Elaine Mcloughlin, Gastric Banding, November 2007
From the first consultation, they went through everything really thoroughly
"I’ve had weight problems from an early age. When I got engaged in 1986 to Michael, my husband, we lost both our fathers just before, in August and October, and I just comfort ate basically. We got married in 1988 and by then I was size 18 and continued to comfort eat, because I was happy with Michael. As time went on I tried everything else – slimming clubs, slimming tablets - but nothing worked for me.
As I got older, I developed Type 2 Diabetes and dangerously high blood pressure; I didn’t exercise, I just sat like a couch potato. We used to go on caravan holidays but I couldn’t even walk to the beach.
I read that gastric surgery has been on the go for a good while but had just started being offered at Spire Murrayfield Edinburgh. As nothing else had worked for me, I went to the doctors for a referral to go private. I was one of the first through the door for the procedure. I was hitting 25 stone and I knew that something had to be done.
From the first consultation, they went through everything really thoroughly; they advised me but I’d done a lot of research and I thought the lap band (laparoscopic gastric banding) was the best option for me.
It was three months before I had the operation. During that time, I’d gone through the different stages and everything was thoroughly explained to me by the weight loss team. It was an overnight procedure and upon discharge, the weight loss nurses phoned regularly and checked that I was coping alright and that I was following the diet.
The after-care was excellent; they keep an eye on you too - for the first six months they really make sure you’re ticketyboo, they then let you get on with it – they still support you and you’re welcome to phone them if you’ve got a problem though.
There's now a support group for weight loss patients, which I'm actively involved in and if anybody's got any questions or concerns they can ask me about them. I think if the support group had been started when I went in for surgery, it would have been really helpful. November 2008 is my one-year banding anniversary and a milestone – I’ve lost ten stone, from 25 stone."