Thanks to the operation, she lost 70 kg. “The doctor said briefly: we will operate on your stomach”

Contents

Nice clothes in size 3XL
BMI 40, or extreme obesity
Dukan and other diets
You need to prepare for bariatric surgery
“I was lucky”
How not to get back to the old scale
300 Poles to slim down
#teamCHLO

When she took off more than one man’s weight, she got wind in her sails and joined in helping others. – I do not know exactly how many people I have helped to lose weight so far, but I estimate that it is hundreds – says Katarzyna Partyka-Doleżałek, who lost 70 kg thanks to stomach reduction surgery.

Before deciding to have surgery, she tried slimming diets. While still in high school, she switched to a restrictive diet and lost up to 60 kg in a year and a half. But she quickly regained her weight
There are five surgical methods of treating obesity: sleeve gastrectomy, i.e. sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, mini gastric bypass, sasi and the obsolete silicone gastric band.
In Poland, about 5 such procedures are performed annually. In the coming weeks, the Coordinated Specialist-Bariatric Care (KOS-BAR) program will be implemented in 15 leading centers in Poland
It is estimated that as many as 300 Poles qualify for immediate obesity treatment
On October 24, we celebrate the World Obesity Day
More information can be found on the Onet homepage

Katarzyna Partyka-Doleżałek struggled with obesity in her childhood. As a four-year-old, she weighed as much as she should, but because she liked it when her parents and grandparents praised her for “eating well”, she wanted the family to be even happier. Thus, she reached a weight of 136 kilograms.

– I ate stress, rewarded myself with food, bad eating habits also added to my excess weight – analyzes Katarzyna.

Today, when she is 70 kilograms less, she helps people suffering from obesity in the CHLO Bariatric Patients Association, of which she is the founder and president.

Nice clothes in size 3XL

Ms. Katarzyna did not feel harassed because of obesity, she had no complexes like many people who are ridiculed and called names because of being overweight.

– That is why I am quite an unusual case. At school, no one teased me, no one pointed my fingers at me. Maybe because I’m energetic, charismatic and I gave vent to my organizational skills. And when someone was looking at me, I just wasn’t paying attention. I was only frustrated that it was quite difficult to buy some nice clothes in my size XXXL – he says.

“I have larvae in my bedsores, the bed is breaking up.” Katarzyna is begging for help

Today she is irritated by American series that show stories of people with morbid obesity.

“I’m furious with them, because people suffering from obesity, watching others who weigh so much that they don’t get out of bed anymore, think to themselves:“ If I don’t look like that, it doesn’t concern me yet. I only weigh <100 kilos and they weigh 300 pounds. So I have 200 more to spare. " Meanwhile, they should undergo treatment at the BMI 40, because obesity is not an aesthetic flaw, but a serious health problem - explains Katarzyna.

BMI 40, or extreme obesity

BMI is Body Mass Index. It is calculated by dividing your body weight in kilograms by your height squared. And a BMI of 40 is the third degree of obesity, known as extreme obesity.

– In this case, each primary care physician should treat his patient, because obese people are at high risk of developing obesity complications such as hypertension, diabetes, ischemic heart disease. So the sooner this surgical and conservative treatment is started, the better – he observes.

There are currently five surgical methods of obesity treatment in Poland: sleeve gastrectomy, i.e. sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, mini gastric bypass, sasi and the obsolete silicone gastric band.

– Eight years ago, doctors made sleeves for me – emphasizes the president of the CHLO Bariatric Patient Association.

Obese people will lose weight if they go on a diet and keep moving? It’s a myth

Dukan and other diets

Before deciding to undergo gastric reduction surgery, she tried to follow weight loss diets.

While still in high school, she switched to a restrictive diet and lost up to 60 kg in a year and a half.

– I looked great at the prom. But in less than half a year, the kilograms came back. Then I tried all possible diets: Dukan, cabbage and many others. This is typical for most people with obesity before opting for bariatric surgery, she says.

And she adds that after the surgery, her life gained a new dimension.

– Not only did I take the weight of one man off myself, and even more, I got wind in my sails. I started my own company and joined in helping other patients. A few days after leaving the hospital, I met the first person whom I helped decide on the operation. Three months after our first meeting, when this patient saw a much smaller one, he was sure he wanted to undergo the procedure too. I do not know exactly how many people I have helped to lose weight thanks to my association, but I estimate that there are hundreds – analyzes Partyka-Doleżałek.

