Julie Dunbar, a 51-year-old pub landlady, decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery after her one of the side effects of her medication caused a weight gain pushing her to nearly 20 stone. In an interview with the sun, Julie talked about her struggles with cutting the weight:
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I had mental health problems and was put on medications that make you bigger. They made you ravenous, so a diet wasn't quite as easy for me. I used to go and do aqua aerobics and I was always on some silly diet, but I was getting fatter and fatter.
As a result of the surgery, her stomach was reduced to 70% and two-third of her intestines were removed.
Unfortunately, a rare complication caused Julie's body to stop absorbing nutrients. Only a few hours after the surgery, Julie felt terrible abdominal pain. Due to the inability to absorb nutrients, Dunbar dropped 14 stone and was left close to death as a result of malnourishment. Weighing just 6 stone, Julie was immediately taken to the hospital.
'Like a skeletal thing'
Julie dropped two-thirds of her weight in just one year. In an attempt to give her body what it needed, she forced herself to eat mass amounts of food to stay alive.
After undergoing a second surgery to add a metre of intestine, she was put in a strict diet of 5000 calories a day to try and help her gain weight by a nutritionist. As a result, Julie suffered several issues including osteoporosis, balance, vision and mobility problems. The woman admitted that she regretted the operation:
If I could time travel back I would say to the psychiatrist, ‘There must be an alternative’, It’s just accepting this is the way it’s going to be. I’m going to be on these tablets for life. It’s not something that’s going to get better. I’m disabled and unlikely to work ever again.
Unfortunately, Julie is going to have to leave with this new diet for the rest of her life. However, following the plan put into place by her nutritionist, she may manage to improve and stabilize the contion.
