What a difference 9 months can make
Caroline
Having been overweight for most of my adult life I think I had tried every diet out there and while I was successful in losing weight, each time I stopped dieting not only did I regain the weight I had lost I always gained more.
My health and confidence were both impacted due to being overweight and I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and prescribed medication. I found
that I was getting short of breath when walking and I was always 3 step behind anyone else. In addition to this I was getting pains in my joints (ankles, hip and lower back pain), also finding I needed to stop for regular breaks when on shopping trips etc as my feet would always hurt, not surprising considering how much weight they were holding up ! When I walked past a shop window I hated to see myself and felt really disappointed that I had let myself get so overweight. I am only 5 foot 3inches and when I reached a size 22 dress size, I decided enough was enough, I couldn’t continue being so over weight and needed to do something that would help me long term to lose weight and keep it off.
I did a lot of research in to gastric bands and decided that was the right thing for me, while my GP confirmed I would be able to get surgery on the NHS I decided to go private and made an appointment to see Prof Senapati to discuss
my options for weight loss surgery. During my appointment Prof Senapati spoke to me about the gastric band surgery as that was my preference, however he also discussed the benefits of the gastric sleeve. I left the appointment confirming I wanted gastric band surgery, mainly because that is what I had researched. However when I returned home I read lots of reviews in forums etc on the gastric sleeve and from the articles I read the sleeve was the most popular option in the USA and also gave the best results. Taking all the detail I had read in to consideration and the discussion I had with Prof Senapati regarding the gastric sleeve, I decided to change my surgery from the gastric band to the gastric sleeve surgery. I called Prof Senapati to discuss this and he was happy to go ahead with the change and my appointment was booked to get the surgery,
I had surgery 9 months ago and I can honestly say it’s the best decision I have made, my weight has dropped by around 5 stone so far, I do still have more weight to lose but I feel so much better. I no longer have high blood pressure, which is amazing. Walking is defiantly not an issue anymore, I currently walk around 3 miles each day with my dog, without suffering from joint or back pain and do not have any breathlessness. I no longer dread standing in from of people in meetings at work and don’t even mind seeing myself in a shop window. While I still have further weight to lose, I feel healthier and happier than I have in years.
The support I received from Prof Senapati, the staff at the Alexandra and Highfield Hospital and Chris the dietician has been great, if you are considering weight loss surgery I would highly recommend you talk to Prof Senapati who will help you with your weight loss journey.