After years of trying many different diets and failing to drop below 29 stone before putting the weight back on again, I decided I
needed some help to lose the weight once and for all. I spoke to my
After years of trying many different diets and failing to drop below 29 stone before putting the weight back on again, I decided I
needed some help to lose the weight once and for all. I spoke to my family about wanting to be referred for gastric surgery and spoke to
by doctor who referred me to my local hospital. After nearly 1 year of hearing nothing about my referrals from the doctor my dad made an
appointment for me to see Dr. Ashton at Healthier Weight in their London location.
From the moment I had my consultation with Dr. David
Ashton I knew that the gastric bypass procedure was for me. I had already researched both the gastric band and gastric bypass and my
family were concerned about the added risk to the bypass procedure. My wife attended the consultation with me and after the presentation
that Dr. Ashton delivered providing extensive details on both procedures she was left feeling much happier about my discussion to opt
for the bypass.
Dr. Ashton made himself available by phone or email in case I had any questions and there was no pressure what so ever
to make any sort of decision or commitment there and then. He simply said to go away, talk about the 2 different procedures with my wife
and family and get back in touch if I wish to proceed with one of the surgeries or if I had any further questions I wanted to
ask.
After a couple of clarifying questions, my family were unsure about, were answered during a telephone call with Dr. Ashton, we
booked the Gastric Bypass surgery to be carried out on 7th February 2009 at the Alexandra Hospital in Manchester. The day of the surgery
came around quickly and one week before I was sent my soup & shakes that were to be my diet for the final 7 days before procedure. I
lost 1 stone that week alone. On the day before the operation when I arrived at the hospital I weighed in at 198kg.
All the staff at
the hospital were fantastic. They settled me into the room and carried out the relevant pre operation tests. I then had a visit from the
surgeon who explained exactly what would happen, what time I would go down and how long it would take. Then Dr. Aston visited to see if
there were any last minute questions. In the morning I went down to the theatre and the staff there really put me at ease. The last
thing I remember is we were all having a joke around about footballers then I woke up back in my room!!
I suffered very little pain and
was very quickly driving the nurses mad by insisting I be allowed to get out of bed for a walk about. By the early afternoon I was
happily trotting my way up and down the stairs with the physiotherapist. I was eventually taken of the morphine pump and put on a
paracetamol drip as I was not using the pump and wanted to be up and about. I was visited by the surgeon and the Bariatric Nurse, Claire
who ask me how I felt and explained everything I needed to know before going home. The next morning, after they were satisfied I was
well enough, I was discharged with my medication and letter for my doctor and full details of how to proceed with my diet following
surgery and details of how I could contact the Nurse, Health Educator or doctor should i want to as well as a 24hr emergence line in
case I had any concerns at any time, day or night. All of which really put mine and my families minds at ease.
At home I received a
phone call from Stuart, the Health Educator who talked me through the food and the amount I should be eating. (All of this information
was also included in the pack I received to take home with me). He said if I had any concerns or questions at all just give him a call
or send an email and he would contact me. Then Claire the Bariatric Nurse phoned to make sure everything was going well and I had not
suffered and adverse affects. The whole time I was assured that if I had any concerns or problems help was only a phone call
away.
During the 1st year after the operation I had regular contact with both Claire and Stuart and had several visits to London to be
weighed and have my BMI & blood test done. One year after the operation I had lost over 12 stone and as of this date, (15th August 2010
or a little over 18 months after the operation), I have stabilised my weight at around 16 stone. A total weight loss, from my heaviest
weight, of just over 17 stone !!
In summery, the operation has truly changed my life. I never thought that I would get down to my
target weight of 18 stone let alone to my current weight of around 16 stone. The support I received both before and after the operation
was fantastic and there was additional support available in the form of group meetings and online groups that were available if you
experienced any trouble adjusting to you new life style. Although I did not need these it was a great comfort knowing that they were
there if I did need them. I really would recommend that anyone considering Gastric Surgery get in contact with Healthier Weight. If your
experience is anything like mine you will not be disappointed.
PS. In case anyone is wondering why I use the nickname TheBFG it is
because I have always been tall, then I was tall and very big but now I am just tall, (6tf 8), again. My nick name at school before a
put all my weight on was still TheBFG.
| Reviewer: |
| Username: | TheBFG |
| Age: | 20-34 |
| Location: | Ashford, Kent |
| Gender: | male |
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