Vanessa: “No one tells you how stressful it is to live with a gastric band”
Presenter Vanessa Feltz opens up about the terrifying side-effects of having radical weight loss surgery and reveals why she might soon be forced to have another drastic operation
It’s been eight years since I Vanessa Feltz had her gastric band fitted, but the experience has been far from plain-sailing. And despite occasionally waking up in the night because of a “drowning” feeling due to her band, the radio presenter is stoic, telling Closer she still doesn’t regret having the invasive procedure, which saw her drop from a size 24 to a size 14-16.
“I’m not slim, but I’m a hell of a lot slimmer than I was,” she explains. “I’m not eating as much and I’m a size 14 in most shops, which means I don’t have to go to specialist retailers. So it has worked, yes. I don’t regret it and I’m not sorry I had it done, I’m just sorry it’s got to this point...”
Vanessa is referring to the horrific experience she went through as a result of her weight-loss op, which involved putting an inflatable band around the upper part of her stomach to restrict the amount she could eat. The 56 year old tells Closer, “Last June, I woke up one morning with a colossal shock – liquid was pouring into my mouth and ears in this exceptionally dramatic way. I thought I was dreaming that I was drowning. When I saw a specialist, they said, ‘Oh my God, that’s water brash!’ They told me it was serious and that the band had formed a pouch, forcing food and liquid to come back up. Now I take anti-reflux medication – but if it keeps happening, I’ll have the band removed.”
The decision to have it fitted in the first place was the result of a lifelong struggle with her weight. She admits, “I tried really hard to lose weight – I wasn’t just lazy. I succeeded, but it would always come back on. My family [Vanessa has been with singer-songwriter Ben Ofoedu, 46, since 2006, and has daughters Allegra and Saskia with ex-husband Michael Kurer] were supportive because it wasn’t just cosmetic, it was for my health.”
PAIN & DISCOMFORT
The former Closer columnist is now choosing to talk about her experience because she says she didn’t know these side effects were even a possibility. “A surgeon told me the reflux condition affects one in five people who have the band – it’s quite common and serious,” she says. “I want to explain what it’s like living with a gastric band – most people are too embarrassed to discuss it.”
And Vanessa says the reality of life after her operation was a shock. “I didn’t realise how physical it would feel to have this thing stopping you eating,” she reveals. “In a way, it’s great – it does the job. If mini sausage rolls were brought round at a party, they’d get stuck in the band. Physically, you feel it between your boobs – it’s exceptionally uncomfortable. You’re trying to chat, thinking, ‘Will it go down? Will I have to make a dash for the ladies’?’ It definitely stops you having another one, and might stop you having one in the first place – which I suppose is the whole point.”
EMBARRASSING MOMENTS
But for a woman as sociable as Vanessa, it’s made life difficult. “Unless you’ve got an hour and a half to eat by yourself without anyone looking – which I never have – it’s very hard,” she says. “It can be socially embarrassing. Ben and I will be at a dinner party and I’ll try to eat something, but have to keep an eye on the door in case anything gets lodged and I need to make a run for it! I’d have liked that made clear before the op – if you find yourself throwing up in somebody’s loo a few feet from where everybody’s eating, it’s stressful.”
It’s easy to “cheat” the band, too. “Eating an apple or raw carrot is impossible. Or chicken, unless you smother it in sauce,” she says. “So you end up eating things like chocolate mousse or trifle, which is going against the whole point. But your mindset hasn’t changed, and whatever it is that makes you want to have another portion of pie is still there! It’s a difficult situation to be in. I’m not condemning it, but it is more complicated than you might think.”
FUTURE OP
The future now is uncertain, with Vanessa left to wait it out to see whether her symptoms return. “It’s very dangerous and can even affect your vocal chords – which is my living,” she explains. “If the band is removed, I’m worried I’ll eat too much. I might think about having a bypass – which changes the way your stomach digests the food. I’m not sure, though – I wanted something reversible and didn’t want pieces of my anatomy tied up or chopped off! But at least having a gastric bypass would mean I’d never have to think about my weight again – I’m so bored and frustrated with being described as a famous fat person.”
Would she ever give dieting and exercise one last try? She sighs. “Honestly, I’d love to think I could, but I’ve never managed it.”
‘I’m bored of being described as a famous fat person’