Man who'll have to pay £40,000 after losing 24 stone claims he's 'more body conscious' than ever
A man who lost a whopping 24 stone has opened up on how he's 'more body conscious' than ever.
Wayne Shepherd, 41, initially lost the weight by undergoing gastric sleeve surgery at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, Hampshire.
The surgery involves removing 80 percent of his stomach, which restricts you from having a certain amount of food in one sitting.
From weighing 35 stone at his heaviest, Wayne dropped down to just 11 stone in less than two years.
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However, Wayne still has excess skin on his body and now has to pay a staggering £40,000 to get a contouring procedure on his arms, legs and chest.
The Little Downham, Cambs resident said: "If you told me before the operation that I would be left with the excess skin then I probably wouldn't have gone through with it.
"It's only because of how much better I feel that I know I would have to do it again."
"The excess skin has a huge impact on you – I still cover myself including my chest and arms as it looks horrible." he said.
"I’m actually more body conscious now than I was when I was 35 stone and, to not get help with that, I find it quite ridiculous.
"A lot of people think having the gastric sleeve or a bypass, you're taking the easy option but it’s not."
He claimed that he doesn't qualify to have the excess skin removed from the NHS, so he has to get it done privately.
Wayne said: "One of my main decisions about the operation was that I would be able to get the skin removed.
"Now I feel like I've been lied to, or at the very least misinformed.
"It’s gone from one extreme to another and it's been very difficult for me.
"I wear long sleeves where I can and I don't want my partner to see me - in the summer I'd love to be able to wear a t-shirt but I don't feel like I can.
"My life has changed dramatically in every aspect. I am grateful to the operation for my new fitness levels and I got my health back.
"But then on the flip side, the way I see myself has gotten so much worse because of the way I look.
"This excess skin is getting in the way of the rest of my life and that shouldn't be the case."
Wayne, is supported by his partner Sarah, 37, having been out of work for weight-related health problems.
He said he had problems with binge eating due to being severely bullied as a child and suffered a nervous breakdown at age ten, adding: "Binge eating was a comfort blanket and it carried on through adulthood."
He now hopes to start a new job as a taxi driver at the end of the month.
A spokesperson for Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust said: "Whilst Mr Shephard's original gastric sleeve surgery was performed at our hospital, we are not in a position to make any decisions on funding for additional surgery.
"That would be a decision for Mr Shephard’s local hospital and system commissioning body in Peterborough."
A spokesperson for Cambridge and Peterborough Integrated Care System also said that they wouldn't comment on individual cases, adding: "Body contouring procedures are not routinely funded by the NHS in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
“Exceptional funding may be considered in some circumstances where specific conditions are met, in line with our Exceptional and Individual Funding Request policy.”
If you would like to donate towards Wayne's surgery, click on the following link here.
LADbible has contacted the Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust for additional comment.
Anish Vij