A woman who managed to lose 21 stone has spoken out about how she was left with crippling pain from the excess skin.
Lexi Reed, 27, ended up with half a stone of loose skin.
She didn’t realise it was the cause of agonising soreness in her jaw, neck and back until two months ago when husband Danny, 30, held up the skin on her stomach and she felt relief from her pain for the first time in months.
Lexi, from Terre Haute, Indiana, went under the knife to remove the skin.
Lexi shows the excess skin that started causing her tremendous back and neck pain (Picture: Caters)
Lexi before she lost the weight (Picture: Caters)
Dr Joseph Michaels recognised that the weight of the flab was pulling her body out of its natural posture.
She went under the knife for nine hours, having skin removed from her stomach, thighs and butt, and some of the excess fat taken out through liposuction was transferred to her buttocks.
Now in recovery she will soon be free of pain and while she was content with her loose skin previously, she’s now relishing having a flat stomach for the first time in her life.
Lexi said: ‘I suffered months of pain, taking four or five antibiotics and was told it may even be a sinus infection.
‘But I knew my body and the way I felt wasn’t normal, the bizarre symptoms weren’t adding up.
‘A few times I wondered if I would wake up the next day as no one knew what was wrong with me.
Lexi recovering post surgery in hospital (Picture: Caters)
Lexi’s stomach after the surgery (Picture: Caters)
Lexi started her weight loss journey three years ago, along with husband Danny who weighed 20st (280lb) at the time, to help their chances of falling pregnant.
At their heaviest they consumed up to 8,000 calories in a day and Lexi, the heavier of the two, had a BMI of 78.3 – a shockingly high figure compared the healthy range which is between 18.5 – 25.
Between them they lost over 28 stone and to celebrate their weight loss embarked on a bucket list of challenges from theme park rides to travelling, kayaking, hiking and more.
Their journey, which was spurred on by regular chants of ‘Baby Reed’, left Lexi lean at 12st 13 (182lb) and Danny weighing 13st 2 (185lb).
Despite Lexi having the surgery to remove some of her loose skin, she insists vanity played no part in her decision and she was in fact proud of her ‘battle wounds’.
The excess skin removed (Picture: Caters)
Lexi said: ‘I weighed 485lb at my heaviest so I knew going into this I would have loose skin.
‘I was determined it was not going to hold me back from doing things like rollercoasters, climbing stairs and being fatigued.
‘I saw my skin as a battle wound, I knew my body didn’t deserve to carry around the weight of all the excess skin.
‘I would have preferred to have ten times extra skin than be 485lb and on my death bed, there’s so much more I can do now.
‘I could fit in a airplane seat, go for walks and so many things, my skin never held me back before.
‘People shouldn’t be afraid of having loose skin, but instead worry about not living their best life.’
Lexi still has been left with other loose skin on her legs and arms, but doesn’t see them as a problem.
Despite this, looking at her new stomach was a moving moment having the $17,000 of skin removal surgeries to reduce and hopefully eradicate her pain.
Lexi said: ‘Seeing my stomach was emotional, I have never had a flat tummy in my entire life.
‘I always had rolls, stretch marks and never had a perfect body, so while this decision wasn’t for vanity reasons it’s amazing to see the hard work over the past three years.’
Dr. Joseph Michaels who performed the surgeries over nine hours, says it was a ‘privilege’ to help Lexi and he hopes this will start a ‘new chapter in her life.’
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