Been turned down for surgery

[smilergem]

Hi everyone
Not sure if anyone can give me some advice, any would be gratefully received. I have been turned down twice for surgery now, once by a special review board of a PCT and then last year again by the PCT.
I am being put forward again, and am not holding out much hope to be honest. I am having a sleep study done, ie I have to collect a machine from the hospital, bring it home for the night and take it back the next day. I know I don't have apnoea, although I do snore.
I also have joint pains, back pain, acid reflux, occasional asthma, severe depression and an underactive thyroid. I do consider myself lucky in a way that I don't have diabetes, high blood pressure or any other severe problems.
Are my symptoms enough to one day get funding? my BMI is about 45.
I wish I could afford to pay for surgery, but this is never going to be possible.
Can anyone suggest anything I can do? Not sure if the sleep study will show anything, but would this go for me or against my case?
I have been trying now for years to get the operation, and get so disheartened when I am turned down.
I am 52 now, and would just love to get the old me back, have some confidence and be able to 'live' again.
Thanks for listening,
Jan xxxx

 

[CHUCKY]

do you live in hampshire?

 

[Caroline101061]

you need to check your PCT criteria - could be that your comorbidities are not considered life threatening enough for surgery and that your BMI would need to be higher for you to be considered on your own - its ridiculous but thats how it works in some areas. Could you register with another GP in another area and try a different PCT - do you have someone whose address you could use? I know that next year, you will have more of a choice where you can register with a GP but not right now. Did you try appealing the PCT decision? There is a lady on here called Gingernutter who found a loophole and got her surgery after being turned down several times by the PCT - see if you can PM her.

 

[smilergem]

Hi there I live in Penzance, Cornwall, so right down the end of the country, almost Lands End! Thanks for your comments though, it's so nice to be able to talk to people that understand what I am going through xxx

 

[smilergem]

Hi again, as I am new to this site, I can't find out how to look for the member you suggested, and how can I private message her when I find her? thanks again

 

[Caroline101061]

sure one of the moderators will pick up on that and point you in the right direction

 

[Ellie65]

Hi there Jan just wanted to wish you good luck there, hang on in there its hard I know but try to keep smiling!!!

 

[margaretmc]

Hi Jan
I`m so sorry you have been turned down hun but please don`t give up fight them all the way . I honestly don`t know how they turned you down . Good luck and take care .
Margaret xx

 

[katstofat]

yes if they find you have sleepapnea that should help you get funding it does here in salford and im prety sure its the same all over...........kath x

 

[smilergem]

Hi again
Thanks for your comments. I was told there is no appeals procedure in place, so I couldn't appeal against the decision.
Any other things that would help my case, been told by some people if I have sleep apnoea, this may cause problems as they have to treat that before I can be considered for surgery.
I am just so fed up :-(((((((((
Still can't work out how to use this site either lol x

 

[Caroline101061]

sleep apnea wont stop you having surgery. The surgeons need to know about it for anesthetic reasons. Treatment is a machine that you plug into every night - you take it with you when you go into hospital. The great thing is that if you have sleep apnea, it disappears with weight loss. Sounds a bit too easy that there is no appeals process - I would query that if I were you. Every PCT has an appeals process as far as Im aware. Think there are some threads in another part of the site about how it works!

 

[swizzlestick]

Hi Smilergem

Welcome to minis You will soon get the feel for the place and there is a lot of useful and friendly advice here. There are tutorials to do different things on one of the links at the top of this page (in the blue bit). As you are new here there are some restrictions on what you can and cant do. I think one milestone is hitting 50 posts, that unlocks new things you are able to do.

You say you snore so it is possible you have an apnoea, if you do , this strengthens your case for wls.

I would have sworn blind I didnt have an apnoea, I didnt snore or anything, but my test results showed a mild one that whilst there didnt actually need to be treated and it supported my wls application.

