benefit of lap band surgery on 16year old

Hi and welcome! I had PCOS practically from the time I went through puberty (at age not quite 9), so oh boy do I feel your pain. I had my first ruptured cyst when I was barely 14, had a proper beard by ninth grade, the most godawful cystic acne, severe blood sugar issues (was on insulin for diabetes by the time I turned 26, but OMG the crap I went through before I became full blown diabetic sucked the big one too)..... LOADS of empathy here! Oh, and of course I was morbidly obese.  

There are two alternatives that I believe might be useful to you: The vertical sleeve gastrectomy and the duodenal switch, which is the sleeve plus an intestinal bypass. The DS requires a BIG commitment to learning how your body works and what you have to do to keep well nourished, and YOU MUST DO IT FOREVER AND EVER. However, it has the best results with the metabolic disorder stuff that comes with PCOS.

Good for you and your mom that you are investigating this carefully. Whatever you do, do NOT get a band. It's the worst possible choice for your situation. People who have lived with bands have told you a lot about why this is so in this thread. Also, maybe you noticed in some people's signatures that there is a failed lap band group on this site. Join there and learn about just how horrible the band can be. Don't do that to yourself.

Hi there everyone,

thank you for all of your feedback. It does sound as if it is something to really think about before going through with it. We have been to see dieticians, diabetic and gynacologists to try and help. The problem is I tried to get help before she went throught puberty, due to her size (frame) and weight. I was contiually told she would grow out of it when she went throught puberty. Instead it got worse, she ended up with the dark marks on her neck, she gains weight no matter how healthy she tries to be (causing depression when it does not work and ends up eating the wrong things) She has been on metmorphine since we found out after taking her to a new doctor at 13 (doctor knew as soon as she met my daughter). Her hormones were so out of wack, she already had fatty liver, insulin resistance, scoloisis which i believe may have been helped along by her body going into a menopausal state. Due to  the fact that she was put on a low dose pill to give a period, but it did not work, so was advised not to worry if not planning children yet. Once she turned 16, and having latest bloodtest showing she was going throught menopause, was able to take here the gyno, who said she had to go on pill to stop this and reduce the chances of cervical cancer. The cancer word scared her more than anything. He also put her on higher dose of metmorphine, Now she is actually having trouble eating any type of carbs, without feeling ill. It makes everything hard, being her mother anything i say is wrong and I am trying to ruin her life. She wants the surgery, it is booked in actually for the 21st July, I am hoping that I can change her mind before then. The surgeon, seems to think it will benefit her. He wants to help because our biggest fear is that she has only one functioning kidney, and if she get the the diabeties stage, it will affect this and then lapband surgury will seem like nothing.
I have reservations also about the other types of surgury that you have all mentioned, because it actually means cutting away her stomach, she already has vitamin D and calcuim deficiancies, this sounds like it would be worse?
Also the back pain is actually now due to vertibrae compression, which gives her alot of pain, she is taking osteo medication, pain killers (nothing to strong because of other meds).
My biggest problem of all is have you ever tried to tell a 16 year old what and when to eat? She has actually told me she is willing to give it a go. Her training to be a Chef makes it complicated though.

Anyway, i have stressed all your eyes enough, again thank you for you help and support, i will keep you informed on how we go.

