Approaching the GP for surgery

[Loulou26]

Ok guys, i'm new here so forgive me if i get anything wrong or ramble a bit.​

Ok, so i'm 26 years old and i'd like to be considered for surgery. My BMI is around the 42 mark and always increasing, i am 5' and weigh around the 15.5 stone mark. I have exhausted all other options and i know i do not have the willpower to lose weight and keep it off. My issue is that i overreat, mostly through habit and boredom and rarely feel satisfied. Since having my 2nd child my problem has worsened as i am at home all day with my son with unlimited access to the food cupboard. ​

Medically speaking, i am very fit considering my young age, but i don't think this should be a barrier to surgery as why wait til' there is a problem if it can be prevented? I have a strong family history of obesity and my sister actually had a gastric bypass privately 2 years ago which was very successful for her (not the reason i am considering it, just ONE of the reasons), we also have heart problems and diabetes, cholestrol problems and high blood pressure in the family (not just in the obese members).​

I have looked at the criteria for my area on the BOSPA website and the only stipulation in the funding criteria is that the patient must have a BMI over 40. I meet all the other general criteria, have dieted for many years but never seen my GP about my weight before i have just done it on my own. I have lost weight but then gained it back and more besides because i can't stick to a weight loss programme, i have tried slimming pills which worked but had awful side effects and i believe made the problem worse after i came off them. I have tried slimming clubs, suppliments, etc, which didn't work for very long. I have researched the various surgeries and know what it entails and what it means and i am prepared to adapt my lifestyle after surgery.​

Bearing all this in mind, can my GP refuse to refer me for funding? The beginning of the financial year is April i think so will i have a greater chance of being accepted if i see him then? Also, when i go see him how should i put my case forward, should i take all the guidelines with me and explain how it is my right or use the softly-softly approach? I am not that confident as i am afraid he will just fob me off or not take me seriously and just tell me to go away and see a dietician, who will tell me what i already know! I am not daft, i know what i should be doing it is just putting it into practice.​

Thankyou for listening.​

​

 

[Daniel]

You have truely nothing to worry about. I had similar reservations when I approached my gp. We sat and discussed the reasons behind my desire for the procedure and he simply referee me to the local hospital to see a consultant. He agreed I was well with in the nice guidelines and the rest is history. Please don't give up, I understand all the nagging worries in the back ofyour mind, just press on they are truely unfounded.

 

[tesmaralda]

I would suggest you take in copies of your pcts funding criteria, and the nice guidelines incase they say they don't know the guidelines. Then make a list of all the reasons you want surgery, you need to show that you have done your research and that you know its not a miricale cure but a tool to help you lose weight and keep it off.

HTH xXx

 

[thinkbethin]

Hi Loulou, if you have a good doc then you should be able to talk to them. Go in there with confidence as I feel they listen to you more if you believe in your self. Even though you may not feel that confident don't let that show. This is something that you want/need so be brave when approaching this subject. Good luck and fight for this. xxGaynorxx

 

[quetiapina]

Hi Lou Lou, the best of luck for seeing your doc. This is a great place for support and understanding WLS. I've learned so much from everyone. Good Luck.

 

[Pandora_150]

Hey LouLou,

I am quite local to you, although it is classed as Halifax officially. I live by Shelf at the Queensbury end of Bradford.

I can't help with the Bradford process as I went through Calderdale PCT. I am pre-op, but I have been granted funding and have my appointment with the surgeon at Spire Elland on Friday.

However, I would advise you to research the procedure as much as you can and go armed with knowledge. By doing this the Doctor said that it showed I was determined as I had a full understanding of both the benefits and the potential risks associated with the surgery.

Your GP cannot refuse you for surgery. However, they can ask you to try alternative weight loss methods before they put you forward for funding. Despite all your own efforts to loose weight, some PCT's ask for further supervised methods such as attending a Weight Loss Clinic or to try Orelistat or Reductil under the guidance of a Nurse.

