Complete newbie , confused but excited

[countrywench]

Hi everyone
I am a 52 year old female who has been morbidly obese for the best part of 30 years now .
I am 5ft 10 so am quite tall . Before I got pregnant I weighed a healthy 12 stone with good curves and good bone coverage although I have always been heavy in the legs .
Now I find that after yoyo dieting for all these years , I now weigh 25st :cry:
Both of my knees are shot , I need a knee replacement for sure on one of them but have been turned down by the surgeon as ' fat won't heal very well '
. I'm in so much pain with my knees now that I live on high doses of powerful prescription painkillers , some days I take more than I'm allowed just to be able to move around .
I've been turned down 2 times now by my doctor for WLS , he wouldn't even refer me , I am going to see him again next week and ask to be referred to the weight management team and see what he says this time
I don't feel as if I have a quality of life at the moment . I'm using a mobility scooter to get around ..
I spend my days upstairs , as that is where the loo is , as its to painful to try and climb the stairs each time.
I don't want to come across as self pitying, because I am far from that . I'm just so damn angry that I've allowed myself to become this ' blob ' . And the fact that the doctors don't seem to want to help me ?
If I get turned down again I am going to fund this myself . Take out a loan if I can and pay for it myself . My hubby is 100% behind me ..
I've been in contact with The National Obesity Surgery Centre , has anyone else dealt with them ?
I've been quoted £6000 for a gastric band , does this sound about right ?
It's still very early stages of emails and calls , nothing has been signed with this company, but they offer surgery in my home town of Southampton ..
Well this is the beginning of my journey I hope ..
Any advice will be gratefully received !
Xxxxx

 

[Butterfly_lady]

Hi hunni I too am 52 yrs old I self funded age 50 but went for a bypass as I felt it was right for me, I'm now down from 21st 7 to 10st 2 a size 26 to a size 8 good luck xx

 

[countrywench]

Hi thank you for the reply ..
I'm still not sure which will be good for me as of yet as I've just started down this road
( with no sat nav ! )
But it's going to be interesting to say the least !

 

[los in it]

hello
I had a bypass like butterfly and again like butterfly its the BEST thing ive ever done its still after just over a year changing my life the age don't matter to me just recognising you need to change to make your life better
very good luck with everything

 

[gc028]

I went with National Obesity in Manchester they were good but the hospital I went with would do the op direct and that would have saved some money!! I had the band 7 months ago and lost 5 stone so far best thing ever! Good luck with it all and your decisions xx

 

[sundown]

I've been in contact with The National Obesity Surgery Centre , has anyone else dealt with them ?

Welcome Country Wench

It sounds as though your GP, to be frank, is a turd! I don't see how he can possibly refuse to refer you if you have mobility issues. I just think there are some GPs who are very set in their ways and have the "eat less, move more and you'll lose weight" mentality.

My provider is the National Obesity Surgery Centre - I'm having a mini bypass at Spire Southampton on 20th October. So far I have to say they've been brilliant. I've had a number of calls from them and they sent me a very comprehensive pack of information on the procedure, what to expect post-operative, common problems that crop up and full menus for each stage of the post-op diet.

If you've got good credit, rather than a loan you could look into a credit card. I just have the amount of my bypass in savings, but instead I've taken advantage of 0% transfer on one of my credit cards that runs to end of January 2017 so I've got 15 months to pay it off. I already paid £1,000 as a deposit so I've simply set up a monthly £600 payment to the card to get it paid before the 0% runs out.

 

[countrywench]

Hi Sundown
I live in eastleigh so Southampton will be my hospital also !
Yes I think your description of my Dr might just be right ?
I'm not sure if my surgery is one of those self funding places and that would explain it really ..
People don't realise that when you have a huge amount of weight to lose its like looking at a mile high brick wall ! They can sit there , all nice trim and thin , and say oh it just will power . Well will power to me is not picking them in the eye when they say this to me ! Lol !
At 52 and ten stone to lose , I am never going to be able to lose it , dragging 2 severely arthritic knees along with me ..
I'be almost got the money I need so mid February I should be ready to book up , but will book my consultation before Xmas ..
So many questions running through my head I'm finding it difficult to get off to sleep !
Silly things like how do I take my pain meds when I'm only allowed to swallow liquid , will my tablets cause a blockage ?
Xxx

 

[sundown]

People don't realise that when you have a huge amount of weight to lose its like looking at a mile high brick wall ! They can sit there , all nice trim and thin , and say oh it just will power . Well will power to me is not picking them in the eye when they say this to me ! Lol !
At 52 and ten stone to lose , I am never going to be able to lose it , dragging 2 severely arthritic knees along with me ..

Well that's it. If we could have done it ourselves, we'd have done it already. Nobody chooses to be overweight and miserable. It isn't easy at all.

I'be almost got the money I need so mid February I should be ready to book up , but will book my consultation before Xmas ..
So many questions running through my head I'm finding it difficult to get off to sleep !
Silly things like how do I take my pain meds when I'm only allowed to swallow liquid , will my tablets cause a blockage ?
Xxx

Just get down all the questions you want to ask on a bit of paper and take it to the consultant. My experience was that the consultant was actually very happy that I asked a load of questions and he said that when he gets that, it gives him confidence that the person has really thought it through. If you get Mr Bryne you'll find he's a lovely man - not at all imposing or condescending. Keep us updated with how you go!