Me and my mother(I'm under 18, and although we haven't contacted any U.S doctors and are still going to try we don't think they will) are planning on traveling to Tijuana to get my lap band done because i am actually very overweight and am gaining about a pound a week(usually more), i just realized i dont want to be in a wheelchair by the time im 15 and i want to live a, i guess you could say "normal" life. Any opinions?

Edited August 26, 200818 yr by Krystalx

Krystal, your making a great choice in life. I had my band in Mexico as well as many, if not most of the people online here. It is MUCH cheaper, they have 10 years more experience than the US doctors, as it wasn't approved by the FDA here until much later. If you look around the web blogs, you will hear some common surgeons names that have great reputations; Dr. Kuri being among the top. This surgery really is minor, 45 min at most, and most surgeons can learn to place a lap band very quickly. Not brain surgery. Unfortunately, some people, doctors as well, have a very negative view of Mexico surgeries. This does not go unwarranted. There are quacks, just as there are quacks here. But the more popular lap band places, are incredible! The care is superb, much better than here. They hear you, they listen to you, they cater to you. Their business is based on catering to us fat Americans! haha One of the things that is common, is that an American will go there, get their band cheap, and then comes back to the states, and doesn't have the proper support or follow up here. That is CRUCIAL to your success. You have to have good follow up with your doctor in Mexico, or a lap band doctor here in the states. Problems are common, such as reflux, vomiting, over-fill, frequent fills, sliming, etc,,,,,,,,,,,,more on that later. But if you just get your band, and abandon any kind of follow up, you will fail. So unfortunately yes, it often is patients from Mexico that "seem" to have more problems, but it because they haven't arranged or followed up with the required care that is neccessary for success. I LOVE my band. I've had more problems that I would have time to discuss, and I would do it over in a heart beat. I'm close to goal, and feel the best I've felt in years. You'll be there soon! Good luck and enjoy the journey, and don't drive yourself nuts waiting for the final result. Half the fun is just getting there!

Krystal,

I cannot tell you how much I urge to NOT DO THE BAND IN MEXICO! Just go through the boards and you'll find horror stories and most of them are from people who thought they were saving money and time but going south of the border. It's a BIG mistake. If you have a problem, doctors here often refuse to take on the complication that they didn't cause. You're mother would be less than watchful if she allows this, and more so if she takes you there.

There are very definite reasons for the rules and protoculs of surgeries. I'm not telling you to go the most difficult way, but there are many surgeons who will do lapband surgery on young women around 18. Take the time to find one in your area because lucky as your other responder was in her recovery, will she be there to take you and your mom to Mexico if something needs to be fixed? And will your mom feel good about Mexico is you're taken to an emergency room, or find out somethings wrong with your port and no one hear will fix it? Why would you do that to yourself?

I know that it is very very difficult to not want instant change, but although you are an age where weight is very much and issue, there are many ways young women can take off weight. There may be reasons to say yes or no to you, but if you get a no from everyone, you better believe there's a good reason.

Just remember, most of the time you get what you pay for, and cheap goes to cheap. My friend's daughter who's just 18 had lapband at a local surgicenter. While some might question the wisdom, at least she was in the a surgeon who is also at an accreditted hospital, and she can be easily treated for any problems as well as monitored and ask questions anytime she wishes.

I wish you the best of luck whatever your choice. If you were my daughter, you wouldn't be going anywhere I couldn't take you in a short car trip. I'm sure your mom will feel the same.

I had Doctor Kuri as my doctor and he is the one that does my fills, great doctor, great experience no regrets, hey if your going to have problems it can happen any where you go, also this doctor is more experienced than he ones here in the US. But make sure you do your research don't let anyone pick for you its a personal thing. Good luck.

I totally second what gdf14 says. One poster was over 40 when she went to Mexico; and more power to her. But you are VERY young. You are still growing. Do you realize if you continue to eat teen food like shakes, fries, chips that you will still gain or remain obese?

