By Jane Elliott
BBC News health reporter |
 Tracy had chronic back pain |
Tracy Slaughter was placed on her first diet at the age of just 11. As the years passed her weight soared and by the time she was 29, she tipped the scales at 28 stone (178kg).
Diets did not work and doctors diagnosed a hormonal imbalance, which was exacerbating the weight gain.
Tracy, from Nottinghamshire, had chronic back problems and had to take time off work as a personal assistant to recuperate.
Slipped disc
She had an operation on her back, but her condition returned and she was unable to walk or even take a shower unaided.
Tracy, who had injured her back in a horse riding accident at the age of seven, knew she needed another operation.
 |  Surgery is not the answer it is just part of the package |
She was told she needed to lose a significant amount of weight before they could operate on her slipped disc.
"I had tried every sort of diet. The 1,000-calorie-a-day diet, the 1,500 calorie diet and Weight Watchers.
"I lost large amounts of weight with some of them, but each time I put the weight back on."
Tracy also started to suffer from osteoarthritis and could only see things getting worse.
"I was desperate. I was told I would need to lose weight if I was going to have my back operated on.
"I knew I was going to lose my job if I took more time off work and I needed to get that weight off, so I could resume a normal life."
She decided the only option was surgery and opted for a full gastric bypass, which reduces the size of the stomach.
No easy-fix
She was told she faced a wait of about two years for NHS surgery, so Tracy opted to go private and had her surgery at BMI Healthcare Thornbury.
Four months later Tracy was back at work.
Two years later Tracy now weighs 13-and-a-half stone (86kg) and has dropped seven dresses sizes - to a size 18.
The weight loss has eased pressure on Tracy's back and she does not now need further surgery.
She says she is delighted with the results, but says the operation was not an "easy-fix".
 Tracy had suffered with bad back problems |
"I feel fantastic, but I want people to understand that surgery is not the answer, it is just part of the package.
"It was not the easy way out and is not a pain-free way out.
"I have lost all the weight, but because of the surgery I will never again be able to eat a main-course meal.
"I can no longer eat pasta, rice, red meat or sweet things. Bread, pastries and potatoes are out, but I can still have the odd bit of mash.
"But I have no regrets. It is something you have to go into with your eyes open.
"Physically it does solve a lot of your problems, but emotionally it all takes time.
"I would do it again in an instant, but I don't think surgery alone can solve this problem."
Dr Roger Ackroyd, the consultant general surgeon and bariatric (obesity) specialist who carried out Tracy's operation, said surgery was an option after other avenues such as diet regimes had been tried.
"Once they have had surgery, we see them regularly over a period of 18 months and watch their weight steadily decrease to about 11 stone (70kg). "Then there are the patients who lose so much weight that you don't recognise them when they come back for a review.
"These are often younger people with a major problem with their weight and we can change their lives."
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