Hi My name is Rosie! This review is my 2 year Post ESG UPDATE YEYYYYY OMG, I don’t even know how to begin… 2 years ago, I was hopeless, depressed and tired. At 233 pounds on a 5’4 body frame, my knees made me unable to walk more than 10 minutes, therefore I had to leave my loving career behind.(hairstylist/beauty instructor) Couch bounded, sick and just sad I was broken in every way. Until one day I read something online about ESG and decided to look further. With ESG being a novel procedure I was very careful in choosing my provider and I wanted the most experienced Doctor, so when I researched further, Dr. Christopher McGowan came online as the most authority in ESG. I went on youtube ask him a couple of questions and after that On the following week, I packed my bags and traveled from Atlanta to North Carolina seriously on a leap of faith on only getting some kind of help, however thanks to True You, My family and I are forever grateful for this wonderful work that was so transformative in my life! I was looking for a little help, and gained my whole life back!
COULDN'T AGREE MORE!!! DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. I was so excited to lose 35-40 lbs that I gained in a blink of a eye. I’ve tried EVERYTHING my GP has put me on weight loss med didn't work I did all kinds of blood test everything came back normal thyroid, blood sugar, I was low in vitamin b12 so the Dr. made me come in for b12 shots snd continue on my weight loss med NOTHING Tenuate didn't work phentermine didn't work I did over the counter alli nope I worked out I did the KETO diet I did the HCG shots and diet spent money on personal trainers nothing was working. Then I heard about the ORBERA BALLOON, I did my ORBERA research I was over the moon ready to get in and do this I thought I found my golden ticket.So many positive reviews online. I scheduled my procedure RIGHT AWAY! (5/9/19) I haven't lost much weight i fluctuate 5-10 lbs I thought at first it was because it was hard to follow my diet because I was working 10 hour days 4/5 days a week and didn't want to pass out at work. I made a drastic decision and stoped working.I was going into a real deep depression and thought I wasn’t working out enough eating right.I called my ORBERA Dr asap and voiced my concerns.My Dr. and his nurse are amazing and very informative the Dr. immediately put me on Saxenda (rx day 8/22/19) the Dr was assuring me this was going to help me loose another few lbs but like the other things it hasn't worked I'm just more bloated more gassy and a new symptom burping. Im so depressed I haven't been able to get out much because I’m just out of it mentally exhausted. I have tried everything except for a more invasive weight loss surgery and that is something 1. I cant afford and 2. I’m not at the BMI I have to be at. After I have my ballon removed in about 1 1/2 months I'm scared I will spiral up and gain weight and for certain fall into a deeper depression. I paid for something that didn't help me.This procedure may help a-lot of other people just be aware that you may fall into the little to no weight loss category or the heavy side effects that come with it. Side note; Dr McGowen and his nurse are extremely compassionate and caring. I had a choice to go to a Dr that was about a hour away from me but decided on Dr McGowen who is 3 1/2 hours away. (I consulted with both drs before I made my decision) Im sorry for the rant but this is my experience and I’m close to my 6mo mark and have lost a whole 5-10 lbs again it fluctuates
Previously I worked for a large corporation in technology so I would be sedentary all day long, in addition to being stressed out and not want to do anything after working late in the evenings. I would rush home to de-stress by binge watching TV and ordering elaborate meals to go. Eventually my fat jeans became the only jeans I could wear and eventually becoming too small. I started walking, and eating food only from health food stores like Whole foods. My personal motivation for the procedure began when I became tired of working at losing weight with no progress. For me nothing was working. Not light cardio, not eating foods exclusively from the local health grocery store, nothing. After seeing the Orbera commercial a couple times I googled Doctors in the area that provided the procedure. I called the doctors office and scheduled a consult and everything was seamless. I had a ton of questions and concerns that were all answered and then the procedure was scheduled. I did quite a bit of research prior and every question or concern I had was answered with confidence from the Doctor. The placement of the balloon feels like you have a large meal and I did not have any bad side effects. The only nausea I experienced was day 2 or 3 walking in the grocery store near the raw meat counter. Being hydrated definitely helped and the weight seemed to fall off. I resumed my normal routine immediately and had no issues. I made a point to take a multivitamin and the only thing I had to get accustomed to was not eliminating often as there was not much food going in. Working out just took my results to the next level. As of my removal date I was around 55lbs down!
