Gastric bypass helps Jan lose six stone and gain a new life
It is a topic widely covered in the news and is said to be a drain on the NHS.
Some argue it’s all in the genetics and they are victims of an inherited condition that is out of their control. Others say it is just the result of constantly scoffing fatty foods. It’s hard to ignore the fact obesity has grown out of control in this country, but that won’t matter one jot to the formerly overweight Jan Goodman, who had major life-transforming surgery aimed at beating the condition.
 A practice nurse at the Riverbank Medical Centre in Midhurst, Jan was told about the increasingly popular gastric bypass operation by patients she treated. At 16½ stone, Jan of Fiddlers Copse, Nappers Wood, Fernhurst, thought this was her only escape from obesity. So she booked herself in for the £10,000 operation at St Richard’s hospital on November 5 - a memorable day – last year.
Thanks to top bariatric surgeon Guy Slater, Jan lost six stone and now no longer needs medication for her diabetes because her sugar levels are normal.
She has also since met someone she feels is Mr Right.
“My advice to people is to just go for it. It’s a cliched saying but I have got my life back,” she said. “Guy Slater has given me my life back. He has given me the life I haven’t had for a long, long time. “If I could have had this operation 30 years ago then I would have. I am 56 now and I feel better than ever. “If I can help people feel great as I feel then that would be wonderful.”
Jan has been overweight since she was 11 years old. Her weight went up and down, but she could never lose more than three stone at a time. The gastric bypass operation is irreversible. With the gastric band operation, a ring is placed around the stomach, creating a smaller pouch at the top. This means patients can eat less to feel full.
With a bypass operation, a small stomach pouch is created from the upper part of the stomach, which is then surgically re-routed to the small intestine, bypassing the rest of the stomach. Patients are allowed home three days after the operation. Jan waited 17 months to have the bariatric operation. Needless to say, there were mixed reactions when Jan told friends and family she was going ahead with it. “My GP thought it was perfect for me. My son Simon, who is a head chef, said ‘you’d never be able to eat a proper meal again, mum’. But everyone was supportive.
 “A couple of my friends were worried, but I never had any second thoughts, I couldn’t wait to have it done. I just didn’t want anything to go wrong, to stop me from having the operation.” She added: “From the day I had it done, I have just been so happy with it all. I have had no problems. I feel better and lost six stones.
“I went from a size 22 to 12-14, which has never happened in my adult life. I feel brilliant. “It’s lovely to be able to go into normal clothes shops. I feel much more confident and do things I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing before such as walking up hills. “Not a single thing has gone wrong, fortunately. I have read about a lot of people vomiting. I haven’t once. If I don’t overeat then I won’t feel sick. I can’t have fizzy drinks or alcohol. That doesn’t bother me.”
People can have the gastric bypass or gastric band operation at St Richard’s Hospital if their Body Mass Index, which measures your height against your weight, is 40 or more.
A BMI of 35 will be accepted if you also have a condition made worse by obesity, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems or severe joint problems. You will be expected to have tried all other alternatives including diets for six months.
| St Richard’s unit surgeons lead the fight
against obesity
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Bariatric surgeon Chris Pring works with Guy Slater at St richard’s Hospital. He has been at the hospital for 18 months and said in today’s climate it was easy for people to gain weight. With big chains like McDonald’s sponsoring the Olympic Games, Mr Pring said fatty foods were literally there on a plate for people.
He explained bariatric surgery aims to improve people’s health by reducing their weight. St richard’s Hospital deals with ten cases a week at its bariatric unit. He said: “People go into this line of work because it is extremely rewarding. “racism and sexism have been put to be bed now, but there’s still a stigma about obesity.” He added: “St richard’s has one of the best bariatric units in the country, we have more operations here than anywhere else. it’s very high profile.
“We have patients from Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire.” Mr Pring said 24 per cent of people in the UK were obese, which cost the NHS £4bn a year. Obesity is said to cost the UK a total of £16bn a year in benefits, etc. it also reduces life expectancy by ten years, so bariatric surgery aims to reverse that. Mr Pring added: “The gastric band and gastric bypass operations are both through keyhole surgery, both aimed at reducing the stomach capacity. “This removes the desire to eat and as a result patients lose weight.” Gastric band patients will lose 47 per cent of their excess weight and gastric bypass patients 72 per cent. it gives patients a 78 per cent chance of curing diabetes. Doctors use the Body Mass index (BMi) to determine obesity levels, by assessing your height against your weight.
The normal range for your BMi is between 18.5 and 25 (kg/m2).
You are overweight if your BMi is between 25 and 30.
You are obese if your BMi is 30 or higher and you are morbidly obese if your BMi is 40 or higher.
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