hope4momof4

Hey I'm sorry you're having a down day. ((hugs)). So let's rearrange your POV and turn that frown upside down, mkay?
You are 8 weeks out. Average weight loss for non-surg peeps is anywhere from 1-2lbs per week. That would be a max of about 16lbs if people lose 2lbs EVERY week. Right? But come on, how many people lose 2lbs every week??? Not many. Cuz stalls happen!
So you've lost 237-202=35lbs in 8 weeks. 35/8=4.375=4 3/8lb per week! Great job!!!
Holy crap Batman! You've lost 4.375lbs per week, on average. That's not great, it's outstanding!!!! It's actually really a very quick rate of loss over that time frame!
So adjust your love goggles, Mamacita and get on with being happy about your success!
Congrats!

Oh man! That sucks!!! ((hugs)) To each of you!!! @ChaosUnlimited You've done amazing and come so far honey!!!!! Please dig deep. Affirm the love and pride you have in yourself and count your successes. Trust me, as someone who fell off the rail last week, that success tastes better than any bite of carby crap!!!! You got this hon. Take deep breaths and take it one meal at a time. Stick to your guns. Saying prayers of strength sweetie!!!!

Hey there,
I can relate to you 100%. I have not had my procedure done yet but the family gatherings were by far the worst part of being overweight. I come from a family with a history of obesity at least from my mom’s side. What makes it worse is that she is the first one to comment about our weights while she herself is morbidly obese! It’s hurtful and after some time it can really beat you up emotionally. I always felt like her star when I managed to lose some weight and look healthy but as soon as the weight came back (which of course it almost always did) I’d be back in fat group to be admonished for gaining weight and not taking better care of myself. You would think she would know how hard the struggle is. I just can’t understand what our moms are trying to achieve. I can’t explain their behavior at all. However, I can tell you this—- you lost the weight and you worked hard to get where you are. Don’t let your mother’s remarks or behavior ruin what YOU achieved. You were brave enough to take that step towards a healthier you and that courage shouldn’t dwindle because your mother can’t recognize how hard you worked for it. Don’t let her or anyone sabotage this for you. I’m speaking ahead as there will be other situations that will require all of your will to overcome. When you are tempted to have “an emotional snack binge” do something else to distract you like take a walk or strike up a conversation with your older children to get through it. You have succeeded so far (94 pounds is quite an amazing feat) don’t let this emotional stress lead you back to your pre surgery days. You are better than that and you can get through this. If that isn’t enough—— think of how much satisfaction you’ll feel when you haven’t failed and don’t give your mom something else to talk about. We all have our crosses to bear in life just for some of us our parents are the crosses we have to bear. All my best my dear. You can do this!! Sending you strength and encouragement!💝💝

Thanks Mel for accepting my apology. 😘 I’m researching the hell out this thing and the only conclusion I’ve reached is exactly what everyone who has had any weight loss procedure has said: it will only work if you use it as a tool and don’t fall back into old habits. Yes, it took me months to come right back to where I started. I have made my decision to try this way because it is the least invasive. Every procedure out there will have positive and negative outcomes but I am going to have to face my fears and do this. The time after my procedure will hopefully teach me how to eat healthy again and this time for good.
Back to you Mel, you say your weight loss has slowed but has it completely stopped? Are you still eating healthy and have you honestly stuck with a healthy eating plan or have you slipped up or cheated at times? It is strange because I was following a person who had the esg procedure and was posting her everyday routine and weight loss from day one. I could see where she went wrong on her journey and why she didn’t lose as much as she wanted to. Although she was very honest in her posts I couldn’t help wonder what was making her sabotage her initial success. I can totally see this happening to me which is why I must prepare mentally and get my mind in the right place first. I truly hope you are there already Mel. You’ve lost 30 pounds which is phenomenal. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻Keep your mind in this and even if it comes off slowly you’ve already won. Great to hear from you again. Please continue to update. All my love.

Today marks my 1 yr anniversary. I have no regrets of my decisions I've made . I did the sleeve..  my HW 208 SW 196 CW 132
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Glad you’re doin so we’ll Tex! It’s all downhill from here. Gets better every day.

Hi Tex Slim. I'm happy to hear you are doing well. Thank you for your updates, it helps me better understand what to expect. I have my first consultation this Tuesday. Happy Thanksgiving!

My pleasure [emoji179]

The only time I have stopped losing was during a 3 week stall and it's when I started on "normal" food. I wasn't cheating but adding carbs in fruit and wraps/bread had an instant effect on my weight loss. The only mistake I have made really is over calculating nuts ( I was guessing what 20g was but when I used some scales it was actually 40g.).
Since I got through this stall, I have consistently lost weight every week. My weekly losses range from about. 3-.5 kg per week. I have to say though, my clothing sizes are going down faster than the numbers on the scales. I just purchased a size 12 top and 14 dress (which is a 10 and 12 US size) and previously was a size 18-20(16-18 us). People are really noticing the difference too.

