A young man who shied away from socialising because he was self-conscious about his weight marked the 30th birthday he thought he might not live to celebrate at a fabulous party welcoming family and friends.
by Newsdesk | 18th June 2013
Terry Baker would never have contemplated being the centre of attention at a birthday bash if he had still tipped the scales at 28 stone – his heaviest weight before receiving treatment from the Spire Weight Loss Surgery service.
But after undergoing a gastric sleeve procedure – where the stomach is permanently reduced to around 25 per cent of its original size – he now weighs less than 17 stone and is feeling fit, healthy and full of confidence.
It meant when he marked his 30th birthday he was happy to organise a bash at Tribeca bar, in Manchester’s Gay Village, welcoming family, friends and colleagues.
Terry, from Altrincham, said: “When I was heavier I was not in a good place – I was anti-social, my confidence was really affected.
“I didn’t feel comfortable going out with friends or meeting new people. I just wanted to stay at home on my own.
“Having a big party with all the attention on me is something I never would have even thought about before I lost the weight. But I got everyone together and we had a brilliant night. There were people there who hadn’t seen me for a long time and they couldn’t believe it was me. When people look at the photos of me from before the operation they’re gob smacked at the difference!”
Along with his new-found confidence, Terry is also reaping the health rewards of losing more than 11 stone - three stone while waiting for the surgery, followed by a further eight stone after undergoing the operation at Spire Manchester Hospital in August 2011.
Under the SWLS service, patients can choose to have their surgery performed at one of five leading North West private hospitals: Spire Regency in Macclesfield, Spire Manchester, Spire Murrayfield on the Wirral, Spire Yale in Wrexham or Spire Fylde Coast, and select their preferred surgeon from Spire’s bank of expert bariatric consultants.
Terry, who was taking medication for type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol before his operation – both conditions linked to obesity – now no longer needs to take the pills.
He also attends three to four times a week at the gym to take part in cardio and muscle strengthening exercises.
“I actually like exercising and going to the gym now,” Terry said.
“It boosts your energy levels, helps you deal with stress better, and I’ve not really been ill since the procedure either, so I think it’s boosting my immune system too. It feels so good to be there, working out alongside people who are skinny or muscly, and not feeling completely out of place.”
The situation is a vast improvement on his situation three and a half years ago, when he ended up in hospital believing he could be having a heart attack.
“In the end the doctors told me it was only a panic attack,” he explained.
“But I’d got myself so worked up, I’d convinced myself of the worst case scenario. Even when I found out it wasn’t as serious as that, I sat there in the hospital bed and said to myself: ‘What are you doing to yourself? You’re going to be dead by the time you’re 30 at this rate’. My granddad had died young after suffering a heart attack, so this only made me more worried.”
A ‘full and frank’ conversation with his GP followed and Terry’s case was put to the local Primary Care Trust for funding.
In the end it took around two years for the money to pay for the operation to be approved on the NHS.
“In the meantime I was trying everything to kick-start my weight loss,” Terry said.
“I went to slimming clubs and exercised more regularly – but activity was harder because of my size. I did manage to lose three stone which gave me a great start. I understood the gastric sleeve wasn’t a magic wand which was going to get rid of all my problems and miraculously make me thin.
“But I saw it as a vital tool which – when put together with willpower and a determination to succeed – would help flip that switch in my head and give me back the important thing I had lost when it came to food: control.”
In the run up to the operation Terry was on a strict calorie-controlled diet designed to reduce the size of his liver – necessary before bariatric surgery to ensure it can be safely moved aside during the procedure.
Since the procedure at Spire Manchester Hospital – where he praised the care and expertise of staff on a ‘start to finish journey’ which includes pre-operative consultations and continuing after care including diet and nutrition advice and regular support group meetings – his eating habits and appetite have changed drastically.
Now instead of fry up breakfasts, big bowls of pasta with creamy sauces and takeaway Chinese or Indian dinners – washed down with a bottle of high-calorie wine - he opts for small portions of cereal, soups, salads and risottos, while the odd glass of wine or biscuit with his cup of tea are treats.
Although Terry had success with non-surgical diets like Lipotrim – through which he managed to lose six stone as a teenager whilst studying at Trafford College – and the Cambridge diet in the past, he had continued to be trapped in a vicious circle of losing weight only to then pile it back on.
“I was always up and down,” Terry - who traces problems with his weight right back to childhood when he was often a victim of cruel school bullying - said.
“I’d lose the weight but then pile it back on – and more. Over the years, when things were tough in my life – I’ve experienced many troubles, problems in the family, deaths of loved ones – food was always the thing I’d seek comfort in.
“Then you’d beat yourself up about putting the weight on – you’d be feeling guilty and trapped in this dark place, which then made the whole problem even worse and caused you to put even more weight on. I recognized I needed another tool to help me take back control of my own decisions, and that’s what the bariatric surgery gave me.”
Now, thanks to the gastric sleeve procedure – which is performed by key-hole surgery and involves removing a large portion of the stomach, before the open edges are attached together to form a ‘sleeve’ shape – he is enjoying ‘a whole new lease of life’.
“Sadly people do still have pre-conceived ideas about people who are overweight or obese and it’s this that made we want to hide out at home all those years,” Terry explains.
“Friends tell me now that they eventually stopped ringing me to invite me out, because I would always just say no.
“Now I’m out all the time – seeing old friends, and making new ones. I feel so much more comfortable in a social setting now. Even though I’m not with anyone at the moment, it’s also making that side of my life easier, since I actually have the confidence to approach people and talk to them now – something I never would have done before.
“I’m also much more sure of myself at work these days – I’m more comfortable doing presentations in front of a large audience, something I would have hated before. Another great positive is that I can buy clothes that fit from the high street – rather than relying on specialist shops or supermarket ranges.
“I’d recommend bariatric surgery and Spire Weight Loss Surgery to anyone who is struggling with their weight – one of my friends has already followed in my footsteps.
“It really does have the power to change your life for the better.”
Terry’s diet before the gastric sleeve procedure
Breakfast:
Bacon and egg sandwich.
Lunch:
Three course canteen meal of soup with bread, pasta carbonara and stodgy pudding.
Dinner:
Indian or Chinese take-away
Snacks:
Rounds of toast and butter.
Pork pie.
Terry’s diet after the gastric sleeve
Breakfast:
Bowl of cornflakes with semi-skimmed milk.
Glass of orange juice.
Lunch:
Bowl of soup or salad.
Dinner:
Mushroom risotto or fish with vegetables.
Snack:
Cup of tea and a biscuit.
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