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'SO SCARED'
James ‘Arg’ Argent reveals his wounds after having half his stomach removed in life-saving gastric operation
FORMER Towie regular James Argent has had gastric surgery to help him lose 11st and save his life – though he feared he might not even survive the op.
The 33-year-old shocked fans when he ballooned to nearly 27st during lockdown, admitting he swapped a drink and drug addiction for junk food when Covid closed gyms and pools.
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Speaking exclusively to The Sun and revealing his wounds just two days after his op — which will reduce the amount he can eat — Arg said: “This is the biggest operation I’ve ever had in my life, so I was scared.
“I did say to the surgeon, ‘Is there a chance I might not wake up?’ He said there was a small chance.”
Now he hopes to slim down to 16st after having half his stomach removed last week during the £10,000 operation by Transform Hospital Group at a top clinic in Birmingham.
Arg said it was touch and go as to whether the surgery would go ahead, as he struggled to stick to a pre-op diet of 1,000 calories a day and his body mass index hit almost 50 — whereas a healthy figure is 18 to 25.
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He added: “I was supposed to stick to 1,000 calories a day for three weeks and my BMI had to be below 50 but I was 49.7 and 26st 11lb.
“I did struggle. There were a few times I found it too hard and couldn’t stick to it. I was almost too big to have the operation, which is scary.”
But the hour-and-a-half op was successful and Arg said: “I’ve already got a bit of a glow back in my face so I’m happy with that, and I feel like I’m already losing weight, which is good.”
For now, Arg must protect the five scars across his belly and he said: “It will take about six weeks to heal com-pletely. I can’t swim or box until then.”
DRINK & DRUG BATTLES
And he cannot eat solid food for six weeks, instead swapping his favourite pizza and chocolate for liquid meals such as shakes and juices.
He must inject himself daily into his stomach and revealed that even water and paracetamol are a struggle to keep down since the surgery, which left him vomiting blood.
He said: “It is quite scary when you’re just randomly being sick and you’re seeing lots of blood come up.
"It happened after the operation and has now stopped - I'm now recovering at home.
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“Just dealing with trapped wind is really uncomfortable. They encouraged me to keep burping to get wind out, but you can’t even fart.”
In January Arg told The Sun how he deleted delivery apps after constantly ordering takeaways, sweets and fizzy drinks at the touch of a button.
As he is currently limited to just 1,000 calories a day, he admitted he is finding junk food ads tantalisingly tempting.
He said: “I could probably go and get a chocolate bar at night, whisk it up until it’s liquid and then have it, but what is the point?
“I’m not going to go through what I’ve been through and do something like that.”
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Arg now hopes it will take him a maximum of 18 months to shed 11st with the gastric sleeve and reach his target weight of 16st.
For the next few weeks he must limit his exercise to walking but he has ambitions to train with his best pal Mark Wright, and said Joey Essex is booking them a holiday once he has slimmed down.
Arg said: “Mark has been there for me. He’s excited for me – after the healing process – to get involved in his training.
“I don’t want to be a skinny fat person, I want to be quite toned and look good, so Mark is going to help me do that.
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“I’ve got so many beautiful Italian suits I just can’t wait to put on. I can barely get my arms in right now but I’m looking forward to getting back into some.
“I’ve got some nice Ray Winstone Sexy Beast-style Speedos too and I’m excited to get those on. I certainly won’t be posing naked but you might see me on a beach in a very tight pair of short shorts. Definitely.”
Arg has already overcome drink and drug battles and has twice been to a Thai rehab centre for addiction.
Last year he admitted to The Sun he was a cocaine addict after taking the drug for seven years and suffering two near-fatal overdoses, with his ex Gemma Collins calling an ambulance over fears he would die. Arg was rushed to hospital and put on a drip.
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He said: “When I looked back at myself in recent TV interviews, I just didn’t recognize that person. I looked so depressed. I’ve always been a bubbly, fun character.
“The thing that’s made me angry is I’ve let myself get so low.
“I feel this surgery is a fresh start. I’ve had drug addiction, an eating disorder, I’ve been through a lot. I just want to come through.
“I have big dreams to swim the English Channel and eventually have a boxing match, some Tyson Fury-style one.
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“Tyson’s a big hero of mine. He suffered with depression, was doing drink and drugs, was morbidly obese.
“He ended up losing weight and became world champion. He looks amazing and he’s achieved great things.”
As for what he will do when he reaches his target weight, Arg said: “If I’m going to celebrate or treat myself, it’ll probably be doing something nice for my house. I’m going to take pride in it.
“I’ve got a beautiful family home, but I’m the only one living in it. So whether it’s an ex-girlfriend or someone new, I do want to settle down, start a family, have kids.
'INCREDIBLE SUPPORT'
“These are all achievable if I continue the way I’m going.”
As well as his fling with Gemma, Arg had a high-profile eight-year romance with Lydia Bright, another former Towie colleague, and he beamed as he revealed that he and “first love” Lydia, 30, have become close pals once more during his rock-bottom time.
He said: “Me and Lydia are extremely close again — we have kept that low-key and behind closed doors.
“Obviously she’s had a beautiful baby and she’s a single mother now. We were together years before Towie existed or before either of us were in the public eye.
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“She’s a real friend and she and her mum have been an incredible support to me.
“I’m very fond of Lydia. I’m lucky to have her in my life and for us to be such close friends.
“But my whole weight loss journey isn’t to try and win anyone back and it isn’t for any particular woman. I am doing this genuinely for myself.”
Now Arg says he is concentrating on getting back to his best before he considers romance.
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He added: “I’m completely single at the moment. I want to put my health first, that’s number one. The most important thing is to remain clean and sober.
“I’ve been clean and sober for a year and three months now. I feel I’m ready to tackle my weight.
“I suppose women come into that. I’ll certainly be a lot more confident meeting new women or having fun and maybe some of the women that might not have been so achievable before, they might be more achievable!
“I’ve had so much support. Joey Essex sent me a really long, emotional message saying he’s proud of me.
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“He said he can’t wait to go on holiday with me again once I’ve got my weight off. He said he’ll come to one of my gigs.
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“This operation is going to help me physically get my life back but it’s not going to cure me mentally.
“I’m going to get regular counselling and I’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
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'Dramatically positive impact'
Mr Martin Richardson, Bariatric Surgeon at Transform Hospital Group, said: “Obesity and associated health conditions currently have a huge impact on society, with most diets culminating in weight regain.
"Bariatric surgery has a dramatically positive impact in well selected, motivated individuals where benefits significantly outweigh relatively small risks.
“James underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (keyhole gastric sleeve surgery), currently the most popular weight loss operation worldwide.
"This involves removing about 70 per cent of the outer stomach, as well as the part which produces ghrelin (an appetite hormone), leaving a narrow gastric tube that restricts portion size.
"We agreed this was probably the most suitable procedure for his lifestyle.
"James can reasonably expect to lose well over half of his excess weight, providing he makes associated healthy behavioural changes.”
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