This is why I paid £4,000 to swallow a ‘stone-like’ slimming balloon

Incredible before-and-after photos present the transformation of a girl who misplaced virtually three stone by swallowing a deflated balloon.

Charley Payne, from Milton Keynes, tried ‘each weight-reduction plan below the solar’ earlier than she paid £4,300 privately for the 15-minute remedy final January.

At the time, the now 26-year-old weighed 13 stone 12lbs (88kg) and had a BMI of 36, classing her as overweight.

But only a yr later, Ms Payne is now solely thought of obese at 11st (70kg) and he or she plans to lose much more weight.

It shouldn’t be with out its unintended effects nonetheless. Grimly, it left her struggling ‘the odd eggy burp’ and compelled her sleep on her proper aspect to cease her from feeling the balloon sat in her abdomen. Ms Payne additionally revealed that the preliminary process made her ‘gag’.

Her astonishing outcomes come because it emerged at present that sufferers are actually getting the balloon remedy on the NHS, as a part of a restricted launch. The Allurion balloon has been accessible privately since 2018.

The thought is that the balloon – which sits inside a 3cm-long and 2cm-wide capsule – makes it unattainable to eat a lot, as your abdomen feels completely full.

Attached to the capsule wannabe slimmers should swallow is a skinny tube.

Once docs have checked that the balloon is sat accurately within the abdomen via an X-ray, they pump 550ml of saline via the tube to fill the balloon.

When the balloon is full, the connection valve routinely seals itself and the tube is eliminated.

It stays in place for 4 months. After that, the small spherical valve which self-sealed dissolves and the balloon empties. 

The physique naturally passes each via the gastrointestinal tract.

Ms Payne, who works in recruitment, instructed MailOnline: ‘I’d been making an attempt to shed extra pounds for so long as I can keep in mind – and so far as my weight was involved I felt as if I used to be at a lifeless finish. 

‘I’d misplaced all my confidence, my joints damage, I did not wish to go to the health club, I used to be caught in a vicious circle. I might really feel unhealthy about myself and luxury eat and achieve extra weight.

‘Seeing the advert for the balloon was like a Eureka second. I went for a session and it was agreed I used to be an acceptable candidate.

‘It was some huge cash – I needed to raid all my financial savings, however I had given up on the thought of anything working.’

The swallowable balloon is accessible in non-public clinics to these with a BMI over 27 — like Ms Payne. 

Although it isn’t appropriate for sufferers who’ve beforehand had gastric surgical procedure.

Ms Payne mentioned: ‘The capsule containing the balloon is in regards to the measurement of a chunk of meals you may put in your mouth however when you’ve gotten it in your hand it does look a bit daunting. 

‘I did not have any issues swallowing it and inside a minute it was there. The worst half was once they pulled the tube out, which made me gag a bit.

‘I began to really feel a bit ropey on the way in which dwelling — about an hour of getting it in place — I felt actually full and a bit nauseous. Having it completed in direction of the tip of the day was an excellent transfer as I simply went to mattress and slept via the worst of it.’

She added: ‘After that every day I felt a bit of higher. I spent the primary two days simply on fluids, after which two days on softer meals akin to soup or porridge after which on day 5 I used to be again on strong meals.

‘I discovered it loopy how shortly I felt full after I was consuming. I did not change my weight-reduction plan as I did not eat unhealthily – I simply ate much less – rather a lot much less.

‘I needed to swap from a standard sized plate to a smaller one to remind myself to not put an excessive amount of meals on.’

After only a month Ms Payne had misplaced 5.5kg (8lbs). The ‘solely draw back’, nonetheless, was experiencing ‘the odd eggy burp’. 

She added: ‘I needed to sleep on my proper aspect not my left as I might in any other case really feel the balloon.’

And regardless of fears over what would occur when the balloon deflated, she admitted she ‘did not even discover it go’.

The remedy ‘has introduced an entire life-style change’, Ms Payne mentioned.  

‘I’ve had probably the most lively yr of my life. I’m on the health club a couple of instances per week, I run and I do a weekly gymnastics class.

‘Not solely that however I’m having to purchase an entire new wardrobe. I can now slot in to measurement ten leggings whereas earlier than I might get right into a measurement 16 however I might purchase a measurement 18-20 for consolation.

‘My aim is to get to 65kg (10st 2lbs) and the previous couple of kilos are the toughest to shift, however I can not see myself going again to the way in which I used to be.’

Under NICE steerage, the gastric balloon capsule is meant just for these ‘who have to shed extra pounds within the quick time period for medical causes’. 

To date, proof on its efficacy remains to be ‘insufficient in amount and high quality’. 

It is being handled by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust as a analysis challenge as a pre-intervention to arrange folks for gastric bypass surgical procedure.

There are at present no plans for a wider NHS roll-out, officers mentioned at present.

Trials have proven the remedy to be significantly efficient in sufferers with the next physique mass index (BMI). 

Patients with a beginning BMI of 35-40 lose on common 15 per cent of their physique weight after 4 months, whereas these with a beginning BMI of over 40 can lose on common as much as 20 per cent of their physique weight after six months.

Patients additionally saved 95 per cent of their weight off for a yr after remedy. 

A diet and life-style programme is supplied by Allurion to assist preserve folks on monitor.

To date round 130,000 folks worldwide have been handled privately with the process.