Lisa: 7st with a Gastric Bypass

Lisa’s Story

* All patient reviews on our website are based on that individual’s experience and may vary from person to person.

I started my journey in February 2016 when my boyfriend asked me to be his wife, I knew then weighing around 18 stone that I didn’t want to be an overweight bride. I tried every diet imaginable throughout the next 2 years losing a few stone here and there but never being able to keep it off.

I eventually got married in March 2018 wearing a size 26 dress!! I had chronic pain in my hips and struggled to walk up the stairs. I had lost the enjoyment of walking short and long distances. My blood pressure was also dangerously high!

We started our married life with a dream honeymoon to Morocco where very embarrassingly I had to ask for a seatbelt extension on the flight! We knew that we wanted to start a family but after 3 years of trying to no avail we enquired about IVF. We were told we were eligible but my BMI was 49 and they told me my BMI would have to be 30 or lower to start the treatment.

I was nearing 30 years old and with my previous difficulty losing weight I knew I had to do something drastic to have the opportunity of becoming a mum. That’s when I contacted the NOSC. They were so helpful and talked me through all the options, pros and cons of weight loss surgery available to me such as the Gastric Sleeve and the Roux En-Y Gastric Bypass.

We agreed together that the Gastric Bypass would be best for me as I had a sweet tooth and this could cause Dumping Syndrome which was something I wanted to avoid. By this point my weight had really spiralled out of control, I was 21 stone and still gaining weight. I booked to have my surgery in the Alexandra Hospital in Manchester for September 2018. My surgeon, was fantastic and addressed all my questions and concerns without hesitation during my consultation.

I was advised to commence my liver shrinking diet on the 25th of August 2018, on this day my weight was 21 stone 10 pounds! By the time the surgery day arrived I had already lost 13lb on the Pre-Op diet. The surgery went smoothly, I stayed in the hospital overnight and returned home the next day. I was given painkillers and was warned that I may have discomfort in my shoulders from the keyhole surgery, recovery was quick and within a fortnight I was back to my job at a Children’s Charity.

By this point I had already lost 2 stone and my clothes were feeling looser. I had daily phone calls from the NOSC for the first couple of weeks and felt overwhelming support by the NOSC team. We decided that regular phone calls would give me the support I needed and we were happy this would be sufficient going forward. In January 2019 weighing 16 stone 10 pounds, we flew to Lanzarote, for a short holiday, I didn’t need to ask for a seatbelt extender and that felt so good!!

In February 2019 much to my surprise I found out I had fallen pregnant naturally! I was immediately worried about how my continued weight loss would affect the pregnancy and baby. I contacted the NOSC and made them aware. They advised and supported me amazingly! I continued to lose weight during my pregnancy and was monitored closely by my obstetrician. Our child was healthy and growing well! My gorgeous baby girl Sydney was born in October 2019!

20 months on and I’ve lost 9 and a half stone and gone from a size 26-28 to a size 12-14! I’ve never felt healthier and all my weight related aches and pains are gone! I can only thank the NOSC for giving me a new lease on life and would encourage anyone thinking of having a weight loss procedure to take that first step to a new beginning!

It seems like it’s been a while; but in actual fact where has the time
gone? At the end of last June I shared my story on why I chose weight loss surgery (to lose enough weight to hopefully boost my fertility).

This June I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy!! How exciting is that?! I still can’t quite believe it after trying for so long!

It was seeing Professor Ali on BBC1 who performed my surgery that had me stop and reflect on what’s happened since the 18th of February.

Another crazy ride of emotions but not negative ones about the
struggles of weight loss. On my last update I had lost just over 5 stone and was in the zone. I had a good grasp on my new eating habits and was finally enjoying being able to exercise! Those full-length mirrors weren’t my enemy anymore!

Since this is aimed at fertility, I will say that since my Vertical Gastric Sleeve surgery my menstrual cycles were very regular! This was quite new! Every 28 days. Until September came and I was a few days late.

I was a little gutted as I thought I was on a good roll. One day after work, I went to the shop and walked past the pregnancy tests, it hadn’t occurred to me that could be the reason, little did I know!

I went home and as I have done over the last 10 years when I went through hundreds of pounds worth of tests, I would go to the toilet and use a test, then unpack the shopping in which time the test would be ready.

I walked past it expecting to have the usual eye roll of a single line meaning still not pregnant! Well I got the shock of my life when I saw the brightest second line! No way! Really?! So throughout that evening I proceeded to do the other 2 strips in the box as well as a quick run to Tesco for a double pack of tests and a digital test, sure enough ALL positive!!

Just wow! At this point I was down to 12 stone 6 pounds! 9 pounds away from my original personal goal! Close enough I’d say! My pregnancy was very textbook. I would even say I was very lucky!

I had a few extra check-ups at the hospital due to the sleeve procedure and baby growth but he was growing perfectly healthy and I was told I have no complications. My blood pressure remained normal the whole time, and I wasn’t sick once! Score! I didn’t escape the sore back and hips unfortunately, overall pretty good going.

I reached 15 stone at full term. When my baby was one week old I was back down to 12 stone 13 pounds. I will say being on maternity leave, I have had a small gain due to convenience eating around looking after a new baby and lack of exercise which took me up to 13 stone 13lb at its worst, but now I’m back down to 13 stone 6 pounds now and back in the zone with eating and
exercising where I can.

It’s a long way away from my weight when I started this journey at
nearly 19 stone, amazing! This weight loss surgery was never a quick fix, you need to work with it but when you do you get your results.

I hope to be at my original personal goal of 11stone 11lb or below by my 2 year “surgiversary” on Feb 18th 2019. I reckon it’s in the bag!

I’m not going to say that this will be the answer for everyone who is
overweight and struggling with fertility, but it can only help towards
becoming healthier and happier. Our baby was a complete surprise as we had been advised to wait at least 12 months before actively trying, for optimum health, but he was very welcome. I’d recommend the surgery and NOSC all day every day! It was my miracle.