princessprints

I am so glad to read your post. I am a mom of a 17 year old young man. We are going through the steps to get him banded now. We live in central California, about 8 hours away from you. We have been to three appointments and have to loose 50lbs before surgery early next year. Our insurance is really putting us through the hoops to be ready. He is on an eating plan that is practice for post op eating. He is having trouble with the thought of no soda and no drinking with meals. He is not here now, he is at work, but I will have him log in later and maybe you two can post to each other about your hopes and worries.

Hello, I will quickly tell you my story and then about my son... I am a surgery success story of 20+ years. At age 18 I had a stomach stapling procedure. I was cut from the left rib to the right and a band of surgical plastic was put around my upper stomach and five rows of staples partitioned off my lower stomach to create a small pouch with the ring working much like the lapband. It has worked wonderfully and I have been able to keep the weight off, fluctuating 20lb on and off, all these years. Nothing was bypassed or cut out and it is totally reversible. Reading the posts sounds just like the experiences that I have had with my post-surgery life as to the slimming, occasional vomiting and learning what foods never work. My oldest son is now 17 and has a bmi of 51. Last year we discovered that he has high blood pressure and is on medication to control it. We have tried all the diets and nutritionist, lifestyle changes ect... since he was about 5. My other two children do not seem to have the same desire to eat, but it is heart breaking to watch my oldest suffer with his weight just like I did. Now that he is almost 18, we have begun the steps to obtain the lapband surgery. We have not even considered the bypass. My sister had the bypass two years ago and it has terrified me. She is loosing her teeth and has become an alcoholic from not eating like she should and trading addictions. I am absolutely against my son having this irreversible life after bypass. I am thankful that the lapband is now approved by Kaiser insurance. Kaiser has a very extensive pre-op program and we have about 6 more months of work to go. He is anxiously waiting and has to loose 50lbs before surgery. The hardest thing for him right now is the thought of no more soda and not drinking with meals. We are practicing that now, but he is not convinced that he can ever get used to it. The hospital that we have to go to is about 160 miles away and we have two same day apt every month plus the yearly visits for life at this facility. It is a big commitment, but I know that it will be worth it. One of the works in progress that our doctor recommended was to join a support group, so here we are. I am also looking for a local face to face group that we can go to. I think it will be helpful to be around others who are in his same situation. I am having trouble finding an adolescent group though. It is a little different to be 18 and have this procedure because Mom and Dad are there to help you keep on track, cook your meals and shop for you. A support group could make or break his commitment in the long term. It would help me to know that he has a group that he can learn from and share with. If there are any 17, 18, or 19 year olds in this forum who would like to share their experiences either pre-op or post-op we would love to hear from you. Thanx Mom