Roxanne King

I have been big all my life, since I was a child. Even my parents scolded me for eating too much and not being able to lose weight. No one ever suggested there might be a reason.
I lost five stone in my early 20's when it was discovered my thyroid did not work.
Then I was diagnosed with diabetes and put it all back on again. I struggled with that for years and eventually I was taking so much insulin I began to be insulin resistant and the diabetic clinic kept increasing it and increasing it until I put five stone on in a year. I could see that if I did not do something quickly I was going to simply drop dead or face a horrific slow diabetic process of limb removal and blindness. I had tried just about everything from hypnosis to joining a bulimia group to see if someone would teach me to stick my fingers down my throat and bring food up. Needless to say none of this worked.

Having decided that Dr. Bruno Dillemans was the only surgeon competent enough to hold my life in his hands, I still could not believe this would work for me. I was convinced something would either go wrong during the operation or shortly afterwards or my intestines would get knotted up; basically I had no hope whatsoever that I would survive this and go on to lose weight. When you have been fat for 40 years, it is impossible to believe you will EVER be thin.

I wrote my will and packed for Belgium fully expecting to be brought home in a body bag. Imagine my surprise when I not only survived, but flew through the operation so well I didn't even need intensive care. It really didn't hurt that much either. I could not have had better treatment. Dr. Dillemans listened attentively to my concerns (despite having heard them thousands of times before. He even managed to look interested!). He took great care of me and I will always be grateful to him and his team for such professional adept care.

I went to Belgium alone and had it not been for the kindness of Colleen, the Nutritionist, who was there to accompany a couple of us backwards and forwards and settle us in, I would not have had such an easy time. She even went shopping for me and brought me wonderful things to consume during the post op days. Not only did she accompany us to the hospital she came with me to my operation, gowned up, stood throughout the operation next to Dr. Dillemans, and was there when I came round and reported back on the full blown details of the operation.

Of course, I was convinced I would have a coronary by the time I got to the operating theatre, and was expecting to die on the table anyway, so it was amazing to come round and be told that I had done marvellously. The anaesthetist was over the moon because I sailed through it all with no complications (and they were expecting a few as I am diabetic, my thyroid is dodgy, I have sleep apnoea, and was dreadfully unfit). Plus my liver had not shrunk as much as they would have liked but as I had lost weight in the previous 2 weeks, they agreed to continue with the operation (plus Dr. D. is a sheer artist, he could have done it blindfolded I am sure).

I am, always have been and probably always will be, addicted to food. But the changes are astounding. My stomach tells me what to eat now. Mostly it likes fresh food, raw and full of vitamins.
I used to eat a full English breakfast with mountains of toast and butter.
Can't face that at all now. I could happily have consumed all that within 2 seconds of opening my eyes in the morning. Now I have to wait a while. Get a coffee in, first and then work up to one egg.
I have pushed my pouch to the limit. I have consumed everything I could think of to see how far it would let me go. I think this is natural. We are "foodies" - we would not have needed the operation in the first place if we had any self control or ability to restrict ourselves. Never mind these people who say, "but I just don't eat that much!!"..... No fat people walked out of Belsen.

I ate for England. Loved my food. Now the main difference is that I cannot possibly eat a full plate of anything, no matter how nice it is AND food does not hit the spot any more. I spent a lot of time searching the kitchen for something that would take away the "needyness" inside me, and eventually realised that avenue is now closed to me. There is no way back to using food as a crutch because you just don’t feel the same way about food. I have some charming new habits now. I belch like a miner. It’s the only way to make room in your pouch if you have over done it.
I spit food out a lot. I get half way through it, chew a bit, then find its not as nice as I thought, and I just don't want to subject my lovely new pouch to crap so I spit rather than swallow (if you will excuse the expression). It’s not the most attractive feature when you're in a restaurant, but I really don't care. I've been thrown out of much worse places in my time.

I have had to experiment with timing and portions as anyone will, but in general I feel fabulous. My skin is glowing, my hair has stopped falling out now, I am taking all the right vitamins and minerals, my food intake is so much healthier now, and I have gotten into organic food and simple foods with no additives. I only have a little pouch, and its new and I want to look after it.

I think bread may be causing me a problem and I am having a hard time finding a replacement - wraps taste like old wallpaper and gluten free bread tastes like it sounds. I also have phases on foods; I was really into Alpen with nuts mixed in and flaxseed - gone off that now. I mix my milks, semi skimmed and skimmed – can’t taste the difference now whereas I cannot abide just skimmed milk on its own. I finally found a low fat spread that contained Omega 3. I cook in low fat spray oil or extra virgin olive oil and I use a George Foreman grill a lot as the fat simply drains away and it makes nice chips! My pouch cannot bear fried food or greasy food and consequently my mind doesn't want it either which is a marvellous and unexpected bonus. They all said, this is an operation on your stomach not your brain and it’s only a tool, but, in fact, its a great tool because it DOES help you to wean yourself off food that is bad for you. Fortunately my pouch is a good size and my intestines long enough that sugar does not make me dump. So I can eat a whole McDonalds Flurry - without dumping. However, I save it for treats and it really then IS a treat. Sadly I can't manage sausages or bacon any more although I did try them to start. Now I don't miss them at all.

Every day there is another wow moment. Yesterday it was when I realised not only could I dry my own feet out of the shower, but I can dry between my toes and its no effort at all. I can reach behind me now and have access to nearly every part of my body. I see parts of myself I have not seen in years. I can walk round a supermarket or shopping centre for HOURS instead of minutes. I don't have to ask my friends to park close to places, I simply get out and walk.
I can buy clothes in normal stores. (Instead of huge great tents on the internet with big patterns on them that make you look like someone else dressed you for a bet). I am a size 22 now, not a 32. All the stores sell my size. My garden is a joy to behold because I can actually work in it now. I started off doing under 500 steps a day, now most days I hit 3,000 with no apparent effort. Shopping does loads of steps and you just don't notice you are putting any effort in.

I stopped injecting insulin the day I had the operation, but chose to go back on it 3 months later to steady my blood sugars. I just had an HBA1C test (this tells you what your blood sugar average has been over a couple of months). In 27 years my test has NEVER ONCE come back below 10, mostly it was 11 - this one is 8.9!! I inject a quarter of the insulin I used to, and it is reducing all the time. My blood sugars are under control, each morning they hover around 7.5 with no effort. Barring my falling under a bus, I have probably lengthened my life by about 15-20 years especially as diabetes is such a dreadful burden and wrecks your body silently in so many ways.

So, if anyone out there is wondering if they should have a bypass - listen to everyone who will tell their story, then if it feels right for you DO NOT HESITATE. I wish I had done it 30 years earlier. I am 50 now and sadly, in shorts, my legs look like a map of the Dutch Canalways....BUT I do not regret one minute. The worst is the first 4 weeks, after that its a doddle. I can still eat most of what I like (in smaller quantities) and life is so much easier. Every day there is a new something I can do that I could not do before and I am so grateful for this wonderful opportunity. AND I am still losing weight - I would lose a lot more if I could bear to excercise but I am coming round to it, I do more each day and am now considering the gym and swimming to firm things up a bit. There was a time I could not have even considered that, due to inability to move and being out of breath so constantly.

Anyone who has any questions I am happy to listen and if I can help I will. Roxanne.