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

Great to hear that you are doing well, Tex Slimm, AmyAlexis, and Melesg. Your recovery and progress are encouraging! I'm keeping you all in my thoughts and wish you continued success.

Good luck tomorrow Bubbles. Let us know how your consultation went and if you got a procedure date.????

Thank you!!

Bubbles how did it go? Fill us in when you can.

3 hours ago, AmyAlexis said:

Bubbles how did it go? Fill us in when you can.

O geez... I just figured out how to respond with the quote box above...I'm a forum rookie!

It went well, she was really nice and informative. I found the desk staff and nurse who took my vitals to be rude but they were busy, so I will let it slide. I had to wait 2 hours to see her which was painful. I was able to complete my bloodwork today. I meet with the Nutritionist on December 15th. I wish I could get in sooner because I can not schedule a surgery date until the nutritionist gives her the OK. The thought of getting through the holiday's at the rate I'm going scares the heck out of me. I've gained 20 pounds in just the last 2 months. I will take my H Pylori test tomorrow and check that off my list. I've decided to work on eating well and chips some of these lbs off while I journey toward my procedure. Thanks for checking in.

Hi bubbles!

saw your other post so I am all filled in.

Sorry to hear about having to wait. Dec 15 isn’t too far away and the holidays are always going to slow things down with vacations etc.

At least you got the ball rolling. Hang in there!

I had to wait as well but it was Because of their calling and trying to get my insurance to approve the visit which it did.

17 hours ago, BubblesCT said:

O geez... I just figured out how to respond with the quote box above...I'm a forum rookie!

It went well, she was really nice and informative. I found the desk staff and nurse who took my vitals to be rude but they were busy, so I will let it slide. I had to wait 2 hours to see her which was painful. I was able to complete my bloodwork today. I meet with the Nutritionist on December 15th. I wish I could get in sooner because I can not schedule a surgery date until the nutritionist gives her the OK. The thought of getting through the holiday's at the rate I'm going scares the heck out of me. I've gained 20 pounds in just the last 2 months. I will take my H Pylori test tomorrow and check that off my list. I've decided to work on eating well and chips some of these lbs off while I journey toward my procedure. Thanks for checking in.

Sorry about the wait Bubbles. I know exactly how you feel. I’ll have to wait until end of January or beginning of February so I completely understand. I’m avoiding going anywhere and I hate that I feel so self conscious all the time. I do however, believe that the time we’ll have will help us get our minds ready if that makes sense. Our bodies are definitely ready to drop the weight but our minds have to catch up. So in some way this could be a blessing. Hang in there we’ll make it through together. ??

Thanks for your encouragement hope4momof4. You are absolutely right, after receiving sage advise from you and others, I'm ready to take a long hard look at my eating behavior and make some changes. My goal is to eliminate sugar/flour/grains (my body has an inflammatory response to them), and eat three small meals a day and a light snack like cottage cheese for a evening snack. I have decided to come off the phentermine before my surgery to see if I can adjust behaviorally without it. I will hit the grocery store tomorrow to meal prep. Making lemonade at of lemons!!

Bubbles, sorry to hear of the office visit, hang in there! I went through a similar process with my doctor where I had to get blood results before I could see the dietician and then only after the dietician visit could I get a date for my procedure. I started this with my initial consult in July and eventually ended in November with the procedure. Trust me it was worth the wait!

I like where you are headed with the focus on behavior aspects, I tried this made some progress but struggled as well, gaining 10 lbs from my dietician visit to ESG procedure (about 6 weeks).

I can tell you I'm still not feeling hungry following my procedure and I find it much easier not to graze after work and before dinner (this, late night deserts and "liquid" calories in the evening vices pre ESG). It was some type of emotional eating not really based on "hunger" or need of food. I just don't have any interest in restarting this now, so keep the faith and keep working towards your ESG!

Let's keep chatting you will do great!

On 11/27/2017 at 2:06 AM, Melesg said:

Thanks Tex Slim 66. I'm glad we all have each other to talk to about our experiences. It feels somewhat like uncharted territory and it could be quite an isolating experience having an esg due to the recency of the procedure. I imagine it will be sometime before we cross paths in our daily lives with someone else who has had an esg.

I think that's why this community is so important to us all.

I hope you are still recovering well?

Mel

Mel, thanks for all your info and continued support. Totally agree about the value of sharing our experiences, definitely a new procedure, I found no one near by to share these with. I think the uncertainty from ESG being new increased the feeling of isolation. In my research phase and after my initial consultation in July this forum was a big part of how I gathered the information and positive experiences to make my decision to proceed with ESG.

I'm so pleased that I followed through and have completed the procedure, now the behavior choices to sustain my weight loss are being supported by my much lower desire for food (both quantity and frequency). I asked my Dr. about this and he said it was a combination of hormone changes (smaller stomach volume) and a much quicker response from our nerve cells in the smaller stomach to indicate satiety (fullness). Pretty interesting to me even if I don't totally understand it.

