Hi there!

My name is Caitlin and I am almost 19. I am hoping to meet some other younger people who are in the process of getting their band or who already have one! I have met so many people with bands, just never anyone around my age group! I am awaiting approval from my insurance company for my band, but basically whether they approve or not I am going forward with this. It's my only option. So... please drop by and share a bit about your story as I would love to hear it! I'd love to make some new fellow bandster friends :thumbup:

Thanks!

Caitlin

Hi Caitlin!

I'm 19 (will be 20 in January) and I'm in the process of getting my band as well! I'm almost done all of the pre-op stuff (psych. eval, meet with nutritionist, etc) and hopefully I'll be banned by the end of this month or early May :thumbup:

Good luck on your journey and if you ever need to talk or need some help you can always message me :laugh:

Thanks for writing to me! I never caught your name though! I too will be getting banded within the next month or two so hopefully we can be there to go along this journey together! I hope you don't mind my asking, but is insurance covering your surgery or are you paying out of pocket? Seems like alot of people are having to pay for it themselves these days :/

My name is Ashley :laugh: My insurance is covering 85% and I will have to pay the 15% left over. So hopefully it won't be too much. :thumbup:

Oh wow that is awesome that they are covering that much! My insurance company is probably going to pay 50% of mine since I am going to a pretty fancy place that they don't cover. My surgeon is just going to do it at one of the local hospitals so that only his fee won't be covered. Its still a lot of money that my mom and I are paying out of pocket but I think its worth every penny!

Hi, I'm Amanda and I'm 22. I was just banded April 7th. I wish I had done it earlier. My insurance covered a good bit of it, but my doctor was out of network, so I had to pay more. Thank God for those monthly payment plans. Good luck!

Hi amanda!

Wow that's awesome that you just got banded! How are you feeling so far??? Is the healing as much of a breeze as everyone says it is? Thanks for replying!

-caitlin

Hi amanda!

Wow that's awesome that you just got banded! How are you feeling so far??? Is the healing as much of a breeze as everyone says it is? Thanks for replying!

-caitlin

I'm doing pretty good. The first 3-5 days are the hardest. The first 72 hours is the worse. The port incision hurts the worse. It feels the wound is ripping and tearing on the inside. It still feels like that when I move the wrong way. I was not prepared for the pain. I don't have any kids, so this is by far the worse pain that I have ever been in. Pain medicine will be your friend.

I decided to take a month off of work. I have a pretty hard job and I knew I would not better within a couple of weeks. However, if I had a desk job, I probably would have gone back in a week.

Good luck to ya!

Wow thank you so much for being so honest! I am glad that I can at least be prepared now and not have my head in the clouds!:thumbup: I hope you start feeling better...its sad to hear you are in so much pain. I'm sure it will be worth it in the end:)

Hey, its so good to hear of someone who's sort of in my situation too. I'm 19 and have been considering lap band for about 5 months now, pretty much the only thing holding me back is the courage to just go to the docters and discuss it, i want this surgery SO BAD, and have researched and researched everything about it. I'm just so scared, I'm a kiwi and havent met anyone else here who has even had lapband! theres only like two lapband/ oesity clinics in the country!. Is there also anybody who can give advice about insurance etc? i know everything about the surgery except actually the steps to take to get it, do you go to a gp and do they refer you? and how long after you;ve met with the surgen can you get it? Theres nobody to talk to and its all I can think about!

advice would be appreciated

my little sister cathy is 18 and she just got the band last thursday. shes already lost 8 lbs since then :thumbup:

Hi!

I just turned 22 and I will be banded on May 17th. I am so excited as well as very nervous! I have never met anyone in person that has had the band other then the ladies at my surgeon s office.

Feel free to message me whenever!

Jeanine

Hey, its so good to hear of someone who's sort of in my situation too. I'm 19 and have been considering LAP-BAND® for about 5 months now, pretty much the only thing holding me back is the courage to just go to the docters and discuss it, i want this surgery SO BAD, and have researched and researched everything about it. I'm just so scared, I'm a kiwi and havent met anyone else here who has even had LAP-BAND®! theres only like two LAP-BAND®/ oesity clinics in the country!. Is there also anybody who can give advice about insurance etc? i know everything about the surgery except actually the steps to take to get it, do you go to a gp and do they refer you? and how long after you;ve met with the surgen can you get it? Theres nobody to talk to and its all I can think about!

advice would be appreciated

The best advice I can give you is to start going to meet with lapband doctors. They are there to help you and give you all the information you need and want! They wont force you to get the surgery or pressure you into it. I researched doctors in my area and found one that I thought I would like best, I went to meet him in January and I loved him. Thats when my journey started. They took care of everything and walked me threw every step and just last Friday I found out I was approved and set my date for May 17th!!

Good luck, if you have any questions feel free to message me!

Hi!!! I'm Jill, I am 21 and was banded on August the 12th of 09. :thumbup: I have lost 73 pounds and am still loosing. The band was the best and one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. I think the hardest part was the two week fast prior to the operation. If you have any questions... please feel free to contact me. The operation was covered 100% and was a two year process for me to get it approved one long journey.

Congrats to those of you who have gotten bands and been successful already! I love hearing success stories :] To the girl who has been considering lap band surgery for the past few months, the first thing I did witht the insurance company is call them and ask if they even cover it at all. Many of them don't so it would be good to know up front if they do banding. Good luck on your process and I encourage you to meet with a surgeon! it is the best feeling when you start the process :thumbup:

-Caitlin