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Hello!

T

Trisha83

New Member
Hello everybody! Hope everyone is well :)

Well, I guess this is my introduction. My name is Trisha, I am 26 years old and I live in North London. I work full time for a well known Betting Company as a Deputy Manager and I am also a mother to a beautiful 17 month old baby girl called Acacia. I am legal guardian to my 16 year old brother Anthony too.

I have joined this site, as I am looking to take the weight loss surgery route. I, like many others on here I guess, am battling to keep my weight under control. I have tried many many diets but after a few months I get demotivated because the weight loss stops! I have tried countless of diets - some of them I even question whether they are real, as I am just so desperate to battle this obesity! Having my daughter has given me the motivation I need to do something about it.

I have been to the doctor and the nurse regarding my weight and followed all the advice they have given me. I am currently weighing in at just under 21 stones, wearing size 24-26 clothes and have a BMI of 48. I got the phone number from PALS from a good friend of mine and when I phoned them they advised me that my PCT (Enfield) follow NICE guidelines for WLS so I assumed I automatically qualified. I went to the doctors to enquite about WLS and he agreed it would be the next step for me seeing as I have tried everything else yet I feel like he is fobbing off my referral somewhat. He sent me for a set of full bloods to be done, which came back to show that I have fairly bad arthritis, to which he said would go in my favour slightly. I am also going to be speaking to him this afternoon about possible sleep apnea (sp?) as my partner has told me I do some strange stuff in my sleep and it scares him.

From doing more and more research I see it is somewhat like a bit of a postcode lottery for WLS. If I was in the position to finance this myself I seriously would. I am in constant pain each day, my hands, feet and knees are always ceasing up. I am constantly tired (I guess carrying 21 stones around everyday would do this to someone) and of course this is all starting to just make me feel very down.

I am just wondering how everyone went about getting their referals for WLS. How long it took them and what basis they were took on.

I look forward to reading all your threads, following your jounrnies and stories and hopefully making some new friends :)

xxx
 
Hi Trish,

I am fairly new on here too. Just wanted to welcome you to this site and say how great it is here. theres lots of really nice folk who have experience and they are very supportive. Im sure they'l be along soon to offer help and advice.
I myself am awaiting a decission on funding. Good luck on your WLS journey.
 
Just want to say hi to both of you. I have been a member here for quite a while, and can definitely say that this is the BEST place for all your wls questions and problems.
Everyone is so helpful and honest and always there when needed for support.
I have been fighting for 4 years for my surgery, been turned down twice for funding, but finally it was agreed earlier this year. Am having my surgery on 12 July and I am aged 53, one of the more elderly ladies on this site lol.
Wishing you both lots of luck and hope you are successful, take care and keep posting xxxxx
 
Welcome Trisha - the forum is a great place and there are people here to support you all the way. Don't be afraid to ask anything, anytime.
 
Hi Trish!

Welcome to this wonderful forum, you'll get all the help & advice you need regarding WLS here!

Everyone had got a different story to tell, but the most important information at this stage, would be from people in your PCT & area.

If your Dr has already told you that you automatically qualify, whoopee! That can be half the battle! But why is it you that he is fobbing you off though? He could be doing most of the boring paperwork needed to refer you without you even knowing!

As 'what happens next' varies greatly from PCT to PCT, it is difficult for me to say exactly what will happen next, but unless you are in an area that pushes people through quickly, then a typical wait could be anywhere from roughly 6 months to 18 months. Some people have had to wait for alot longer than that!

I was refered by my Dr to the local obesity clinic in my PCT, which took about 2 months to get my first appt. I had to see a nutritionist, an exercise bloke & have a respiratory test for sleep apneoa (your Dr or obeisty consultant will get around to that), plus had a load of bloods done to check for things like bone density, thyroid etc. I finally got another appt to see my obesity consultant (should have been a 3 month follow up appt but it was actually 6 months) & he then agreed he would apply to my PCT for funding. All this took 9 months from when I first saw him. Took another 3 months before finally hearing that I got my funding in May. I have now been referred to the hospital that does the ops & have 2 appts there next month....the final one I am hoping will be a pre-op (you basically see everyone involved to make sure you are fit for surgery, MRSA swabs etc). Then, if that's all ok, I go on a waiting list for the actual op, which I have been told is 18 wks (not impressed, but hey, what can you do, I don't have £10,000 either!).

