Wasnt really sure where to post ... Ive been wondering.

[Nightwitch]

i was always lucky with my health and mobility...even tho i was almost 26st i was still able to get out and do stuff....not as much as i would like or a quick but i could.

Before this surgery last time i was seriously ill or in hospital was back when i was 10 years old (20 years ago!).
I think this was also my way of trying to keep my health good, even if i didn't suffer from anything now who was to say a few years down the line that i would still be able to say that?
Plus this now means i can go for those long walks with my camera and friends without the lower back/hip pain and what not

 

[piratess]

I just want to say thankyou to everyone who posted on this thread, ...

It is such a personal thing for everybody the reasons why you consider WLS .. and no two people are the same, Their reasons are just as important as the next persons.

Im kinda stuck in limbo,
Somebody mentioned they wouldnt consider surgery at my weight .. this has made me think.................
I dont see any other way out after being in he vicious circle of diet regain plus more time and time again.
My mum is obese as was my grandmother and i just dont want to end up with the same problems they suffer/suffered.
My mum needs knee replacement surgery but they wont do it as they say she is to young. She has arthritis of the spine high cholestral the list goes on.

I feel like im floating around in my little bubble wondering what im supposed to do?

 

[Neen]

If you have co-morbities and family history of weight related illness, even though you might be considered low weight in someones opinion, the medical people know what is best for you.
It's not just about the losing , it's about the maintaining a healthy weight to prevent you developing worse illnesses as well.
x

 

[Stellap]

I always worried about my weight, especially when I was diagnosed type II diabetic, however, when my doctor said if I go one more point up on my blood sugar reading then I would have to inject, then I knew I couldn't wait and do the dieting/slimming club rigmarole and then put back the weight again but needed something more severe. Like you, I wasn't super morbidly obese (by the time of my surgery I was 14.9 as I'd lost 2.5 stone whilst waiting), but my weight was having a severe impact on my health (diabetes, high cholestrol, joint problems etc) and I wanted to live to see my grandchildren grow up. PS - my problem wasn't losing weight but keeping it off - I probably lost the same 7 stone 10 times from the age of 20 - 45. My whole family are obese and we are all constantly in a state of losing and putting on (yo yo dieting ruins your health!) and we all eat differently - my brother is a vegetarian so doesn't eat what I eat but he is still 19+ stones. Surgery seems to be the way forward for me in keeping the weight off permanently. The NHS are also recognising that its a health issue and saves them money in the long run.

 

[CCPM]

Speak to your GP Kirsty and see if they will refer you. Then you can speak to the consultant about it and see if you will be considered. You sound at the point where this is the next step. Once you know its right in your own head thats the time. You need to be in that head space to get through it as funding can often be a battle and there are major hoops some PCTs ask you to jump through but once you know its right then you do it.

Good luck

M

 

[Postop]

My GP said it was what I had to do. I had been on about 40 different protocols of weight loss drugs for the previous 10 years, but had managed to override them (after a while) & continue binging. I was very unhappy when he said this & for a year did nothing and told no one. I then spent a year researching online & going to hospital seminars to learn about the different types of surgeries & how they worked. I then made a pros/cons list regarding having/not having it. Once I saw the pros outweighed the cons in importance -- I made another pros/cons list concerning which WLS would be right for me.

It's a very tough decision: first whether to have it & second which to have. You need to decide what you can live with and what you can't. Those would be your dealbreakers. That will help you decide if WLS is right for you.

 

[piratess]

Again thankyou so much for taking the time to reply,
this site is wonderful everyone seems so genuine and open. I feel very welcomed.

Im actually at my doctors tomorow for a review on my depression medication.
I said to her last time i went that if i could i would seriously have WLS and she said
"lets not go down that road yet"
That has stuck with me and deep down im thinking does she think theres a chance? ...

The last time i visited was when she diagnosed depression and i kinda spilled everything out to her.

If i was going to broach the subject again tomorow what would be the best approach to have ?

 

[angie790]

I'd come right out & say it! Explain how your weight makes you feel, that you have been doing some serious research into WLS, what it involves and how you think it would benefit you in the long term, and say you'd like to seriously talk about it as an option to consider in the not to distnat furture...especially when you consider it could take many many months from initial referral to actual op.

 

[Neen]

I think be honest about your eating habits, about how the weight is physically and mentally holding you back from participating in life.
Tell her that you have researched a bit and you fully accept that you need to be committed to change your lifestyle and that WLS will be a tool to help you do it properly rather than more unreliable methods like yo yo dieting.
That you fully welcome and are willing to go through all the steps in order to be considered for WLS, all the weight management and physchology appointments, and that you know you have to work hard but are aware of this and your part in the surgery's long term success.

 

[Nightwitch]

have just realise dyou are in the new forest which isn't that far from me i am near portsmouth.
good luck with your GP, i do know hampshire can be tough to get funding from, but do not give up

 

[piratess]

Ive neglected this post and for that i apologise... I did go to see my doctor again to review my antidepressent medication and have a chat about how im feeling etc .. I told her i feel no different i feel like i am existing not living,
Im 35 my children are growing away from under me and i cannot participate with them in the ways id love to! My son is almost 6 and i have never run around with him playing football! ... its just so sad!

I did tell her i had rejoined WW again ! .... and was like great thats a step forward but i knew in my brain it wasnt going to be the answer ... Ive gained afew more pounds i am punishing myself every day for being the way i am.

The convo concerning wls i had with my GP was somthing like..

Me ... so do you think i would be taken seriously and considered for WLS
Doc .. well not really i mean the NHS is really crumbling i just dont think your big enough! ..

