Nursebarbie

"You will not be "curing" or "fixing" anything else, and I am afraid you will see the repercussions of this choice down the line. I stand by my earlier post - I really feel that the biggest thing you can do for her is teach her by example"
Who here has learned by example and does not have the sleeve or is not going to have the sleeve. The example here is mom can't do why should I. Why try to make someone do something none of the rest of us could do. If she had another med problem there would be no problem removing a portion of her stomach. Overweight can lead to major med problems at a young age and maybe should be treated as such. There are alot of things I missed in growing up because of my size and it had nothing to do with beuty and fitting in. Now every day I suffer because of my large size as a youngster. This is availble and it is not new it has been done for many years for other reasons and should be an option for anybody. You do not know this person and her mother does. Not that many years ago14 was old enough to be married and have families and many girls of this age are more mature than alot of people on this sight that have the sleeve.

I don't necessarily think 14-15 is too young. I think it depends on the child's other health conditions, risk including family health history, her full understanding and desire, commitment and maturity. The reality is that she is morbidly obese and she is/will suffer physically and emotionally due to it. School, especially a new one will be even more difficult for her. It isn't wrong to give her options if she is capable of handling them and the ramifications. The girl needs help.
What i would do in this situation is go ahead with my surgery now and postpone hers for 6 months or a year or so. In that time i would take her to counseling sessions and let her see what i go through first hand, good and bad. In that time she'll be a little older and have some first hand knowledge to base her decision on.
Who knows, she might make healthy adjustments on her own in that time. She might see your meals and lifestyle and think it doesn't work for her after all. Its easy to read about it on a forum but i can tell you its not the same as living it. Good luck to both of you whatever you choose.

I'm torn on this. I think she is young and everyone is saying she isn't mature enough to handle restiction.....but as a mom isn't it our job to teach our kids what's best? Should u allow the surgery and teach her...or should you allow her to continue to gan weight and be miserable? We all know dieting doesn't work. We all know that others telling us to eat right doesn't work. The sleeve does. It helps us make better decisions. I think I would allow it and help her rather than allow her to gain 100 more lbs before she is 18.

I understand the pain your daughter is feeling. I was the same way. Missed 43 days my freshman year of high school because I hated the way I looked. I didn't make the best choices and even didn't reach my potential in school all because I didn't want anyone seeing me. If she has a genetic link to being overweight than all the diet and exercise in the world won't likely be successful long term. The sleeve can help her NOW and alleviate years of private humilaition of being obese. She may just blossom after that. I would do it for my daughter in a heart beat. There's no point in waiting until she's older and even more introverted. 14 year olds have babies. That is way harder than a sleeve. I will stand my ground on this one. You are her mother nobody else and I for one support you.

Came with a big cookbook for Soup, breads, smoothies, all sorts of stuff. My hubby has wanted it forever. I had wanted the magic bullet but since we had gift certificates he won. Otherwise I'm not sure I would have paid $600 for a blender.

They really can't tell until they look inside. File an appeal with your medical group. Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

There has to be more behind that than just her weight.
I was lucky, I have been fat my entire life but I can not think of one single time that I've been made fun of because of my weight. Any time that I've felt "less than" for being fat has been my own doing. I do know what its like to grow up as a fat teenager though, and I know what its like to not fit in. I also know what its like to be a mother to a teenage daughter. Its not an easy job....
As mothers we want to make life easier for our children than it was for us, and to help them avoid pain whenever possible. My fear with you allowing your daughter to have this surgery at such a young age, is that she will still be going through puberty (where bodies change almost daily) and still growing and not having the necessary nutrients to support healthy bone growth.
If she runs into kids she knew while fat and all of the sudden she's liked by these kids she's going to equate her self worth to her weight loss and that's a very slippery slope.
I wish you luck

I say don't let the door hit you on the butt hubby. Not worth it.

Flippin awesome! Love the head transplant comment. Mind if I use that when I go back to work?????? Lol....

My hubby has wanted this forever but I always said its too pricey. Its truly amazing and so necessary right now.

Can you call and ask for the bariatric case management dept? Maybe they can help you with getting this approved with Kaiser. Worth a shot.