thank you, thank you thank you all

Dear Mom and Daughter,
  Please, PLEASE don't put a lapband inside your body!  I got a lapband in 2009, because I was fat, had PCOS, the whole nine yards.  I didn't want to rearrange my guts.  I was scared of that.  My fear drove me to choose a lapband.  That fear ruined the next nearly two years of my life.  Yep, I lost 50 pounds, until the acid reflux started.  I followed all of the "band rules" and way of life with the band, until I woke up one morning and couldn't even swallow my own spit.  I then had no choice but to unfill my band.  I ended up only being able to eat "slider foods", or foods like pudding, apple sauce, ....liquids.  I gained back every single pound that Iost.  Any time I tried to eat solid protein, even eggs, I threw it back up, after slobbering like a Saint Bernard for an hour.  I was so miserable, to say the least.  I had to have my band removed.  It turns out, that my band had shifted its position around my stomach and was growing into my stomach tissue!  I revised to the Duodenal Switch, and have been so happy since!  I got over my fear of rearranging my insides.  Education was my cure for fear.  Once I learned all about the DS, my fear of it vanished.  Was I nervous?  You bet, but I am so happy I revised.  My diabetes is gone, my PCOS is gone, high blood pressure is gone, high cholesterol is gone....I have my life back!  I beg the both of you, please don't allow fear to make your decision.  Cancel the surgery date, you can always reschedule if you find that the band is really what you need.  In the meantime, research your eyeballs out!  Read every piece of literature you can get your hands on about all four wls types.  If it were my child, I would consider the VSG first, and then if his/her health warranted it, go back later for the switch portion of the DS.  I wish you both the best.  Feel free to contact me privately, if you'd like more details or have any questions at all.
Wendy

As someone who HAS PCOS and has had it since I was 12, going thru puberty is what brings PCOS to the forefront. First, get her on metformin, second try a very low carb way of eating, won't hurt the entire family. And last IF she really needs WLS, please do not do the lapband.

The lapband is under recall: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/4386446/Allergan-amp-Realize-bands-recall-information/
The RNY doesn't have the diabetes resolution that the DS does. And the RNY can cause reactive hypoglycemia after surgery.  Please see my blog for the articles on reactive hypoglycemia.

My PCP said this when I told him I wanted WLS: As long as it's not the lapband. Please tell me that one is not under consideration.

That tells me that it's NOT a good surgery regardless of the few who do succeed. They are the few among the many who it fails.

And for further reading, here is a good article:
METABOLIC & BARIATRIC SURGERY MEDICAL GUIDELINES FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE

Liz

PLEASE LISTEN TO ME MOM.......

Her back pain will get worse with the band. The band irritates my back to the point of being in bed for days at a time. Don't get the band. If her surgeon is qualified to do the sleeve. Please have him do the sleeve. If he isn't qualified, then put off her surgery and find someone who is qualified to do the sleeve.

If you want and your daughter is willing. I know my daughter would be willing to talk to your daughter about her band experience.

Have your daughter read this thread. I have many threads bookmarked regarding the reality of living with the band I can link her to.

Check out the WLS Graduates forum for the boy who had the surgery at 16 and at 19 has regained all his weight....www.obesityhelp.com/forums/wls_grads/

Just because she wants to be a chef does not preclude her from being a HEALTHY chef. She can also cook bariatric friendly. A good example of a chef who has done this is Chef Dave.

And carbs, esp white carbs, are NOT our friends for those of us with insulin resistance/PCOS. The good carbs from green veggies and from milk/cheese/etc are good carbs.

You need to learn about the glycemic index. And stick to low carb type foods.

Also, if she is taking NSAIDS, she needs to have the VSG or the DS since with the RNY she can not take ANY NSAIDS at all...and with the lapband, you can have trouble handling the pills.

And yes, I have tried to help teach a teen to eat properly...she is much healthier than I am as a result. And is far better a****ching what she eats. She's now 25 and is perfectly normal.

For her to be willing to give it a go, she will have to make changes in what she eats. And so will you in what you cook for the entire family so she doesn't feel deprived.

Protein ALWAYS comes first, then veggies, and last of all starchy/carbs. Most of us do not have room to eat beyond the veggies. And vitamins are a must regardless of surgery. So are lab tests. Best information on those are from Vitalady:
Vitalady's Pre-op Ideas
Labs and Targets
Proximal RNY Vitamin Program
Distal RNY, ERNY, and DS Vitamin Program
Chewable Vitamin Program
Band & Sleeve Vitamin Program

Liz

 My biggest problem of all is have you ever tried to tell a 16 year old what and when to eat?

no i haven't - but how will you manage AFTER she has the band ?

i think your a wonderful mom, helping your daughter address her weight issue before she's an adult - but i don't think the band is for her after all you've written.

if i've missed it - i apologize, but what is her BMI / height - weight?
i take it she can't exercise w/the back pain & i'm here to tell you this is a diet & exercise type of WLS.  not for all, but i can speak from my experience - - if i'm not exercising, i can barely maintain & can regain easily - eating EXACTLY the same foods.   

i would looking into the sleeve & if more serious intervention is needed - your halfway there to the DS.    don't get hung up on stomach rearranging, it might be what improves her quality of life.....just don't see the band doing that for her.

