Carole

Gastric Bypass Surgery Patient

“I'm half the woman I was”

Carole, 52, is a Streamline Surgical gastric bypass patient: “I’m half the woman I was. I am a completely different person.”

Carole, from Hampshire, was 25-and-a-half stone and knew that she had to take drastic action when she could no longer play with her young grandchildren and wanted to see them grow up.

“When I went to the shops, I always had to find a parking place near the shop so I didn’t have to walk very far.  I would get up and want to go back to bed again. Everything was an effort and the future looked bleak. It used to break my heart that I couldn’t play with my grandchildren because my body hurt. If I went to pick them up from school, I would be exhausted just walking in. I knew that the longer I was overweight; I was risking future life-threatening health complications like heart disease and diabetes. I thought I would die early.

“But since I had been a teenager I had always had problems with my weight and I started eating more when I had my two daughters. I would try different diets and join diet clubs and they worked for a while and I’d lose a couple of stone, but within a few months I gained the weight back and each time I lost more self esteem. Inside I felt unhappy but I tried to hide it. Family and friends thought I was fine but the reality was that I was very depressed about the way I looked. It affected every area of my life and I didn’t want to go out.

“The turning point was when I was on a family holiday and I made an excuse not to join the rest of my family on the different holiday activities. I stayed at the hotel all day and it made me feel so alone. Finally, knew I had to lose weight and do it properly this time. So I decided to get professional help and after talking to my GP in September 2007, I started thinking about gastric surgery.  After researching the procedure and bariatric surgeons I decided to arrange a consultation with Mr Shaw Somers.

“At the consultation with him, we went through all the options available to me and I decided that a gastric bypass would be the solution to my problems. I never had any doubts that I was doing the right thing. Within a month of my consultation I had the operation at The Clementine hospital. The surgery was a success, the after-care was excellent and I got appointments whenever I wanted them and I still attend a support group. I can honestly say that it has transformed my life.

“I feel a completely different person. In the early days the weight came off rapidly, and over the last 18 months I have lost 14 stone and I am now 11 stone 3 lbs. I have learnt not to eat my food fast, chew properly and be aware of what foods can cause me problems. I can’t eat red meat but that is a small price to pay. I just don’t feel hungry like I used to. My wonderful family has supported me throughout my surgery, and my youngest daughter was inspired to have a gastric band herself last year after seeing the results on me. All my friends are stunned and I’m always getting complimented.

“My husband is so proud and still getting used to the new me. I’m half the woman I was. Most of all I have a healthier body and I can lead a normal, active life. I don’t feel tired; I jump out of bed and feel so much happier and confident. I don’t feel like I stand out in the rest of the crowd and I can walk, run, get up and down the stairs without getting breathless. Now I love shopping for clothes in normal-sized shops. I feel the world has opened up to me – I want to go horse-riding and on a hot air balloon.

“The best thing was when I went on holiday last week with my daughter and my grandchildren. For the first time I was on the rides with them all and loving every minute of it. Having my gastric bypass was the best thing I’ve ever done and I would recommend it to anyone. Now I eat to live, not live to eat.”

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