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Patient Stories

Estelle

Like many who consider operations such as the lap banding or the more permanent gastric sleeve operation, I had tried for many years to loose weight. My weight issue was becoming a huge problem my blood pressure was high I was becoming borderline glucose sensitive which could lead to Type II Diabetes and I was still only in my 30's.

I was loathed to give up on doing it myself but after so many years of trying and failing the final straw was when after over 6 months of dieting and going to the gym religiously I plateaued for 3months after only loosing 15K. However when you are only 5 foot 5 and still weigh 140k no one even notices and you are still huge! My body just seemed to be fighting me all the way so I did some research into surgical options and made an appointment. With 3 kids to think about I felt guilty about the expense but after my initial appointment and watching the dvd my mind was made up and I opted for the more permanent solution of the Gastric sleeve.

I went on my mandatory soup only diet to lose another 10kilos before the operation. It was very difficult to do but with my families support when I went in for my operation at the end of October 2007 I weighed the magic 130k. I still had issues with my blood pressure which made me have to stay in hospital an extra day but otherwise everything went very well. At first I was on a liquid diet but very soon I was eating half a cup and then a cup of food. At first the weight loss was very slow and by the time I had come to the end of January 2008 just 3 months after the operation I plateaued again after only loosing 15k! I was so unhappy, I had been through all this and I still weighed 115k! However at the beginning of February I joined my local ladies only gym and started going once or twice a week sometimes I missed weeks but I suddenly started to see results.

By the time I saw Dr Armstrong for my 12month post op check up I weighed 82k. That was 48kilos less than when I had the op. I was told I would plateau and made an appointment to have all the excess skin taken away. By the time I had that done I weighed 70k. Now post operation I have stopped at between 64 and 65k. I am normal bmi and although the surgery helped me I changed my lifestyle. By incorporating healthy eating with the smaller portions, regular exercise and weight training, my life & my health is completely different. I have normal bp without medication, I am no longer at risk of developing type ii Diabetes and I can run for the bus without hurting myself or taking a week to recover! From the fat girl who had to shop for clothes on the internet, I can now buy clothes in any store. Unless they knew me before people have a hard time believing I was ever big until they see my drivers licence photo. I am now training to be a personal Fitness Instructor with the Australian Institute of Fitness so I can pass on my experience on to other people.

My 38th Birthday 27th August 2007 (2 months before my operation)	Me with my children in France in July 2007
Me in my Australian Institute of fitness uniform in August 2009.	My husband and I on my 40th Birthday