So i looked into the other threads about teens getting the band. And i didnt see anyone under the age of 17/18. Im 15, im in the process of being evaluated for the band. And i was wondering if theirs anyother people on here more around my age. And what how its emotionally effected you. Much appreciated : D

Btw, if your older then 17, then give me your views for banding younger teens. (14-17ish)

:thumbup:

hi Ryan

I had the band 1 month after my 16th birthday, that was 6years ago. I wonder how overweight you are because it is a huge thing to do and honestly i wouldnt recommend weight loss surgery for anyone that age unless it is life and death, i was a certain heart attack risk Doctor said i would be dead in a year.

It has been a huge emotional journey for me, coupled with growing up it is a huge thing to go through. I honestly am still adjusting and im now 22 years, it changes your life to a point you just cant grasp at such a young age.

Having said that it saved my life and im happy to answer any questions you have.

If it is something you end up persuing you will need huge family support as this isnt something you can do on your own at this age. You will also need a lot of counselling and help to deal with it. Despite having this i still have trouble.

Best Wishes

Belinda

hi Ryan

I had the band 1 month after my 16th birthday, that was 6years ago. I wonder how overweight you are because it is a huge thing to do and honestly i wouldnt recommend weight loss surgery for anyone that age unless it is life and death, i was a certain heart attack risk Doctor said i would be dead in a year.

It has been a huge emotional journey for me, coupled with growing up it is a huge thing to go through. I honestly am still adjusting and im now 22 years, it changes your life to a point you just cant grasp at such a young age.

Having said that it saved my life and im happy to answer any questions you have.

If it is something you end up persuing you will need huge family support as this isnt something you can do on your own at this age. You will also need a lot of counselling and help to deal with it. Despite having this i still have trouble.

Best Wishes

Belinda

:] thanks for the advise. And yea, im pretty highup their on the fat lol. Well im going to the newhope clinic at UIC and i have to go once a month everymonth before and after the surgery until the (nutritionist,psycoligist,nurse,surgeon,Physical trainer) think im ok to stop meeting with them. And as for family support, (i live with my grandma) and she had it in 04, so she can help me their. :]

:wink_smile:

having someone in the family who has the band would be a fantastic advantage!

If your health is poor and you have a proven record of attempting to lose weight i would go for it, GOOD LUCK

If you have any Q's pm me or post em here :-)

I know everyone has an opinion and you asked for everyones so heres mine, I understand that its horrible being the way you are with certain aspects of your life, I was the biggest person in my last year at high school and ended having to wear jeans to school because my skirt didnt fit me anymore, I know that there are people that are bigger than I am at 16 which is (sorry to be so blunt) utterly disghusting. I dont mean any of this in disrepsect so try not to take it that way but I honestly do not think that anyone under 18 should have this surgery done.

It's a life altering decision and at 15/16/17 your body hasnt even matured yet. People say that there is no other option for them and they have to do it and they won't survive within a year but how many reports do you hear about teenagers under the age of 18 that have died from morbid obesity? Truthfully none right? Anyway thats just my opinion again I wasnt trying to offend you or make you change your mind or anything.

Sarah, i dont normally get offended and i totally support your right to have an opinion but i think that is an extremely narrow minded view. To say that teens dont die from morbid obesity is rediculous because if someones body is in that poor of a shape then whos to say they wont have heart attack...i had the band at 16 and for you to say that it is DISGUSTING for someone that age to be that big is really a horrible thing to say!

I was morbidly obese and WOULD HAVE had a HEART ATTACK! my heart was weak and it was almost certain that would happen, i also have asthma and could bearly breathe, i also had high blood pressure among other things.

My god to say its disgusting i just cant get over it! You think i got that big on purpose? you think any teen would have?

You dont know the history of anyone who is that big as a teen and to judge like that is to use your terms 'disgusting'

Just to explain to you how i got so disgustingly huge....i was sexually assaulted at 6, then my grandparents died, then my uncle died, then my mother got cancer, then i started eating for comfort. Then we moved and i was uprooted to a place where image is everything, i was overweight at that stage but not by much...i was tormented through school, then had a major car accident that involved my entire family and i was driving the car.

