Tex Slim 66

So cool hope4momof4!! Good luck on Dec 7, for ESG that is a large number of procedures for one Dr at this point in this relatively new technique. Don't get too stressed by the office workers, be prepped with your personal history and questions for Dr. and I found a much better response from the head nurse and Doctor in my consult. I will check back on my notes and share some of the key questions for me, you already have a good start. Keep asking if there are questions, we're here to help!

Bubbles good luck on the consult as well!!

Melesg, great post! Your thoughts and approach to life post ESG are remarkably similar to mine, it is very comforting to see the progress you have made in the last 3 months! Incredible to be half way there in 3 months.

So happy for you that you are past the stall. Agree with hope4momof4, your posts have been very valuable to me in my decision making and have provided me a clearer understanding of what life is like after the ESG procedure, thanks so much for that!!

Good luck tomorrow hope4momof4 with your your call and decision about how to proceed!! We're rooting for you!

AmyAlexis, your comment on emotional eating was spot on for me! Thanks for sharing your experiences!

Hey hope4momof4 the hunger question was the biggest thing that I couldn't make sense of either before I had my ESG procedure. So I'm still in the first week (day 5) but I really have not been "hungry". I realize how strange this sounds when sitting through Thanksgiving dinner and a big family Breakfast like this morning. I read about this same lack of hunger post ESG procedure in a number of posts, like AlCzervik, Belle3endosleeve, AmyAlexis and others and struggled to understand how that could be.

Here's my best guess as to why, I think it's a combination of physical and motivational reasons. The physical reason is that my smaller stomach is still adjusting to the ESG sutures and if I do drink something too quickly I can feel the gas pains I mentioned. This physical response is giving me feedback to slow down when I drink (and eventually eat), frankly this is a signal I needed as I was always the first one to finish a meal in our family (even if I ate the largest portion).

The motivational reason is having yo-yo dieted so many times before and done the research about the effectiveness of bariatric procedures and spent the $$ for ESG I am determined to make this time successful in becoming the healthier me that I have missed for the last 20+years. At this early point after my procedure I know that liquid calories, unhealthy food choices or grazing are not taking me to a place that I want to be and I do feel my willpower has been reinforced by completing the ESG procedure. It's a different level of commitment that I feel to getting my weight and body shape to a healthier place for the rest of my life.

So yes, I don't feel it has been hard to stick to the liquid diet, supportive family definitely helping as well!! I know it's a prolonged explanation, actually I found it really useful to share my thoughts, so thanks for asking!!

I took some upper body photos (where I am carrying most of my weight) and can use these for visual reinforcement when needed (not yet).

Thanks too to AmyAlexis, for your support, hope all continues to go well for you!

Day 4 and I feel like I'm fully back to normal, all my meds will finish today as well (just anti-nausea left). I started Liquid Protein this morning, using Premier Protein chocolate flavor from Sam's club. Still staying with 1-2 ounces in sips and then wait 15 minutes. My diet has me on liquid Protein for 2 weeks and I will alternate Protein Drink the first 30 minutes of the hour and Water the 2nd 30 minutes of the hour.

I plan to do some walking with my wife this afternoon to start back towards a routine exercise regime.

One other tip my Dr. provided that I was grateful for, he suggested that the first few days it is easier for your stomach to adjust if you remain upright rather than laying down. He explained gas accumulation was less in the vertical positions than when laying horizontally.

This included sleeping sitting up through the night. I set up camp on a couch or recliner for the first two nights and it worked well for me. I was up to walk around 1-2x in the night to relieve gas pain, it took less than a minute of walking each time to feel normal again. Last night was the first night back in bed and I used a couple of extra pillows to sleep at an angle. No gas pain last night! That was awesome!!

AmyAlexis, you said it right, getting better each day! Thanks to all for the support.

Hey hope4momof4, yes I definitely feel stronger and better today at day 3 than yesterday. My headaches are gone and I'm not at all groggy like on Day 1 and 2. I have completed taking most of the anti-nausea meds that were prescribed today. Dr. and lead nurse said to just take these meds and not wait until I was feeling nauseous. If you wait in taking these meds it takes a long time to recover. Really good advice form my Dr. and nurse, I followed it and it worked!

I feel really good about Thanksgiving today I stuck to my clear liquid diet, no cheat and frankly not interested in cheating at this point. There's so much of an opportunity for me to get back into a healthier life that I'm not going to miss this chance.

