CaliforniaCandy

Hi hi hope4momof4!! Caring for my children has been no problem. The first 3-5 days I was tired and my husband had to work so my mom helped out. I would plan to stay wherever you have the procedure done for at least 3 full days after. That should manage any initial post op difficulty. But it’s really easy with kids, I just told mine I didn’t feel well (sick). Also, told friends that too. No one ever questioned anything. Why would they? I also did talk about my plans to “go hard” again on getting my weight down around the time of the procedure. Due to summer travel & other events I said I’d have to get on track after. Essentially preparing people for my weight loss. I have told no one about having this done. My mother, mother-in-law and husband and the only three people. I didn’t want any judgment and it’s been a great choice. I do however feel that this procedure could help some of my close friends but I’m still not planning to share at this point. Regarding my kids, I have even baked Cookies and banana bread and pancakes every Sunday. Not a single bite! I cook meals every day that I don’t eat with no problem.

My pre-procedure requirements were very easy. No blood work or anything. Just 2 days of Clear Liquids leading up and 1 day post clear liquids (the clear liquid stage was a bit challenging) then full liquid after.

Regarding how much I paid, I’m not sure what I’ll be charged yet. My doctor bills this procedure as an Endoscopic procedure ( not as a ESG). We haven’t received a bill yet but don’t expect it to be too much[emoji4].

I truly and with all my heart could not recommend this procedure more highly. It’s been incredible and from what you said to Melesg, I was right where you are now...feeling so frustrated with my weight and letting it spill over into other areas. For me having lost 25+ pounds 3 times since my 3rd baby (she’s 3.5 now) was born... has been so deeply depressing. I almost didn’t recognize myself, my happy joyous ways were so muted and I was hiding. My husband was hesitant initially when I brought this to him but I became very educated before I spoke to him so it wasn’t long before he was super supportive. He has watched me work so hard to loose then have it all come back. This will be a gift to you and your family.

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.

That is my total. I have lost 90 lbs since surgery. 8 lbs til "One"derland!!

Hi ... I waited until about 2 months before I started doing exercises. I did cardio 4 times week on my elliptical mostly n that really boosted the fat loss. I'm starting strength training now but I did nothing really to my stomach until maybe my 3rd or 4 th month then I started crunches n planks n then my son gave me a workout guide for abs about a month or so ago n I started it as well.

Welcome and let us know if we can be of any help.

Welcome candy and Alice!!congratulations on your journeys!!!

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Hello Candy
My name is Alice I am also new on here. I have been over weight all my life. My knees are bone to bone. Doctor can't operate in till I lose weight . I have to keep it off. So I am having the gastric bypass done. I have Humana. Which they want 4 nutrtional visit. Psychological . I have 3 more nutrtional to do. Psych is on Dec. My MD. Has sgin off on it. So I am hoping to get it done in Feb. Or March.

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I'm about 5 months post op and down almost 60 lb. It's the best thing i ever did. I can actually run now that all that weight is gone and I love it! With in weeks I was taken off several of my meds.

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They look at it. They don't check it preoperatively or anything. They stick the trocars and camera in and see the liver as they start the surgery (along with everything else)
That said I've never heard of/seen a surgeon starting a case and aborting it because of the liver, and I've assisted with over 1000 cases. It's possible that because my facility doesn't do patients over 500 pounds, that that is reserved for patients north of 500 who may have extremely large livers. Or maybe for surgeons who aren't technically skilled and don't know how to retract a liver.
That said of course you should follow the diet properly. I mean if you can't follow directions for 1-2 weeks when motivation compliance and enthusiasm should be at its highest, what is going to make you think you could do it for the rest of your life.

Hi, everyone.
My name is candy and I've just become a member. I've been struggling with my weight all my life but it's been worse after I had back surgery around 10 years ago. I have chronic back pain, costochondritis (arthritis in the chest ribs), diagnosed degenerative disc disease, Type 2 diabetes, arthritis in the body back at the incision site for my surgery. There's more but I don't want to take up everyone's time listing it all.
My primary doctor at Kaiser finally agreed to refer me to the bariatric department. I haven't had my first appointment yet but feel relief from the referral.
I plan on being a regular on the board, especially once I'm seen and evaluated by the department.
I'll be a lurker till then. There's a lot of good information on this site so I'll be doing a lot of reading and pop in occasionally on some thread. I don't want to be a bother so help me out when I go on too long.
Looking forward to getting to know everyone.

I've had a weird thought crossing my mind since last night... I wonder what my face REALLY looks like? I mean, I've been overweight since I was 5 yrs. old. What if my real face isn't round? What if I have a square jaw line? Bahahahaha
Sorry guys! Just posting random thoughts [emoji16]

10/27 for me! Still amazes me how fast this has all gone. I only went to the free info seminar my surgeon's practice holds on 7/29 - that's just shy of 3mos from when I started to when I'll have surgery!

