Beth Birch, 25, lost 27 stone after gastric bypass surgery. She dropped from 31 stone to 4st 3lbs. She is pictured (left) three months after the surgery and (right) eighteen months after the operation. She was told that she would die unless she gained weight...
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A morbidly obese woman came close to death when a gastric bypass caused her to lose a massive 27 stone.
Beth Birch reached 31 stone by the age of 19 but after the operation her weight plunged to a life-threatening four stone.
Ms Birch underwent the gastric bypass surgery after claiming her leg had snapped in nine places under her extreme weight, leaving her confined to a wheelchair.
She hoped the surgery would help her to achieve her dream body but within weeks of the operation was losing weight dangerously fast.
Sixteen months later she was down to a skeletal 4st 3lbs and doctors told her she could die unless she started regaining weight.
Ms Birch was rushed to the Spire Murrayfield Hospital in Wirral, Merseyside, where specialists found her gut wall had stopped working so she could not absorb food.
She was put on a 15,000 calorie-a-day cocktail of medicines and drinks - plus six meals a day - to build up and defend her gut wall.
Her weight slowly climbed up to healthy 11 stone, but doctors warned her that because of her rapid change in weight she would probably never be able to have children.
However, Ms Birch became pregnant last year, and gave birth to daughter Violet 12 weeks ago.
By the time Ms Birch (pictured in her teens) was 19-years-old she weighed 31 stone. She believes that her weight gain was caused by polycystic ovary syndrome...
Ms Birch (pictured before her surgery when she weighed 31 stone) hoped that the operation would help her to achieve her dream body...
She now weighs a healthy 12st 4lbs and can eat normally.
Ms Birch, 25, of Manchester, said: ‘People said I looked like a corpse - in fact one person said he had seen a corpse look better.
‘I was lying on my mum’s settee and I couldn’t even lift me head up.
‘I was trying to eat but I wasn’t able to swallow and when I could my body just couldn’t absorb it.
‘My body was shutting down and I was so weak. I was wearing clothes for a ten to 11-year-old girl.
‘The doctors said to my parents he didn’t think I would be able to come through it and to prepare for all eventualities.’
Ms Birch (pictured a few months before surgery) says that as as child she ate the same healthy diet as her siblings and that they did not become overweight...
She added: ‘I was elated when I found out I was pregnant. There weren’t even words to describe how happy I was.
‘I can’t believe I have been so fat, then so thin and pregnant in just 25 years.’
Ms Birch says that her doctor was shocked by her weight loss.
She said: 'About ten months after the operation I was down to a good weight - 12 stone or something - and then I got told I didn't have to go back to the doctor for six months.
'When I went in again my doctor looked at me and he was disgusted with how I was.'
Ms Birch (pictured in hospital just before her surgery) was so large that her leg snapped in nine places leaving her confined to a wheelchair. She was told that because of her weight, there was a 60 per cent chance that she would not survive the operation...
Ms Birch (pictured just before her surgery) says that she decided to have the operation despite the risks as she feared that if she did not die on the operating table, her weight would kill her...
Ms Birch (pictured in hospital before the surgery) said that she was warned that there could be complications after the surgery. Her dramatic weight loss occurred because her stomach stopped absorbing food...
She added: 'My stomach stopped absorbing anything.
'By the time they realised what was wrong I had gone down to four and a half stone.'
Ms Birch said she had struggled with her size since she was child - even though she ate the same healthy diet as her brothers and sisters.
She puts her extreme weight gain down to polycystic ovary syndrome - a condition she discovered she had as a teenager, which can cause ovary cysts and prompt weight gain.
Ms Birch said: 'I did struggle with my weight all my life - I very, very much struggled since I was six or seven.
'When I was about seven I was wearing size 12 adult clothes. I was quite big.
'I had the same as my brothers and sisters to eat as I was growing up.
Ms Birch (pictured ten months after surgery) lost weight dramatically after her surgery and within 16 months she had dropped to just 4st 3lbs. She was put on a 15,000 calorie-a-day diet to keep her alive while her stomach lining recovered...
Ms Birch (pictured after her surgery) was told that because of her extreme weight fluctuations she would probably not be able to have children. However, she became pregnant and had a baby girl 12 weeks ago...
'When I was younger they said it was a phase and I would grow out of it, but I never did.
Before she had her gastric bypass operation at the Abbey Sefton Hospital in Liverpool in September 2007, medics warned her of complications.
She said: ‘It was quite a big decision to make because they told me there was a 63 per cent chance the operation could have killed me because of my weight.
‘I still went ahead with it though because my weight would have killed me otherwise.
‘At least if I died in the operation, I would have died trying to do something about it.’
WHAT IS A GASTRIC BYPASS AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
A gastric bypass is a last resort for people carrying a dangerous amount of weight.
It is available on the NHS for people who have a BMI of more than 40, or for those with a BMI of more than 35 who also have a serious weight-related health condition.
During the operation the digestive system is re-routed past most of the patient's stomach so that they digest less food and feel full quicker.
The patient is left with just a small pouch in place of their stomach.
After the surgery, people tend to lose weight very quickly - most people who have had this procedure lose two thirds of their excess body weight.
Patients have to stick to a strict diet and exercise plan after the operation.
Many people find that they are left with lose folds of skin after they lose weight - this can require further surgery to correct.
Gastric bypass surgery comes with many potentially fatal risks, including internal bleeding and blood clots.
One in 100 gastric bypass surgery patients die shortly after surgery.
The surgery cannot be reversed.
Source: NHS Choices
Culled from The Daily Mail UK...
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