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Mar 16 2009 by Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail
 WHEN she was a teenager Carole Theobald remembers her father being able to wrap his fingers around her waist.
But following the birth of the first of her three children, the days of fitting into size 10 clothes were over for the 44-year-old.
Now Carole, who works as a nurse and has two grandchildren, is hoping that a saline-filled balloon, which will sit in her stomach for six months, will help her lose two-and-a-half stone.
The balloon, which will be filled with up to 750ml of saline, will mimic the feeling of being full, helping to curb the amount of food eaten.
Carole, who weighs 14 stone and will undergo the operation at Nucleus Healthcare in Newport, said: “I’m hoping to lose the weight but to also change my eating habits because I will only be able to eat small portions and make sure that I chew every mouthful.
“At the moment I eat at 100mph, I’m always the first to finish. I think it has something to do with being a nurse and your breaks are so short.
“I don’t think eating so fast helps because I don’t give my tummy time to tell my brain that it is full.”
Carole, who has three adult children and lives in Caldicot with husband Terry, said: “When I got pregnant at 18 I piled on the pounds and never really lost them. I got divorced, lost weight and then put it back on.
“I’ve tried WeightWatchers and Slimming World – initially I lost six pounds then the weight loss plateaued and I didn’t lose any more weight.
“I did the Rosemary Conley diet and lost a stone but when you stop trying it just comes back on – and a little bit more.
“If you don’t lose what you hope you think that you’d starved yourself all week and haven’t lost anything. You get miserable and then turn to food – it’s a vicious circle.
“Having the balloon fitted is not invasive surgery and after six months it will be removed.
“This is not a quick fix for me – it will change my eating habits and my lifestyle. It will give me a kick-start as losing a couple of stone is a good incentive to keep it up.”
The procedure, which costs £4,000 at Newport-based Nucleus Healthcare, involves fitting a deflated balloon into the stomach through an endoscope. The balloon is then filled with saline to produce a feeling of fullness.
Patients have regular follow-up appointments with a dietitian to learn about healthy nutrition and exercise.
After six months the balloon is removed – the average weight loss over that period can be up to 30lb.
Dr Manny Srivastava, founder of Nucleus Healthcare and consultant gastroenterologist, said: “Obesity is a huge social and medical problem in Wales with huge medical implications for the person involved.
“The intragastric balloon is a non-surgical, non-drug therapy which does not involve a general anaesthetic.
“The balloon is inserted as a daycase under local anaesthetic and takes about 20 minutes. The patient stays on the unit for two hours.
“It is suitable for patients over 18 with a body mass index of 27 or more and once the balloon is filled with saline it partially fills the stomach, giving a feeling of fullness, leaving less room for food.
“It is very much an aid to dieting and helps people modify their eating habits – once the balloon is in place people don’t feel as hungry so they eat smaller portions.”
Dr Srivastava said there are two main groups of patients who opt for a gastric balloon – those worried about the long-term health problems associated with being overweight or obese and those who want to lose weight for “cosmetic reasons”.
Carole added: “I have no ambition to be super-slim – I just want to be healthier because at the moment I have no energy to do anything.
“I am fed up of eating and I’m fed up of everything being food-orientated. My whole life revolves around food and I’m looking forward to that ending.”
For more information about the gastric balloon at Nucleus Healthcare call 01633 815 900
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