I wonder how much of it is biologically programmed in..
When you look at someone that's the opposite gender, there is always at least a fleeting (subconscious) evaluation of whether that person would make a good mate. We can easily perceive whether the person appears healthy and vibrant.
People that appear unhealthy are not good reproductive candidates (and might be contagious), so it's smart, from a biological standpoint, to keep your distance.
When you see someone with horribly rotten teeth, a suppurating wound, are skeleton-thin, have halitosis, or have a misshapen... whatever.. it's an in-born instinct to kind of draw away from that person.
Social niceties have to be learned and observed to overcome this programming, but that takes effort, and most people don't want to do the work.
Why do obese people want to get surgery? To lose weight and... drumroll please... to become HEALTHY. We all know we either are sick or are at risk of becoming that way, and other people know it too.
What's wonderful is that when we DO become healthier, other people can see that and respond in kind.

I just want to make an observation in a forum where I know others will have experienced something similar. Since losing a lot of weight over the last several months, I have noticed people (mostly men) acknowledge me and speak to me more. I'm not saying that it's people that I see every day or that I know, just random people I pass by in the halls at work, or in parking lots, or at the store, or the gym. They actually look at me, say hello, smile, etc. It's new to me, and I am just amazed that it happens so often. I'm sure it's a mix of my weight loss and my confidence returning that makes me stand out more, but it makes me kind of sad that I was deprived of this friendliness for so long because of my weight!

You are not alone...i started on 11/ 1 and was doing pretty good but 4 days later I had some fried chicken..then the next day a beef Pattie..then the next day chicken and fries yesterday ..some more fries ..I'm disgusted with my self but like the other poster said...today is a new day...I have 6 more days to go and I'm going to take it one day at a time ....

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Each of us has his/her own journey.
This surgery is a BIG DEAL. There are risks and dangers. If someone feels less than 100% ready to take it on, then he/she shouldn't do it.
We see enough leaks and other complications pop up on this board often enough to keep the dangers in mind.
Imagine feeling pressured to do a surgery, and then you end up with a complication. Then you're sick AND feeling like it's someone else's fault (for pressuring you). We each need to understand and accept the risks for ourselves in order to be at peace through the difficult parts of the journey.
This also applies to the postop lows that we all seem to go through. The moments of "what the heck did I do to myself??" Which would be so much worse if it were, "What the heck did those horrible people sign me up for?? They LIED to me! They said it would be so much better, and now look what mess I'm in!"
The most important part of this journey is our taking personal responsibility for our health. Diet and lifestyle have to change.. forever. Huge commitment. Up there with having a child. MORE of a commitment than marriage.

I would agree with you if the op was lighter .. 394lbs is quite high. And even for light weights the risks increase to health. I would say the risk in surgery gets higher the bigger someone is too. So if this diet doesn't work and op puts on that weight plus more.. It really can be dangerous.. But I'm not expert my surgeon makes people around this weight loss a good amount before he will go in because of the risk going higher so it may make the process longer. If someone was lighter I'd probably say sure give it a go even though youve said you've failed loads of times. I know for me at 244lbs I was so worried for my health I think I'd be dead at 300+ lbs because I was getting so sick with blood pressure etc. But I know people 300+ who are really healthy I know so sure it depends on the person. But Its scary for.me to think of waiting at that weight if I had failed before if that makes sense?

Your 394lbs ... That is pretty high to get to just now decide you can do it on your own. Your really at a high risk of so many conditions. If I ever reached your weight I'd feel like a ticking time bomb and run into that surgery room. I'm just being honest. But the reality is.. To get to the size you did before doing something there must be something deeper and are you sure you can keep it off ? Its up to you. I would not comment on anyone else's weight but you asked. I can only say what I'd do if it was me.. I made my choice at 244lbs best thing I ever did. Only you know.. Please don't be offended I'm just saying how I'd feel at that weight ..

