hello everyone, I am 18 and have a bmi of 40 i am really wanting to get the lap band im sooo confused! i really dont even know ware to start. my mother and i are both wanting to have the surgery but i would really like to see the advice from you all.

so i have a few questions!

1. can you still get pregnant with the lapband?

2. what are the major risk, and has anyone ever died from it?

3. what foods can you NEVER eat again?

4. does medicaide and medicare pay for it?

5. do you think i am to young for it?

6. how much would it cost out of pocket?

7. do you regret it?

8. why lapband?

9. do you think you could have lost the weight without it?

10. if medicaid does pay for it what is the conditions?

thanks everyone who reads and answers my questions you all are a inspiration to me!!!

First off all based off your BMI you are eligible for the surgery. I was 19 when I got mine, but you would have to make sure with certain surgeons beforehand. There are MANY topics on here that wil answers all your questions pre-op and post-op, even a list of surgeon and fill doctors in your state. It is very important to be knowledgeable about what you are getting yourself into. You should have to mentally ready for a lifestyle change. At 18 it could be hard to grasp the understanding of a weight loss surgery. I have 3 family members that had the band before I got it, so it was an easy yes for me to get it.

1. Yes you can still get pregnant. I had that concern when I got it at being so young. They will just have to take all the "fill" out so that you will eat normal enough for a baby to get nutrients. I haven't gotten to this point in my life but I do want kids as well.

2. There are always complications, but I don't think death is a major one. The band can "slip" or "balloon" but those are all treated-able. There can be some "throwing up" but it is different from normal throw up. That happens when you "cheat" and eat foods that you probably shouldn't, or you are eating too much or too fast. The food will attempt to pass through to your stomach but instead get a painful "stuck" feeling where you are forced to allow the food back up and out of your body.

3. There are NO foods that I have never been able to eat again. Just that you can only eat smaller portions or a couple bites. The point of the surgery is to allow you to eat less and feel full longer, but a lot of people take advantage of a healthier diet along with the lifestyle change. You will lose a lot of weight if you take this route, instead of eating small amounts of candy and cake all day.

4. I paid self for the surgery so I'm not sure if insurance covers it. There is a whole topic on insurance on here.

5. You are not too young to make a lifestyle change. Now is the best time in my opinion because it will only get worse as you get older because it will be harder to excercise. The toughest part for me was trying to keep it a secret from my friends. I was just embarressed about it.

6. I got my surgery in Mexico and it was around $9000 with a couple nights stay in a hotel and in the hospital. In the US I think it is twice that.

7. I do not regret it. I just wish I would have taken advantage of healthier foods from the beginning.

8. Lap band is minimally invasive where they laprascopically go in through your stomach with SMALL incision ports where you won't have a lot of scarring. The surgery is also reversible if something bad ever happened. Also like you mentioned, you can still have kids. With other surgeries where they cut your intestines and staple your stomach it is impossible to put those nutrient obsorbers bad into your body, so lap band was the best fit for me.

9. I don't think I could have lost weight without it. My weight was going higher and higher out of control. Obesity is a big thing in my family. I had tried every diet imaginable only to gain the weight back and more. Lap band was a tool that assisted me in losing weight. But everyone has more will-power than other people, so if you feel like you could lose weight by just excersising and cutting back on fat and calories more power to you!

10. And back to insurance I'm not sure, but I'm sure someone on here has your answer!!!

Good luck!

Thankyou so much for your advice and answers. on 5 when you said about feeling embaressed and hihing it from your friends lol i feel the same way i did not plan on telling them and just let them think what they want lol and in my family obbesityis also a huge problem wich is why my mother and i are both wanting to do this. I hope my insurance covers it bc im so young and only a freshman in college wich means im broke. lol but thanks again for all your help! so ware should i start? iguess i should call my insurance and find out if they pay for it or will a doctor do that?

The person above pretty much answered the questions, but I can tell you one thing. I was barely 18 when I got the band on April 25. Since then, I have lost 73 pounds and I am still not even 19 yet. Best decision of my life, by far. But because you are so young, like I was, you really need to be sure and be completely 100% dedicated. This is not something that can be taken lightly. I put in over a year's worth of thought and consideration before I went under the knife. Kids our age tend to try the "fad diets" and lose motivation quickly. This is something that you have to be absolutely sure about. DO NOT rush yourself towards this decision and if you haven't already, try conventional dieting first. This is kind of a "last resort" kind of thing. It was my last resort.

My mother got a gastric sleeve and lost 200 pounds. She inspired me to get the band. I had an example and I watched her go through it, so I knew what to expect and the amount of dedication it really takes.

I'm 18 and I did it, but I know a lot of 18 year olds that would not have been able to handle it.

Good luck!

Elizabeth