You will not know what to expect from your PCT until you go and see your GP. I was lucky as there was a women referred for funding three weeks before I went to see my GP and so she was fully aware of the funding criteria and procedure I needed to follow.

I strongly believe that when enquiring for a procedure such as weight loss surgery (which is classed as 'non-essential') that: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!

If you show you are fully aware of the procedures (the risks, post-op lifestyle changes, benefits, up-keep with either band fills or bypass supplements... the list is endless) then you are showing the GP that you are not taking this decision lightly are you are wanting to change you life (and weight) and the surgery will help you to achieve that goal.

And if they are still unwilling to help you, then go to a different doctor within the clinic! It is true that some Doctors are more sympathetic than others (and some are just ignorant twits); but don't let this get in your way. If you are eligible through the NICE criteria then they should at least be putting you forward for funding.

Let us know how you get on with what you decide!

xxx

 

[fat-girl-slim08]

Hi There,
Just wanted to welcome you to minis
I'm sorry I can't help with your question as I went private, but good luck with your doctor and your weightloss journey! x

 

[Toadi x]

Hi loulou26

I was also in a similer situation to yours, and the only thing really wrong with me is my weight i was 27 in feb so we of a similer age although i am alot heavier then u, i am 5ft 9. The 1 thing i will say and by all means i know not all doctor's have the same practises so yours might be totaly different i had been going to the doctors for years about my weight after trying every diet going and failing, tried alsorts of meds they proscribed to try to help me loose weight they run a weight clinic that i attended for months and had all the tests under the sun to make sure there was no underlying problem what was the cause of my weight gain. Like i said all this has been going on the best part of 4 years. And because i am young and my only problem is my weight, i mean i dont have any illnesses that come with being over weight diabites, high bloodpressure, heart problems etc... i even have a great colesteral level witch shocked my doctor lol. i wouldnt of got the funding if i handent of been seeing my doctor for the lenth of time i did bout my weight. But because i have shown willing to my doctors and it is an ongoing problem which they have proof and records of i got my funding. I know my friend has tried to get referred and she is older and bigger then me but doesnt have any illnesses and because it was the first and only time she had been to see the doctor bout her weight and brought up the subject of surgery he wouldnt refer her and said that she had to take the other options first that like i said takes years. I hope in this instance i am wrong and i will keep my fingers crossed for you x
Hope all goes well let us know how it goes xXx

 

[jaynefrances]

Hi Loulou
As some of the others have said, being well prepared is the best approach.
If you take some info / research with you it will prove to your GP that you are commited and have given this serious thought. Jot down your key points about your familial history as well as your own personal weight loss / gain history - that way you won't get nervous / emotional and forget the important bits. (i found that i usually start crying and all my sensible thoughts go out the window unless i write them down !)
Each PCT seems to vary with their procedures - in mine our GP's dont make the decision to refer - they refer us to a specialist weight management service which has a multidisciplinary team (GP, dietician, psychologist, physio etc) after working with them for a while they made the decision to refer me for surgery. You may be lucky and just have a direct GP referral system, which seems to be a bit quicker !
I found that the professionals like it when you take responsibility for your weight problem and focus on the positive outcomes and achievements you want from weight loss surgery as this gets across to them your long term commitment.
Some GP's are more forward thinking than others - mine sees the financial benefits as much as anything, in that it will cost them less long term for the surgery than to manage the costly side effects of obesity as i get older but i was prepared to "shop around" until i found a GP that was helpful had i needed to.
You have presented your case very articulately on here so just try and maintain that strength when you have your appointment.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

 

[Sambucca]

You've already been given loads of advice and support hun. So I wont repeat what's already been said, but wanted to say hello and Welcome you to our little gang. xx

 