There is nothing wrong with proceeding as you are and see how far you can take it, and most particularly if you can stick with it. It is certainly a long shot to lose to a normal weight range and keep it off - as others have mentioned, there's about a 5% success rate in doing so. But that doesn't mean that you can't get part way to your goal and learn a lot in the process.
I started out on this WLS venture some 14 years ago when my wife and I got serious about our weight problem, and after doing some investigating on procedures and surgeons, started going to our surgeon's support group meetings. Long story shortened, it took a couple of years to get my wife on the table (she was #1 on the runway with her weight and comorbidities) but in the meantime, starting to comply with insurance requirements, started out 6 month diet/exrecise program. As I would probably taking more time, and was disinclined to play with fad diets, took a very strict no-fad-diet approach to this. Most of us know what we need to do - lower calories, minimize/eliminate junk food, more fruits/veg, whole grains in place of refined white grains, leaner meats, etc. etc. etc. Ultimate weight loss was not the primary goal as much as learning sustainable dietary/lifestyle habits consistent with long term weight control. If i could be amongst that lucky 5%, so much the better, but at least it should make the surgery and subsequent life easier and more stable.
I wound up losing a net of about 50 lb, or about a third of what I needed to lose. As we were still working to get my wife on the table, (eventually self paid) I just let it ride and kept going to see where I could go. Ultimately I couldn't lose any more sustainably, but continued in what eventually was a WLS maintenance life along with my wife after her surgery - I didn't lose any more, but didn't gain any back, either. After about six years our insurance started covering the sleeve, and as I wasn't going to lose any great amount more without surgical intervention, went ahead and restarted the process.
While this did delay things a few years, it also helped make some decisions. As I had developed a modicum of weight control, that helped move my decision toward the sleeve; had I regained my loss or more, as often happens, that would have moved me toward the DS (duodenal switch), which offers better regain resistance than the other mainstream WLS procedures. Also, the fundamentally good dietary habits that I had established (not perfect by any book's standards, but sustainable for me,) made the surgery and subsequent post op loss phase much easier as it helped me resist falling for any of the quickie fad diets many do to "improve" their WLS performance, but also have to unlearn to maintain the loss in the long term.
6+ years later and the weight is still stable.
So, if you are not in a hurry to get surgery, by timing of insurance coverage, or intolerable comorbidities, it can be worth it to wait and experiment with the diet/lifestyle habits. It seems that you are already well on your way.
Really short answer - there's no need to make a yes/no, surgery or diet, type of decision; rather one can easily take an evolutionary plan A/plan B approach and decide, or change decisions, later.

WJGO, only you can make this decision for yourself. If you feel that you can truly be successful without surgery, then you owe it to yourself to try to do that. Surgery should be a last resort, and it is truly life-changing. We all struggle with the decision. We all think that we can do it on our own...until we realize that we can't. It is when we realize that we can't, that we are finally ready for surgery.
I lost 25 pounds during my 2 week pre-op diet, and was really scared about going through with the surgery. I thought that I should be able to do this by myself. I had never lost that amount of weight so quickly before. I then remembered what I was consuming....Protein shakes, Soups and broths, veggie smoothies and sugar free popsicles. This was not going to be sustainable. I knew it. This was the most restricted diet that I had ever tried before, and there is no way that it would be sustainable long-term. So I had the surgery anyway. Best decision of my life by far.
So give yourself a date. See if you can do this on your own. If you do, great. If not, then surgery will be there for you. I decided when I was 40 that I was going to be in the best shape of my life by the time I reached 45. I worked and dieted, but never made it there. I am 45 now and wear the same waist size that I wore in 8th grade. I am still working on being in shape though. Got a two pack and going for four now. I'll take that over a keg any day.
Good luck in your decision and the rest of your journey.

I know - I had the same thoughts. I would lose the same 30-50 pounds and I can't tell you how many times. I think I was so up and down with my weight that I actually messed my metabolism up and got type 2 diabetes at 35 years old after losing weigh on Atkins and gaining it back. I am sure I was pre-destined to get the diabetes (thanks for the genes, Mom) and stress during that time of my life did not help. I think if you are doing so well that considering surgery is a good tool. You can continue the healthy eating and then have a good tool with your weight loss surgery to help you keep your weight off. Of course, nobody can answer that but you but I am glad you came here to hash it out and think about it with some of us who have been there.

As Introversion said, anyone can lose weight. Keeping it off long term is another story. I was more successful with my pre-op diet (21 pounds lost in 21 days) than I have post-op; however, my weight has continued to go down, however slowly, over the past 8 months, and that's something that has never happened before. I already know from going off-plan a bit this summer that I will have to be smart about food for the rest of my life. But without the surgery I wouldn't have a chance to keep it off.
A lot of people feel the way you do pre-op, but I think it's like pre-wedding jitters - you're just trying to find something to convince you not to do the thing you're worried about, even though you've been working towards that goal for months (if not years). But really what you want to do is have the surgery. It's helped so many people to not only lose weight, but to keep it off for good.

A long time poster on here used to say something I have adopted. She says she considers this weight MAINTENANCE surgery and I agree.

I've lost 50-100 pounds more times than I can count. This is the first time I have EVER kept it off. 135 lbs for three years now.

YOU are the only one that can answer that ?. I would for sure take a reality check about my past endeavors. I also had been on almost every diet trend that came along. But...I couldn't get to maintenance. Once I got down to 135#'s which I had lost only due to me being sicker than a dog!! But it didn't take me long to regain it all plus some extra pounds. I am 4 years out and I can say with everything within me that I AM SO GLAD I did this. Yes, it is hard but it will get better. NOTHING taste or feels as great as reaching your goal weight and being able to maintain your weight. Hang in there and KEEP ON KEEPING ON!!!