I imagine you could loses much faster than me if you really restricted carbs and did intense exercise. I am going for behaviours that I can sustain long term. So I still go out the dinner but do lots of walking with some short runs and a couple of light strength training sessions per week. I eat the same meals as my family at home but just have a kids size serve and avoid to many carb rich foods.

You are so right, you get out what you put in. A girl at my work had a sleeve gastrectomy the same time as I had my esg and I have lost more weight than her at this point which surprises me. I'm sure heaps of lsg patients are way ahead of me but it's so individual. Xo

Oh yes, family members.
Congrats on 94 down! I will be thinking of you throughout the holidays.
Sorry about how your family is superficial about weight. I can relate. My inner fat girl still has a chip on my shoulder about a few specific family members. I used my sister in laws photo for motivation for a month. I placed it on my treadmill. I was not going to give up.
You are right, all you can do is say no when people push food in your direction. Sometimes it's out of concern of how little we eat, Other times food is their way to show love (please eat aunt kate's pie or you will hurt her feelings) The worst is when they push food at you in an attempt to sabotage your weight loss.
I hope your mom is showing you off because she is proud of you. Keep people in your life that love and support you,
You will press through this thanksgiving. Be strong girl!

Hi hope4momof4,

Its ok and I'm sorry to snap back. Absolutely no hard feelings [emoji173]️. I know exactly where you are, because I was there too. Researching everything I could and focusing on bits and pieces of what I find. It's such a huge decision and it's never the wrong approach to proactively go into something with all the info you can find.

The common themes I see with many people who have had an esg is an initial good weight loss and then slower progress after that. I certainly was frustrated when I stopped losing weight every single day but I realise all good things must come to an end. As nice as it would be to hit goal in record time, I think this stage is really valuable. I am learning how to eat all over again. Eating slow, choosing nutritious food, moving more and psychologically moving on from unhealthy eating. For me, I think being in ketosis initially allowed a big weight drop but when I added more calories and healthy carbs, my weightloss slowed. I would say if you stay in ketosis then the weight would continue to drop off quicker.

Definitely don't stay off the internet, and certainly not off this site. We would all miss you greatly. You are a wonderful encourager and I always look forward to hearing from you xo

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!

Hi Hope4mom
Dr shariah might have mentioned long term results but I don’t remember to be honest. It’s so new that I’m not sure you’re going to get much data.
As for my weight, I’m 5’1 so that gives you a bit more context. BMI 30. I’ve been overweight all my life. as high as over 200 about 17 years ago and last few years been in the mid 150s down to high 120s and back again. Was sooo tired of this neverending battle, and never feeling satisfied or full unless stuffed. And that lead me to this non surgical procedure I had seen on nightly news.

Hi Bubbles. I just had the procedure done with dr shariah two weeks ago. I can tell you how happy I am to have done it. I love dr shariah and the staff, nurses and other doctors at Weill Cornell are fantastic.
If you want, I’d be happy to talk to you on the phone about my experience. Just send me a private message.
Btw I started at 159 and have already lost 14lbs.

That sounds wonderful! I would greatly appreciate any information you can share especially since Dr. Sharaiha is the doctor who pioneered this procedure. I am hoping to schedule a consultation in the next month with Dr. Sadek in central NJ. Once again it will depend for me on getting as much feedback from the brave souls like yourself who start the process and actually go through with it. I will be anxiously awaiting your post next week. I thank you again in advance.

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!

Hi hope4momof4, thank you for sharing your story with me. I will ask the doctor when I meet with her next week if she has any information on long term data of ESG procedure performed in other countries. I'm also curious to know what the revision would entail and the cost. I'm happy to answer any questions and share as much detail as possible to help those that are considering the procedure. It takes a village.

I will update after my appointment next week.

I am almost in exactly the same boat as you. I am 43 and have been looking into bariatric procedures for years now but my BMI doesn’t qualify me for any of them. I also thought about the balloon but the reviews on its effectiveness were not stellar. In addition it is an expensive procedure to pay for that seems to only yield minimum weight loss. I, too became excited when esg became available here in the US. It seemed like exactly what I was looking for. It’s noninvasiveness coupled with impressive weight loss numbers (better than lap band) was a perfect fit for me. However, just like you I am concerned about it’s long term effectiveness. If I am getting to go through with any procedure I don’t want to have to “revise” it and I don’t want reassurance that I could always then go for a full sleeve or bypass later. I don’t like that this revision talk is always part of the conversation about esg. Any bariatric procedure should be an only one in my opinion. I think we’ll go through enough the first time around not to already discuss a second time. Yes I know that any procedure will need revision if you don’t put in the work that you need to put in to succeed but it worries me that it automatically is discussed when esg is brought up. I like you would like to hear more about the actual percentage of esg patients who actually needed revision. This procedure was done in other countries for years (although probably not endoscopicly, which is what makes esg so appealing to me) but there should be some data on this as I would like to know what I’m getting into. I was very close to getting a gastric balloon until I saw that the results of several who had it were not what I expected it to be. Maybe waiting for more data on this is the best way to go. I’m unsure as well and hope that I can finally reach a decision too.
Good luck and please keep us posted. Remember how much you wanted to hear about this procedure from those who have done it and please be honest about your feelings on whether or not it was worth it for you. All my best.

