Not To Say That Anyone Here Is Old But I Am 21 And I Dont Find That Many People Here My Age - Does This Say That I Am Giving Up To Early? Anyone Here In The 20's Or Younger?

Being Banded On Feb. 7th 2007

Hey! I'm so glad that you started this thread!! I'm currently waiting for insurance approval. Being obese is holding back my life.... why would I want to go 10 more years and then decide to LIVE? I have yet to hear anyone on LBT say "I wish I had waited until I was even more miserable and fat before I got the band." No, everyone says "I wish I had gotten it sooner"

I might miss the whole college student thing, ya know beer and pizza at 4 am. I'm worried that I might be missing out on experiences because of the band. I sadly will never compete in a hot dog eating contest in Central Park. Yet, somehow, I think I'll survive. =) I want to ENJOY my 20s and not sit around watching my friends do the things that I'm too self conscious to do.

I haven't the faintest idea how I could afford this if my insurance doesn't cover it... but I'll find a way. Paying for college and for fills is gonna be hard enough. Oh well, who needs college anyway?! (jk)

Great thread.

With love,

Sheila

Not To Say That Anyone Here Is Old But I Am 21 And I Dont Find That Many People Here My Age - Does This Say That I Am Giving Up To Early? Anyone Here In The 20's Or Younger?

YOU ARE NOT GIVING UP! You are taking charge of YOUR life, and although your sis and mom love you.. they have NO idea what it is like for YOU to live in your own skin..... My sis is also thin... but you know what... she has also been a lot sicker in her life than me..... she is so excited for me, but she has no clue what its like.

Keep on with your plan.. I applaud you for getting it together at such a young age! (not that your a baby on this board) you are just at a place so many of us Middle aged (geesh I guess I AM middle aged at 37)... anway.. so many of us wished we hadnt waited so long.

You Guys Are Awesome Thanks For Reasurring Me!! I Will Keep You Posted

Oh My Dr. Is Iannace Out Of Dr. Capella's Office In Mahwah, Nj I Am Having Surgery In Hackensack Hospital!!

Thanks Again

I am 23, and I know what you are going through. A lot of the people I talk to say that I am too young to do this, but I feel that I am preventing a lot of problems by doing it. Like someone else said, I am doing this proactively instead of waiting until I DO have a lot of problems and having surgery then.

Hey Im 24 and getting banded tommorow I just don't wont to keep getting bigger, and not make it to 40, I was 365 before my pre op diet and I'm now:) weighing in at 340 and dropping, and with the band I hope to continue to 200 or below! Just wanta walk my baby girl down they isle ya know not for a long while that is.

Hi i'm 24, i have been banded for about a month. I am sick of being heavy, i want to look good in my 20's. I'm hoping by my 26th bday, i will be at goal and already have my TT. I'm married for 6 years already, but watch out world, here I come!

I cannot wait to dress in my style, i think i will become obsessed with clothes. I was when i wore and 11 but if I wear a 6 or 8, i'll be even more obsessed. I want to shop at Express and H & M, Espirit, Sacks, Ann Taylor, ect. I sick of hanging in Lane Bryant at 24 with the giant tshirts and moo moos.

I totally know what you mean about clothes sweethot! I am so sick of shopping in the fat lady stores! Lane Bryant is getting a little better lately, but they think all fat people are tall...I'm pretty short and all the pants are about a foot too long there. Torrid has some fun stuff, but some of it is kind of over the top for me.

I can't wait until I can go into the Gap and buy a pair of regular size jeans. My other goal is to get a suit from Ann Taylor. Oh the choices we'll have...

Good luck to everyone on your upcoming surgeries!

Huberslave, I know your sugery is today and I just wanted to let you know that we're all behind you. You are taking back your life and today is the first step!! How exciting.

Hello, other young bandsters. I'm thinking we should keep updating this thread and make it our own. The issues that we face are sometimes very different from that of the older bandsters. It's great to think that there are other young men and women getting banded.... and the clothes. I'm sooooo excited about shopping at regular stores.

Still waiting for insurance approval....

the not so patient student,

Sheila

Hi, I am 27. I wish I would have better able to get the surgery @ 21. If I got surgery then, I can only imagine where I would be now (weight wise).

I was 22 when I had my surgery 24 now. I'm really, really glad I had it done. I don't think it's giving up, I think it's taking charge of a problem I couldn't solve by myself. I'm one of the "slow loser" but I'm over halfway to goal now, so I'm on the way .

Hey i just turned 20 but i had the surgery when i was 19. So far it has been a great decision. I am sick of being obese and i knew that i couldn't lose the weight on my own. i see it as proactive.

You guys are turning my fears into excitment!! thanks so much

I'm 23. Its something I thought about for quite a while- maybe a year to six months (after I first learned about) before I decided to get more information. I knew I did not want to have gastric bypass unless I got even heavier for a variety of reasons- that procedure is too extreme, for lack of a better word, for me. I did my research about the band and long term weight loss compared to the gastric bypass and safety and how it worked and recovery and so forth. I liked what I saw. My husband and I talked about it a couple of times (I got married in August). Then I decided that it was something I should do. Maybe in five years they will have a pill. Or an even better procedure. But what about the damage to my body in five years? The pressure on my joints? The blood pressure that I need to get down, other little things that haven't happened yet but will if I don't lose weight.

No one ever thinks of surgery as the first step. I have people who also disagree. My mother lost 120 pounds on the weight watchers point system a few years ago. I'm proud of her, she has kept it off. Thats great. But she has to obcess over food still. She is always thinking about what she gets to eat next, what she can't eat, how much she ate, etc. Or she's hungry (or overfull because she ate too much). I can't even manage a week on the point system- it frustrates me terribly. Her way is not the way for me. She thinks this is a bad idea because I might die. I think my weight is more likely to kill me or to substansially reduce the quality of my life. Or there are doctors who I will see for the first time who start to tell me how to lose weight- they explain diet and exercise. I can tell you all about that stuff. And it used to work much better for me. But I have gained about sixty pounds since I was 20 and I developed fibromyalgia and now I can't do the things I used to and it makes that harder to stick with stuff for me and I could use a tool.

I want to fit in smaller clothes and all that of course, but mostly I relish the thought of being able to dance around and not get so tired from carrying all the extra weight. To not have to worry if I am too heavy for a delicate chair maybe or too big for a small car, to fit more comfortably into the ridiculously small student desks they have at the grad school.

I'm five foot eight, 285 pounds. I don't need to gain anymore and I don't need to wait for another birthday to make this decision. What I do need is a tool to help me work with my body to get it smaller.

I'm 25 and hoping to have this surgery before my birthday, April 1st. I'm considering on heading to Mexico for mine. I have the cash, but I don't think I quite qualify for the surgery here in the States. They want a BMI of 40 or as low as 35 if you have health issues dealing with your weight. (thats what I've read, anyway). I'm 5'6" and 208...lost about 30 in the past year while I was in Afghanistan but since I've been home, its slowly finding its way back though. I think its wise to do this surgery at this age to prevent health issues that are caused by weight. I'm so tired of always up an down on weight and wearing myself out on different weightloss programs. This is a life changing event..and one for the better in all ways!

Hi Marissa, I was 25 when I got banded, I wasn't diabetic nor did I have any health problems at the time. I had been overweight most all my life only yo yo'ing between a size 12-22. I finally decided enough was enough and did something about it. Its been over a year and a half and it hasn't been the easiest road but would I do it again..... absolutely.