Making the Decision
In a leap of faith, Heather resigned from her incredibly demanding job, and decided to take control of her life and her weight. She signed up for six weeks at a wellness retreat in southern Utah, and started a weight loss account on Instagram, for accountability. She was expecting to lose at least 20+ pounds, but stalled hard at a 15 pound loss. The retreat was a success for her inner peace and mindfulness, but she couldn’t seem to lose any more weight, no matter what she tried; portion control seemed to be a major culprit.
A friend from her days at the Biggest Loser program reached out to her after seeing one of her posts on Instagram about her never-ending weight loss battle. She recommended drastic surgical measures such as bariatric surgery and the vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) procedure, but Heather knew these solutions weren’t right for her. She didn’t want surgery and all the risks and long-term impacts that came with these options, so she kept researching.
“I knew I didn’t want to be cut open, and I didn’t want parts of me removed, so drastic surgery wasn’t the right option. I considered the gastric balloon, but the idea of a massive foreign body sitting inside me just wasn’t appealing,” Heather explains. “Just when I thought I was out of options, I stumbled upon a newer procedure called endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG). I called a few clinics claiming to offer the procedure, and even booked two consultations, but I wasn’t satisfied with the information I was receiving, nor was I satisfied with the doctors offering the procedures.” Determined to learn all she could about ESG, Heather spent several days researching the ESG experts across the country and their various approaches to the procedure.
During her research, Heather discovered a YouTube video with Dr. McGowan explaining and performing the endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG) procedure. She watched the video numerous times, and decided to research Dr. McGowan. “At this point, it was clear that Dr. McGowan was the most experienced doctor performing ESG, and with the lowest complication rates (virtually none for him!)—so, I booked my third and final ESG consultation with the right doctor.”
Heather and her husband met with Dr. McGowan, where he explained the process and answered their many questions—instilling confidence and alleviating any concerns they had about the procedure. Heather immediately scheduled her travel from Louisville, Kentucky, to Cary, North Carolina, to have her ESG performed at WakeMed Cary Hospital on February 7, 2020.
What the ESG Procedure Felt Like For Heather
The day of the procedure came after tornadoes canceled Heather’s flight while she was on the tarmac waiting to take off. Disappointed, Heather enacted a spontaneous alternative. “There was no way I was going to miss this procedure, so I called my husband and asked if he wanted to ‘go for a drive.’ He packed some items into the car, picked me up at the airport and we drove 14 hours through the storms to North Carolina.” A tense and bumpy ride, with lots of detours and re-routing, that Heather explains was well worth it. She was tired and a little anxious, but otherwise, Heather entered WakeMed Cary Hospital four hours after arriving in North Carolina, excited and ready to start her new weight loss journey. The morning was uneventful—she did some yoga to chase away her jitters while in pre-op. The next thing she knew, it was around lunchtime and the procedure was finished. She was feeling great, walking the halls of the post-op area, and then headed back to the hotel to recover.
The following day, she was feeling terribly nauseous, but after a visit from her post-operative nurse—it was determined that she was allergic to both the pain medication and antibiotic. After discontinuing both medicines and using peppermint oil to stave away the nausea, she was feeling much better and was able to fly back to Kentucky the following morning.
Over the next few weeks, Heather says she felt good, although she admits she probably pushed herself a little hard over the first few days, trying to shop for groceries. She enjoyed eating chicken broth more than anything else, and found new aversions to tomatoes and beef (both of which went away after the first month or so.) One of the biggest unforeseen benefits was that her PCOS (and the associated pain) seemed to completely disappear, giving her an additional week of being active and feeling virtually pain-free every month. “If I had known this was going to be a side-effect of ESG, I would have had this procedure at age 14!”
She followed the diet plan very closely and learned about mindful eating—a strategy she believes has really helped her in the long-term. She used a timer while eating, chewed each bite 20-30 times, waited 30 seconds between bites, and used smaller plates and utensils to aid in the psychology of “fullness” with her smaller portions.
