Rainbow_Warrior

Found some extras ...

Thanks for sharing! I look forward to hearing about your progress.

Good Evening,
After several months of research on this and other forums, I just had the ESG procedure on Thursday morning at the mayo Clinic in Rochester. I thought this might be a good opportunity to provide some information for others who may be considering this option - as these forums were invaluable to me when deciding how to proceed.
To begin with, I am a 42 year old male with approximately 39 BMI. Like most of the rest of you, I have been back and forth on the scale for most of my life. I have no other medical issues and consider myself in generally good overall health, otherwise (good range of motion, no real restrictions in life). In the end, I decided that I really wanted it to stay that way - and found that I have really been having difficulty getting into any sort of exercise or healthy eating routine.
I emailed a request to the Mayo clinic in early June for more information. They had me come in (about a 3 hour drive for me) for a day long set of procedures and consultations to discuss a range of weight loss options (from medication to balloon - as well as others). I was aware that they were one of the only facilities to offer the ESG (at least at the time) and felt very lucky to be so close to the facility.
The called me about 1 week after the consult and offered to setup a time for the procedure. I picked the first open date, September 21st. In addition, the Mayo Clinic is now requiring all ESG patients to attend a healthy living class that consists of baseline testing, nutrition coaching, healthy food prep, and exercise guidance. I promptly scheduled this for the two days prior to the procedure. At that point, I was required to pay the $15,000 for the entire program prior to final booking (you can pay in any form you wish).
Fast forward to last Tuesday - and I showed up at 7:00 am to being the Healthy Living Class. It consisted of complete body scanning, VO2 Max baselines, complete bloodwork as well as a lot of one on one coaching with doctors, Physical Therapists and Nutritional coaches. Over the course of two days, I had about 10-15 sessions that I can describe as extremely motivational, very informative and unbelievably professional and refreshing. Because the entire program is relatively new (myself and one other person were attending this week - and we are only the 14th and 15th to go through it) I felt like I received a ton of personal care and guidance - from some extremely compassionate and highly qualified individuals. Almost everyone I spoke to had contributed to books, medical papers, and professional publications. They were amazing.
My procedure was performed on Thursday (Sep 21) after I arrived at 6:45. I was out of the hospital by noon. I choose to stay at a local hotel with my wife until I felt good enough to drive (because of work, we decided to drive separately - meaning I had to drive myself home, eventually).
No real issues with the procedure, however, I was quite nauseous for two days afterwards - which I didn't really expect. The nurses and doctors all told me that everyone they have seen go through there (about 100 people thus far) all had nausea - every single one. Beyond that, a little stomach pain (no throat pain for me) but it's all manageable. They did provide me with an ample supply of medications (nausea, oxy for pain, antibiotics and sleeping meds) all included with the procedure.
Next week I begin my weekly phone in coaching (1/2hr a week for one year) and I will return in 6 months for a complete scan and more blood work - and again in one year to compare everything against my baselines.
I don't want to bog anyone down with too many details, but if you'd like to know more or have specific questions I would be happy to answer. I can't say enough great things about Mayo. I think I received incredible value for my money. If you are considering it - give Mayo a call. I can't imagine it going any better than it did and, because the program is relatively new (and you have to pay out of pocket for now) they don't have a long list of people waiting to go through it - and you have a whole team of people working with you to help achieve your goals. The focus is really on long term quality of life - and using the ESG as a tool to help retrain you for success.
Thanks to everyone on this forum who contributes. I wouldn't have even considered this if it wasn't for you.

In an extreme case, this period can be six WEEKS but I've not heard of six MONTHS until you mentioned it.
I'm tipping a misunderstanding or an unfortunate glitch.
Contact the practice or the dietitian ASAP to clarify that you heard it right or that it was written down correctly.
Do NOT change doctor unless you find out that it's not a glitch/miscommunication.

A pilot in a plane flying over the ocean had to ditch as the plane engines failed.
He saw a ship and headed towards it hoping to be saved if he ended up nearby.
Sadly, he misjudged and went straight into the ship. He went through the upper deck and every deck below and, finally, right through the hull of the ship causing it to sink.
With the passengers swimming towards the lifeboats, he resurfaced and joined them. The others were totally amazed at how he could have survived this and asked how he did it.
He said, " I've been through hardships before."

Just to round out the baker's dozen ...

Found some extras ...

