A WOMAN who blew up to 40st says she drank six litres of Coke a day to please her "feeder" ex. Sarah Brown, 51, said it got to the point where she didn't know what to do after the NHS told her it could not operate on the huge “ Elephant Man ” style growths on her legs. The dog trainer said she was in agonising pain caused by the growths, which regularly split the skin on her legs open.
Sarah says it came after her ex used "food to control her" - seeing her start her day with four bacon butties, have massive meals in between and then top it off with a tub of ice cream a night. However, she says her friends and family made all the difference when they raised enough money for her to undergo private surgery to remove the growths - one of which swung around like a “bowling ball” between her legs every time she walked. The Londoner now feels like a “new woman” after undergoing surgery and losing a remarkable 24 stone - dropping from 40st to her current weight of 15st 10lbs.
Speaking about her rock bottom, Sarah told The Sun: "I was told the sort of treatment I was looking for was not available on the NHS. "They would not operate on the growths. "I thought I just can’t live like this anymore.
"I was in so much pain.” Most read in Health She says life turned around after she met a private doctor who told her he could operate on her growths, which were caused by a condition called Lymphoedema. She said: “The operation has been life-changing.
"Before, I felt like the Elephant Man - like a fat hideous creature. "Lots of people asked me if I had elephantiasis, which is a similar condition to Lymphoedema but not quite the same. "I’ve been photographed, I’ve been filmed, I’ve had people following me down the street to take pictures of me so they can scream and laugh about how gross I was.
"I would go home and my husband would give me something to eat to make me feel better. "I had a woman come up to me in the street once when I was on my mobility scooter and she told me ‘I don’t know how you can go out in public looking the way you do’. "I came home and polished off a chocolate cake to make me feel better.
"Food was all I had." Sarah has always struggled with her weight but it became worse when she got married to what she described as her "feeder" husband, who she has now separated from. I would go home and my husband would give me something to eat to make me feel better.
The now 51-year-old recalled: "Food was his way of controlling me. He used to sit and watch me eat. "The bigger I was, the more care I needed.
"I think he was losing control when I was losing the weight and he didn’t want to bother with it any more. "I started to hear him say ‘if you don’t need me, you can do it yourself’. "He would come home and find I had done the washing up as I could stand up.
"He would come home expecting me to be in the chair waiting for him to help me to bed but I’d managed to put myself in bed. "I managed to shower and dry myself." She said she ballooned in weight to 40st after he fed her takeaways, sugary drinks and unhealthy snacks for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
In 2019, Sarah decided to shift the weight and asked her doctor for a gastric bypass. She said: "I was trying to get up to go to the toilet and I couldn’t get out of the chair. "And I remember saying out loud to myself ‘I’m going to die’.
I weighed 40 stone at the time, it was the heaviest I’ve ever been. "And then I thought no I’m not, so I picked up the phone and asked my doctor to refer me for a gastric bypass. "They said I had to lose weight before I could have the operation.
"So I reduced my calorie intake to 800 calories a day. "I lost 100lbs before I had the operation." Sarah continued to lose five to six pounds a week in the first few months after she had the operation at Homerton University Hospital in 2021.
BREAKFAST Four bacon sandwiches, litre of full sugar Coca-Cola SNACKS Chocolate bars, crisps, peanuts, packet of Maryland cookies, more Coca-Cola LUNCH Leftover curry, pizza, fish and chips DINNER Chinese takeaway - rice, noodles, curry, bag of chicken balls, bag of chips, bag of prawn crackers OR Pizza takeaway - family-sized pizza, potato wedges, chicken wings, four pieces of garlic bread two litres of Coca-Cola DESSERT Tub of ice cream However, she continued to suffer from agonising pain as a result of Lymphoedema - a condition that causes swelling due to a failure of the lymphatic system. The condition affected both of Sarah’s legs, with one growth on the inside of her right thigh swinging around whenever she walked. She said: "I was walking like John Wayne had lost his horse.
"The lump on my right thigh would get bigger during the day and would then go back to the size of a bowling ball at night. "It would rip the skin on the inside of my thigh. "Sometimes when I sat down the lump would get caught behind my leg and I’d sit on it, which would tear the skin.
"My lower legs were the same size as my father’s waistband. My upper legs were even bigger." I feel like a new woman.
Sarah was left suicidal after the NHS told her that compression tights were the only way to treat her condition. She almost gave up hope before she met Oxford Lymphoedema Practice’s Professor Dominic Furniss, who told her he could operate on the growths. Sarah finally had the procedure in October last year after her friends and family came together to raise enough money for the op.
Describing the procedure, Professor Furniss said: “Sarah was admitted to hospital for 10 days prior to the operation, where we performed specialist lymphoedema compression bandaging every day. “We removed almost 4 litres of excess fat using liposuction, and the excess skin, which alone weighed nearly 2kg. There was a lot of very careful stitching required to get the fragile skin to come together and heal.
” Sarah said that although the operation has not cured her lymphoedema, it has reduced the pain she suffers on a daily basis. She added: "It has been truly life-changing. "I can now pull up my compression tights all the way to my waist.
"I can wear normal clothes, fit in showers and hotel beds and my self-care has improved drastically. Read More on The US Sun "And I can stand to make my own food. "I feel like a new woman.
" Losing weight should be a long-term commitment to healthier living, rather than any drastic measures. The NHS tips - which can be adopted slowly - include: Get active for 150 minutes a week – you can break this up into shorter sessions Aim to get your 5 A Day – 80g of fresh, canned or frozen fruit or vegetables count as 1 portion Aim to lose 1 to 2lbs, or 0.5 to 1kg, a week Read food labels – products with more green colour coding than amber and red are often a healthier option Swap sugary drinks for water – if you do not like the taste, add slices of lemon or lime for flavour Cut down on food that's high in sugar and fat – start by swapping sugary cereal for wholegrain alternatives Share your weight loss plan with someone you trust – they can help motivate you when you have a bad day Read about: The five fat loss foundations The calorie formula for weight loss The perfect portion sizes for meals to lose weight Sun Health's 8-week weight loss kick start plan.