I am a case manager for Kaiser and I will tell you your covered benefits vary according to the kind of policy you have. Call the number on the back of your card and ask for benefits dept.

I say keep showing up to the doctors office, urgent care, and ER for the vomiting and choking. Magnify your complaints don't minimize them. Trust me they will recognize its cheaper to take the damm thing out. Also file an appeal with your insurance company and a medical grievance as well with the medical group you belong too.

I understand the pain your daughter is feeling. I was the same way. Missed 43 days my freshman year of high school because I hated the way I looked. I didn't make the best choices and even didn't reach my potential in school all because I didn't want anyone seeing me. If she has a genetic link to being overweight than all the diet and exercise in the world won't likely be successful long term. The sleeve can help her NOW and alleviate years of private humilaition of being obese. She may just blossom after that. I would do it for my daughter in a heart beat. There's no point in waiting until she's older and even more introverted. 14 year olds have babies. That is way harder than a sleeve. I will stand my ground on this one. You are her mother nobody else and I for one support you.

You are not alone it is like I am in ovulation stage almost everyday.. Also with that I know my hormones are all over the place because I am so emotional at times I think Im going nuts... So yes the hormones are trying to keep up and balance out I just dont know how long that is going to take.. But on the good side of that the blood vessels are flowing and I am always feeling excited if you get my drift.... lolol :wub:

Yup. Happened to me too. It feels a lot different. Deeper and has hit things I've never felt before!! He has noticed, too. He loves it. He can't keep his hands off of me. You go girls!

Your body won't let any fluids or fat go if it thinks its starving or dehydrated. I gained 4 pounds post surgery without having anything oral for 6 days due to this fact. Once you increase your intake you will begin losing because your body will be ok with it. Hang in there!

I am truly sorry that you tried to kill yourself, and glad that you failed... That is not the path that every obese child will take though. I to have the experience as an obese child and teenager. Complete with being teased. But again as a mother of a teenage daughter and having had experience working with teenagers in the past, the emotional aspect of being sleeved is a lot to take on at such a young age..
And to your point about 14 year olds can have babies??? Yes they can, but again are they emotionally capable of being a good mother?
That is debatable.
I wasn't saying that this child shouldn't have it done, but why jump and look later?? What's wrong with stopping a minute to cover some important bases like cognitive therapy and letting the mother go first to pave the way?
This child will have to be different than all the other kids her age after being sleeved, this and other things really need to be looked at.
So I'm not transferring myself onto this child.
I'm giving advice to something I feel really strong about.

A friend of mine took her daughter to Colombia couple years ago when she was 16 and she had the sleeve done. Today this girl is as pretty as before but much more happy and confident of herself and of course very healthy.

I wish my Mom would have done that for me at 14. Go for it!

I wish my Mom would have done that for me at 14. Go for it!

Va va voom! Wow!

Dr. Alverez's niece was actually 12, she is 14 or 15 now.
I am using Dr. Garcia but she is one of the big decisions I went ahead with surgery plans for my daughter.
My daughter is mature but all teenagers have their moments.
This is a very hard decision but its so hard seeing her about to go through the misery of being obese that I have gone through. What scares me is her doing through her already hard teenage years. I did not become overweight until I was 22 and went through a severe depression. I couldn't imagine dealing with all this as a teenager.

I think you are right to help your daughter now before the situation gets worse - it sounds like there is a true metabolic situation for her. Dr. Alvarez sleeved his niece when she was 14 - teens recover much quicker and will not have the years of physical and mental damage adults have had. Let us know how things turn out!

Nursebarbie, I am sure that you are right about the different plans; however, no one has ever checked what plan I am on when giving me quotes about the prices for the cosmetic surgery. I have a feeling that, if these surgeries are not covered by insurance, which they won't be most of the time since they are cosmetic in nature, then the plastic surgeon sets the price by inserting his fee into the equation. But whether or not a procedure would be covered by insurance definitely depends upon the plan that an individual is on as you say.
The other thing I wanted to make sure to emphasize is that, when dealing with private non-insurance surgeons, the fees are all negotiable. Getting estimates from three or four or even five different qualified board-certified surgeons is not unreasonable. There are a lot of qualified surgeons out there, and so you can shop around and get the best price that you can and a surgeon that you feel comfortable with.