May I suggest WW or some other weight loss program first and give it a real dedicated try. You MAY find that at your age you lose quickly, become more active as you get thinner, and do not need this surgery.

There IS a reason they don't perform the surgery here on young people.

Please, hang in there. You won't be able to eat many of the things you probably love (no diet coke...no mountain dew...whatever type pop you like) Give yourself a chance to grow up a little more and mature a little more. Give your body a chance to finish maturing. Then in 3-4 years if WW or some other program (Jenny Craig?) doesn't work for you, look into the band. At your age, on WW, you'll drop weight fairly quickly. I think you'll be happier.

Really really really think this over and research it. Talk to your family doctor.

RestlessMonkey, trust me, i have tried, i was actually vegetarian and dieting for 3 weeks and honestly i know it sounds like i don't have enough willpower but as much as i try to diet, the pounds never come off, which (as you should know, im sure this has happened to you too) discourages me and i end up quitting and not even thinking about it then regretting it later. I really think i need this tool especially hearing all the hype about it.

Honestly at 53 years old *(when people say they "can't" lose any more) I can lose just find. I can't keep it off. So since all the band does is restrict what you can eat....if you can't lose by lowering your calories (like WW or the vegetarian diet) then the band won't help you anyway!

I probably sound judgmental and I'm not; what I am is worried.

I've lost 30 pounds since July 25 just doing the doc's preop diet he has me on.

And hype is just that....hype...buzz. This is your life. Give yourself a chance first. Another 3 more years won't hurt you! Go to your family doc and see what s/he says.

Honestly at 53 years old *(when people say they "can't" lose any more) I can lose just find. I can't keep it off. So since all the band does is restrict what you can eat....if you can't lose by lowering your calories (like WW or the vegetarian diet) then the band won't help you anyway!

If the band is doing it's job, it will help you feel full on much less food. This is not something a diet can do. So I don't agree that the band won't help her. Part of why people can't stick to diets or can't keep the weight off once the diet is done, is because they are hungry all the time. That isn't how WLS works. With WLS, there is hunger control, and that makes losing weight through diet and exercise possible.

As for Mexico, there are some wonderful docs in Mexico like Dr. Aceves and Dr. Rumblaut. I think they are better than many of the US band docs, in fact. There are also some clunkers. So you need to be *very careful* and do a lot of research.

There are several places that do pediatric bariatric surgery in the US though. Stanford does bands on teens, in my area, for example. Don't just skip the US and jump right to Mexico. I think it's always better if you can get insurance to pay and do it nearby. If you can't though, Mexico is a good alternative.

She didn't say she couldn't STICK to a diet. She said she couldn't LOSE on a diet. She did one for 3 weeks and didn't lose a pound. How will the band help that? And she is VERY young; waiting a couple years for her organs and body systems to mature isn't a bad idea.

I'm actually seeing my doctor next Monday but i'm just thinking about options now. I agree, shouldn't it be able to help me because honestly just the cost of this and knowing i have something helping me will encourage me to do something about it. I also know that you have to stick to the soups and mushy/pureed foods and I may be young but I'm not going to harm myself by eating a huge piece of steak and having the band slip, etc.

P.s:I heard somewhere that the only reason most doctors in America wont let you get a band if you're under 18 is because they aren't mature enough to know what their heading into, not because their body isn't fully developed. Any proof of this?

Actually you only eat soups and so on for a limited time. Then they are pretty much things you should avoid because they are too easy to eat. Your body hasn't finished growing yet. Whether you are mature or not isn't the only issue. You still need nutrition to finish off bone growth and organ formation.

I also know that you have to stick to the soups and mushy/pureed foods and I may be young but I'm not going to harm myself by eating a huge piece of steak and having the band slip, etc.

Then you are more mature than some of the adults on here who start cheating as soon as they get home from the hospital. :thumbup:

P.s:I heard somewhere that the only reason most doctors in America wont let you get a band if you're under 18 is because they aren't mature enough to know what their heading into, not because their body isn't fully developed. Any proof of this?

