Looking Back on a History of Weight Loss Struggles & Medical Issues
Yet, Gaila’s health history made weight loss difficult. Around five years ago, Gaila discovered that she had issues with her thyroid and was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease that causes symptoms such as tiredness, weight gain, and weak muscles. She worked with multiple endocrinologists to manage the disease and tried several medications, but her weight continued to climb. Meanwhile, Gaila also discovered that her A1C (blood sugar) and her blood pressure were incredibly high, and she was continuously struggling with indigestion, a lack of energy and stamina, and labored breathing.
“These health issues bothered me. Plus, I have a strong family history of diabetes, so I had a feeling it would probably be inevitable for me, but I still wanted to try and do something about it,” Gaila says. “I didn’t want to go on more medication, so losing weight was my only option for improved health.”
Gaila Discovers Orbera® & True You Weight Loss
Unfortunately, Gaila was in a challenging position. Her weight wasn’t high enough to qualify for a surgery like gastric bypass, so doctors kept telling her to use diet and exercise. However, Gaila didn’t have the energy for exercise and maintaining restrictive diets had never worked.
“My love for sweets, battling portion control, and staying on track have always been my biggest challenges,” Gaila, 58, says. “I’ll convince myself that a little splurge won’t hurt, and then it becomes a habit.”
She knew she needed something more impactful than diet and exercise to help her with portion control and overindulgence, once and for all. In her determination to find this solution, Gaila found a coworker who had lost a lot of weight during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Lots of people gained weight during the pandemic, but she had lost weight,” Gaila says. “I asked her how she had done it, and she told me all about Orbera and True You Weight Loss. I wanted to learn more, and I spoke with my endocrinologist about it as well. He was very supportive and excited for me.”
Orbera is a non-surgical, fully reversible gastric balloon that helps patients limit food intake by creating a feeling of fullness and slowing digestion. Once Gaila had done her research online about True You and Orbera, she was sold. Videos and Facebook recommendations convinced her that this was the thing she needed to jumpstart her weight loss and transform her life. She was also very impressed with the credentials and experience of Dr. Christopher McGowan, founder of True You and world-renowned leader in endobariatrics.
“I had my procedure on March 24, 2023, at 176 pounds, and the whole process was so easy,” Gaila says. “My procedure went extremely well, and I had practically zero side effects. I went home to Mebane on the same day, and by day two after the procedure, I was out riding a horse. It didn’t slow me down at all.”
In fact, the only challenging part of the procedure for Gaila was the post-procedure diet progression, specifically the first month’s liquid-only diet.
“Without solid food, I became hyper-focused on wanting to eat. That was the hardest part for me,” Gaila explains. “But I stayed the course, tracked my intake, and slowly introduced new foods as I was instructed to do. And overeating never became a problem because the balloon made me feel so full. Throughout it all, I kept my goal in mind and knew I was going to be successful.”
