flgirl23

Lisadoll- Why do you say that?

On 8/18/2021 at 1:31 PM, Jelly20 said:

2 weeks away. Any advice?

How did your procedure go? What doctor did you use? I am deciding between a few different ones.

3 hours ago, Cheryl LP said:

Sept 27th is my 2 week prior date. I will start very limited Protein Powder Meal Replacements 4 X/day. I'm up for advice as well.

Good Luck on your procedure. What doctor are you using?

Good Luck with your surgery. I haven’t had it yet but they say to make sure you try to walk as much as you can, get gas ex, a heating pad, & dry mouth spray for after surgery

I would not do the gastric balloon and honestly for a 15 year old, I don't think ESG is a good option either because you have to be really committed to lifestyle changes for it to work and it is hard enough for adults to lose weight on it. I would recommend like the other person posted - nutritional counseling, weight watchers, and at most a prescription weight loss drug such as Wegovy or Saxenda. Wegovy has had results as good as an ESG but can be quite expensive if not covered by insurance.

I haven't had any type of surgery. I am still deciding between ESG or LSG but was on Saxenda 2.4. Unfortunately, I didn't see much weight loss (but I can also admit I didn't work as hard as I should). Anyways, the doctor just recently put me .25 of Wegovy and I was wondering if anyone out there has tried it and or switched from Saxenda to Wegovy?

On 6/7/2021 at 4:34 PM, tsrewis said:

Hi everyone - I love to follow people for inspiration on youtube & IG, but I'm having a hard time finding accounts that talk specifically about ESG (as opposed to VSG). Do you have any recommendations on who to follow for updates, inspo, life with ESG, etc? (specifically youtube and instagram is what I'm looking for)

@Fierce.esg.diva on instagram is a good one to follow for information on ESG.

3 hours ago, ms.sss said:

Oh, oopsies! Yes, i had the sleeve (i rarely look at the forum categories on my feed…sorry!)

Good luck, all ! ❤️

no worries. it gives us a good comparison with the regular sleeve.

10 hours ago, ms.sss said:

In 3 months, I’ll be three years post op.

Just last Friday all I ate/drank for the entire day was 2 martinis and a a couple spoonfuls of guacamole. I forced myself to eat the guac cuz I felt i needed SOMETHING in my stomach…but I definitely did not want nor enjoy it.

But then I went to a couple bbqs the next two days, so it all evened out in the end, lol.

So yeah, no-eat days are still a reality almost 3 YEARS out (well, for me at least)

Did you have the Gastric sleeve or the ESG? This is the ESG forum, but your profile says Gastric Sleeve.

7 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Thanks for sharing. I was curious as your height & starting weight & BMI are similar to mine were. Honestly, when I started my research the permanency of the surgery was a concern too but the more reading I did & self reflection I realised the permanency was what I probably needed. Not that I was really someone who binged, emotionally ate or craved food but I felt it was the only way to alter my dead slow metabolism & the hormonal influence on my weight gain/loss cycle. That was my thinking for my situation & it’s certainly worked so far.

Good luck whatever surgery you choose. 😀

Thank you for bringing that point up. I have been self- reflecting as well. I am not a binge eater but I do not eat the best or exercise currently and those are things I will have to change going with either procedure. That being said the regular sleeve forces you to comply more than the ESG. I even convinced a friend that the sleeve was better for her for that reason but she had higher stats than me so it was a no brainer for her.

32 minutes ago, Arabesque said:

I had a sleeve gastrectomy so I had at least 75% of my stomach removed not just sectioned off. The section that was removed contains the area of the stomach where most of our hunger hormone is produced hence the lack of hunger.

Out of curiosity why did you choose the ESG?

I haven't completely decided yet but my reasons are:

> I really don't want the down time that you have with the regular sleeve. I like the idea of a quicker recovery.

> I like the idea of losing weight at a slower pace. I don't want to get too skinny too fast. I only want to lose 50-60lbs. Of course there is that chance I won't even lose that much with ESG vs. with the sleeve the odds are better.

> I feel like if I had more to lose I would definitely do the sleeve but it seems like it is a drastic move for that amount of weight loss.

1 hour ago, Hop_Scotch said:

@flgirl23

My ESG was converted to a sleeve in March 2020. My ESG failed most of the sutures had come out or loosened. If you go a head with the ESG make sure you use someone who had done many ESGs, I am taking in the 100s, you want them to be as experienced as possible, you will also want to know there success rates for 1 year and 2 years out, ask how revisions for tightening of sutures and revisions to surgical options..

Thank you for the advice Hop_Scotch. I am looking into Dr. McGowan as he seems to do a lot of them. According to this video he created some of the success rate has a lot to do with using full thickness sutures. But also most doctors are like salesmen. One will try to convince you their procedure is better and neglect to emphasize the negative points. I am not saying that he is like that. It is just my general opinion of all doctors.

I am afraid of getting too skinny too fast with the regular sleeve and I like the idea of the slow progression with ESG but the odds of losing weight are certainly better with VSG. I realize both will require lots of work on my end. Either way, I need to do something. I have been saying I was going to do something for almost a year now. I have talked so much about weight loss surgery that I somehow convinced a friend to go through with getting the sleeve and I started the process way before her.

