I was an overweight child and learnt from a young age that food was a great comfort and I used it to commiserate, celebrate and compensate.   There have been times within my adult life that I have been thin, but I haven’t been able to maintain this for long.  I had hit an all time low after Easter 2010 and was back in my maternity jeans, and shamefully this was not because I was pregnant.  I had reached almost 16 stones and the thought of losing all that excess weight alone seemed  like an impossible task.   At the age of 30 I was already suffering from hypertension and my family history of co-morbidities associated with obesity includes heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol.  I was concerned about the health problems I was going to face in the future, so started looking into weight loss surgery and quickly made the decision that a gastric band was the way forward.  I didn’t approach my GP for a referral as I knew that funding may be difficult to secure and I couldn’t face the drawn-out process, with the possibility of being turned down anyway.

I had a couple of consultations and paid for one of them, but decided to go with WLS after meeting Wendy and Steve at our initial meeting, as I had immediate faith in their abilities and felt reassured by their wealth of knowledge and experience.  I am a  nurse myself and we make the fussiest patients!  I researched all the different providers at the time and WLS provided everything I was looking for, including a fantastic surgeon and comprehensive aftercare, which was very important to me.  It’s so easy to forget the importance of aftercare when looking for a provider, as most of us are more concerned about the actual operation.  The aftercare I have received has been outstanding and without it, I wouldn’t be here today, 5 ½ stones lighter only 10 months after my gastric band operation on 01/06/10.  Colleen has been a great help and always so easy to contact and talk to. 

I can honestly say that having a gastric band has been one of the most important life changing decisions I have ever made and feel confident for the first time in my life, that I will be able to maintain a healthy weight.  It has been hard work and definitely not an easy option, but I went into surgery aware of the hard work I needed to put in and am now reaping the rewards.  I initially felt very guilty and ashamed of having to resort to weight loss surgery, but now realise that I couldn’t have been more wrong.  You really can’t put a price on your health and the quality of life I can now enjoy with my daughter and husband, as well as the extra years I have added to my life are priceless.