Gastric Sleeve surgery in October 2018

One of our patients had Gastric Sleeve surgery in October 2018. Now, almost a year and a half after the procedure, the experience is shared:

“I have always been an active person who goes to the gym and is conscious of their weight. We have a history of obesity in our family so watching my weight has always been something I have had to be aware of. When I was in high school and around the age of 16, I managed to drop 20kgs in a year just by gymming and leading a healthy lifestyle, so by the time I was going to university I was at my ideal and healthiest weight and at my happiest.

I made the decision to go and study abroad in Geneva, Switzerland and that is when my weight started to fluctuate. The degree I was pursuing was hotel management which is a degree that is surrounded by a lot of food and alcohol so I was finding it harder to maintain healthy eating and to be consistent with the gym. After one year studying abroad, I found myself almost 10kgs heavier and it started to affect my self-confidence and at this point I was at my lowest I had ever felt about myself. I found myself unable to walk up a flight of stairs without breathing heavily, and I even would find my feet starting to swell up if I would stand for too long. That was the moment I realised I have become way too heavy for my height which made me even more depressed and because I was so depressed I would eat more to make myself feel better.

Eventually, I got to find out about the gastric sleeve surgery after hearing from different family members who had got it done and lost so much weight and were happy with their results. At this point, I was almost 30kgs overweight and I felt like a 23 year old stuck in a 60 year old person’s body as I was not able to do simple tasks like walk long distances without my feet aching and swelling up. I felt trapped in my own body.

It took a long time to convince my parents to allow me to go ahead with the surgery because they still thought that I could lose the weight naturally, but I knew I had no choice and that this would be the only thing that could save my health. I eventually did my research and found the Nairobi Bariatric Center and after one consultation with Dr. Shchukin, I knew I had to have the surgery done.

One week later, I was scheduled for my surgery and I had never been more excited. The reason I decided to go for the gastric sleeve is because of how much weight I had to lose and because I wanted something that was permanent. To my surprise, after I woke up from the surgery I did not feel any pain or major discomfort as I had expected. I had a very smooth recovery process and only spent 2 nights in hospital. The experience was definitely very smooth and pleasant for me and I am now a year post op and have lost 28 kgs coming from 103kgs on the morning of my surgery to 75kgs today.

I definitely would recommend this surgery to anyone who struggles with their eating habits and to anyone who is overweight. It has changed my life in so many ways especially in my personal life. I am no longer depressed and I feel so good about myself every single morning. Thank you so much to Dr. Shchukin for changing my life.”