care how much it costs. I'm worth it!

I tried Strivectin, no, sorry, it was Trilastin (same type of thing). of course nothing happened. NOTHING.

A lot of people are trying glycolic peels and even TCA peels. Makes sense. laser and peels seem to make sense for fading them.

I thought laser surgery only reduced a red stretch mark down to a silver stretch mark? It's like cold "cures" if there was a cure for stretch marks - no-one would have them.

Oh and the skinny models in magazines that you see wearing bikinis, I bet they have stretch marks too, they've just been airbrushed. And the girls walking round in their bikinis probably exude such an air of confidence (with or without stretch marks) that no-one would notice a stertch mark, since they are too busy having FUN!

Life's for living, not worrying about stretch marks! If you saw some-one else with lots of stretch marks, would you think, "Eeeew loads of stretch marks, I wouldn't want to hang with her..."

Live life, enjoy the journey of getting healthy, look after your body and use it wisely, take it to martial arts, take it to the beach, take it rock climbing, use it like it should be used. There is more to life than appearance.

I'll shut up now.

Let's get some perspective here. It is only skin. We are not going to die because of it, whereas being oveweight is definitely unhealthy.

I live in Florida, and this time of year many, many older people come down. They go to the beach in their swim suits and have a great time--both sexes--even though they are very heavy, have scars, have stretch marks, knobby knees, etc. The warm Gulf and bright sunshine don't care! It's really wonderful to see that. It's very freeing. So I hope you'll stop beating yourself up about getting stretch marks in the first place. You have a wonderful human body, and if this is your biggest problem, then that's great.

If you still want to explore ways to reduce the marks, that's OK too. But talk to people who have had those treatments, see what their results were. Don't rush into something out of desperation.

Jay

There is no plastic surgery for stretch marks. The doctor I went to see about this told me if there were such a thing, plastic surgeons would be multimillionaires overnight. And no creams will help... the skin tears subcutaneously... no ointment can reach that. People who get them will get them whether they use creams or not and people who won't get them won't get them whether they use creams or not.

As for the laser treatments, I think the jury is still out.

Mine came from pregnancy but I assure you, as soon as the technology is available, I'll have these removed from my hips.

In the meantime, dermablend with a dusting of loose powder works wonders. I can wear low-rise jeans, a bikini, whatever and look "flawless".

Honestly, I would be kicking myself more (which I am) for gaining un-needed weight that puts stress on my body's organs. You already have the stretch marks so either pay to have some expensive surgery or stop worrying about them....something bad has to happen to skin when you go back and forth with their weight.

I have stretch marks on the fronts of my thighs, too, so you aren't alone. Lots of other places, too. My worst ones are on my belly from pregnancies. Most are half an inch wide and go from hip bones almost to rib cage.

Obsessing about it does no good. Some of us just have more delicate skin, that tears easier under stress. It's the price you pay for stretching the skin so much. You can't change the past, all you can do is keep it from happening again in the future.

The reality is you have stretch marks....the reality is also that you've loss a tremendous amount of weight and done something really good for your health and your life...the reality is that there is nothing you can do to change the past and worrying about it brings nothing positive to you life at all. I wish I hadnt smoked for 15 years...I have premature lines all around my eyes and mouth....it seems like a new wrinkle everyday. So what! I'm eating healthier and exercising...I feel better than I have in years. My face glows and I smile a lot now. Its all a matter of priority....in the grand scheme of things...how important are stretch marks? Do they define who you are as a person? I know you're aggravated, but try to dwell on the positives in your weight loss. Dwelling on the negatives will have a very negative impact on your quality of life.

Stretch marks. I've had them on my hips and breasts since Jr. High.... I ended up being blessed with DD breasts and what I've heard called good 'child bearing hips' by the time I hit 8th grade so I've had them my whole life. With weight gain I now have them on my stomach and upper arms where the 'arm waddle' lives....as well along with some spider veins on one of my thighs.....and up against my not-so-sun kissed extremely pale & pasty Irish complexion looks particularly horrid. I don't have any pregnancies to thank for my marks...purely developing a very womanly figure at a young age and weight gain

So what. They have never stopped me before...and I tell you when I hit my goal 100lbs lighter and my tummy is flattened and my legs are toned you bet you're A$$ that I won't let that stop me from showing it off. My marks are a part of me, part of what makes me who I am. I'll never be 'perfect' and I don't want to be.... I just want to feel good in my own skin and emanate so much self confidence that no one will ever pay any mind to some silly little marks.:D

When I first wrote the original post, I was obsessed, I will admit it - I was traumatized because that is when I first noticed them. Now I have had time to "get over it" as you all believe I should.

I still hate them, HATE THEM. And I have done loads of research about it, joined other forums, talked to other people, etc. the only thing in this world at the moment that makes any difference to stretch marks (white ones) is the things I mentioned above.
* Fraxel
* TCA/glycolic peels.

I am saying this in case anyone is interested. As for those of you who don't care about them, that's cool too.

I have tons of stretch marks all over. Unless they are new there isn't really anything you can do. I used to be really upset about mine but I don't care anymore. Hope you get to a place where it isn't a big deal anymore too.

when I previously lost a ton of weight (got down to about 175) I got stretch marks from the weight loss. I was indcredulous, and asked my doctor how this could be. He said that as I had lost a lot of elasticity from gaining weight, as I lost weight the skin sagged. The weight of the sagging skin cause it to stretch further causing more, new stretch marks.

I some people get them getting big AND get them when losing. Some are blessed and never get them, some only get them when they gain, and some of us get them going up and coming down.