Hey, I'm fifteen and am supposed to be getting the Band close to December. My father got the band last December, and now my mother and I are going to get it.

I love my dad, but I know that whatever I ask he is going to be biased, and I know he get's annoyed that I keep asking him the same things but with different wording, just be sure that he's being honest. I just really think that it would be best if I had someone who was un-biased to ask questions and go to for support.

I'm into music, Marching Band (Go band nerds!!!), Electronics, writing, animals, eco-friendly things, most teenage girl stuff, and the list goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on. XD

Edited July 5, 200917 yr by andy-penguins

heyy (: , im 18, ive been trying to find young people like myself, im getting my band on july 31st, its been a very long journey so far, my mom was supposed to get it with me, but she hasnt lost all the required weight she was supposed to, i lost mine first so my date is set now, shes getting there though! =] well i dont know if im too old for what youre looking for, but just to let you know i am here whenever you need someone to talk to for support, dont be afraid to ask questions or anything, ill be more than happy to answer them (:

My mom and I are trying to do the same thing. And I've been trying to find someone else who was young on here as well. =D And thank you, I don't have any questions now, which means that I'll probably think of atleast five right after I post this.

awesome, haha alright (:

Aha! Lol, it's kind of a stupid one, but we have our first appointment with the surgeon on Friday, and I like to know what's going to go down in any situation. So, what is the norm for the first appointment?

I am not a teen, but I am happy to answer any questions you may have. The first appt witht he surgeon is a great opportunity for you to ask him/her anything you want to know!! At my first appt., my surgeon chose the date I would be banded, assured me that my insurance would cover surgery, and answered questions I had. Then he set me up with another appt with the nutritionist to discuss the pre-op liquid diet.

Good luck

haha no question is a stupid one! (: so its your very first appointment? okay what i can remember is that we got weighed, we talked about what surgery we're getting, he/she will explain how it works, and they'll talk about exercising, they'll go over how much weight you need to lose before surgery, i needed to lose 11 or 12(i started out at 240 now at 228, was 225 but i gained 3 back ). they'll have you go on a fat free diet before the next appointment (well at my appointment they did), i cant really remember what else happened =/ it was last september lol, but my second appointment is the one i remember the most because it was a hectic day haha, ill tell you, so i went on the fat free low carb diet the 2 days before the appointment, and i had to fast the night before the appointment because i had to get blood work, i think they checked vitamin level or something like that i cant remember what else i had to get blood work for but i think there were like 5 test tubes (you might be different and have less tubes but your doc might be different too) we talked to the nutritionist, rehabilitation center(fitness), had to get my lungs checked, had to get xrays of my lungs/heart, eep, they will give you handouts starting at the second appointment(im not sure cause each doctor is different) one from the nutritionist maybe a few which talk about what you should be eating (adjustable gastric banding: nutrition guidelines is what my packet is called) must have the protein which will be explained in the packet and you'll get one from the fitness talks about exercises and stretching and how to stretch (specifics of exercise is my packet) but yeah you probably didnt need too know my experience with my second appointment, i just couldnt remember much from the first one ): but what i said at the begining thats basically what they'll talk about, they'll probably talk about they diets you've tried and why they havent worked and probably ask you how long you've been overweight, why you gotten overweight, why you think lap band is best for you, things like that (: haha sorry that was long

oh i just got my surgery date last week you might get yours sooner or might take longer, like kkarryall said its a great time to ask he/her any questions, call your insurence company and make sure they cover the surgery. and grr i lost my thought :sad:

Lol, thanks to both of you. And I'm used to the whole blood work-fasting thing, so that would be no biggie for me. My mom is an insurance person, so we know that we are covered...

And what happens if we can't lose the weight they tell us to...:thumbdown:

(And btw, I lose my train of thought all the time! XD)

haha good good, =D

if you don't lose all the weight you are required to would be something i'd ask them about, i think they'll go on with the surgery but i'd still ask (:

oh man i hate when that happens haha

Ok, I went and met Dr. Ferrera today! Everything went good, and he said that we could get me banded by November with no problem!

Thats awesome! :cursing:

Yah, but I have to go back next week to meet the dieticsian person.

When are you supposed to be banded?

hey, sorry it took so long to write back but thats what i did my second appointment.

im getting banded july 31st and i start my pre-op diet(protein shake) tomorrow, im excited for that and i dont know why lol. the protein shakes arent a problem for me. (:

I've heard alot of people complain about protien shakes.

yeah me too, dont get chocolate but if you want you can try it, vanilla is the best i think and it dont give me a stomach ache. everyone is different though, you might like chocolate and it wont give you a stomach ache but yeah, and strawberry is the worst lol. my protein shake powder has 16g of protein in it, need to have protein shake 4 times a day and 2 vitamins(one morning and one at night) i think it gave me a stomach ache only cause i used the recipie the nutritionist gave me, 4-6 oz of water, 1 packet of HMR 800 chocolate shake powder, 1 tsp of sugar-free raspberry gelatin mix, and 4 or more ice cubes, blegh!!!