Hi. I have been researching bariatric procedures for weight loss for a few years. I'm 45 year old woman whose weight fluctuates between 170-190 lbs. I have met with a couple of bariatric surgeons to explore the balloon and lap band. I'm not impressed with the balloon, and the complications associated with the lap band scares me. The ESG seems like a good fit for me, however, there are no long term studies to prove it's effectiveness and safety. My body over produces scar tissue, so that is my biggest concern with any surgical procedure. I have been struggling with an autoimmune disease which is exacerbated by my weight and poor food choices. I need to lose weight and I'm unable to do it on my own. In 2005 I was able to get down to 120 lbs and maintain it until 2011 with the help of phentermine. I was buying it online and the formula was very strong. I maintained the weight loss until the online phentermine was discontinued. The phentermine prescription I now receive from my doctor must be formulated differently because it has little effect. I want to lose weight and get off the medication.
In 2011 I began suffering from various immune related ailments. The doctor's believe it is Burchett's disease. I'm prone to illness and infection. The foods I eat and extra weight I carry is literally killing me. I'm a single mom of two girls, ages 13 and 16. I need to be the healthiest I can be for them . I'm desperate and scared.
I have a consultation next week with Dr. Reem Sharaiha at The Center for Advanced Digestive Care at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. I will continue to post my experience through this journey to help those researching procedures. Thanks for all who share, it has been immensely helpful to read the process others have experienced.

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

Hi, Hope4momof4, I am a mom of 3 sons (17,19,21). I am 5'7" and pushed back up to 207lbs recently. I had given up hope of ever being able To keep this weight off, but then I read about this procedure. I have been considering some type of barIatic procedure for several years and finally decided on the ESG after tons of research. My sister and I have both been fighting our weight for the entirety of our adult lives so we finally decided to take this next step. We both went in for the procedure at Journeylite in Cincinnati on Nov. 15 . Other places that I researched were Johns Hopkins and Cornell Weill medical center. Journey lite was just closer and seemed more flexible for us. Neither of us was eligible for insurance coverage and we each had BMIs in the low 30's.(cost ~10K) The staff and surgeon there are terrific. We are out of towners, so we got all the preop stuff done ahead of time and then arranged to stay at nearby hotel until we had recovered enough ahead to travel home. So far, the toughest thing for me has been the clear liquid diet for the week of surgery, other than that, the the cramping, pain and nausea have been very well controlled with medications. (I would even say that it has been pretty easy for me) The staff there has a good Plano medications to get you through this tough time. My sister has had all the side effects of nausea, vomiting and gas pain, but I have not had any side effects at all. now, I am just trying to wrap my head around eating very little quantities and getting enough Fluid. We both could have worked today if we had to do so. We arrived the night before our procedure and stayed two nights just to make sure that all of the anesthesia was out of our systems so that we'd could safely drive. I'll try to keep updating. I really like to see as much info about this procedure as possible, so I will try to do my part. As one of the other posters mentioned, my 17 year old son is so self absorbed, he has not noticed a thing.he never even questioned why I was out of town for 3 days...lol! I think my kids are so used to my dieting that this is just another day in the with moms crazy dieting.well, clear fluids for a few more days until I progress to shakes. I'll let you know how it goes.

Hi,
Yes it definitely is. I have been really focused on my diet and exercise and have lost 1.4 kg in just over 2 weeks. For me I'm finding that my clothing size is dropping quite quickly. I have been active since my procedure and have added some running within my walks (oh so slow but running none the less) and some strength training.

I think you definitely get out what you put in. I think I was snacking more than I realised and that was slowing my progress. Since I have tidied up my diet, I can see that it what a post procedure diet should look like. My day currently looks like a Protein Shake for Breakfast, meat and veg or salad for lunch, an apples and almonds for a snack and a low carb dinner which again is often meat and veg or salad. Just Water and coffee to drink. Walking x4 per week, 2x strength training at home.

Hope this helps [emoji3]

Thank you everyone for some wonderful information about ESG which I am seriously considering. I will likely have the procedure done in Melbourne if the one surgeon in my home state (who does these) hasn't done too many ESGs. I like the idea of it being non-surgical as well as non-invasive. A drawcard to Melbourne is also robotic surgery.
If I go ahead with the procedure I hope to have it done fairly early in 2018, hopefully February.
I would like to lose about 25kilos (though I do need to lose more)...any more than that would be a bonus.

Even with the VSG, weight loss is slower with low BMI
https://www.bariatricpal.com/index.php?/topic/399645-Gastric-Sleeve---BMI-31
When I was debating what to do these are the points that helped me decide:
* I have a family that I am responsible for, 10% risk vs 1% is too high for me
* I am doing for health reasons I will be happy with a size 8-10. I don't want to be a size 4
* I didn't want to be off from work for for 4-6 weeks
* people loose a lot of weight with VSG, sometimes too much. I know of a person that did it for 40 lbs. He looks sick.
* even if I have to do a revision to the ESG, that I understood it is possible if needed after a couple of years, I would do it again instead of doing the VSG.



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