I decided it was time to make a change in my life for an overall better way of life by losing weight. I've put on weight over the past 4 years and after hearing about the Orbera procedure thru friends, social media and YouTube, I decided to do a little more research and learn more about the procedure. After an extensive review of the procedure I decided I wanted to go for it. I searched for local providers in my area but their were none, the closest doctor I came across was Dr. Christopher McGowan at Cary Gastroenterology in Cary, NC. I too researched him. Everything I read about him and his service as a physician was extremely positive which put me at more ease of making the next step of contacting his office to initiate the beginning of my weight loss journey. I sent an online query on a Tuesday morning and immediately recieved a phone call from his office. The representative who assisted me was named Tiffany. She provided me with thourough information regarding the procedure, cost, and arranged an appointment for me to meet the physician the same day to discuss next steps in receiving my Orbera balloon. I arrived at Dr. Mcgowans office that afternoon for a consultation nervous as nervous can be. I was promptly checked in and greeted by Tiffany and then escorted by Dr. McGowan's assistant Tesha to begin my consultation. My encounter with Dr. Mcgowan was nothing short of AMAZING. He explained the procedure in depth to me, listened to my goals, explained the risk and never made me feel uncomfortable in starting this journey. After my consultation and meeting Dr. McGowan I knew he was the physician for me. I immediately decided to schedule. His assistant Tesha came in with me and coordinated my surgery date, provided me prep information and provided me reassurance that, Dr. Mcgowan, herself and Tiffany will be with me every step of the way. She never lied!!! After my procedure Dr. McGowan gave me his personal cellphone number so I can call or text him if I had any issues. I've called him, texted him and he has never failed in responding to me. He has been so supportive of me in this journey. Im currently down 32 pounds and 18 more to go to meet my target goal of 50. Dr. Mcgowan has been great in encouraging me to lose weight. Because of him I'm finally confident again and back to living my BEST life. Im extremely satisfied in choosing Dr. McGowan and Orbera....two of the best decisions I've made in years.
I've struggled with my weight for 8 years. I would succeed for a while and then regress. I've had the most success with this because the more I lose, the more I want to keep moving. Cons: 0 really. Air pumped into abdomen in initial procedure caused pain for 4 days [this is rare]. (I will add photos later.) Updated on 13 Oct 2017: I've struggled with my weight for 8 years. I would succeed for a while and then regress. I've had the most success with this because the more I lose, the more I want to keep moving. Cons: 0 really. Air pumped into abdomen in initial procedure caused pain for 4 days [this is rare]. (I will add before/after photos later.)
I had the Orbera balloon inserted in October 2017. Removed April 2018. I lost a total of 26 lbs at most. I was extremely sick for the first 4-5 months, and I lost most of my weight during the first 1-2 months. I was too weak and sick to even walk, nevermind work out. I took the nausea and heartburn medicine as prescribed. I did not experience heartburn, but I was nauseous all day, everyday (even when I was sleeping). I vomitted so bad sometimes that I thought the balloon was gonna come out as well. Most of the time I would just vomit bile or water because there was nothing left inside of my stomach. I was so weak and exhausted all the time that I had a nurse come to my house to give me IV fluids on atleast 4 occassions. Luckily I was unemployed at the time so I could lie in bed all day with a bucket beside me. Which kinda made it worse because of the debt that I incurred without any results to show for it. Once it was removed, I was still traumatized by food and scared to eat for about the first month. But after that the weight came back on pretty quickly. By 2 months after removal, I was back at my original weight. I had always eaten pretty healthy and exercised moderately, so when the weight started coming back I was confused. The doctor tried every presription under the sun to help me lose weight. Phentermine and several others. One costed almost $100 for 7 days worth (and I had really good insurance). Not to mention I kept getting billed for the nurse to come to my house to do the IV treatments. I was extremely dehydrated because I vomitted so much. I had a toddler at the time so it was devastating for him to watch me be so sick all the time. Everyone is different, this is just my experience. I am one of the ones that believed that simply changing eating habits and exercising would work. I tried everything. Before and after the balloon (not during because I was too sick), I really tried everything. I followed the nutritional plan, got a personal trainer, took the meds, etc. The only good thing about this whole experience was Dr. McGowan, his nurse Tesha and Tiffiney. From day one, Tiffiney was a doll. I felt like she was family by the time it was all over. Tesha, the same. Along with Dr McGowan, their customer service, support, responsiveness, helpfulness, compassion, etc was unmatched by any Dr and team I've ever had. I know it's not their fault that the balloon did not work for me personally. I met and kept in touch with another lady who had an even worse experience than I did. She removed hers early and only lost a total of 8 lbs. She is livid. But anyway, the doctor and his team made the experience less traumatic for me because of their great service. I don't know if they are just great salespeople or what, but I am convinced and absolutely sure that had I had another team this review would be way more of a bashing rant. They truly were awesome. Dr. McGowan is very knowledgeable and patient. My aftercare ended over a year ago, but if I called or emailed him right now, his nurse would respond willing to help in anyway, right away. I did just refer a friend of mine and she's most likely going to go forward based on my praises of Dr. McGowan and his team. I'm now considering the ESG but I can't afford it right now as I'm still paying off the Orbera bill. Lol. Good luck. Just pray about it before you make a decision.
