Please come to the DS Forum and see what the DS procedure can offer you. What ever you decide, just make sure it is well informed and that you are able to make a decision on what is right for you based on what you've learned from others that have lived it.

Welcome and I wish you luck on your journey!!

Jillian

Obviously I don't know your situation but there are a few things you can do that will help your stepdaughter. One, tell her about this website and how it's helped you. You may not want to tell her that she needs to be a member because of her weight, but show her around the site and the message boards so that she will get interested and look for herself. Knowledge is the most important tool you can give your children (or stepchildren for that matter).

Another thing you can do is talk to your DH (idk if he's overweight or not) and start to model healthy behaviors and not just while she's there. Go for walks (either indoors or outdoors), eat healthier, and so on. If she sees her dad and you do that and she sees that it's having an effect on your weight and how you feel, she will be more apt to try it out.

Open the lines of communication between yourself and your teen. Having her be able to come to you and talk to you about her problems can open doors for you that you would not imagine, especially if she trusts you. If you already talk about weight issues, that's a great first step. Talk to her about the dangers of "dieting" and how it can actually lead to regaining lost weight and gaining even more weight than she had lost before. Be an advocate for her.

Hi! I'm not a teen anymore, but I've been obese for as long as I can remember (I was over 200 pounds before I even started high school). How great that your dad is supportive and has experience with WLS to boot!

Anyway, I'm now 26, so though I'm no teen, I'm still very young. All I can recommend is that you do LOTS of research. I would say don't even talk to a surgeon until you have researched the main different types of procedures (RNY, DS, band, and sleeve). You should know how they each work, what exactly is done in each procedure, and what can be expected after the surgery.

That said, I'm getting the DS (duodenal switch), and one reason for my decision on that type of surgery is my age. The DS has the best statistics for the amount of excess weight lost plus (more importantly, IMO) the best statistics of maintaining the weight loss with the least chance of significant regain--I don't want to have to worry as much about reganing my weight a few years down the road since I have a lot of "few years" left! When RNY, sleeve, or band fails for some patients, they sometimes seek a revision to a DS. I figured if others are getting revisions ot the DS, I might as well START with it--think twice, cut once!

Feel free to come ask questions on the DS forum here on OH if you'd like to find out more: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/ds/a,messageboard/board_id ,5357/

Hey Yvette,
All I can say is you can't make it seem like a diet. Maybe start slowly by adding in vegetables to every meal instead of potatoes, etc. Just an example. Another thing that is sure to work is taking all the junk food out of the house. If it's not there, she want eat it.
As for exercise, why not take a bike ride with her or swimming, among others. It's more fun when you can "work out" with the family.

Hope I helped,
Jay Harper

Angela,
Telling your son that he cannot eat "bad" food is only going to make it worse.
You need to explain to him that he can enjoy the foods he loves, but in moderation.
Eating is an addiction, and the fact that he is sneaking around just to eat what he wants proves that he is slave to food.
You trying to control him, and tell him what he can and can't eat is only going to make him want to eat it more, and more of it.

Children and especially teens have a very simple mantality, if they are told they can't do something, then that's all they want to do, thier nature is to be defiant.

So make some comp. with him, and let him know (even if you don't mean it) That "this is your life, and i understand that, and maybe i need to let you make your own mistakes"

Just love him, and that's the best you can do, he is not going to change anything until he feels the need, so you have to let him hit rock bottom.

Good luck, and i hope this helps you


-Tatem K