How at 23 stone will they not consider you. What is your BMI. The guidelines clearly state BMI over 40. It's shocking really..Is there no way you can dispute this or even contact you local hospital as I feel this is extremely unfair
It is quite shocking, my BMI is about 47 I think and the guideline apparently is that if your BMI is over 50 you can be referred, if it's 40-50 then you have to have specific health problems before they even look at you. I don't have diabetes or anything like that so my doctor said there is no point even thinking about the NHS and to look at privately funding it
I'm sure I've read somewhere about pcos being listed as a kind of co-morbidities for Bariatric surgery... Can't for the life of me remember where though.
I'm sure I've read somewhere about pcos being listed as a kind of co-morbidities for Bariatric surgery... Can't for the life of me remember where though.
I actually 178cm and 148kg - just double checked, sorry! How much weight would I need to put on to be at a BMI of 50? (Yes I am actually considering that if it means I don't have to fork out £10500)
Thank you so much for your help!
I don't think I could bring myself to gain another 10kgs just for the chance to be referred for the procedure on the NHS, back to square one!
Check the NICE guidelines and contact your local PALS to check what is available - or contact your CCG. Yes referral direct to surgery with no comorbidities is a BMI over 50, or over 40/45 with 2 comorbidities I think. However, over 40 there should be a weight
Management/tier 3 programme that will lead into surgery if relevant. Sounds like you need to bypass your GP and do some research to get the actual situation in your area. GPs don't always know what is available.
You could find out name of a baritric surgeon in your NHS, phone the hospital and ask to speak to their secretary - they might be able to give you contact details for whoever runs the weight management or contact for the baritric specialist nurse that might be able to help - it is worth a few phonecalls to find out.
Check the NICE guidelines and contact your local PALS to check what is available - or contact your CCG. Yes referral direct to surgery with no comorbidities is a BMI over 50, or over 40/45 with 2 comorbidities I think. However, over 40 there should be a weight
Management/tier 3 programme that will lead into surgery if relevant. Sounds like you need to bypass your GP and do some research to get the actual situation in your area. GPs don't always know what is available.
You could find out name of a baritric surgeon in your NHS, phone the hospital and ask to speak to their secretary - they might be able to give you contact details for whoever runs the weight management or contact for the baritric specialist nurse that might be able to help - it is worth a few phonecalls to find out.
I will contact my CCG first thing tomorrow and see what I can find out! Thank you for all of the info! Do you by any chance know the likelihood/what they look for to refer you to surgery once you've finished the weight management programme?
I will contact my CCG first thing tomorrow and see what I can find out! Thank you for all of the info! Do you by any chance know the likelihood/what they look for to refer you to surgery once you've finished the weight management programme?
Sorry, I don't as I was referred straight to surgery. Others who have been through tier 3 might be able to help @FeeBee or @starryeyed have I think so they might be able to help.
I had to complete 12 months at tier 3 which became more like 18 because the provider changed midway through. I had individual appointments with a CBT dietitian about how I'd got to that point. I did have eating disorders in my past and also a very complicated medical history/disabilities which meant even though my BMI was around 42/43 which some people have struggled to get referred at they always seemed very optimistic about my chances. Also I had already tried slimming clubs, orlistat etc so I didn't have to do 12 weeks minimum of that option first. I was given no weight loss target but asked to maintain where I was. I was rapidly losing mobility at that point though and take an array of drugs and had just got a wheelchair so I felt that as long as I didn't take the mick they wouldn't punish me for a couple of pounds here and there.
There were various group seminars to attend about WLS and the changes we would need to make and then once I was referred to the hospital another seminar with the dieticians and nurses and a talk from previous patients. That was Dec '15 and at the end I let them know the option I would prefer. I saw the surgeon early 2016 and he was initially difficult because of the eating disorders and insisted I see a psychologist who talked to me for 10 minutes and confirmed I wasn't looking to use WLS as a way of re starting behaviours I've left a long way in the past - not least because I work in a similar line of work and couldn't ethically work if I was still battling ED.
I got my date through in April for the following month and had surgery May 2016. But as always the problem here is that everywhere does it differently and even if we lived in the same place there's no guarantee our journeys would be the same then either, that's why getting the information directly from the horses mouth as it were is the only thing you can do. Good luck! I was very grateful for the time I had to really get my head around what WLS could and could not do and the changes I needed to make. I was already in therapy and I talked through it for 6 months prior as part of the work we did, in particular the fact that losing weight was not going to magically fix my chronic pain and disabilities. I already stopped drinking alcohol and was very clear that I wasn't being deprived of anything after the op because it was 100% my choice to have it. I was quite unwell for the first 48 hours and in some ways losing weight has aggravated a couple of issues but I have never regretted the choice I made to have the surgery.
I had to complete 12 months at tier 3 which became more like 18 because the provider changed midway through. I had individual appointments with a CBT dietitian about how I'd got to that point. I did have eating disorders in my past and also a very complicated medical history/disabilities which meant even though my BMI was around 42/43 which some people have struggled to get referred at they always seemed very optimistic about my chances. Also I had already tried slimming clubs, orlistat etc so I didn't have to do 12 weeks minimum of that option first. I was given no weight loss target but asked to maintain where I was. I was rapidly losing mobility at that point though and take an array of drugs and had just got a wheelchair so I felt that as long as I didn't take the mick they wouldn't punish me for a couple of pounds here and there.
There were various group seminars to attend about WLS and the changes we would need to make and then once I was referred to the hospital another seminar with the dieticians and nurses and a talk from previous patients. That was Dec '15 and at the end I let them know the option I would prefer. I saw the surgeon early 2016 and he was initially difficult because of the eating disorders and insisted I see a psychologist who talked to me for 10 minutes and confirmed I wasn't looking to use WLS as a way of re starting behaviours I've left a long way in the past - not least because I work in a similar line of work and couldn't ethically work if I was still battling ED.
I got my date through in April for the following month and had surgery May 2016. But as always the problem here is that everywhere does it differently and even if we lived in the same place there's no guarantee our journeys would be the same then either, that's why getting the information directly from the horses mouth as it were is the only thing you can do. Good luck! I was very grateful for the time I had to really get my head around what WLS could and could not do and the changes I needed to make. I was already in therapy and I talked through it for 6 months prior as part of the work we did, in particular the fact that losing weight was not going to magically fix my chronic pain and disabilities. I already stopped drinking alcohol and was very clear that I wasn't being deprived of anything after the op because it was 100% my choice to have it. I was quite unwell for the first 48 hours and in some ways losing weight has aggravated a couple of issues but I have never regretted the choice I made to have the surgery.
Hey! Please don't apologise for it being so long, that's really really helpful
I saw my doctor yesterday about being referred for the tier 3 thingy.. she just shoved it off, renewed my orlistat and said to see how it carries on for the next few months. Not overly happy about that because I have tried it a few times before and no good, and then the last month I have been on it, i've not really found it much good either. I think I am going to make an appointment with another doctor and see if they are willing to refer me to weight management. If not, I guess I will have to wait another few months -.-
I still have my consultation with the private surgeon on Wednesday, so I will still go to that but if possible of course I would want to take the NHS route.
I'm glad it was helpful and sorry your GP doesn't seem very supportive. Orlistat did nothing for me and after a couple of attempts and monthly weigh ins with the nurse my GP was happy to conclude it just didn't do anything for me, it's not for everyone after all.
Fingers crossed Wednesday is useful for you but also that you can still get somewhere with the NHS option x
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