Dear levi:

Yesterday, I agreed with you that removing the access skin (following your previous massive weight loss) through surgery is a good idea. I personally know of a man, happens to be a gay man, who used to be morbidly obese, then lost all the excess weight (and kept it off) and proceeded to have his excess skin removed through surgery, with which he was very happy.

“The masculine edges of my facial bones can be modified in surgery, and my shoulders can be made 2 inches narrower“-

Psychology today: “Body dysmorphic disorder is a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder. An individual with body dysmorphic disorder is overly preoccupied with what are perceived as gross imperfections in their appearance and spends an hour or more every day thinking about the way they look”-

– if this is what you suffer from, then (1) shaving a bit of bone off from your face and shoulders is not likely to be enough to make you look like you looked 14 years ago, as a preteen, (2) it is not likely to resolve your body dysmorphia (see below).

“I can also get hair removal“- that you can, by waxing you mean?

“Finally, I should start an antiandrogen, though taking only one of those has issues, as people with no dominant sex hormone develop osteoporosis“- you don’t want to suffer osteoporosis sooner than you have to, plus: I read that one of the side effects of antiandrogens (drugs that block male sex hormones) is weight increase. This is not a good side effect for you, when it comes to your body dysmorphia.

Back to psychology today: “The symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder often begin in the early teens or even childhood, and are all related to the person’s appearance. According to DSM-5, the symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder include: *Preoccupation with one or more perceived defects in physical appearance… *Clinically significant distress or impairment in functioning caused by the preoccupation..  In addition to an extreme obsession with their looks, people with body dysmorphic disorder try to hide their perceived flaws by holding their body in certain ways, covering up with make-up or clothing, or trying to improve their imagined defects, sometimes with multiple plastic surgeries or other cosmetic practices. Even when steps are taken to make improvements, the person is still unhappy with their appearance... Major depression is common in those with body dysmorphic disorder… People with body dysmorphic disorder represent 2.4 percent of the population but 13 percent of cosmetic surgery patients, research suggests. Yet the disorder is one of body image, so cosmetic treatments typically do not solve the patient’s concerns...

“When does body dysmorphic disorder typically develop? The most common age of onset is 12 to 13 years old… Treatment: Cognitive-behavioral therapy and antidepressant medications-  particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs- are the primary treatments used to relieve symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder. Often, both therapies are employed in combination. The goal of treatment is to reduce or eliminate obsessive and compulsive behaviors… (and) to help patients learn to view themselves in a non-judgmental fashion..”-

Did you ever consider that you suffer from body dysmorphic disorder, and what do you think about the quotes above , levi?

anita