Case Study – Patient 5 E.W.

Operation – Duodenal Switch

I was never a small child, always on the chubby side, and as I grew up into my teens so did my weight. I was always told it was just puppy fat and that I would soon lose the weight, but it didn’t happen.

My teenage years were hell, I always felt that I didn’t fit in and was left out. My weight held me back, I couldn’t find clothes that made me feel good or fitted me well. This sent my self confidence to a very low level, and living on such a beautiful island as Guernsey, surrounded by beaches, was a nightmare. I dreaded the summer when my friends spent the days on the beach swimming and playing ball games as I didn’t have the confidence to wear bathers. Most days I would make excuses not to go and spent my summer days alone in my bedroom. Eating in public was always a fear, as there was always seemed to be someone looking at me or making a horrible comments (like ‘no wonder she is fat’) and I was often teased and called Ellie the elephant.

I’ve tried every diet under the sun and every slimming pill that has come on to the market without any success. At one point I managed to get down to twelve stone then fell pregnant with twins and ended up putting on 4 stone, which I couldn’t shift once they were born. I became pregnant again and put on another stone. Over the next few years I was constantly dieting and felt my children missed out on so much during their childhood due to me being overweight.

I read on the internet about the gastric bypass and wished I could have it done. A few more years went by before I finally plucked up the courage to speak to my doctor about the operation. He put me in touch with Mr Van den Bossche the surgeon, who explained the operation from start to finish. He went over the procedure in very fine detail answering many questions, then he asked me to go home, do some further research and think very carefully about the procedure, making sure I was fully aware of the seriousness of the operation.

I had to convince my husband and family about the benefits the procedure could bring and, naturally, they could only focus on the things that could go wrong. After a couple of months of consideration I decided that having this surgery would be my only chance of ever feeling normal about myself.

In April 2006 I went into hospital feeling the happiest I had ever felt, knowing that finally I would get the result I wanted. After surgery I came around feeling elated and I felt so well I was allowed home after one night in hosital. I had my food liquidized and put into ice cube trays to control the portion size, but within 5 days I was eating normal solid foods. I lost a stone in the first week and then my weight kept falling off; within 10 weeks I had lost a massive five stone. By the end of September 2006 I had lost a total of six and a half stone and people didn’t recognize me. For the first time  in my life I felt good about myself, I was able to go into the fashion shops and pick up clothes that fitted.

A few people said to me that I was selfish, as the operation was potentially life threatening and I had my children to think about. Yes, it is a very serious operation but with much careful consideration and research I decided my weight posed more of a threat to my health than the operation.

My confidence has rocketed; my only regret is that I should have had this gastric bypass operation years ago. My weight has stayed the same for the last three years which I’m really happy about. I eat healthily now and can only eat small amounts at each meal (child size portions). I also walk for an hour every day. This is not a miracle cure but it is a life changing experience. Now that I’ve lost so much weight I can eat in public and not feel like all eyes are on me. Thank you so much Mr Van den Bossche for making this happen, you made it possible for me to get a life and enjoy it.