Woman sheds a stone in just SIX DAYS using controversial weight loss method

A woman who shed a stone in just six days using a controversial weight loss method is one step closer to becoming a mum.

Stephanie Higgins was told her weight was the reason she couldn’t fall pregnant having struggled to conceive naturally for six years.

The business support advisor, from Bury, was 19st 11lbs and a dress size 24 when she approached the NHS for fertility help.

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Medics advised the 36-year-old she would need to get her BMI down to 30 or below in order to qualify for IVF on the NHS.

Having tried slimming groups, fad diets and exercising, Stephanie couldn’t seem to shift the weight and she was losing hope of ever becoming a mum.

That was until she spotted an advert for a weight loss balloon online, prompting her to research up about the slimming method.

The Allurion Balloon, a gastric balloon, is placed into the stomach to make people feel fuller so they eat less.

The treatment, which can be carried out in 15 minutes, is approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and is now being used by the NHS for the very first time.

The drug, developed by Allurion, was approved in 2020 but the first two NHS patients have now been treated at Musgrove Park Hospital in Somerset.

The procedure sees a patient swallow the balloon which is inside a capsule. An X-ray then confirms the correct placement in the stomach and 550ml of water is put into the balloon via a tube.

A second X-ray is then taken to check the balloon is full and sitting well in the stomach and the tube is then removed.

After around four months, a time-activated release valve automatically opens, allowing the water-filled balloon to empty