Hey my name is Brittany and Im 17 weighing in at 207 pounds. Im getting banded on April 21st 2006. A lil scared but very excited at the same time. Any advice? My mom just recently has had it done and shes happy with it so far, shes lost 5 pounds and was banded February 23rd 2006.

Hey there!

Do you mind if I ask your starting stats? I'm 23, and was banded in July of 04. It's worked alright for me so far. I'm part of the "Slow Losers Club" on this site, but still having lost some, and the fact that I'm not gaining anything (despite a high stress time in my life and severe depression at the moment that I'm going to the doctor for tomorrow) is a good thing to me. I was 280 when I was banded and would easily be over 300 by now and going up.

Do you best to get your head ready for the liquid diet. That seems to be a part that lots of people struggle with. Be sure to follow your doctor's rules after surgery, and remember that the time between surgery and your first fill is for HEALING, and TRY not to get upset if you don't lose in that time. Also keep in mind that it can take more than one fill to get the weight loss kick started.

Good luck!

Wow thank you, that really helped. At the moment im weighing in at about 207 and im 5'8

You are a smart girl for doing this when you are young. I have been heavy all my life and have just been banded at 40. I probably don't need to tell you the social agony of being overweight as a teen - it just continues into adulthood so you go for it girl!

Bebabear! That is so awesome that you're getting banded at your age. I'm 24 and if it had been available in my area when I was even younger I most definately would have done it.

I was at 210 all through high school then got out and the "Freshman 15" became the "Freshman 85". I had a much easier time losing weight before I was 20, it's just keeping it off that I had the problem with.

I definately recommend working on the Water intake. It was really the hardest adjustment for me and I'm glad I started about a month pre-op. The whole waiting 30 min before and after and no drinking during is definately an adjustment.

Best wishes! Kristin

Thank you all this is really huge for me, im taking notes on what you ALL say, the more advice the better, this is highly appreciated, I couldnt ask for better support

congratulations! this is going to be great for you! i can say that i wish i had done this at 17. at that time i had just finished losing 60lbs at jenny craig. by the end of freshman year of college, i'd just finished gaining it back. i guess i had to go thru all those times of trying to hold on to the weightloss by myself to get here. but i'm so happy to see someone like you who doesn't have to go thru all of that! so keep reading the site and you'll really get a good idea of what to expect. everyone is different but just having an idea of what to expect is great. when i went to talk to my doc pre-op, she was like, 'you're really educated on this!' it was all b/c of lapband talk.

i agree, I am also young, only three years older than you! (I am 20!) all my life I have struggled with the problem with food, not the problem with losing weight.

I had lost sixty pounds during my first year in college, through extreme exercise (not learning how not to eat cake) -- and wham! I was hit with a chronic illness that screwed up my mobility and now I have gained 70 pounds! Very smart chica. When I was seventeen I was 200 pounds and just getting ready to graduate highschool

me too, i am a young one, 20 years old, just was banded yesterday, i am not sure but i believe the younger you are the less pain you have, or it could just depend on your body type. But i had some pain but it was very mild, luckily i have not had any gas pains, not that i know what they feel like and if i did they did not hurt much. But i wish you all good luck and it really is not as bad as i thought it would be, i had great nurses who helped me along the way, and its good that we are starting at a young age.

congrats shauntil! welcome to band land. i wish you every success!

Good luck, you have so much life ahead of you. I only wish I'd known about it earlier (except of course I'm conveniently forgetting I was nowhere near fat enough till I reached my 30's, lol).

Hi, I was 18 when I got banded, a month after graduating from High School...one of the best things I've ever done! I might have been heavy through out childhood and high school, but I know I wont be for the rest of my life. I hoe everything goes well and if you have any questions you can message me anytime. Good luck!