[buglady]

hi i went to see the doctor on the 2nd or 3rd of march i scribbled down lots of medicial history from my family etc and wrote down i would like to be diabetes thryoid etc tested which he sent me for (i still have the bruise on my arm to proove it!) ! i weigh just under 21 stone 3 i am 5.6 in height with no co morbilitys all my grandparents and dad were type 2 diabetic my dad had a tripple bypass late last year my mum brother etc are overweight like me . i told the doctor ive tried everything under the sun he had notes to prove it tablets cambridge weightwatchers slimming world etc .He was great told me like it was he had a case almost on par with me but she had diabetes and arthrits she was similar bmi etc and she got turned down ! so what sort of chance would i get ?? he had no problem referring me but he said 99% chance of being rejected! and if i did get funding it was a two and a half year waiting list and i thought if i paied privatly it would of been paied off in that time and i would of get my band much quicker so thats whay i choose to go private i hope that has helped im in hampshire though i know some areas are different!

 

[tazwoz]

Hi Lou Lou! I won't say anything else, you have lots of advice going on! Just wanted to say hi really as you are near to me as I am halifax like Pandora_150! Good luck with your appointment, hope it goes ok.You will find loads of info on here, I have found it very useful! xxx

Pandora....they changed you to spire elland? Is that where you chose to go? you got a quicker appointment than your last one too? exciting stuff! Hope your ok? x

 

[Pandora_150]

Tazwoz, after a lot of phone calls and bugging people I managed to talk to the director in charge of Calderdales contracts. It turned out that Spire Elland had only just (quite literally the days before I contacted her) accepted the Calderdale contract to start taking NHS patients for WLS. They were only too happy to refer me to them after they found out I already had a history of attending their out-patient clinic for Hypothyroidism.

The great thing is that I had the appointment two weeks later! As they have only just taken on the contract, there is hardly anyone being referred there at the moment. I am one of the first. When I talked to the secretary she said that I could be under the knife within weeks of the consultation. I really do think that I will wait though as I am a final year University student (at Bradford) and I have my Dissertation to hand in on the 20th April and exams in the first few weeks of May.

I am really happy about this as I know the Nurse who will be dealing with the clinic. Also my Thyroid Specialist (who I saw last week) said that Mr Dobbins always refers WL Patients to him before surgery. Nut because I already had the test so close to the consultation he would send a letter off to him so I won't need that pre-op test doing! Its great! I am doing pre-op tests pre-consultation!

Sorry LouLou26, I realise this doesn't really help you whilst you are waiting to see your GP. But it does go to show that there really are people within the NHS who believe WLS is a positive step and do everything in their power to help you along the way.

xxxx

 

[brett30]

hi lou lou all i can say is pick the best gp in your practice ... cause if you have a good gp they will go out of there way for you ... mine was brill she sent me to see endogronologist first to have bloods done and check if i had any issues .... and when i went to see him even he said after talking to me for a hr that i should go see bariatric team.

i have been down this road before so i knew all about it .. but last time it was diff the surgeon got the funding and picked who he wanted .. but he never got his money so i never got op ...

anyway my gp got letter back from endogronology and said what he had said to me so i went in to see her and she said do you want to go down this road .. and i said yes so she said on im going to write to pct first and tell them your case .... and she did that and with in 3 weeks i got my funding with out issue .. even my doctor was excited she called me and left me a fab message on phone i went in to see her that day ..

and she was saying how it came in the morning and she was so excited to call me and tell me .. she said xmas has come early this was end of dec last year ...

the pct gave me 3 choices of where i could go so i contacted all of them to find who had best service and aftercare and shortest waiting lists ...

so good luck hun and theres no reason ur doc wont help.. xxx

 

[Loulou26]

Hi everybody, thanks for all your replies. I think i will just have to be brave, write it all down and make an appointment tomorrow for as soon as possible an d just see how it goes. I have to say i am not looking forward to it, i am so nervous of authority figures, i just know i'm gonna be a rambling mess!!!