Dear Mom and Daughter:

Please listen to the good people here, whom have given you the answers you seek.

Also, do additional research into the 4 major surgeries (DS, VSG, RNY & BAND) yourself, so that you feel comfortable with your final decision.

Be able to physically draw a picture/diagram on a piece of paper of what happens with each of these 4 surgeries.

Be able to explain in one paragraph the basics of what happens with each of these 4 WLS.

Research the total average amount of weight that is lost with each surgery during the first year.

Research the total average amount of weight that is kept off with each surgery after 5 years.

Research the side effects, complications, and life style changes that may accompany each WLS.

Research what must be done post WLS to stay “compliant” with each WLS.

Research what you can/can’t eat post WLS with each procedure.

Do all these things before you make a decision.

For mom:  Please DO NOT let your daughter get a band.  It is not less invasive than other surgeries, it just seems that way  because of how you are thinking about it.  CANCEL the surgery!  I strongly urge you to get your daughter the vsg and into counseling whether or not she has surgery.  You must be informed and be her advocate, not this surgeon. Docs are not "truthsayers", they are doing what the medical community/schools has taught them, which not always proves to be a good thing years later, hence medical procedures evolve or die out.  Like others have said, bands won't even be around in a decade because they will have been taken off the market. Bands will be looked back on as a ridiculous "treatment" for obesity.  

For daughter(and mom):  I'm sorry you are having such a hard time right now.  I, too, had PCOS and was overweight since puberty(age 9)...  the hormonal probs, being morbidly obese, gaining weight just by looking at food, pre-diabetic, skin tags, pain, ancanthosis nigricans(the dark skin on my neck, underarms, betweens breast), lethargy, mustache and beard, chronic anemia, being taunted, acne, etc, etc.  Doctors, too, said it would pass in a few years(this was when PCOS wasn't even known about), then the pill, and metformin, and finasteride, 2 rounds of accutane, and trying to lose weight. Years of yo-yo dieting will actually make the insulin resistance worse and even harder to lose weight.  I was also 16-17 when I felt my worst.  I am 33 now, but I remember everything.  The depression weighed so heavily on me and I know you may feel alone. I would have done anything to make it stop, even if it wasn't the best choice.  This is what the lapband is...a very bad choice.  I know you have your surgery scheduled soon so you may feel a means to an end, but you need to be your most mature and rational right now that you can be.  I would urge you to get the VSG instead.  Yes, I had the RNY because since I had so many years of being obese, terrible reflux that did not respond to medicine anymore, chronic dieting, and PCOS, by the time I was 32 I needed the malabsorption the RNY gives.  If I was 16 again, being so young, I would choose the VSG in a heartbeat.  I also urge you to seek some counseling, if you are not already seeing someone.  It doesn't have to be a psychiatrist or psychotherapist, it could be a social worker or going to overeaters anonymous.  When I was your age I fought going to see someone because I was so stubborn about being open to people, but now I wish I could have just given in to telling someone my feelings and the things I would only say to myself.  Yes, you are only 16, but that also makes you almost an adult.  You are doing this research with your mother, which shows that you have a level of maturity which would be needed to have any wls, but also that you have great support in your mother(don't take that for granted). My advice is to be own health advocate, be informed, and don't make hasty decisions.  This will be one of the most important decisions of your life.  Remember, you are not alone, you have many friends here!

If you want to talk or have any questions, pm me.