Hanna, the fact that all of your symptoms have resolved is very GOOD news. The first week to two weeks are all about adjusting to the balloon. We don't worry too much about the scale during that time. Once you've adjusted to the balloon (which you now have), you can then focus on weight loss for the next 6 months. It's completely normal to forget that the balloon is there. That's the goal -- you shouldn't have side effects continuously. As far as the weight loss, it will be steady but at times may slow down or even stall. Your body is going through many changes during this time, and the scale doesn't tell everything. Patience is key!
Hi Ellie, Congratulations on your success after gastric bypass. It is not uncommon to re-gain weight beginning several years after your initial surgery. It sounds like your RA and steroids were a large factor in this. However, there may be anatomic factors at play. Specifically, the gastric pouch and the outlet (the connection point between the pouch and small intestine) may have enlarged over time. This may need to be tightened and made small again. There is an endoscopic procedure called Transoral Gastric Outlet Reduction (aka TORE, or Endoscopic Bariatric Revision). This procedure is completely non-surgical and can restore the original pouch and outlet. Might be worth looking into!
The primary reason for balloon intolerance is delayed (slowed) stomach emptying. We know that this is the primary mechanism that leads to weight loss with Orbera, but in some cases the slowing can be so severe that patients have persistent nausea and vomiting. This is called gastroparesis. This may necessitate early removal. We see intolerance occur at two time points. The most common is at month 2-3 after placement. At that time, stomach emptying may further slow, and patients will re-develop nausea and vomiting. This is very difficult to overcome with medications and we typically recommend balloon removal. Less commonly, intolerance may develop immediately after placement and continue for the first 1-2 weeks without improvement, requiring removal. In practice, this is much less frequent than the first scenario. Overall, the incidence of balloon intolerance and early removal ranges from 10-16% globally. Unfortunately, we cannot accurately predict who will be intolerant. The only identified predictor is use of SSRI anti-depressants. For patients on these medications, I counsel about the higher risk of intolerance. Otherwise, we try to screen for a history of frequent nausea, easy vomiting, or a "weak" stomach. This would be reasons to potentially avoid an intragastric balloon. There are ongoing studies evaluating other risk factors for early balloon removal, including the presence of baseline (pre-balloon) gastroparesis, which may be a factor. Unfortunately, when early balloon removal is needed, a refund is not typically provided.
Yes! You can certainly take phentermine, or other weight loss medications, with an intragastric balloon. Hopefully the balloon(s) would allow you to achieve your weight loss goals. However, we sometimes find that patients remain hungry even with an Orbera or Obalon balloon. It's not common, but it can happen. In this situation, I definitely recommend considering a medication. There are several good options. Phentermine is one. Saxenda, which helps to further slow stomach emptying, may also be a good option when the balloon(s) are removed, as it may help to keep weight off by working through a similar mechanism as intragastric balloons. Ultimately, the goal is to help you reach your weight loss goals. I suggest using all approaches available.
This is one of the most common questions we are asked. Once the Orbera balloon comes out, what happens? It's a legitimate concern. Overall, it's important to view Orbera as a tool. It will help you lose weight fast, and teach portion control. It remains in place for half a year, which is a lot of time. This hopefully translates into a long-term change in habits. Of course, once it is removed, it really depends on the individual whether all the weight stays off. However, we do have data from clinical studies to help guide inform us: The average weight loss at the time of Orbera removal (6 months after placement) is 11.8% of total body weight. This number is based on recently published "real world" data from multiple US centers. Following removal, most patients will actually continue to lose weight for 3 months -- in the same study, total body weight loss was 13.3% at month 9. At the 12 month mark, most patients have kept all of the weight off. Beyond that, we don't have the best data. But one study showed that 1 year after removal, patients kept an average of 50% of their weight off. As with any weight loss program, there is a lot of variability in long-term outcomes, so it really does depend on individual motivation levels. Hope that helps!
