A MUM-OF-TWO who was fed up of being trolled by men on nights out has had the last laugh – after shedding a whopping 12st.
Weighing 25 stone at her heaviest, Nadia Witham, 30, flew to Riga, Latvia and forked out £4.9k for gastric bypass surgery – and says the change since has been “like night and day."
Speaking to Fabulous Digital, Nadia, who lives in Scotland with her husband Jim and their children, says: “I feel I’m the person I should have been all this time.
"I suffered from social anxiety and wouldn’t leave the house.
“Now I’m always out and I take care of myself.
"None of this was possible without the surgery.”
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Labelled morbidly obese at the age of five, Nadia had a tough time at school as she was bullied because of her size.
“I never knew what it was like to be a normal weight – it always seemed out of reach for me," she says.
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"I tried every diet I could but nothing worked.
“I was given diet pills by a doctor when I was a teenager but they made me horrendously sick.
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“As I got older, food was my answer to everything.
"If I had a bad day I’d use food to feel better and if I had a good day I’d treat myself with food.
"If I was stressed I’d eat something.
“I was eating carb-loaded stuff like pizzas, chips, cakes, biscuits.
"My children would have the same as me – lots of takeaways and processed food.
Nadia says it's true that school behaviour doesn’t stay in school.
"I would be out with friends and people would make nasty comments," she recalls.
“On nights out and strangers, drunk men, would come up to me and call me ‘fatty’.
“I’ve been in shops trying on clothes and shop assistants have been mean. It goes into every area of your life.
“You witness it all the time on social media.
"If you ever see a bigger person posting a TikTok, being proud of themselves, the comments underneath are awful."
She continues: “My husband actually pointed out a full-length picture I had put on social media recently.
"I would never have done that before surgery as I didn’t want people knowing I was fat.
On nights out and strangers, drunk men, would come up to me and call me ‘fatty’
“I have loads of pictures of my husband and the kids, but there aren’t any of me because I didn’t want any photos taken.
"I was too embarrassed.
“It makes me sad – it’s like I didn’t exist. These are my children’s memories and when they look back on photos it’s like I’m not there.”
The gastric bypass Nadia received is a type of bariatric surgery in which a large section of the stomach is stapled off, creating a small pouch which serves as the new stomach.
The treatment is sometimes available on the NHS, but she was unable to receive it as she didn’t have Type 2 diabetes.
“I started looking at my options as I had spinal nerve damage," she explains.
"Carrying my weight around had caused a lot of problems.
“I was too overweight for an operation so I needed to do something.
"A gastric bypass was expensive in the UK so I kept researching and that’s when I came across the Weight Loss Riga Facebook page.”
But the decision to have surgery abroad wasn't taken lightly.
“My husband knew it was something I had to do," Nadia explains.
"I was like a hermit, I didn’t go out.
“I had to give up work, I couldn’t play with my kids.
"If it wasn’t for the surgery I would have been in a wheelchair by now.”
Nadia flew to Riga for her procedure in October 2021 and was back home less than a week later.
“The pain post op wasn’t too bad," she says.
"The biggest adjustment is getting your body used to the much lower amount of calories.
“I’ve spoken to other patients who agree with me that the worst part is going to the airport and walking to the gate.
“Your body is still big but you haven’t consumed as many calories so you’re really low on energy.
"I had to stop a couple of times to take a seat.
“The clinic gave me a post-op diet and your body does start to adjust after a couple of days.
"It starts with clear liquids, progressing onto purees.
“I just remember the feeling of euphoria that really kept me going, knowing this was my life now and seeing the scales go down.”
Now, Nadia weighs 13 stone and is a dress size 12.
She’s also planning cosmetic surgeries, including a tummy tuck to remove excess skin.
The mum-of-two's new-found confidence has allowed her to return to work in social care and start enjoying her love of fashion and styling.
“I could never wear what I wanted, it was always a case of wearing what fit me,” she says.
“But now I can wear what I want and people are noticing and complimenting me on my style.
I was like a hermit, I didn’t go out. I had to give up work, I couldn’t play with my kids. If it wasn’t for the surgery I would have been in a wheelchair by now
“The difference in my life is like night and day. I’m also doing a charity skydive, something I could never do before.”
Nadia adds: “People think surgery is a magic cure but you still have to put work in.
"It’s a tool and it all depends on how you use it.”
Dr Igors Troickis, leading bariatric surgeon at Weight Loss Riga comments: “After a gastric bypass patients are unable to eat as much as they did previously because their new smaller stomach feels full after a smaller amount of food.
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“Our patients receive support after their procedure, including nutritional guidance if required.
"Most patients stay with us for a few days while they recover, with the option to stay longer if they wish.”
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