There are a lot of reasons that they give.

Mostly I think it's more a function of how health care in the US works. We're really conservative. So there haven't been a lot of studies on WLS in teens and youths so the doctors don't want to do any until there are.

There is also the growing issue. If you get a surgery with malabsorption, there is a chance you will be missing some important micronutrient that no one realizes today you need that could impact your growth. This isn't an issue with restriction-only surgeries like the band and the sleeve though.

Then, some will say it's not good to restrict calories when you are growing. But those same people will put an overweight teen on a diet. So it's not really logical IMO.

Another issue is the one you brought up about informed consent. Legally you have to be an adult to give informed consent so that means a surgeon is doing surgery on someone who can't give informed consent. They get it from your parents but you are the one with the surgery and the surgery is supposed to be for life. Even a mature 16 year old, as I was and you seem to be, doesn't really know what life will be like in several decades.

But all these things have to be balanced against the alternatives. If you are already morbidly obese and you are a teenager, what is life going to be like for you if you don't get surgery? That's a consideration too.

It's not an easy decision and I feel for you. I didn't get to be MO until I was in my late 20s and I have found it relatively easy to lose weight. My problem is keeping it off. So I'm not in the same place as you at all. I'm in the place of someone who has yo-yo dieted for decades convinced that THIS TIME the weight will stay off who has finally realized the insanity of that and is ready to try something new!

Good luck, whatever you end up doing. This obesity thing is a really tough row to hoe.

Then you are more mature than some of the adults on here who start cheating as soon as they get home from the hospital. :thumbup:

There are a lot of reasons that they give.

Mostly I think it's more a function of how health care in the US works. We're really conservative. So there haven't been a lot of studies on WLS in teens and youths so the doctors don't want to do any until there are.

There is also the growing issue. If you get a surgery with malabsorption, there is a chance you will be missing some important micronutrient that no one realizes today you need that could impact your growth. This isn't an issue with restriction-only surgeries like the band and the sleeve though.

Then, some will say it's not good to restrict calories when you are growing. But those same people will put an overweight teen on a diet. So it's not really logical IMO.

Another issue is the one you brought up about informed consent. Legally you have to be an adult to give informed consent so that means a surgeon is doing surgery on someone who can't give informed consent. They get it from your parents but you are the one with the surgery and the surgery is supposed to be for life. Even a mature 16 year old, as I was and you seem to be, doesn't really know what life will be like in several decades.

But all these things have to be balanced against the alternatives. If you are already morbidly obese and you are a teenager, what is life going to be like for you if you don't get surgery? That's a consideration too.

It's not an easy decision and I feel for you. I didn't get to be MO until I was in my late 20s and I have found it relatively easy to lose weight. My problem is keeping it off. So I'm not in the same place as you at all. I'm in the place of someone who has yo-yo dieted for decades convinced that THIS TIME the weight will stay off who has finally realized the insanity of that and is ready to try something new!

Good luck, whatever you end up doing. This obesity thing is a really tough row to hoe.

Thank you for giving me all that information, I've still been researching about this and still trying to decide between Mexico or America let alone having the surgery.The thing that got me started on my journey of weight loss is when i went to see my doctor and found out i actually went there exactly a year ago the day i was there, and she figured out that over a span of exactly a year i gained 40+ pounds, and that was when i realized i had a bad problem that needed to be fixed. I want to live a normal life and not have to keep missing school and especially go back to public school(i quit and now home school because of my weight, and i would always pass out when i had to run in physical education).

I didn't want gastric bypass, or anything that involved them basically pulling my insides out because i realize im young and i don't want to make that big of a change to myself, which is when i talked to someone about the choices i might have and she suggested the lapband because her friend had went from weighing 300 to a little less than 200,and she got hers done in february.Oops, forgot to add. I'm 5'8 and as of 2 days ago 291 pounds.

p.s: Does anyone know what kind of questions Dr.Kuri asks to minors?