knelson1961

Thanks, she is a beautiful girl, isn't she. The rodeo was in March and it got a little chilly in the evening, but that didn't stop a lot of girls from wearing very skimpy clothing. Kenney Chesney was great and she will go see him everytime he comes to town. It would have ruined the concert for all us girls if Kenney would have been married then, thank goodness he wasn't. I will pass on the luck to her and hold her hand the whole time. I'm kind of nervous myself, I don't like my children to be scared.

Oops, picture was too big. Sorry. Will try again.

Okay, I'm going to try this also. My daughter will kill me if she knew I was posting a picture of her, oh well, that's what mothers are for. She gets her first fill tomorrow and she's very nervous. It was her 17th birthday celebration at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to see Kenney Chesney. Okay, here we go, let's see if it works.

I can't see anything either. Try again Jodie.

Well, I kind of cheated and said all the pre-op stuff was due to other complications. So far, the insurance company has paid for that stuff. Thank goodness. She got banded on June 15th and I haven't received any other bills.

We went self-pay also, 15k, Dr. Spivak, and I agree, him and his staff were great.

The earring looks great. I also had mine done the first time at the mall with the gun and several months later it formed a big bump behind the ear. I had to let it close up but I always wanted it back. I took my daughter to get her tongue pierced at a tatoo parlor and decided to let them do my ear again. They did use the coring needle and it did hurt a lot more, but well worth it. I have always cleaned it like they instructed and I have never had any problems. The tatoo parlor will pierce it with a loop or probably a stud. I preferred the loop. Maybe it's an age thing, but my daughter never had any problems with her cartlage piercing from the mall. Good luck.

For my daughter's band, I borrowed a majority against my 401 plan at work at a 6.3% interest rate and I'm actually paying back myself on each paycheck. The rest I cashed in stock that my company gives each employee each year. I checked into the finance company that my doctor suggested but they wanted to charge a 19% interest rate. I couldn't do that. Good luck.

Hi to all you teens, Brittanynb I know you have talked to my daughter, Elise and I hope it has helped. For anyone who doesn't know, she is 17 also, and has been banded on June 15th. I think it would be great if all of you can talk together. Brittany, I think it did her good to talk to you and discuss the surgery. I hope all of you can get together and share stories. If anyone would like her email address or AIM address (I think that's right), let me know. I'm trying to encourage her to talk to other teens or other people that have been banded. Good luck to all of you. I know how important those high school years are.

I finally found the liquid tylenol for adults at Walgreens.

I have heard that the surgery in Mexico is less expensive and by reading several different threads a lot of people have had theirs done in Mexico with great success. Are you still on your parents insurance coverage, maybe that might be an option you might want to check out first? I believe one of the big reasons why my insurance didn't cover my daughter's surgery was because she wasn't 18. A few of the sites I know of is lap-surgery.net, obesitycontrolcenter.com, gastricbandinstitute.com, or go to yahoo or google and type in lap band and see what comes up.

Hi Briana, Personally I think it's a great procedure to have done. My daughter just got banded on June 15th and she is 17 years old. She is doing great but it is a big adjustment and a relearning process. When you mention this to your parents, take it slow and get all your facts together before you sit down with them. When my daughter approached me, I wasn't too excited about it myself, but I started my own research and we all went to our first seminar together. After several months of thinking about it and seeing if my insurance company would pay for it, I decided to let her have it done. Insurance didn't pay for it, so we were a self pay, sorry to say the cost was $15,000. I don't know of a doctor in the LA area but I'm sure you will get some responses from your request. Good luck to you and I hope you get want you want. Just give your parents time to absorb the information, they only worry about you.

Way to go LuAnn and good luck. My daughter's doctor is Dr. Spivak also and he and hiis staff were great. Let us know what happens.

Thank you for sharing this information with us. My daughter is very frustrated right now because she feels like she can eat a ton. She's very upset at herself because she's not losing like she thought she would. Her first fill is July 21st and she can't wait.

I had the same concerns for my daughter. My insurance company rejected our request for the lap band, I think primarily because of her age. Her BMI was over 50 and she met all the other criteria but because she was 17 they said no. She didn't want to wait any longer and I had to make a decision like the one you are trying to make. I'm a single mom, with my daughter and son and decided to do what ever I could to save and change her life. I worry that I'm taking away from my family but I would do it for my son if I needed too. Good luck to you with your decision and remember you are the mom and where would they be without you........

My daughter has no restriction at all either and is feeling very nervous about it. She feels like she can eat normal amounts of food and can't wait to get her fill July 21st. My question is, after you get a fill are you back on soft foods or liquids for awhile and how restricted is it? Sorry for asking a different question but I thought maybe it might benefit others newbies that haven't gotten a fill yet.

Nita, I can truly understand your struggles. My daughter was also banded by Dr. Spivak on June 15th and she is having the same problems you are. She constantly worries that she is eating too much and tells me not to let her eat that much. I keep telling her one more week and she can have a little variety. Fish and soft foods are just not cutting it anymore, especially when you don't like fish. I've called Dr. Spivak's office several times to get suggestions on what I'm supposed to do and they keep telling us to hang in there, that's it's really important for healing to stick with this diet. Mr. daughter keeps herself busy all the time and I find that she doesn't like to stay at home. I think the house is a negative place for her right now. I wish there was a way that we could work on the mental part but I think it's just going to take time. Hang in there, I'm hoping it's going to get easier. When is your first fill?

Hi anyone, My daughter (17) just had surgery June 15th and she seems to be doing well physically (emotionally, I'm not sure, I can't tell if it's teenage attitude or struggling with cravings). If there is anyone out there that could lend some words of encouragement, words of wisdom or any words at all, that would be great. I go to this site daily and read people's post to try to understand how everyone is dealing with their band, but it's difficult. Also, if anyone knows of another teenager that has had the band or is considering it, that would be great to know, maybe I could connect the two of them. Thanks

Congratulations on getting an earlier date. My daughter had surgery on the 15th of June and 1 week recovery is good. She took the pain med in the hospital and they sent us home with Vicoden, which she took a couple times a day for the first few days and then only at night for about 3 more days after that. Please keep in mind though, my child has never experienced pain before so I wasn't sure if the pain was severe or if she was just aching and sore. Also, if you prefer not to tell people what's going on, that's your business. I just told people I was taking time off to relax at home with my kids. Good luck.

Way to keep fighting. I wish you the best of luck. Happy losing.

Thank you so much for your replys. I will print these off for her and pass them on. If I can figure out how to work this, I would like to put her information and a tracker so others can see her progress. I am very excited for her and it was a scary decision for me to make to let her have this. I do want her to have a very exciting senior year in high school and I want her to be happy with herself. She's working hard so far but nervous because she can tell she can eat a little more food. I tell her it's okay, she must eat to keep her metabolism working properly.

My daughter was banded on June 15th and she was feeling better by the 23rd, no more shoulder pain or gas pain. I did have to help her out with prune juice, only once, but I believe things are starting to get back to normal. She's back to hanging out with her friends and not complaining at all. It does get better with time, promise.