Most of us here have had a rocky road trying to get the op so even if you cannot private message people yet I wouldnt worry as they will probably read this post and reply anyway Or if you know the name of the person you wish to contact you can always start a thread with their name in the title.

Hope you feel at home here soon

Take care Xx

 

[isabella67]

hello

Hi everyone
Not sure if anyone can give me some advice, any would be gratefully received. I have been turned down twice for surgery now, once by a special review board of a PCT and then last year again by the PCT.
I am being put forward again, and am not holding out much hope to be honest. I am having a sleep study done, ie I have to collect a machine from the hospital, bring it home for the night and take it back the next day. I know I don't have apnoea, although I do snore.
I also have joint pains, back pain, acid reflux, occasional asthma, severe depression and an underactive thyroid. I do consider myself lucky in a way that I don't have diabetes, high blood pressure or any other severe problems.
Are my symptoms enough to one day get funding? my BMI is about 45.
I wish I could afford to pay for surgery, but this is never going to be possible.
Can anyone suggest anything I can do? Not sure if the sleep study will show anything, but would this go for me or against my case?
I have been trying now for years to get the operation, and get so disheartened when I am turned down.
I am 52 now, and would just love to get the old me back, have some confidence and be able to 'live' again.
Thanks for listening,
Jan xxxx

hello i do have very high bp its if i take to many tabs it gose to low i pas out if to high i get very bad head they cant controll it good luck xx

 

[Ellie65]

Hi again
Thanks for your comments. I was told there is no appeals procedure in place, so I couldn't appeal against the decision.
Any other things that would help my case, been told by some people if I have sleep apnoea, this may cause problems as they have to treat that before I can be considered for surgery.
I am just so fed up :-(((((((((
Still can't work out how to use this site either lol x

Practice makes perfect hun xxx

 

[thinkbethin]

Hi smiler and:welcome2: to minis. There will be loads of people willing to help you here so hang on in there and hopefully someone under the same pct will be along soon. Have you had a look on the bospa website to check out the criteria for your area.If not have a look and see what you can find out there. This way if you do find you fit the criteria you can go armed with this information to your gp and the panel if need be.Good luck on your journeyxx

 

[BlueDiamond]

Hello

Did they state why you was turned down, am not sure if your pct lets you know why they turned you down??? am sure someone else will be along to let you know if you can ask why (thats if you dont know already)

Good luck and all the best - MeJulie x x

 

[Lola K]

its not fair that its a postcode lottery - I asked my GP, I have BMI of 48 - he said he referred someone with higher BMI and diabetes, and she got turned down - says the funding is just not there - so I am currently trying to arrange a loan - I really need this just to be able to live a normal life! - its just not fair, drug addicts get all the help they need - when is obesity going to be recognised as am illness that needs treating - I have yo-yo'd since the age of 14, when I first visted my GP for weight issues.... now 41 and its a joke!

 

[quetiapina]

Hi Jan, keep on trying and build a thorough case with yr medical team. There was a recent article on South West News ( my family are Cornish so I keep up to date) about how Cornwall and Devon are looking to increase the number of WLS by almost double this coming year - from 400 to 700+. x

 

[smilergem]

Hiya, thanks so much for taking the trouble to reply. I am very new to this site, so making friends is an added bonus.
They have started doing bands at Treliske, but all bypasses are done at Taunton. Apparently they hope to be offering bypasses in about 2 years time, which at my age seems so long away )
Am hoping to pick up help and tips on this site, it looks brilliant for support.
Thanks again from sunny (not lol) Cornwall

 

[tesmaralda]

Hi again, as I am new to this site, I can't find out how to look for the member you suggested, and how can I private message her when I find her? thanks again

Hi Smilergem you need 50 posts to be able to private message or email someone. Here is a link to a guided tour section and that should help you find your way a bit better

http://www.minimins.com/introductions/46674-new-members-guided-tour-minimins.html

I will try and find the link to her post about the loop hole and post it here. Heres the link http://www.minimins.com/surgical-we...oop-hole-fast-might-not-last-much-longer.html?