I'm doing great, had my one week follow-up appointment yesterday and all was well. I'm still on liquid diet for the next week and then I shift to puree. Gas pains are gone and no complications following the procedure. Starting to see signs of weight loss, off to a good start in that regard. Really having no issue with following the new diet regime to the letter, I am in such a different (better!) place mentally. Next appointment in early Jan (6 weeks).

Hope you continue to do well, great to see your weight loss progress!!

Keep in touch, Tex

Tex that’s great! I, like Bubbles have a huge fear of how I will control my eating after the procedure. I think we can all agree that we are emotional eaters and that has contributed to our weight problems over the years. I hope like you Tex that this procedure will help me with this as it is really my major problem. I can get through most of the day or even days on end eating healthy but as soon as a stressful situation comes up I start grabbing unhealthy foods. I actually crave them even if they are not available to me at that moment. It makes me hopeful that you feel your desire for food has decreased and that you are finding the liquid diet doable after your procedure. I hope you continue to progress. ??

2 hours ago, BubblesCT said:

Thanks for your encouragement hope4momof4. You are absolutely right, after receiving sage advise from you and others, I'm ready to take a long hard look at my eating behavior and make some changes. My goal is to eliminate sugar/flour/grains (my body has an inflammatory response to them), and eat three small meals a day and a light snack like cottage cheese for a evening snack. I have decided to come off the phentermine before my surgery to see if I can adjust behaviorally without it. I will hit the grocery store tomorrow to meal prep. Making lemonade at of lemons!!

Let me just say Bubbles that I so completely identify with you. I’ve been on phentermine for 10 years!! It stopped working for me a long, long time ago but I’m so scared of what will happen if I stop taking it. God if I added up all the $ I’ve spent on diets, diet plans, diet pills, diet supplements, and diet foods, I could have paid for this procedure 3 times over. ? well let’s hope this will be our final solution. ????

On 11/28/2017 at 9:01 PM, AmyAlexis said:

Hi bubbles!

saw your other post so I am all filled in.

Sorry to hear about having to wait. Dec 15 isn’t too far away and the holidays are always going to slow things down with vacations etc.

At least you got the ball rolling. Hang in there!

I had to wait as well but it was Because of their calling and trying to get my insurance to approve the visit which it did.

Hi AmyAlexis, thanks for the encouragement.

Did insurance cover your nutisionist visit? Did you have to wait until after your nutisionist consultation to schedule your procedure?

How is your restriction feeling? Are you hungry for more food?

I picked up some of the Vitamin Water Zero... Yum! Thanks for the suggestion. Trying to get used to post procedure diet now. Are you taking a probiotic and/or fiber supplement? If so, is there one you recommend? I’ve been reading a lot about how lean people have different gut flora then overweight people. Considering that, I wonder what probiotic would be best for an overweight person’? So many to choose from... I want my new belly to be as healthy as possible.

Thanks again

8 hours ago, hope4momof4 said:

Let me just say Bubbles that I so completely identify with you. I’ve been on phentermine for 10 years!! It stopped working for me a long, long time ago but I’m so scared of what will happen if I stop taking it. God if I added up all the $ I’ve spent on diets, diet plans, diet pills, diet supplements, and diet foods, I could have paid for this procedure 3 times over. ? well let’s hope this will be our final solution. ????

We have so many parallels.. thank you universe for bringing us together via this forum. Wow, it feels so good not to be alone on such a frightening journey. Everytime I come off the phen I blow up. So hard to get off. My heart is definitely not like it used to be . I can feel the negative effects yet being morbidly obese seems like a greatly risk factor. I explained to the doctor that everyday off of it, I’m white knuckling it. Hanging my a thread to not eat my arm. My hunger is insatiable. It has messed me up big time. Praying this procedure will do the trick and save my heart from any more damage.

Hi Bubbles!

Yes insurance covered my visit - I have a $50/copay but it took forever to get them on the phone so I waited at least an hour or more before I saw her.

The restriction is going well- I'm pretty good about keeping my intake to 4oz or less at a time- except for the shakes which I do tend to drink more without having any issues- I do feel full with those. My calories per day have been ranging fro 700-850 and I am trying to add some fats now to get that up to at least 1000/day per nutritionist.

I'm taking a multi chewable- and calcium chewable. I take Centrum Silver adult 50+ which aren't bad - kinda taste like sweetarts.

The calcium I bought a big bottle of caltrate chewables but they are awful- tart/chalky - so after checking with nutritionist , she said I can get the chocolate chewy ones- so ordering those.

No probiotics or fiber supplement. I have been pretty stopped up lately but after a couple of days of Miralax that seems to be getting better (and it really is tasteless so mixes with Vitamin water well).