The holiday season may seem like a strange time to have an ESG, however for me it was important to start in this season and prove to myself I can do it. Thanksgiving to New year's eve has always been one of the worst times of the year for my weight. In the past couple of years I have gained up to 30 pounds in each of these 6-8 weeks only to work the rest of the year to lose some of it. It's not going to happen that way again!

Great question about revisions, agree this is one to cover in consultations, I did have a good discussion with my Dr. about revision. In our first session I asked about revisions, since I had read this was possible online. Dr. Wilson was clear that the basis for the ESG procedure is permanent. One of the main focuses of the initial weeks of liquid and then Protein diet is to allow the new sleeve to get settled and for tissue to build around the internal sutures. Doing this right in the first several weeks is key to maintaining that smaller area of our stomach following the procedure which provides the feeling of satiety. In speaking with a couple of other Dr's who also performed the ESG procedure I heard a similar rationale that ESG was not intended as a reversible procedure.

My Dr. has not had an ESG patient where a revision was necessary.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Bubbles, you are asking all the right questions, here are some further thoughts I hop can be helpful in your decision making. In my initial consultations I did the same thing and received a lot of information from my Dr, this encouraged me to go forward with my procedure. Be prepared, it's always good to start with asking your Dr. how many ESG's they have done. My Dr. had done ~50 procedures when I first consulted with him this summer.

Hope4momof4 has a great follow-up to this question around what complications (frequency and severity) does your Dr experience with ESG operations? Building on this I would also ask your Dr. to compare ESG complications to Vertical Sleeve Gastronomy (VSG) their patients have experienced? In my experience with the 3 Dr' I spoke to their answers were the same or less number of complications (lack of an incision being the primary factor of ESG having fewer complications than VSG. None of the 3 had experienced more severe complications with ESG.

Since the ESG procedure is fairly new, I looked for other questions to learn more about the Dr's experiences:

• How frequently do they use endoscopes
  • 2 days per week in OR completing multiple procedures was my Dr's response
• Do they also do Vertical Sleeve Gastronomy
  • My Dr. has done VSG for years, many hundreds of procedures

In this discussion with my Dr. I learned the internal stitching technique (OverStictch) done on the stomach walls was the same for ESG and VSG. This made me more comfortable about their experience level.

Ask your doctor about

Hey Bubbles, thanks for your note and expression of care! I continue to feel stronger this morning, not feeling "hungry" even though the last solid food for me was Saturday dinner. Small sips of Clear Liquids is definitely making a difference in the amount and intensity of gas pains going down. They are very minor now, less than 30 seconds and more of an ache than a sharp pain. Thanks to ESG forum members, I knew this would come and just treat it as normal and walk it out.

I still am taking a couple of anti-nausea meds and they are working, plan to take those pills until they run out in the next day or so. I cooked the bacon for our family Thanksgiving breakfast, it smelled wonderful, didn't have a bite or any desire to nibble.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Also thanks to Amy for your support!

Quick update on the morning after ESG procedure. Feeling much better, walking around and getting some energy back from a tiring day yesterday. I'm drinking 1 ounce of clear liquid every ±15minutes and that is going well. Definitely able to stay hydrated doing this. I think I might have been drinking liquids too fast yesterday afternoon and this may have lead to some of the minor gas pains. If I get a gas pain I simply get up and walk around and within a few minutes they are gone. Headache is also gone!

Drinking (sipping) slowly is a big deal to avoiding discomfort.

Day 1 is great start for me, I have clear liquids for today and tomorrow then shift to Protein drinks.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, mine will be a clear liquid day, for which I am giving thanks!

Take care, Tex!

Thanks to all for support and interest, I made it through my procedure today. Started in OR about 0730 and was out of the OR in about 2hours, took another 2 hours or so in recovery room to feel good enough to go home. Dr. said procedure went well, no issues/complications. Thanks to my wife for all her support, especially today! We arrived back home about 1 pm and I'm just sitting up and taking it easy.

I'm still a bit groggy, taking anti-nausea and pain meds now as I had a headache and some gas pains coming out of the recovery room. Gas pains are 2-3 out of 10 on the pain scale, headaches is getting better 1-2 out of 10 (which is great because I have had Migraines in the past) and hope both of these go away soon! I plan to walk a bit this evening and progressively more tomorrow.