So, you can see this is not often a quick journey, although like I said, some PCT's push people through quicker than others....hope you'll be one of them xxx
 
Just wanted to say Hi and wish you luck Trisha xxx
 
Hi Trish,
Welcome to the site.
Yep, its definitely a postcode lottery and most times not a quick process either but in a way thats a good thing cos it gives you time to think it through thoroughly as a gastric bypass is yours for life once you have it done!
It took 9 months from first mentioning it to my GP to my op and I am just over 5 weeks post op now.
Good luck x
 
HI Trish ..........
just wanted to say Hi, i am under charring cross hospital my first appointment was at hospital in july last year and my op is 20th july this year. Prior to that my GP applied for my funding before she referred me, that was about jan 09 so i guess as long as op takes place its taken about 18 months for me but everyone's different.
I wish you luck on your journey and if you get chance to go to charring cross hospital its very friendly and helpful and surgeons are lovely x
 
angie790 said:
Hi Trish!

Welcome to this wonderful forum, you'll get all the help & advice you need regarding WLS here!

Everyone had got a different story to tell, but the most important information at this stage, would be from people in your PCT & area.

If your Dr has already told you that you automatically qualify, whoopee! That can be half the battle! But why is it you that he is fobbing you off though? He could be doing most of the boring paperwork needed to refer you without you even knowing!

As 'what happens next' varies greatly from PCT to PCT, it is difficult for me to say exactly what will happen next, but unless you are in an area that pushes people through quickly, then a typical wait could be anywhere from roughly 6 months to 18 months. Some people have had to wait for alot longer than that!

I was refered by my Dr to the local obesity clinic in my PCT, which took about 2 months to get my first appt. I had to see a nutritionist, an exercise bloke & have a respiratory test for sleep apneoa (your Dr or obeisty consultant will get around to that), plus had a load of bloods done to check for things like bone density, thyroid etc. I finally got another appt to see my obesity consultant (should have been a 3 month follow up appt but it was actually 6 months) & he then agreed he would apply to my PCT for funding. All this took 9 months from when I first saw him. Took another 3 months before finally hearing that I got my funding in May. I have now been referred to the hospital that does the ops & have 2 appts there next month....the final one I am hoping will be a pre-op (you basically see everyone involved to make sure you are fit for surgery, MRSA swabs etc). Then, if that's all ok, I go on a waiting list for the actual op, which I have been told is 18 wks (not impressed, but hey, what can you do, I don't have £10,000 either!).

So, you can see this is not often a quick journey, although like I said, some PCT's push people through quicker than others....hope you'll be one of them xxx
Click to expand...

Thank you everybody for your replies.

Angie, when I first phoned PALS to find out Enfield PCTs criteria for weight loss surgery I was told they followed NICE guidelines. This was some months ago now though. When I first went to the Dr he was agreeing that this would be the next step etc but I have since found out the Enfield PCT's criteria has changed (well, I haven't found out officially, I saw a post on here and someone had said it had recently changed). I have been trying for the past couple of days to contact Enfield PCT (PALS) to find out what the new criteria is, but have had no joy with three telephone numbers - nobody is answering!

I went to see the Dr yesterday and was saying how I felt constantly tired - very similar to how tired you would feel in your first trimester of pregnancy (I am DEFINATELY not pregnant lol) which is extreme tiredness but he said my recent bloods had not shown any cause for this etc. After some more talking about various things he decided he was going to make a referral to Royal Free hospital for a sleep study - I am guessing for sleep apnoea? Not sure. So I am just waiting for that referral to come through!

I know I should have just asked him about the new criteria, but I am starting to feel like I am bugging my Dr, and it isn't really nice to feel like such a burden :(

Sorry, don't mean to sound like a moaner. I do know this is going to be a very long, stressful, hard journey - I'm not expecting miracles. As long as I see a light at the end of the tunnel I will fight it all the way
xxx
 
Hi Trish ,

I know it may not be anything to do with it, but i just noticed you said you was feeling constantly tired, has your doctor mentioned to you Fibromyalgia or ME, i have both these and they make you feel very tired worn out along with other things. Fibro does not show up on blood tests but you would have pressure points of pain. Just thought it may be worth mentioning.
HOPE YOU GET YOURSELF SORTED SOON X
 