On 5/17/2021 at 12:46 AM, SimpleIntellect said:

Hi all! I got ESG in New York City 2.5 days ago. So far, so good. I stopped taking pain and nausea meds the day after the procedure. My worst symptom by far is my trapped gas (and sore throat but it isn’t severe, just noticeable). My doc recommended Mylanta for the trapped gas; I’m still waiting to see if it will be helpful. I had a natural bowel movement today as well, so my body seems to be responding quite well to the procedure. I transition to puréed foods on 5/20, but as of now no feelings of hunger have kicked in yet. For context, I’m 34 years old. SW at ESG was 218.6; 2.5 days later CW (at follow up appt) was 211.8. I’m so excited about what my future holds post-ESG! Feel free to ask me questions! I’ll keep updating the forum.

How has it been for you all that had ESG? I am still considering this procedure.

14 hours ago, Arabesque said:

I didn’t really feel hungry for ages - 18 months. A couple of times in that time I experienced real hunger. Each time was late at night because I had eaten very little all day. The first time was at about 8 months when I was trying to maintain.

At 26 months post surgery, I still have days or part days when I’m not really hungry or interested in eating. To combat that I try to eat to a routine, at least eating three meals & try to get close to my Protein goal. I don’t mind if I don’t eat everything as long as it’s something. This morning I wasn’t hungry but I made sure I had something for Breakfast at about 9:30. While it’s okay to have the odd low calorie day & day you don’t meet your Protein goals, but it should be the exception not the rule.

Have a chat with your dietician. They may be able to suggest some ways to still get in your protein & calories. You could try incorporating a Protein Shake on a no appetite day - drinking not eating.

Did you have the Endoscopic sleeve or the gastric sleeve? Looking to see how people are doing that have had ESG a while ago.

I'm from Jacksonville. I am considering the sleeve though.

My doctor does them but I am in North Florida - Jacksonville. If you can't find anyone in Central Florida, I highly recommend Dr. Michael Baptista in Jacksonville.

There is also a surgeon in Tampa who is doing the procedure: Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty | Weight Loss | Trinity, FL (bariatricendoscopytampabay.com). I am not sure how many surgeries he has done or know anything about him but it seems there are more and more doctors that are starting to do this type of surgery.

Like you I am deciding on the surgery too. I am 205 with a BMI of 36 and I am shorter than you so I think your BMI would be less than mine. I am less scared of the actual surgery because there is a really low complication rate & I really trust my doctor. I am more scared of afterwards - like what the long term effects of missing part of my stomach would be. However the NP I just went to said you don't even need that part of your stomach so I feel a little better. My understanding is that at first you don't crave junk food but eventually gherlin builds back up in your stomach so eventually you might crave it again. If you are scared of the surgery - have you looked into ESG? It is less invasive. The drawback is that it hasn't been proven to be as effective as VSG. This is something I am researching now but the drawback for me is spending $11,000 vs $1,500.

I am lucky that my insurance does cover it then because I would not pay that amount for sure. It is about $100/month through my insurance and then I found a patient assistance card so I just had to pay $25 for it. Then I had to purchase a box of needles for $49- but sometimes you can get your insurance to cover the cost of the needles so that could be a lot cheaper if you get a prescription.

Thank you - I figured I would try it first since I am still undecided on what WLS procedure I want to get.

I just went to my doctor and she prescribed 0.6 for the first week and 1.2 after that. I got a 90 day prescription but I see on the recommended instructions it says to gradually go up each week until you get to the maximum of 3.0. I was wondering if anyone else was prescribed to take it at a lower dose.

3 minutes ago, BoyMom86 said:

Hi! I have Aetna- I had to reference the same 0157 info. My surgeons office says it’s 12 visits. I’m doing twice a week x6 weeks.

Wow! That is great. Thanks for sharing that info. My friend and I work at the same job so we both have Aetna and I am sharing this with her- hopefully our doctor lets her do that.

3 minutes ago, Stormimeyers said:

Hello,
Soo...I have Aetna and they did require the twelve sessions but, my doctor's office allowed me to do up to 3 a week. You might mention or show them where it states in your policy that the duration is flexible. I don't believe you should have to do it over a year time frame. Good luck!!

Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

I agree with Stormimeyers. my doctor's office pretty much told me that it was 12 visits and even said he could have scheduled them quicker than once a week. In fact I think one week I did have two visits but he said he was doing weekly because you have to prove to the insurance that you tried to follow a diet program and it didn't work.

I have Aetna and my doctors said it was 12 visits. It has been once a week for 12 weeks.

Every time I buy groceries they go to waist. I will buy quick Snacks like lunchmeat, cheese, veggies, eggs etc. I even buy those precut veggie trays like you bring to parties, so I don’t have to cut up the vegetables. I end up eating it for the first day, maybe the second day and the rest usually gets thrown away. It just seems so less appetizing after it has been sitting in the refrigerator plus I crave variety. Right now, I have a freezer filled with Atkins and Lean Cuisine – which don’t get eaten either.

I really appreciate the advice and suggestions.