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To Tullia Law.

I had gastric bypass surgery on 23rd January, 2013.

I am not one of these people who makes an instant decision about anything major that I decide to do, so I had thoroughly researched this option and along with the blessing of my Doctor, I decided this was the best cause of action for myself. Even though I was morbidly obese, because I did not have any other health problems and according to my Doctor, due to where I live in the UK, there was no chance for me to have this surgery done on the NHS; leaving me with no option than to pay for this treatment myself. I looked into companies in the UK but they all wanted upwards of £10 – £11,000 so I decided the other option was to go abroad to have this surgery. Any qualms I had about leaving the country for this treatment, where put to rest, firstly by the amazing support I received from a lady called Tullia Law, who remained in contact via e-mail and phone leading up to my surgery, during my surgery in France and who has remained in touch since I returned home, to check to see how I am getting on. Knowing that there is someone on the other end of the phone should you need some support was a big comfort. My husband (who hates hospitals, needles, etc) decided to be very brave and to accompany me to France. We made our travel arrangements and let Tullia know when we would be arriving. Before leaving the UK, I already had my itinerary of what would be happening and when, the hospital and Doctor’s details, which again, made me feel happier about the whole thing. We arrived in Le Havre on Monday 21st January and decided to walk to our hotel which was about a 10-15 minute walk from the ferry port. As soon as we arrived at the hotel, we were made to feel welcome and everything went like clockwork. They were expecting us, everything was ready and they had all the details, with regards to taxis and timings – again, this made me very happy as I knew that everything had been well organised. We were picked up by taxi and taken to the hospital that afternoon, to meet Dr B. (who spoke excellent English), the Anesthetist, and other hospital staff. I had to have a blood test and Dr B went through what he would be doing and then asked if we had any questions, which we did not, as we had been given all of the information we required before leaving the UK. The taxi took us back to the hotel and we relaxed and went out for a nice meal in the evening. The following day, a taxi arrived on time to take us back to the hospital and I had to have an endoscopy – not a particularly nice procedure – but again, the Doctor who performed it and the Nurses that assisted him, could not have been kinder nor more professional. My husband sat in the waiting room and said I was only 5 minutes but trust me, it felt a lot longer than that to me!!!   Again, a taxi took us back to the hotel and we wandered round and had lunch. The next morning, a taxi picked us up at 6:45 am and took us to the hospital where staff were waiting for us and were efficiently checked in to a lovely room with a private bathroom and twin beds so he was able to stay with me the whole time, which was lovely for me. Everything was handled competently and I had the surgery which took just over 2 hours and I was back in my room about 5 hours after leaving it. The staff were brilliant and Dr B came to see me to say that all had gone well and that he would be back to check on me in a few days. The worst thing on that day was the feeling of wanting to be sick, but that was due to the anesthetic and once they found an anti-nausea drug that worked, that stopped which was a huge relief. I was on a drip, with pain killers, fluids and when necessary, anti-nausea medication, but by the Thursday evening, I was starting to feel much better and the staff were very good – my husband was also well looked after, although he kept disappearing every time there was something involving needles, etc.!! After having X-rays to ensure that everything was working as it should be on the Friday morning and after a visit from Dr B to check I was ok, we were taken back to our hotel by taxi. Dr B came to our hotel on the Saturday morning to show my husband how to give me an anti-coagulation injection in my stomach (even though both myself and my husband knew that he would be the last person in the world to get that close to a needle). It was very simple as it was a regulated dose and I managed to give myself the injection once but my daughter did the others – I had to have this for 10 days and had the last injection on Monday night which I’m pleased about as I was beginning to feel a bit like a pin cushion!! They gave me a list of vitamins and minerals, etc that I needed to take when I left the hospital and that I need to take for the next 5 years. Although they gave me a French website where I could purchase these, I found all of these in A-Z of Multivitamins and Iron from Sainsburys, but I’m sure that Boots and other places also do these. The only other follow-up treatment I need is to have a blood test every 6 months to ensure that my vitamin and mineral levels are what they should be, but I can honestly say that considering this was only done 2 weeks ago,I feel amazingly well and I have now lost 23 lbs which is fantastic, though I have been strictly following what I can eat and as long as I stick to easy to digest food, I have no problems. For anyone that is considering this option and using this company, I can only tell you about my personal experience, but I would have no hesitation in recommending this company and would like to thank everyone, especially Tullia and Dr B for all of their help and support. Karen T (full name and address supplied and available on request) To Learn more about Gastric Bypass surgery, and other weight loss surgery,including Gastric Band Surgery, Gastric Balloons and gastric Sleeve Surgery please click HERE to visit our main Weight loss Surgery Website at GastricBandFrance.co.uk *“Results are not guaranteed and will vary from person to person“