An interactive image shows step by step how swallowing a ‘stony’ balloon can help you lose weight. So do you qualify?
It may sound crazy, but taking a pill with a deflated balloon can help you lose weight.
Wannabe slimmers who tried the radical procedure – now available on the NHS as part of a limited launch – have lost more than two stone.
The 3 cm long and 2 cm wide capsule contains a collapsed balloon. There is a thin tube attached to it.
After doctors check via X-ray that the balloon is in the right place in the stomach, they pass 550 ml of saline through the tube to fill the balloon.
When the balloon is full, the connection valve automatically closes itself and the tube is removed.
The 3 cm long and 2 cm wide capsule contains a collapsed balloon. Attached to this is a thin tube, through which doctors pass 550 ml of saline solution to fill the balloon. An x-ray is taken to confirm that it is seated correctly in the stomach. When the balloon is full, the connection valve automatically closes itself. A second x-ray confirms that it is still seated correctly before the tube is then removed
The idea is that the balloon makes it impossible to eat a lot, because your stomach feels permanently full.
It remains in place for four months. Then the small round valve, which closes itself, dissolves and the balloon deflates.
The body naturally passes both through the gastrointestinal tract.
Emanuela Torrielli, from Surbiton in south-west London, underwent the 15-minute treatment privately in the city earlier this month in a bid to lose weight and keep it off.
With a BMI of 30 (at a weight of 13 kg and a height of 1.80 m), the 40-year-old is considered obese.
The swallowable balloon is currently available privately to people with a BMI over 27, provided they are willing to pay around £4,000.
She told the Mail: ‘When I try a diet it works for a while – I once lost 10kg (1st 8 b). But then I put the weight back on, and it hits you.
“It makes you feel like a failure.”
Minutes after swallowing the capsule, Emanuela claimed she didn’t feel any different, although she acknowledged that it “didn’t feel good” as the tube went down her throat.
Despite skipping lunch, she revealed she felt like she had “eaten one of my big lasagnas.” Within half an hour she drove home without any signs of nausea.
Charley Payne had the balloon inserted in January 2023 after trying ‘every diet under the sun’.
At the time, the now 26-year-old from Milton Keynes weighed 88kg, which at 6ft tall gave her a BMI of 36 and classified her as obese.
In the year since, she has lost more than two stone and weighs 11st (70kg), making her overweight.
Charley admitted to the Mail that she felt ‘a bit wobbly’ and ‘nauseous’ as she traveled home an hour after the treatment.
She said: ‘It was a good move to have it done towards the end of the day as I just went to bed and slept through the worst of it.
‘After that I felt a little better every day. The first two days were spent on fluids only, then two days on softer foods such as soup or porridge and by day five I was back on solid foods.
‘I thought it was crazy how quickly I felt full when I was eating. I didn’t change my diet, because I didn’t eat unhealthy, I just ate less, much less.’
She added: ‘I had to switch from a normal plate to a smaller plate to remind myself not to put too much food on it.’
Allurion, the company behind the pill, said it has been in discussions with NHS trusts about rolling out the treatment after receiving the seal of approval from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2020.
Emanuela Torrielli (pictured), from Surbiton in South West London, underwent the 15-minute treatment privately in the city earlier this month in a bid to lose weight and keep it off. With a BMI of 30, the 40-year-old is considered obese. The swallowable balloon is currently privately available for people with a BMI over 27
Charley Payne had the balloon inserted in January 2023 after trying ‘every diet under the sun’. At the time, the now 26-year-old from Milton Keynes weighed 13st 12 (88kg), which at 6ft tall gave her a BMI of 36 (pictured) and classified her as obese.
In a year she has lost more than two stone and weighs 11st (70kg), making her overweight. She admitted feeling ‘a bit sluggish’ and ‘nauseous’ as she traveled home an hour after treatment
Now the first two NHS patients have been treated at Musgrove Park Hospital in Somerset.
It is being treated as a research project by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust as a pre-intervention to prepare people for gastric bypass surgery.
There are currently no plans for a wider NHS rollout, officials said today.
According to NICE guidelines, the swallowable gastric balloon capsule is only intended for people ‘who need to lose weight in the short term for medical reasons’.
To date, the evidence on efficacy is still ‘insufficient in quantity and quality’.
Research has shown that the treatment is particularly effective in patients with a higher body mass index (BMI).
Patients with a starting BMI of 35-40 lose an average of 15 percent of their body weight after four months, while patients with a starting BMI of more than 40 can lose an average of up to 20 percent of their body weight after six months.
Patients also maintained 95 percent of their weight one year after treatment.
Allurion offers a nutrition and lifestyle program to keep people on track.
To date, approximately 130,000 people worldwide have been treated privately with the procedure.
However, it is not without side effects. Users often complain of nausea and vomiting, but these are both often temporary.
Research also shows that about one in ten people with a balloon suffer from heartburn, because the stomach empties more slowly, which allows stomach acid to accumulate.
MarchThe weight loss balloon is considered a cheaper alternative to surgery. Until now it was only available privately in Britain from £3,000.
Other weight loss operations, such as gastric banding, can cost between £5,000 and £10,000.