What Does Loose Skin Feel Like?

When you are working to lose a lot of weight, all you imagine is yourself going from this big, ugly, fat person, to this skinny, healthy, pretty person. That is all you think about, and the thought of extra skin just doesn't really cross your mind. Not until you start realizing the problems the loose skin is causing you and until you start really seeing it and realizing what it looks like. That is what it has been for me, just coming across this realization that I have a lot of extra skin, and it is causing me problems.

So what does having loose skin truly feel like? Well, I feel like it is something that is kind of hard to fathom until you actually have it for yourself. The feeling I hate the most, is the feeling of the loose skin bouncing around and hearing the sound of it slapping together. The skin also just feels so heavy and makes things so hard on me. So, let me try to talk about what each part of my loose skin feels like.

First is my stomach. My biggest problem area. The loose skin on my stomach feels so heavy. I wear a belly band to try to hold it in. And when I don't have the belly band on, the skin just bounces and feels heavy and it makes me feel like I can't catch my breath or breathe properly. I am a singer, and when I try to sing, I feel like I am having to take way more breaths than everyone else around me, unless I push on my diaphragm and hold my skin in, so it isn't weighing down on me. Then I am able to breath much better. And when I take my belly band off at night to go to bed or take a shower, The skin falls and just takes my breath away to a point that I actually need to take a few deeps breaths to just get my air back. The belly band also holds my skin enough that it provides support for my back. Because that is the other problem I have all the time, back pain. The skin weighs so much on me, that it causes me awful back pain. I even take tylenol and ibprofen to help manage the pain. And the last major issue I have with my belly, is I get rashes under the folds of my skin and in my belly button. Because it is really hard to keep it dry, and it causes rashes, gets itchy, sometimes will even have a nasty odor coming from it. And it is awful. I have tried to use powders and creams to keep it under control. It only helps for a short time before the rashes return. It is worse in the summer, because I sweat a lot more.

Next is my arms. My arm skin hangs so much, it looks awful and is so uncomfortable. The kids at work always want to play with it and they laugh at it and think its funny. The skin flaps around when I try to do things and it feels so uncomfortable and makes noises when it slaps together. I also have to hold my skin and pull it back in order to shave under my arms decently, it is such a pain and takes way longer than it should. There are also certain shirts that I can't wear because the sleeves don't stretch enough and my skin won't fit in it. It is also the most noticeable skin on me and I feel so self conscious over it. I am always afraid of what people are thinking and I try very hard to either keep my arms down or keep them covered because I don't like the look of it.

Then there is my legs. The skin on my legs is so annoying. When I try to workout, the skin bounces and slaps together and can be heard slapping together. It sounds gross and feels so uncomfortable. I sometimes even get some chaffing, so I wear compression shorts to try to help with that.

Last is my breasts. My breasts are pretty much deflated and look like deflated balloons. I feel like there is bra in the world that fits me properly right now and I hate it. It also is a huge pain.

Overall, the skin just is really holding me back and weighing me down. I feel like I have come so far, but I still don't feel it all the time, because of the skin. The skin is also making it really hard for me to look in the mirror and see the beautiful person I know I have become. The skin just makes me feel gross and like no amount of proper hygiene can make me feel any less gross.

I am hoping over time that I will be able to get this issues taken care with surgery. I am really hoping to get my insurance to cover having my belly done. But then the other things would have to come out of my own pocket, I am sure. All I can do is hope and pray. Heck, even being on that show, "Skin Tight" would just be absolutely amazing! All I can ask is for prayers over this and that I can get it taken care of so I can feel more confident and comfortable in my own body! Thank-you!