And ...

JUDGE: We are searching for more evidence.
PIRATE CAPTAIN: There is none.
JUDGE: Well, firstly, where are your buccaneers?
PIRATE CAPTAIN: On me buccan head!

I was thinking mainly for the pureed stage to supplement Protein Shakes but, yes, I did forget about our credo: Protein First. Thank you!!

I'm in the same boat. My surgery is October 6, and I should be more or less eating normal foods by Thanksgiving. I'm just going to put a modest amount on my plate, swish it around for show and count on no one noticing. Of course, my family is huge, so it's a lot easier to do things no one notices in that situation.

Ah, yes, I have seen some of those posts and honestly, they're too painful for me! It's the encouragement and inspiration I come for. Take what I need, offer what I can and leave the rest....

Mr dietitian said that if I can get a generally acceptable food through the blender and it can pass through a fine strainer (or cheesecloth) then it's okay.
Check with your practice dietitian or your surgeon.

Agree in the most part.
I come here and read opinions and anecdotes. Most are absorbing and inspiring. However there are some extremists and very strongly held 'outlier' views.
I try to be careful, ingest the thoughts they have and divide by the number of outlying opinions.

Stuck at work second Saturday in a row and I'm gettin me some good B-Pal time in!!
All I can say is WOW WOW WOW THANK YOU Your stats are blowing me away. You are all so amazing and I want to be a part of your losers club!! Your commitment and suggestions and gentle direction are exactly what I need to read to keep this thing going. My surgery is 10/17 and some days I'm smooth as silk and others I'm a freekin basket case and I can always find exactly what I need here to pick me up when the stress of it all gets me down.
What a lifesaver this place is. Thank you and happy day

Caffeine is a mild inhibitor of the pre-op process and a diuretic with inappropriate timing.
Last two weeks = no coffee, no coffee-flavoured or chai-flavoured Protein Shakes.

It's just like doctors. Some are outstanding, and some are terrible. Do you know what they call the person who graduated last in their med school class? Doctor

Fantastic! Congratulations!

Yeah, one formerly morbidly obese criminal lawyer from North Carolina says in his YouTube series, "If you can't face the constant attention of comments glorifying your achievement in halving your body mass, you might need counselling."
He refers to empathising with celebrities who are stopped constantly by adoring fans. He says people mean well and most really want to express admiration for one's weight loss but that it grates by the third or fourth person every time you go to the shops or get to your employer's car-park.
I'll have to think about this and my eventual reaction to it, I guess.

That rings true from other anecdotes I've read or listened to.
There's one particular man in my town (there were two but the other one died last Sunday) that has fat shamed me and slagged off at me and other obese people for at least 20 years. He's dying a slow death at the moment from a mix of lifestyle illnesses taking over his body and slowly killing him. (The pace of slow is picking up for him.)
My joy will be to outlive him. If he makes it through the next 12-18 months and my WLS follows a typical path, I hope to enjoy saying to him, "Stop whingeing, princess."

Yeah, one formerly morbidly obese criminal lawyer from North Carolina says in his YouTube series, "If you can't face the constant attention of comments glorifying your achievement in halving your body mass, you might need counselling."
He refers to empathising with celebrities who are stopped constantly by adoring fans. He says people mean well and most really want to express admiration for one's weight loss but that it grates by the third or fourth person every time you go to the shops or get to your employer's car-park.
I'll have to think about this and my eventual reaction to it, I guess.

Wow, that's some big font!!
Ummm.. lemme go read what you were asking again....
Ok, so you are about 9 months postop, but want to start cooking and baking, but don't want to use a bunch of sugar or caloric sweeteners..
Well, they do make splenda for baking (my mil has this big bag of it running around).
But, honestly, I'd rather see you put real sweetener in, then limit how much/often you eat it, then go with all this artificial stuff. Once you are creating baked goods.. carbs are just part of the deal. "Sugar Free" pies and ice cream STILL aren't good for ya
In fact, if you bake with real sugar, butter, the works.. then you kinda KNOW it's a caloric nightmare, and can choose to eat just a little bit. Once you put in the fake stuff, or replace sugar with applesauce, then suddenly it "seems" like it has fewer calories, and is healthier, so it's ok to eat more. At least this is how it works for me!
I do recommend having someone you can give the "extra" to when you bake something, so the whole cake isn't sitting around the house, staring at you.