Incredible transformation from a 26-year-old woman who almost lost 3 STONE after swallowing a £4,300 ‘weight loss balloon’ (but it left her ‘egg burping’ and gagging)

Incredible before and after pictures show the transformation of a woman who lost almost three stone after swallowing a deflated balloon.

Charley Payne, from Milton Keynes, tried ‘every diet under the sun’ before privately paying £4,300 for the 15-minute treatment last January.

At the time, the now 26-year-old weighed 88kg and had a BMI of 36, which classified her as obese.

But just a year later, Mrs Payne is only considered overweight at 11 (70kg) and plans to lose even more weight.

However, it is not without side effects. Grimly, she suffered from ‘a strange burp’ and was forced to sleep on her right side to avoid feeling the balloon lodged in her stomach. Ms Payne also revealed that the initial procedure turned her into a ‘gag’.

Her astonishing results came as it emerged today that patients are now getting the balloon treatment on the NHS, as part of a limited launch. The Allurion balloon has been privately available since 2018.

The idea is that the balloon – which is in a capsule 3 cm long and 2 cm wide – makes it impossible to eat a lot, because your stomach feels permanently full.

The capsule that wannabe dieters must swallow has a thin tube attached to it.

After doctors check via X-ray that the balloon is seated correctly in the stomach, they pump 550 ml of saline solution through the tube to fill the balloon.

When the balloon is full, the connection valve automatically closes itself and the tube is removed.

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.

Ms Payne, who works in recruitment, told MailOnline: ‘I’ve been trying to lose weight for as long as I can remember – and when it came to my weight I felt like I was at a dead end.

‘I lost all my self-confidence, my joints hurt, I didn’t want to go to the gym, I was stuck in a vicious circle. I would feel bad about myself and comfort eat and gain more weight.

“Seeing the ad for the balloon was like a Eureka moment. I went for a consultation and it was agreed that I was a suitable candidate.

‘It was a lot of money. I had to raid all my savings, but I had given up on the idea that anything else would work.”

The swallowable balloon is available in private clinics for people with a BMI over 27, like Ms Payne.

Although it is not suitable for patients who have previously undergone gastric surgery.

Mrs Payne said: ‘The capsule with the balloon is about the size of a piece of food you might put in your mouth, but when you hold it in your hand it looks a bit daunting.

‘I had no problems swallowing and it was there within a minute. The worst part was when they pulled the hose out, which made me gag a little.

‘On the way home I started feeling a little weak – about an hour after I had it in place – I felt really full and a little nauseous. It was a good move to do it towards the end of the day because I just went to bed and slept through the worst of it.”

She added: ‘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 wasn’t eating unhealthy. I just ate less, much less.

“I had to switch from a normal plate to a smaller plate to remind myself not to put too much food on it.”

After just a month, Mrs Payne had lost 5.5kg. The ‘only downside’, however, was experiencing ‘a strange country bumpkin’.

She added: ‘I had to sleep on my right side and not my left side, otherwise I could feel the balloon.’

And despite fearing what would happen if the balloon deflated, she admitted that she “didn’t even notice it leaving’.

The treatment “has brought about a complete change in lifestyle,” Ms Payne said.

‘I have had the most active year of my life. I go to the gym a few times a week, I run and do gymnastics class every week.

‘Not only that, but I have to buy a whole new wardrobe. I can now fit into size ten leggings, while previously I could get into a size 16, but I would buy a size 18-20 for comfort.

‘My goal is to reach 65kg (10st 2lbs) and the last few kilos are the hardest to shift, but I can’t see myself going back to the way I was.’

Under the guidance of NICE, the 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’.

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.

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.