Clair is a Streamline single anastomosis gastric bypass (mini bypass) surgery patient who has lost nine stone. “The only regret I have is that I didn’t do it sooner.”
“I lost about nine stone now. I’ve lived all my life being restricted with and obsessed by what food I can eat and foods I can’t eat. I had tried it all food diets, Slimming World and Weight Watchers and the surgery just meant that I could just live normally and eat what I want when I want to small amounts.
“I tried it all the diets tried tablets tried all sorts and they worked and I could do it. If I did Slimming World to them I’d stick to it and I would lose stones and then I’d go back to eating normally and put it all back on again. Just up and down, yo-yo dieting, just got bigger and bigger in the end. Then I learned to drive, so I didn’t do any exercise and I just got bigger and bigger.
“Surgery was the way forward for me.
“I think when I went to Butlins one weekend and I went to go on the go karts, and I couldn’t fit in the seat and I actually got out and I was I can’t do this anymore and knew I need to do something.
“A couple of months I was swaying with the decision to have surgery, it was a lot of money. I couldn’t really afford it, but I just needed it so badly and I knew I had to make it work. That was my moment that I decided I needed to do something drastic.
“Life before surgery, I was just depressed and unhappy with myself. I’m the sort of person that I don’t care what other people think. It’s about what I think and I felt uncomfortable and I felt unhappy.
“I had the surgery and it has completely changed my life. I’m more confident, more outgoing. I can walk into a shop and buy clothes that on the shelf.
“I chose Streamline because they were a local company and I work in the NHS and the surgeons work in the local hospital, so I knew and heard good things about them.
“I did consider going abroad because of the cost but the aftercare was nothing like what you’re going to get in England, so I went to Streamline.
“As for the aftercare I get, so much follow up. A week later, two weeks later, my surgeon was calling me to see how I was getting on. I spoke with the dietitian a couple of times a month to start with and now it’s every three months, constantly checking in on me. There’s always a phone number you can contact them on if I had any problems at all. I feel really supported by them.
“I’ve been really lucky, I’ve had no problems at all, the surgery was so straightforward.
“The only regret I have is that I didn’t do it sooner.
“You’re going to be worried about having major surgery. I didn’t worry if I was doing the right thing or not, I knew it was right for me. I was just worried about if something went wrong. I’ve had no complications, it was just really straightforward surgery and recovery.
“Life since surgery has been just no problems at all. Some people say why did you need it? Well, I doesn’t matter what you think I needed it myself. Just so happy with what I’ve done.”