Lap Gastric Band Success Stories

Introduction

My name is Bronwen. This is my experience of gastric banding surgery, which I had in March 2007 with North Eastern Weight Loss Surgery. In 2007 I weighed about 133 kg and my BMI was 49 kg/m2.

How did being overweight affect your life?

I was paralysed by the vicious circle I’d set up for myself – my own inability to lose weight, along with a combination of lifestyle factors, bad habits, hunger, frustration, comfort eating. I couldn’t do things with my children that other mums could do.

I was ashamed to accompany my husband to work functions. I was tired of making everyone else in a room feel good about themselves because I was the biggest person there. My husband, my dad and best friend were concerned about my weight and while they still accepted me the way I was, I felt I was letting them down.

I felt I was also embarrassing my children at school. My son almost got into a punch-up with a boy at school who asked him why I was so fat.

Tell us about your attempts to lose weight before gastric banding surgery

After a lifetime of being overweight (baby, schoolkid, teenager, adult), I had tried many diets and programs with varying degrees of success then after having children, I had regained everything – along with a lot more. The older I was getting, the faster the weight was going on and the harder it was to lose it so the quicker I’d give up on the latest diet. After multiple attempts and failures, I had reached the stage where I had so much weight to lose that it had become overwhelming.

Some of the things I tried: Diet shakes, Scarsdale diet, Weight Watchers (total x23 memberships!), Gloria Marshall, Fit for Life, various self-invention diets, Herbalife, Easy Slim, another book, Xenical, Optislim patches, Dr Phil’s book, Internet help….

What were your thought processes when considering weight loss surgery?

One of my biggest concerns (as an emotional eater) was having to say goodbye to food as a friend. I was concerned about not losing all of my excess weight after surgery. As the NEWLS team explained to me, weight loss surgery isn’t necessarily about getting to the magical BMI of 25 . Losing two-thirds (average) of excess body weight would still make me “a success” in their eyes.

I was worried what people would say in light of public opinion about weight loss surgery and the notion that overweight people could just be shamed into weight loss or just be told to stop eating and start exercising (as if I hadn’t tried THAT before). I knew this was my last chance and I HAD to get it right and make it work.

Did you consider having an alternative weight loss operation to the one you had?

I briefly considered a sleeve or bypass procedure but felt the mortality risk was too great. I liked that the gastric band was reversible.

How was the pre-operative OptifastTM regime?

Not as bad as I’d expected. I only had the chocolate shake (which was quite OK) and the berry bar (not quite as OK). I did sometimes have to leave the room when other people were eating as it was hard to see and smell their food and not be able to have some.

How did things go after the surgery?

Very well, uneventful. I had minimal or no post-operative pain and spent 2 nights in hospital. At first it was uncomfortable fitting in the required volume of fluids as the area around the band still swollen. I had to get used to timing my intake, including remembering to take my liquid multivitamin in the morning. Weight loss was very slow at the start. Once on solids, learning to drink separately to meals was very difficult.

How much weight did you lose altogether?

56 kg but have regained 10 kg (currently working on that!). I am thrilled with the results. I initially lost about 90% of my excess weight which was amazing. Five years down the track, although I’ve regained a bit of the weight, it’s still the best decision I have ever made and I’ll do what it takes to get it right. I have the gift of a band – and the gift of a second chance at life.

How have you had to change your eating habits?

I can eat pretty much anything in small quantities. I have to be careful with bread and starchy or doughy foods that take longer to move through the band and can swell up while they are still in the upper pouch and cause discomfort. Grain bread is better than white. Well cooked red meat and chicken that is cooked quickly (eg grilled) are difficult to get through the band.

I now peel most fruit and vegetables including cucumber and tomatoes. Some fruit is painful to eat and it isn’t filling.

Half a sandwich or one piece of toast is enough. I tend to share a piece of meat with someone else in the family. I have a few pieces of vegetables with my evening meal. It is important to feel comfortable (but not over-full) on foods that won’t leave me feeling hungry (eg bread/toast is more filling and sustainable than cereal with milk). I use a bread and butter plate for meals.

Vomiting? Regurgitation?

This has not been a big concern for me unless I eat too quickly or forget to chew properly – or if I do something really stupid like thinking I can eat an extra bit of food. Sometimes, yes, the only way is up. It bothered me recently to read of a man in the newspaper saying that the way his band worked was for him to eat as much as he wanted, then throw most of it back up. I’m sure this is dangerous for the band – and is very antisocial.

Restaurants, dinner parties?

I am careful not to make a big deal about having a band when eating out. At a restaurant I will order an entrée for my meal. If the restaurant won’t do small serves or if I’m at a function where there is no choice, I have some and give the rest to my husband (hoping that he doesn’t put on weight!). The worst thing about eating out is being with a group that decides to split the bill and I end up subsidising everyone else’s three-course meal.

Have you had any complications from the surgery?

Almost 4 years post-op I had been suffering reflux intermittently and when I also couldn’t swallow water one morning, I had a swallow x-ray. The blockage had passed but Patrick thought the pouch above the band and my oesophagus may have stretched a bit. Over the next few months, I gradually had fluid removed from the band to try and allow the oesophagus to regain some tone. I currently don’t have any fluid in my band (my choice) but still have restriction. I also have a very “noisy band” which gurgles after eating or drinking – removing the fluid has helped with this slightly.

How has your life changed since the surgery?

How long have you got? I walk around every day feeling as though I’ve won Tattslotto. The physical changes, the emotional changes – self-confidence, compliments, clothes shopping, feet don’t hurt, no migraines, fitting comfortably into plane seats and theatre seats without squashing the person next to me, buying clothes, swimming in public – little things that most people can take for granted but they still give me a buzz every day.

Before, food was my best friend and I was worried about giving that up but it has turned out to be more of a release and I am now in control. That sense of control is really empowering and it just spreads into so many other areas of life. And – without wanting to sound shallow – it’s just nice to finally “fit in”.

I now get very few headaches and have only had one migraine in the five years since surgery. I have only had three colds since surgery. I no longer develop skin tags. I no longer have foot and ankle pain. Reflux is now only intermittent instead of constant (stopped completely for first 3½ years after surgery). My cardiologist is finally happy (after 30-something years).

It’s not just the physical things but my self-esteem has increased and people can see a change in me and in my whole approach.

It is important to have the support of the close people in your life. They can be impacted by the lifestyle changes needed after surgery as well as the changes you undergo as the weight comes off.

Are you satisfied with North Eastern Weight Loss Surgery? Would you recommend us?

I am a very satisfied customer and I am so grateful to NEWLS. They are just the best. Everyone is so kind and encouraging and non-judgmental and – most importantly – helped me to take weight loss step by step, even when it all seemed overwhelming. It’s important to keep the big picture in mind but it’s the little steps that get you there. They help me to be realistic and set achievable goals. They also have ways and means of checking up on me, which keeps me accountable. The continuity of care with the one doctor has also been important to me.

Would you recommend gastric banding to other morbidly obese people who have failed dietary programmes?

Absolutely recommend it but it has to be the right time for them and their head has to be in the right place. They need to have reached a turning point – even if it’s rock bottom – where they know something has to change, that this is the last resort and that they'll do everything they can to get it right and commit to working with the band.

It is definitely NOT the easy way out but for me it was the ONLY way out.