My doc hasn't mentioned either of these. I get pain in my knees, hands and feet but he has said it is arthritis. If it perisists I may ask him about this. Thank you
xxxx
 
Trisha I am south east London but had my op in Homerton. The whole process from GP refferal to op took about 6 months, but this was due to DSA and Lymphoedema so my GP pushed for me.
Keep the pressure on your GP as they are the only way forward, unless you could afford to pay for it.
Good luck and welcome to the site
 
Trisha83 said:
...I have since found out the Enfield PCT's criteria has changed (well, I haven't found out officially, I saw a post on here and someone had said it had recently changed). I have been trying for the past couple of days to contact Enfield PCT (PALS) to find out what the new criteria is, but have had no joy with three telephone numbers - nobody is answering!

I went to see the Dr yesterday and was saying how I felt constantly tired - very similar to how tired you would feel in your first trimester of pregnancy (I am DEFINATELY not pregnant lol) which is extreme tiredness but he said my recent bloods had not shown any cause for this etc. After some more talking about various things he decided he was going to make a referral to Royal Free hospital for a sleep study - I am guessing for sleep apnoea? Not sure. So I am just waiting for that referral to come through!

I know I should have just asked him about the new criteria, but I am starting to feel like I am bugging my Dr, and it isn't really nice to feel like such a burden :(
Click to expand...


Hey Tricia, you're not a moaner, it's a stressful time all this waiting & not knowing & there really is no-where better to get support than on here!

I would hazard a guess & agree that the sleep study might well be for sleep apnoea...if that is positive, then that could explain your tiredness. However, I don't know about everyone else, but I'm pretty sure we all feel constantly tired...has something to do with carrying around an extra person on your back all day long!!!!!!

My advice to you would be to write a list of all the things you are wanting to know/are worried about...and go back to your Dr! Ask him to find out what the criteria is now, as you've heard it has changed...(you have to remember some Drs aren't really up on all this, so you may well know things he doesn't). Ask him: Have you referred me?!!!!! If so, how long before an appt comes through? If he hasn't, ask him sodding well why not? You may need to change doctors or even GP surgery to get someone sympathetic to your cause. Keep trying the PALS numbers, better still, ring the switchboard, get some likely numbers from them.

Finally, stop with the 'feeling like a burden'! This is your health & your life you are trying to sort out, if you don't stay on the ball no-one will! You mustn't feel like you are bugging him...think of it this way, if he had taken the time to fully explain the process to you properly in the first place, then you would understand what to expect & in what rough time-frame. If he had done exactly what he said he would (i.e. refer you), then this many months later, I'm sure you would have had an appt through from somewhere by now.

I am lucky as my Dr is lovely, and she told me right at the beginning: 'Those that shout the loudest get quicker results!'...now I don't like the idea that I would be 'jumping the queue' as it were, but I certainly chase everything up, from: 'When is my next appt, I'm still waiting & haven't heard anything?' to checking paperwork has been sent AND received & processed the other end. I'm sure I annoy everyone, but hey, tough boobies, I have broad shoulders & thick skin, I can take it!

I've heard stories on here when people have 'slipped through the system', had referral
paperwork lost, results from tests/studies lost etc this has meant their waiting time has been extended for months and months. The waiting time down here in my PCT is long enough as it is, so I just want to make that doesn't happen to me!
 
Trish, welcome to the wonderful world of wls....

I read your initial post and just wanted to say that he's doing the blood tests for your benefit. Your gp will be well aware that comorbidities like diabetes/sleep apnoea will support any application for funding....

Be patient but above all be honest when you get a consultation or go for any tests..

Best of luck my lovely xx
 
just to let you know Trisha fibro can feel like arthritis.......... just thought i would let you know x
 
Well I am still no closer to finding out what the new criteria for Enfield is.. nobody seems to know, no matter who I talk to. My Dr doesn't seem to want to tell me either. He is really confusing me, as at first he was so in my favour for me to have it done, but now, he is just brushing it off. I am really considering moving to a new surgery.

How is everyone else doing? Got much planned for the weekend ahead?
 
Hi Trisha, i'm also from Enfield, my doctor just referred me to the Whittington, having all the tests done there and the hospital apply for funding once all the tests are done, good luck hun x J
 
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