She is a nutritionist, her husband died of obesity. “This is my biggest failure”

You need to prepare for bariatric surgery

However, he admits that deciding to have a bariatric surgery is not an easy process.

– You have to be well prepared for that. What matters most is the motivation: that shedding unnecessary kilograms improves the comfort of life and appearance. It is equally important to know that obesity is a serious disease that causes a lot of damage to their bodies. And it is not that the operation will take place overnight – he emphasizes.

In practice, the step-by-step preparation for bariatric surgery is such that you should contact your GP for a referral to a surgical outpatient clinic.

– It is best to choose a center close to your place of residence, with good medical facilities and an interdisciplinary team of specialists. There, the patient is recommended to contact a dietitian and bariatric psychologist, after which full diagnostics is performed. After about half a year, you can go to the operating table and hand it over to the surgeon. But this is not the end, because after the surgery, for about a year and a half, checks and further consultations with a dietitian and bariatric psychologist are necessary. It is best to systematically, because we are a bariatric patient forever, at the end of life, explains Katarzyna.

“I was lucky”

She also admits that her path to losing weight was a bit different, because she went to the doctor with a completely different health problem – problems with the thyroid gland.

– I was lucky because when I was in the hospital, they were looking for patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver for tests. The professor who consulted me noticed my importance. He said briefly: “we will operate on your stomach”. It is true that I had been thinking before whether it would be worth getting interested in the surgical treatment of obesity, but I quickly concluded that I did not need it. I considered myself a healthy person, not knowing how many diseases are caused by obesity – he recalls.

«My patients are diet veterans, they don’t think they will lose weight. And yet it succeeds »

How not to get back to the old scale

– Even before the pandemic, I traveled around Poland to meet with support groups operating at 10 bariatric centers, which included people preparing for bariatric surgeries. Imagine that six months later I couldn’t get to know them, I literally didn’t know who I was talking to. Not only because they were half thinner, but they emanated with different energy, they exuded the joy of life, even euphoria – smiles Katarzyna.

But he knows from experience that those who have not managed to implement new and healthy eating habits permanently return to their former weight.

Herbs can help people struggling with obesity. Try Obesity – a herbal blend available on Medonet Market.

– Reoperations happen. That is why it is very important to organize everything in your head well and to have many conversations with specialists, and if necessary, even with a psychiatrist. I know a lady who was re-operated four times! – he says.

300 Poles to slim down

It is important that obesity treatment procedures are reimbursed by the National Health Fund.

– In Poland, about 5 such procedures are performed annually. That’s quite a lot, but still not enough. Surgical treatment of obesity has a relatively long history, as the first operations were performed over 27 years ago in Zabrze. We hope that the times are going even better, because in the coming weeks the Coordinated Specialist-Bariatric Care (KOS-BAR) program is being introduced in 15 leading centers in Poland. These centers provide full specialist care. And the matter is urgent, because it is estimated that already 300 Poles qualify for obesity treatment – adds Katarzyna Partyka-Doleżałek.

He knows from his own experience that the surgical treatment of obesity is effective and will bring results if we decide to change our lives and habits permanently.

– It is not extremely heavy, but requires some knowledge and awareness. We help in this as the CHLO Association, i.e. a patient organization. And as you know, no one understands the patient as much as a person who has gone this way herself – she emphasizes.

#teamCHLO

The Association of Bariatric Patients CHLO started its activity 6 years ago at the 16nd Surgery Clinic of the University Hospital in Krakow. And it systematically increases its reach: there are already XNUMX support groups in Poland, practically in every voivodeship.

– We are, among others, in Krakow, Warsaw, Łódź, Olsztyn, Słupsk, Zabrze, Jaworzno, Łęczna and many other cities. We deal with reliable education in preparation for the procedure. Meetings are free, for all comers. They are conducted by doctors and specialists called #teamCHLO. At the moment, it is a team of nearly 200 people all over Poland. We also organize online meetings that anyone can participate in. And many people who are willing to take advantage of such an opportunity, he encourages them at the end.