A Prestonian struggling with obesity has launched a fundraiser for gastric sleeve surgery after facing a lifelong battle with her weight.

Sammie Turner, 31, said she has struggled with her weight since childhood and was bullied throughout school, which led to comfort eating. But after leaving school and becoming pregnant, she weighed 23 stone, so she decided to take action.

Sammie managed to lose weight through dieting, and in 2019, she tried Slimming World, where she lost six stone. But she said she plateaued and struggled to lose any more weight.

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Sammie said: “I was paying £5 a time to get weighed for them to tell me I was the same or a couple of pounds up from last time.

“Then Slimming World closed due to Covid, and all the hard work I had put into getting my weight off for good was wasted, and I put all my weight back on, no matter how healthy I thought I was eating.

“I can’t do this anymore. I need help, and weight loss surgery will help me get to where I want to be. Healthy and happy. I’m not doing this for cosmetic reasons – I’m doing this for my health.

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However, Sammie was told she must wait three to five years to get the surgery on the NHS.

She said: “I don’t want to die young, and without help now, I’m afraid of doing just that. I’d try the NHS, but waiting times are unfortunately too long.

“I could be waiting three to five years, and I don’t know where I’ll be then. If I could get the money myself and do this myself, I would. I’m not the type of person to ask for anything. I’d rather suffer in silence, but I feel like this is something I can’t do by myself. 

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Sammie said her weight is affecting her life at home, her relationship with her partner, and her ability to do things.

She said: “I can’t go on anymore. I have bad knees, a bad back, and my teeth have started to get bad no matter how much I look after them, which I know obesity doesn’t help.

“I don’t want to die young, and without help now, I’m afraid of doing just that. I’d try the NHS, but waiting times are, unfortunately, too long.

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“I hate myself for not being able to keep it off, so I’ve been thinking about doing the only thing that I think will help me and getting weight loss surgery.

“I know there are people out there that will say or think, ‘why can’t she just exercise and eat less, it’s not hard’. I’ve tried, I really have. I think I have underlying problems that don’t help. I just haven’t been diagnosed with having said problems.

“The last thing I want to have to do is ask for money from people because I’m obese and can’t lose weight myself, but what other option do I have? Keep trying to do it the hard way and fail? I just want to be happy.”

To donate to Sammie’s fundraiser, visit her Go Fund Me page.

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