Hey Everyone I'm new to the discussion board but, I am one of the first teens in the USA to get the lapband. I was part of a clinical trial out of Chicago giving hope to morbid obese teens. I came to the program 300+ lbs and in a SIZE 28 ( u can all imagine the ridicule i endured by my peers. I was banded July 2009 and in a year lost nearly 90 lbs. I graduated high school in a SIZE 12 and runner up homecoming queen! I went to college where i finally had a normal happy healthy life! I have had a love hate relationship with my band being in college 5 hours away from any dr. who knows how to deal with the band has been hard and caused me to get an a 7cc taken out of my 10 cc band. I put on my freshmen 15+ and now as a senior in college have to recommit myself to my band. It has been an up and down battle as i have NEVER been in the sweet spot. I'm always too tight or too loose. I just wonder if any of my fellow teens or those banded at a young age have and of the same issues? Being 21 and have the lapband nearly twice as long as many others i meet is hard and i always get lots of questions. Any advice on being an new healthy bandster would be great too!!

Thanks for posting! I'm very interested to read the experience of young bandsters and am following the research on this in the USA. Congratulations for your success, and I applaud your bravery for being a participant in one of the clinical trials.

IMHO you've done yourself a great service, because you've avoided a lifetime of weight cycling and gone straight to the gold standard of WLS.

It is unproductive to have regrets, but my biggest regret in my life is that I spent so many years cycling between fat and less fat. As you touch upon in your post, the ridicule from my peers, and all the normal things I didn't get to experience as a teen, greatly shaped my personality. (I was in high school in the 70s at a time where there were few overweight teens--unlike today where it is more common--so I really stood out.) You made a courageous choice and look at all that you've been able to participate in because of it!!!! Homecoming queen, a normal happy healthy college life, and more awaits you. I hope you are patting yourself on the back, because the choice you made shows determination and bravery.

I have a niece who is morbidly obese and has been since she was a young child. Now she is 16 and I see her being put on the sidelines and not having a chance to experience all those normal teenage events: a group of supportive friends, boyfriends, going to parties, being looked upon as a winner by her teachers..It is so sad. I hope one day she will come round to the idea of WLS, and not keep viewing herself as a failure or lacking in self-control.

Remember why you chose the band in the first place and it may help you to recommit to the bandster lifestyle. Take it hour by hour, day by day...and your will find again your motivation to keep reaping the benefits of this amazing tool.

Wishing you all the best for a wonderful life, freed from the prejudices of obesity.

Hey Sweet, welcome! I know of 1 guy here that is a younger wls patient. He's in college too, but he's a sleeve patient. But it may be nice to have a chat with him anyway. His name is ljmasterdebater, if you want to look him up. He's in the chat room a lot of evenings, if you want to try that too. Best wishes