I spent 1 year looking after my mother who was in a wheel chair and doing everything around the house as well as home school because i couldnt take being tormented any more. I then got diagnosed with glandular fever my health deteriorated Then i got severe depression and gained the weight,all before i was 16 years old!

Not to mention i was on steroids for asthma since i was 18mths old.

You still think someone who is 16 shouldnt have the surgery? you would say to someone who has been through hell and is at risk like that they shouldnt go through with it?

I am not saying every teen should have it but i dont think its right to generalise when you dont know their individual circumstances. I dont understand how someone who has obviously has got weight problems themselves can judge someone like that, i hope to god next time you maybe think about what the person you are judging may have been through to get them to be the size they are.

I realise you werent judging me personally but i did find it hypocritical at best.

I apologise if anyone else finds this offensive but i feel that having been there i am the right person to respond :-)

Bel Iwasnt trying in the least to be offensive to anyone about it but those are my views, I even said that I didnt mean it to offend anyone, yes I know everyone goes through different things reguarding there weight and I totally understand that and as for the whole risk thing try this - I was on chemotherapy at 10 years old, I know more than most about this entire thing, at 15 I had a lung biopsy and I've always been overweight, last year my doctor told me that I need a lung transplant, I think I say for myself overall my story is far worse than most and yet if I was told that last year and I was 16 I still wouldnt want the band, yes I know I"ll get criticism for saying this stuff but that's how I feel, why should you judge how I think when you have your own opinion on this subject? I'm 20 at the moment, I'm looking at a bilateral lung transplant in the next 5-10 years so I think people that are looking at transplant and are under 18 and are looking at that transplant before there 20 should definetly have it done but other than that no I don't see a reason for people under 18 to have it, and yes it is our/their fault for the way they are (yes I sound like a bitch but oh well) I knew what I was eating at 13 and yet I continued to eat those things, now I'm 20, 115kg and can't even consider a lung transplant because of my size and they won't even put me on the list so yes I am narrow minded about this entire lap band surgery for people under 18, but I think I have every right to, and if you talked to any qualified/reliable/ trusted doctor you would see he/she would most likely feel the same way.

I'm not trying to be a total cow by saying my feelings, it's a free country and I have every right to, I honestly didn't mean to offend people with my views and I am sorry that I did to you but it's my opinion and it's what I stick with, I understand you don't feel the same way as I do and I definetly praise you for that.

Like i said i respect your opinion and wasnt judging i was just trying to explain how you worded your opinion could have been done with a little more tact as this is a sensative issue for many people especially the op who was seeking help and i think using the word 'disgusting' when relating to an overweight teen could have been avoided

Will agree to disagree

there really isn't much of a difference between 16 and 18. I don't think 2 years is enough to say you should or shoulnd't be allowed a band because your *gasp only 16* if someone is 16 and needs the band, then fine. if someone is 18 and needs the band, fine again. i don't think that a two year difference is enough to say "your digusting to be fat at 16" and should have to wait 2 years. IMHO

I know everyone has an opinion and you asked for everyones so heres mine, I understand that its horrible being the way you are with certain aspects of your life, I was the biggest person in my last year at high school and ended having to wear jeans to school because my skirt didnt fit me anymore, I know that there are people that are bigger than I am at 16 which is (sorry to be so blunt) utterly disghusting. I dont mean any of this in disrepsect so try not to take it that way but I honestly do not think that anyone under 18 should have this surgery done.

It's a life altering decision and at 15/16/17 your body hasnt even matured yet. People say that there is no other option for them and they have to do it and they won't survive within a year but how many reports do you hear about teenagers under the age of 18 that have died from morbid obesity? Truthfully none right? Anyway thats just my opinion again I wasnt trying to offend you or make you change your mind or anything.

Guesss i should have informed you all of just HOW much i weigh. Lol.