I dont know what to do there is no way i can raise funds for this type of surgery .

any advice?

 

[dottychic]

My advice is dont give up......have a look on the BOSPA website and find out what they say about BMI and co-morbidities for your area and if you feel you come into the right bracket go back and ask the GP again armed with that knowledge. Do you have any co-morbidities that you know of? Other people have been put off by their GP's and gone on to have surgery so dont stop until you have nowhere else to go Good Luck XX

 

[yorkiegal]

For me it was when a gp turned round and said to me that the only way I'll ever lose the weight is with surgery. I'd never even dared to ask for a referral before because I was too ashamed so when he said that I jumped at the chance.

I think too that the past two years I have gone from being morbidly obese but active, to feeling constantly sluggish, having very painful knees and ankles and also getting high cholesterol. My body was finally starting to tell me that it couldn't cope with my weight anymore.

Another big reason for me was that I've had tons of counselling over the years and however many strides I've made with beating the depression and low self esteem, it has never had any effect on my ability to control my weight. So it almost feels like my past is still punishing me by giving me this constant reminder of it in keeping me fat, regardless of how much I have worked to be mentally well.

Lastly, my dad was told his cancer is terminal and I have this absolute fear of attending family gatherings. the last time was my grans funeral and all these relatives who hadn't seen me in years were whispering about my weight. I don't want them to do that when I see them at dad's funeral. I also want him to see me slim or at least well on my way to being slim.

 

[Mazza]

Unfortunatly it really is a postcode lottery with funding. My BMI was under 40 so I didnt even meet the NICE guidelines but my PCT's criteria is very strict. Yours is too Im afraid as Nightwitch said, I have copied this from the BOSPA website:

Hampshire - BMI over 60 or over 45 with serious comorbidities such as established ischaemic heart disease, type 2 diabetes requiring oral medication or insulin, life-threatening sleep apnoea, severe uncontrolled hypertension, benign intracranial hypertension, history of transient ischaemic attacks or stroke, severe lower limb major joint disease requiring orthopaedic intervention which is precluded on safety grounds due to the patient’s BMI.

Good luck but it sounds like your GP allready knows you do not meet the criteria - sorry if this is not what you want to hear x

 

[Big an Bouncy]

It was when I was sat in Slimming World for the umpteenth time.I looked around and saw all the same faces again,handing more money over to a company that thrives on people like me that keep coming back!Afterall if the eating plans worked for everyone they would go out of business.It was great seeing people that had lost so much weight,but where were they 12 months later?Very few keep it off long term.

 

[piratess]

Thankyou Mazza .. I knew from when she said that id be fighting a losing battle ..
Just leaves me feeling like i cant get out of this situation ....

I really do need to try and raise the money myself, Seems like a daunting task! ..
Thanks so much to everyone replying to this thread

 

[hsmel]

Hi - I realised I could not lose my weight alone although like you I had a bmi of around 40 - not exceptionally high but certainly big enough to feel like you have a mountain to climb and are never ever going to get there doing it yourself.

I had to go private and raised the money deciding that I could forgo changing the car for a few years and not spending as much on luxuries. I also borrowed on a 0% credit card deal!! Anyway I am so pleased I have done this for myself. Four stone down since September and I am feeling GREAT. Just wish I had done it years ago.

 

[ruthw]

hi love im 5;5 and a size 20 and thats to big for me ,its what you feel ,ive been refered by my g.p. and various consultants,to the wls doctor ive got my 3 appointment with dr on monday to see if he will put me on his waiting list so figers crossed .my advice would be go to g.p first and then go from there ,with the self esteam i think most woman have them but try and talk tl a freind ,

 

[marky v]

Same as everyone else I guess, being overweight & yo-yo dieting from an early teen...no self-worth & no confidence, gradually becoming more reclusive, the creeping-in co-morbidities due to being obese, and probably the biggest factor, family history...both my Nan & Mum died at 52 & they both started rapidly going downhill health-wise at 40....so with 40 looming I sort of panicked & decided I really didn't want to go the same way....clearly I had to accept I couldn't maintain my weight sensibly or indeed lose weight for any significant amount of time on my own so I bit the bullet, ignored the embarrassment & waddled along to my Dr's!!!!

same as Angie, as we're bro and sis!! but also the added things for me of struggling to wash and clean myself, finding it hard to get my shoes and socks on, and the final thing, struggling to wipe my 'arris...i have no shame....but i couldn't get my other half to do that, for her sake and mine i had to do something drastic and permanent to once and for all, not beat my demons but at least control them

 

[piratess]

Afternoon

It amazes me just how frank and open you all are.. here was i sat last night wanting to type out the things i am now finding difficult but really didnt think i could ! ....
Im now a size 20 im 5f2 and im over 15 stone ..
now this to some is probably no call for somone to consider surgery but i have tried everything else! ..

Tablets, shakes, diet plan after diet plan ive tried starvin myself, calorie counting etc etc ...

I am now finding it difficult to reach round to wipe after the loo
I cant bend over without blood rush and my back hurting, The base of my spin now clicks when i walk i can hear it and feel it (this worries me)
I have that painful heel thing (cant remember the name) to the point now where it is so painful to stand from sitting.
Turning over in bed is such a trauma i cant hold myself up on the mattress with my arms because i cant take the weight..
These are not co-morbaties (sp) but they are effecting my life every day :sigh:
Some would say that surgery is the easy way out that its a cop out etc but i really dont think this is the case! i think if i can possibly raise funds it will probably be one of the hardest thins i would ever do mentally and physically...

sorry for rambling .. Thankyou so much once again for posting.