Weight loss: “Getting a sleeve is not the easy way out”

The sleeve consists of removing part of the stomach in the hope of achieving weight loss. For Gwendoline, who performed one six months ago, this operation is not the easy solution that people imagine.

“I thought for years about bariatric surgery”, recognizes Gwendoline who has seen the pounds accumulate – despite her efforts – over the years and the trials after adolescence. But between her own fears and those of her spouse, the 28-year-old young woman had not dared to take the plunge … until her weight came to hinder her dream of becoming a mother.

Overweight: “I totally gave up until I reached 125.3 kilos”

Faced with a baby project that is slow to come true, Gwendoline consults. “I was told very quickly that being overweight – I was between 100 and 103 kilos at the time – could be a problem in being able to conceive. We were then sent to a PMA center in Poitiers”. The doctor he met asks him to lose weight before starting the procedure.

“I had to reach 90 kilos to have access to IVF, because we had fertility concerns beyond my overweight. I started a diet that allowed me to reach 93 kilos. Despite all the efforts that I had made, the doctor maintained her position and closed the doors of the program to me”remembers the young woman. “I admit that it hit me hard and I totally gave up, until last year I reached 125.3 kilos”.

It was when she saw this figure on the scale that Gwendoline finally decided to turn to bariatric surgery. “especially since the desire for children is always present”, she adds. The story of a friend who had undergone a sleeve and his redundancy allowing him not to suffer a loss of salary during his convalescence finally convinced her to make an appointment with a surgeon specializing in sleeves: it is removal of part of the stomach with the aim of achieving lasting weight loss in people suffering from obesity.

Sleeve: “the doctor removed between 80 and 90% of my stomach”

On March 4, 2022, Gwendoline met the surgeon for the first time at the Inkermann clinic in Niort. Together, they discussed his motivations and the various options. “I had the choice between the sleeve and the bypass, nothing was fixed. We finally opted for the sleeve because if I had a bypass, I would not have been able to convert to a sleeve in the event of failure, whereas if in a few years my sleeve turns out to be a failure, I could go for a bypass. ”.

Many consultations and medical examinations follow: psychologist, nutritionist, cardiologist, anesthetist…. “Following all these different appointments, I saw the surgeon again who offered to operate on me on November 17, 2022”.

Gwendoline remembers that day: “Until the morning of the operation, I had no fear or apprehension. I knew why I was doing it: I kept my goal in mind: to become a mother. But on D-Day, once my companion left, a little before the operation, it was more complicated”. Doubts crept in: was it the right decision? Shouldn’t she have been on her own? Was she going to come back from the operating room….? However, these anxieties did not deter her from her decision. “The operation was very quick. The doctor removed between 80 and 90% of my stomach. It is now 15 cl, the capacity of a small can”.

Post-sleeve: “the return was complicated, because I had significant stomach pain”

If Gwendoline had done a lot of research on the pre-operative course and the aftermath of a sleeve, she had learned little about hospitalization… a little for fear of going back. And she recognizes it, her stay in the hospital was not easy: tiredness, vomiting of blood, difficulty in swallowing the drugs, prohibition of drinking and eating the first times.

“I went out on Sunday noon. The drive home was complicated because I had stomach pains. I really realized at that time the poor state of our roads in France! I felt every jolt. I was unlucky on that level because some patients don’t suffer at all after the sleeve”.

And these intense sufferings were almost permanent companions of his convalescence as well as his nights. “I couldn’t sleep on my stomach even though it was my habit. I couldn’t sleep in my bed either, I slept sitting up on my couch.” remembers the young woman. “And when I say sleep, that’s a big word, it was only a few hours while remaining semi-sitting”. The lack of sleep played a major role in his morale during this period.

“One night I had had enough and tried to get on my stomach. When I did, I felt something weird in my stomach and since that day, I haven’t had any pain”, she recalls. During his appointment with the surgeon, he suggested that this pain could be linked to a muscle stuck at the level of the scar. “I was in great pain. I couldn’t cough or sneeze without crying in pain. The fact that I turned around had to move the muscle and that changed the rest of the post-op completely. I never had a single pain again”.

Sleeve: “meals are not complicated, because I feel very little hungry”

In the end, managing meals – one of the biggest fears of people considering surgery – was pretty straightforward for Gwendoline. For the first 15 days, she was only allowed to eat liquids. “I took five spoonfuls of broth and immediately felt like I had eaten at a festive meal. I could not any more”, she explains. Then came purees and mixed products. “My first real meal was December 24, it was Christmas before time”, she rejoices even today. If the quantities have increased, they remain much lower than before. Thus, to avoid deficiencies and health concerns, she must have 6 meals a day.

“From my point of view, meals are not complicated, because I feel very little hunger. I eat because I see the time, but not out of hunger”.

In addition, his tastes and desires have changed. “I had been told about it, but I had a hard time believing it. Nevertheless, it is true. Before, I was a very big fan of chicken and pasta, now I don’t want to. It’s the same with fries. The cooking of my meat has also changed. Before, I took it well cooked, now I like it rare or even almost raw”.

On the other hand, the sleeve did not put an end to meals with friends and outings. “I don’t forbid myself the restaurant. When I explain my situation, some accept that I take a children’s menu. And if they don’t, my partner finishes my meal or we take the leftovers home to eat later”.

Sleeve: “it also changes in terms of intimacy”

On the day of the operation, Gwendoline weighed 117.8 kilos. Just 6 months later, she hit 84.4 pounds. “My goal would be between 70 and 75 kilos. If it stopped now – it would bother me, I’m not hiding it – but it would be fine. My image currently suits me”, explains Gwendoline. And if she recognizes that the last few months have been particularly trying, she would not go back for all that. Being able to walk, run, put on your shoes without gasping, wear the clothes you love… The weight loss caused by the sleeve has changed her life.

“People who have never had problems with obesity can’t understand how good it feels to walk into a store and look at a piece of clothing and be able to buy it if you feel like it, because there’s the right size ”confides the young woman who has the impression of rediscovering herself.

And that’s not the only change. “We don’t talk about it much either, but it also changes in terms of intimacy. I have been with my partner for 12 years, I feel like we left as if it had been a year. Before, I tended to hide. I wanted to have intimate relations, but I forbade myself, because I wondered how he could want me. Now I have no more fear”.

On the other hand, if Gwendoline feels, indeed better, in her body, she admits having difficulty integrating her new silhouette. “I always see myself the same in the mirror. Not long ago, I took a top in size 48. It was the saleswoman who told me that it would be much too big. I didn’t believe her when she told me I needed a 40 or a 42”.

Sleeve: “I don’t regret it, I would do it again if necessary”

For Gwendoline, it is important to continue a psychological follow-up to properly understand the physical and moral consequences of a sleeve. “I continue to see my psychologist regularly. It is very important to help us move forward in this weight loss, in awareness and in the relationship with food”.

Six months after the operation and a loss of 33 kilos, the one who dreams of becoming a mother draws up a first assessment: “It’s not the easiest operation in the world, but you have to see what happens next. I do not regret, I would do it again if necessary”. And for critics of obesity surgery, she has a message: “Making a sleeve is not the easy solution. I want to say to people who say that: take my place, live what I experienced, feel the pain that I had to endure for a few weeks and then we discuss it again”.