Hight: 6'2"

Weight: 424

yes, i know, totally effin huge.

Thankfully i carry it well, other wise id look worse then i do now. D:

Highblood pressure, Borderline Diabetic, Back/Knee problems.

Believe me, im disgusted :frown:with my self for letting it go this far. And very disapointed. But if this is my way to get healthy, then so be it

Ryan i just want you to know that most people i know on this board would be behind your decision, i for sure am 100% behind you!

I hope you don't take what the other poster said to heart...you shouldnt be disgusted, IMHO food is an addiction for people who need the band and its not something everyone can fight on their own. I personally know that without the band i would be dead because i AM and always will be addicted to food but at least now i can control it.

I dont think its disgusting that someone get to that weight at ANY age because obviously there is more at work then just being a pig. You might as well say that it is DISGUSTING that someone becomes anorexic or bulimic and frighteningly thin because they have a problem with NOT eating (this is NOT what i personally believe) It is a serious problem to become like this and in my opinion when it gets to the stage where you mentally link food to emotions then getting obese isnt a CHOICE. Some people have the willpower to stop and i congratulate them for that but for those who dont then i think it takes more guts to seek help at any age then to sit there an critisize someone for doing what they need to do.

If you need to talk, pm me!!!

Bel

Ryan I also am behind you 100%. I don't think that you would be on here at your age if you didn't need the band. I'm sure you are mature enough to know what you are getting yourself into, and I give you tons of luck and support!! I hope everything works out for you. This is somthing you can do! Keep us updated on your progress!

And Bel, you are a HUGE insperation to everyone on here!! The fact that you not only lost all your weight but have kept it off for 7 years is amazing and I hope I have as much success as you did!!

Ryan i just want you to know that most people i know on this board would be behind your decision, i for sure am 100% behind you!

I hope you don't take what the other poster said to heart...you shouldnt be disgusted.

Ryan I also am behind you 100%. I don't think that you would be on here at your age if you didn't need the band. I'm sure you are mature enough to know what you are getting yourself into, and I give you tons of luck and support!! I hope everything works out for you. This is somthing you can do! Keep us updated on your progress! :tt2:

And Bel, you are a HUGE insperation to everyone on here!! The fact that you not only lost all your weight but have kept it off for 7 years is amazing and I hope I have as much success as you did!!

That is so sweet thankyou! It means a lot when people say that sort of thing too me. For the record its 7 years in November, i did post one time it was 7 years but i got my dates wrong since it had been so long since i needed to remember when i had the band lol :thumbup:

I am sure you will have just as much success if not more chicka, i think just having this board is a huge motivation and i wish i had it when i got banded!

Ryan, please keep us posted on your decision and how you go with it,i know you will do great with whatever you choose to do because you have a great head on your shoulders....oh now i sound like my mum :eek:

So I'm sorry if I did offend when I used the word disghusting, I know that alot of people have problems but when there only 16-17-18 and they get to a size that wasnt even mentioned 20 years ago at that age you can kind of understand why some people feel the way that they/I do if that makes sense? Also good luck on your surgery Ryan

Hi Ryan,

I'm 18 and had the surgery just before my 18th birthday- I know you said 17 years old and below posters, but any support is good support right?

Seeing as its all about opinions here, mine is that if you can make yourself happier and possibly save your life now, rather than wait for 2 years for an age someone has just arbitrarily decided on as "ok" then why the hell wouldn't you do it.

Like you, I've seen a member of my family go through the surgery, and no one can make you understand the good and the bad of it better. I'm behind you 100%.

Keep us updated

hey! i was 15 when i was banded in jan 2007. it;s a bit difficult to get use to when you become more restricted. eating with friends and going out to dinner can be stressful if your band is tight. it all depends upon what fill level you're comfortable with. that'll come later though

4 days after the surgery i was snowboarding in the mountains :wink2: so recovery was easy for me... i've lost 80 lbs and i love my band lol it's my friend.

if you have any specific questions ask away!!