Derek's Story

Early in 2007 Derek, a senior manager in local government, was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and very high cholesterol.

'I was grossly overweight - I weighed more than 22 stone,' says Derek, who also suffered from sleep apnoea, an exhausting disorder that causes breathing problems and heavy snoring. 'There's a history of heart problems in my family so I was a heart attack just waiting to happen.'

Ever since childhood Derek had struggled with weight-gain. 'I tried every diet under the sun,' he says. "It was yoyo stuff - you lose it, put it back on - but you always put more back on than you lost.'

In 1994 he lost about 3 stones, but it all went back on again - and a bit more. 'That pushed me up to 19-20 stone,' he says. 'I stuck at that weight for while, but when I gave up smoking three years ago that had a dire effect on my weight because I shot up to 22 stone.'

Although Derek wasn't overly concerned about his obesity, he knew he wasn't managing his diabetes - in fact he hid from it. 'My blood sugars weren't good - they were 15, not the worst in the world, but I kept thinking "I'll deal with it later".'

When it came to food and eating, Derek carried on as if nothing was wrong. 'If it was put in front of me, I'd eat it,' he says. 'What I ate wasn't necessarily unhealthy; it was the extreme portion sizes. I drank semi-skimmed milk - but I went through 4-6 pints a day after I gave up smoking. On a Friday night I'd have a takeaway and was on first-name terms with the staff - they knew what I wanted the minute I walked in.'

Then he started presenting with symptoms of nerve damage - tingling fingers (which can be attributed to diabetes) and it frightened him. 'It made me realise I needed to do something. I feared if I left it too long it would be too late. I'd been told ten years earlier that I'd only have ten years left if I didn't take action. It was now ten years on and I still hadn't done anything.'

There was never a 'Eureka' moment in Derek's life that made him want to lose weight. 'I never found my size particularly detrimental to my life,' he says. 'It was part of my personality. Yes, it has cost me relationships, but it's part of who you are. It moulds you. The real issue was that I didn't manage it.'

His real worry was his diabetes. 'I was in major denial as to what was going on. My concern was I'd lose a limb because of circulation issues, or my eyesight.'

He started searching the Internet for information on weight-loss surgery and 'tripped over Gravitas' - it was from there that he began to read about the options available to him.

'I arranged an appointment with Gravitas and saw bariatric surgeon David Kerrigan. We went through the options. I was very clear with him that my main concern was the diabetes and not weight loss. In his opinion the best route would be the Duodenal Switch. He told me I could also get there with the Gastric Band but it would be a slower process. We also discussed the Roux-en-y and other options, but at the end of the day the choice of procedure is all about where it fits with your lifestyle.'

That was at the beginning of May 2007. Derek eventually decided that the Duodenal Switch was the best option for him. He booked his appointment at the Spire Murrayfield Hospital for 13 July and told just a few very close friends (Derek is divorced and doesn't have any children).

'I went in on the Monday morning and escaped on the Thursday. I was fine. A bit tired and knocked about. I spent a few days on the couch; the next day I went for walk, and was driving again on the Sunday. When I went back to work on 10 August everyone was so surprised because I'd lost 12lbs pre-op and another stone and a half in three weeks - a bit of a difference!'

After his recovery from surgery, Derek joined a gym and started swimming. His diet now is enormously different. He eats what a normal person eats. 'Instead of two meals on one plate, I eat one plate. I eat far more protein; carbohydrates don't rattle my tree any more - piles of chips don't do anything for me. I manage some carbs and veg, but I eat very little veg - I've just no capacity, they're just too filling. Lunch now is a small salad box.'

Today Derek weighs a tad over 12 stone. 'I've got so much more energy, my diabetes has gone and so has my sleep apnoea. The only clothes that fit me now that I had before my op are my socks - nothing else fits! I had to buy a whole new wardrobe - and what a choice. I was a bit unsure as to what to buy at first, knowing I'd grow out of things fairly quickly, so I started off by buying a coat in a charity shop and I grew out of that in month!'

'I'm still losing weight, but more slowly - I lost a stone and a half before Christmas and it's now down to about half a stone a month. I would never have weighed myself in public before - I was scared stiff the scales would speak my weight or that someone would be looking over my shoulder. All those old jokes, "One at a time, please!" But I'd weigh myself in public now, though!' The care Derek received at the Murrayfield was outstanding. 'I can't praise the staff highly enough,' he says. 'The Gravitas team were so positive and proactive when it came to making sure everything was right for me. Cost was the last consideration on their minds - everything I needed, I had.'

What advice would Derek give to people considering bariatric surgery? 'The benefits are huge in many ways. You do need to get your information sorted beforehand, though. You need to understand what you're letting yourself in for - there can be complications and you need to decide whether you can tolerate them, but you also need to weigh up the risk of complications against the risk of not having an operation at all. Me? I've no regrets at all.'

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