NOSC Weightloss Success Stories

It had got to the point where I was so depressed about my weight and upset with the way I looked I decided I had to do something about it. I had tried dieting a few times but my mum would nag me about the long term consequences. I know now that it was silly but I booked an appointment at a clinic to get some slimming pills. The doctor gave me a prescription and I took it home.

I didn’t tell my family what I’d done because I was too ashamed and embarrassed. I didn’t want to tell them how unhappy I was about my weight and the way I looked. I felt that no one would understand how important this was to me. I thought about my weight all the time and it was really getting me down. I knew that I was always in a bad mood and I was snappy with everyone but I couldn’t help myself. I felt as though my life was a total mess. I’d had a warning at work because of my attitude and my relationship with my boyfriend had started to deteriorate.

It all came to a head one evening when my mum got home from work. I knew she was trying to ignore me and I knew it was because I was always so nasty with her. All of a sudden the floodgates opened and I couldn’t stop crying. Eventually I calmed down enough to tell her exactly how I was feeling. I told her how fat and unattractive I felt and how people were commenting on how much weight I’d put on. I dreaded the thought of going on holiday and wearing flimsy clothes and there was no way I would wear a bikini. I explained that I didn’t want to go out anywhere or go shopping for clothes when nothing seemed to fit properly and I couldn’t find anything to wear.

Mum listened to me and was shocked at how much this was affecting me. She said she would talk things over with my dad.

When I look back it was so silly as mum works at NOSC and listens all day to people just like me, but I didn’t think of myself as a candidate for a gastric balloon. Mum and dad chatted for a long time that night. I know that mum explained how much she believed in the balloon and how she had seen fantastic results. She explained how patients felt that they had their lives back and how much their quality of life had changed. Together they decided that if I wanted to I could have a gastric balloon, but it had to be my own choice. I said yes and I threw away the prescription for the slimming pills.

I was apprehensive as the time got closer but Judith (one of the nurses) called me and explained exactly what would happen when I got to the hospital and what I would feel like afterwards. She told me that I might feel sick and have stomach cramps but I would be given medication to help me. Once she had reassured me I started to feel excited and couldn’t wait to get started on my programme.

The insertion of the balloon was much quicker than I expected and not as bad as I thought it would be. I had some light sedation and before I knew it I was sitting up in the recovery area. Judith called me again soon after I arrived home and she called me every day for a few days to make sure that I was ok. As soon as she knew the balloon had settled she handed me over to the support team and Kelly started me off on my programme.

I soon learned that I had to put quite a bit of work into my programme if I was going to reap the long term benefits. It gave me lots to think about and it focussed my mind on why I wanted to lose weight. The team help me set goals and made sure that I was successful in meeting them. I began to notice changes in myself, not just in my shape and weight but in the way I was thinking about food. I soon found that I was able to make healthier and better food choices and as I lost weight I began to enjoy exercising. I learnt how to plan my meals and stop eating when I felt full and I was surprised to find that I was enjoying what I was eating, much more than some of the junk I was eating before.

I have lost over 2 stone now and I still want to lose a bit more. My confidence has soared and I feel so much happier. People have commented on my weight loss and my clothes are much looser. I used to be a chocoholic but the team helped me to realise that reaching my goal was more important than chocolate. And now I don’t even miss it!

I know that I wasn’t grossly overweight but my life was seriously affected by the extra pounds I was carrying. Looking back now I can see why my mum was so against dieting and I feel that the balloon and support programme have set me in the right direction for life. I am so grateful I had the opportunity.

Sophie's Mum says...

As I work in a weight loss environment, I felt I had completely let my 22 year old daughter Sophie down. For almost 12 months I was in denial of Sophie’s weight problem and how it was affecting her life.

I arrived home from work one evening to find Sophie in one of her bad moods. She was sniping and argumentative towards me. As this was becoming the norm in our household I just accepted she was in her usual bad mood. Washing up at the kitchen sink I just tried to ignore her, but when I turned around she was breaking her heart crying.

After a few moments she calmed down and she started to tell me how desperate she was feeling. She had been gaining weight for months and I had warned her against falling into the diet trap. As part of my job I speak to people every day who once went on a diet to lose a small amount of weight and have found themselves in a vicious circle of yo-yo dieting, gaining more and more weight over the years. I didn’t want that to happen to Sophie.

She felt she would probably lose her job because she was so unhappy it was affecting her performance at work. Her job required a happy and outgoing personality, which she used to have. Her relationship with her boyfriend was affected because she didn’t want to socialise.

She felt fat and unattractive and people who hadn’t seen her for a while were commenting on how much weight she had gained. She was so miserable she was thinking about cancelling her holiday as the thought of wearing a bikini was totally out of the question. She was dreading Christmas and the thought of missing out on all the parties. I tried to reassure her that she looked fine and didn’t need to diet, knowing this wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear.

I knew that Sophie needed to make lifestyle changes if she was to avoid a lifetime of issues over her weight and I knew I needed to help her. When my husband arrived home from work we talked for hours and we decided together that the only sensible solution for Sophie was for her to have a gastric balloon.

In my job I am always seeing the fantastic results people have with the balloon. It changes people’s quality of life completely, giving them back their confidence and self esteem. They all agree that their behaviour around food has changed and they feel in control of their eating. 

Sophie had her balloon on the 24th October 2009. I was dreading taking her to the hospital because she is such a wimp. She had a mild sedation and it was over and done with in 6 minutes. I couldn’t believe she went through it with no complaints. The first part over with, I knew that she would feel unwell for a couple of days and as she is such a drama queen I wasn’t looking forward to it.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that she only had slight nausea and stomach cramps for two days and then she went back to work. Without Sophie’s bad moods life became very pleasant.

Sophie avidly followed the balloon programme and worked closely with the support team, which is absolutely vital. She is completely focussed and is making changes that will last her a lifetime. She is eating smaller portions and her behaviour around food has changed. As a family we eat out two or three times a week and I was concerned that this would be a problem. It turns out that she can still socialise and enjoy food in restaurants, she just chooses different foods now and still enjoys her choices.

To date she has lost 2 stone in just over 2 months and she looks amazing. She is really looking forward to going on holiday now. From a mother’s perspective I know that the lessons she is learning now mean that she will never have to go on a diet again. I am so glad I could offer her a long term solution to her problem.