made a decision!

[twinklyhb]

hi i have been doing a lot of research and even phoned mr smalls secretary and spoke to her she says from referal to surgery is taking approx a year for those of us from sunderland pct so i have thought long and hard and i think im going to go privately with wls group in preston and have my aftercare and fills in newcastle (£5,950inc 2years aftercare) i have scoured other forums and have had pretty good feedback from there and it "feels right" so have booked a free consultation when their clinic is next in newcastle in june hopefully i could have my band the first week of the summer hols which is what im aiming for im still going to docs on friday but im pretty sure my minds made up! heather

 

[j.u.s.t.l.i.z.]

hi heather the waiting time here is 1 year, we have a very good nhs team, but i do respect your decision of going private, just be aware that after the 2 years it can get pretty costly paying for the aftercare of your band where nhs covers life long after care and all problems are covered, the bigger picture needs to be looked at rather than just the short term aspect of getting the op done more quickly, i chose to wait for nhs banding as i simply could not afford life long aftercare, its good that your fortunate enough to be able to pay and skip the years waiting list.

good luck

liz x

 

[olivia1987uk]

You're both braver than me...I couldn't go under the knife! Let's see how I go alone eh?

 

[Mazza]

Hi Twinlyhb

You will be in safe hands, thats where I had my band fitted! Good luck and I hope you get a date sorted soon!

Maz x x

 

[twinklyhb]

hi heather the waiting time here is 1 year, we have a very good nhs team, but i do respect your decision of going private, just be aware that after the 2 years it can get pretty costly paying for the aftercare of your band where nhs covers life long after care and all problems are covered, the bigger picture needs to be looked at rather than just the short term aspect of getting the op done more quickly, i chose to wait for nhs banding as i simply could not afford life long aftercare, its good that your fortunate enough to be able to pay and skip the years waiting list.

good luck

liz x

hi liz what sort of things do you mean i really respect your views so i would love to hear from you im the sort of person who needs to do things when i feel its right ,i very much rely on my intuition, what other care and expense will there be after 2 years? xxh

 

[twinklyhb]

hi mazza did mr mujahid khurshid do your band how was everything? x heather

 

[cazbandy]

Hi there

After 2 years you will still need adjustments to keep the band at the sweet spot once that has been acheived. The cost of private fills range from £80 right up to £250 with an xray.

Also if the band fails technically in anyway, as Liz's did, the NHS will redo the operation for nothing. If you were private, you would have to pay for that again unless you could prove that the surgeon was to blame. I have heard cases where the band fails but they only replace the band, not the cost of the actual surgery.

You will have the band for 10-15 years hopefully before it will need replacing. The NHS route covers that.

But at the end of the day, the choice is yours and you must do what is right for you. Good luck with your journey.

 

[Cones]

I have just had my band fitted privately in Bristol - I have type 1 diabetes which is not covered on the NHS - even if it was the wait would approx be 2 years. My op cost £7.5K including post op tests and aftercare but I have spent more money than that on car! I am just 7 days out od the op - lost just over a stone and my diabetes is stable - it is a struggle and I am just starting to introduce solids. I would say if you can afford it then go for it - life is nothing if your not healthy enough to enjoy it ........

 

[twinklyhb]

I have just had my band fitted privately in Bristol - I have type 1 diabetes which is not covered on the NHS - even if it was the wait would approx be 2 years. My op cost £7.5K including post op tests and aftercare but I have spent more money than that on car! I am just 7 days out od the op - lost just over a stone and my diabetes is stable - it is a struggle and I am just starting to introduce solids. I would say if you can afford it then go for it - life is nothing if your not healthy enough to enjoy it ........

thanks cones ive made my decision to sort this weight problem once and for all and now i feel better already and i agree we spend money on things that are of no real importance for once im gonna spend some money on my self (im still argueing with myself about the waste of money and what it could be better spent on but i think thats what we do lol) x heather

 

[j.u.s.t.l.i.z.]

hi liz what sort of things do you mean i really respect your views so i would love to hear from you im the sort of person who needs to do things when i feel its right ,i very much rely on my intuition, what other care and expense will there be after 2 years? xxh

as caz has already stated prices of fills and de fills, faulted bands are not usually covered in the price payed for the aftercare package, mine had a fault after 3.5 years and i had to be de and rebanded, which was done quite quickly on the nhs, some private patients on here have had to re pay again for this some are lucky and they pay for the band only not the surgeon and aneathnatists time.
yes its money well spent but no one can really predict where they are financially going to be in say 5-10 years time.

caz mentions the band should last up to 15 years, its like buying a car they do wear out eventually and a new one is needed, im glad i was patient and waited as at this point of time in my journey id be sat here with a band that had failed that i couldnt of afforded to have replaced and probably still in debt from my 1st op.

you asked for my opinion and im giving it from my perspective, im sure a few private patients thats been through similar to me will come forward and explain it from the private side of the topic.

liz x

 

[twinklyhb]

thanks xh