After losing around 38 kilograms over recent months thanks to slimming jabs, a patient has been left with an unexpected reminder of her previous size – sagging skin.
“It's hard to wear my preferred styles,” explains the woman from her city. “I cannot get my legs out as the skin droops near my knee so much.”
Even though she values slimming down for the sake of her health, she reveals the loose skin on her thighs “dampens my spirits” as it makes her feel self-conscious, and the way she looks unclothed makes her feel like a “catfish”.
“It seems acceptable when held tight, but then I feel like, when I take my clothes off, I look like a very aged person. It is horrendous.”
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It has now been two years since the weight-loss injection this treatment started being offered on the NHS to certain users using obesity clinics in the UK. It was privately since spring 2023.
A second option, another brand, was launched commercially in early this year and on national healthcare in mid-year. Such treatments, which operate via reducing hunger, aren't for all patients and may cause serious adverse reactions.
Numerous individuals thank the at-home jabs with enabling them quickly lose weight, but a number have discovered their self-confidence has been dented by how their various body areas now look.
A few see loose skin on their jawline and throat, resulting in what has been nicknamed “medication facial change” on social media.
As a person puts on pounds, their skin expands and elongates, but once weight drops, their skin may stay loose, notes a medical professional.
“The faster slimming, the greater sagging,” it is explained.
Occasionally, loose skin can cause discomfort and lead to infection, but for the majority, the effects are more mild and more of an annoyance.
Through digital groups dedicated to injection treatments, people share tips about how they hope to address loose skin through strength training, taking collagen products and using topical treatments.
However, specialists note that after “major” weight loss, surgery is the only reliable option. And, for those who have beaten weight issues, the cost of an operation often presents a further challenge.
There are several kinds of procedures to remove loose skin, referred to as body contouring, but they are seldom offered on public systems and only if patients meet strict requirements.
Individuals should show that their excess tissue is significantly interfering with everyday tasks like daily self-care, says a plastic surgeon.
Addressing weight issues is a priority for public health, as losing weight can reduce the risk of developing major conditions linked to obesity. These include cancer and heart disease, the treatment of which is estimated to cost public healthcare significant sums annually.
However, experts note that cosmetic surgery is largely seen as cosmetic surgery and a less urgent concern for administrators who must decide how to use limited government funding.
“We have more important things for medical systems to deal with – people that have had trauma like fractures, heart attacks and so on,” experts say.
Experts note that some patients might face costs as high as tens of thousands if they cannot access surgery on public health and choose to go commercially.
This varies based on the amount of loose skin they have and the specific operations they want. Frequently requested are for the face, abdomen, legs and breasts.
Someone aims to have enough money for surgery by the coming spring. “I'm trying to save up but I'll also, maybe, have to look at financing.”
A different individual, who lives in Sheffield, has saved enough money for the procedures she wants – a stomach surgery, fat removal and aesthetic enhancement – but is going abroad to have them done because it is less expensive.
“I've put the effort in, lost 57 kilograms, and spent a long time hating the way that I look,” says the 34-year-old. “I aim to feel how I want to look.”
Though going abroad for surgery is also something that should be carefully considered.
“It is understood [some] people go without a problem, but we are gathering information on people who return from surgery overseas with problems,” says a specialist.
Her organisation represents aesthetic specialists working in private practice in the UK.
“Tummy tucks are one of the most common procedures to return with a complication from,” she adds.
Health services say people considering surgery abroad should discuss it with their GP beforehand.
A different person views surgery as a “last resort” because of the costs involved and the possible lasting effects she might be left with.
And because body contouring operations can take up to six hours, they carry a higher risk of medical complications like hypothermia, pressure sores and infection.
Similar to some, she lost about six stone and has similar frustrations about how her body looks now.
Though in case she changes her mind, she has been putting some money aside for a stomach surgery.
“You have in your head that it's this fairy tale – you're going to get to the end and you'll have this ideal figure and you're going to look in the mirror and feel fantastic,” says the thirty-five-year-old from mid-Wales.
“But sadly, that isn't the case, because there is the [loose] skin that goes with it.”
But not everyone is as unhappy with their sagging.
“I accept it,” says a person, forty-seven, from Aberdeen. “It’s not an issue.”
It wasn’t a fear about developing excess tissue when she started taking weight-loss medication a year ago and has lost 12 stone since then.
Over the months, she noticed excess tissue appearing over time, especially on her arms.
She notes the medication has “transformed” her life as before she could find movement difficult and {“