I'm drinking Clear Liquids now, small amounts spaced out every 5 minutes or so, for the next couple of days. Next step after that is to go on Protein Drink diet for first 2 weeks. I will keep sharing my experiences as I progress thru recovery and towards the new me! Really looking forward to this change!

Special thanks to home4momof4 for the prayer, it worked!

Thanks for the support and prayer hope4momof4, means a lot!

Will let you know who it goes and hoping all goes smoothly for you when the time comes.

Well my procedure date is Tuesday, really looking forward to it! I have done all the prep, on liquid diet now, have all the meds and Protein Drinks for after. Thanks to all who have been willing to share their experience. Your openness about the procedure, what is needed to be successful afterwards and lack of complications played a big part in my deciding to proceed. I am looking to lose about 90 pounds and get back to a weight I haven't seen since college. My wife is supportive and that's such a blessing, thank you god, she's more than I deserve!

My procedure will occur in Houston at Memorial Hermann Surgical Center, if anyone wants more info about Dr. Todd Wilson or the procedure/process, just let me know I would be glad to share and help others.

Special thanks to AlCzervik, JimL, Belle3 and AmyAlexis for your open sharing and frankness!!

Regards, Tex

Al, that's awesome to hear, fantastic progress! I know from the yo-yo diets how incredible that feels to go down that many sizes in clothes, sounds like you are on a path to stay there this time. Also great to hear of your exercise experience, inspiring for my upcoming procedure. Stay in touch as you continue to make progress it is very reaffirming for the rest of us! Great job, enjoy the new healthy you!

Regards, Tex

Jim, thanks for continued sharing, glad to hear you have transitioned to soft food. I appreciate your comments about how important the measurement of food is, very useful for those of us still waiting for our procedure. Hang in there, losing 28 pounds in such a short period of time is a great start!! It sounds like you have made some significant steps to change your life habits and become a much healthier person!

Keep going!!

Take care, Tex

I checked in TX and Aetna will not cover ESG, so self pay for me. Aetna will cover VSG.

Connie115, that's great news! Congrats on the surgery and hope that you continue the positive experience! Keep us up to date on your progress.

Al, thanks for sharing your experience and the suggestion of where to plan the immediate recovery, really helpful to us considering ESG. I would not have guessed that the nausea would be worse than the pain. Also the support of your wife must have made a big difference, I am definitely counting on this to succeed.

Great to hear you are back at work and feeling better. Please keep sharing as you progress!

JimL, thanks for your updates after surgery, hearing every few days about your progress is very reassuring to those of us considering ESG. I was wondering about hunger feelings during the first few weeks of liquid diet, so your comments on this are great. Sounds like you have had a great first week, I hope all continues to go well for you!

As you continue, I would be interested to hear how long it is until you can resume exercising. Keep the updates coming!

Thanks, TS

Hi, I'm a 51 year old male, 6'2" and 305 lbs (BMI 39), living in the Houston area who like many has struggled with managing my weight ever since college.

My weight began to yo-yo in my 30's and has fluctuated by 30 -50 pounds per year since then. Initially I could lose 20-30 pounds just by getting more active, cycling and some gym work. As I got into my late 30's I needed some caloric restriction and a much more active gym regimen. Also from my late 30's I began a gradual increase in my weight, adding about 25 pounds every 5 years.

In my early 40's I added things like CrossFit and severe caloric restriction, even with months of this I could only get down to a weight that was about 50 pounds over my goal weight of 225 lbs (BMI 29). At 45 I added a personal trainer 3x/week to my routine to try and get back in control, I was fluctuating from 70 - 90 pounds over my goal weight.I have kept up this regime into my 50's but have gotten as high at 330 lbs in the last year or so. I did a Vegan cleanse to bring my weight back down towards 300 lbs, but don't feel like this is a sustainable approach to manage my weight for the rest of my life.

ESG is a good fit with my work and lifestyle, I can't be out of the office for an extended period of time and prefer the endoscope to an incision.

I am considering two doctors in the Houston area, it would be great to hear opinions of those who have worked with them:

• Dr. Todd Wilson - University of Texas Minimally Invasive Surgeons of Texas (UT MIST)
• Dr. Robert Marvin - Houston Surgical Specialists

I haven't finalized a doctor or scheduled a date yet but have talked to both doctors and nutritionists. So far the prep and post procedure diets I have heard of are very similar. I'm happy to answer any questions as I progress and would love to hear from others in a similar situation or who have completed ESG.

Thanks for letting me share, it's really helpful.