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...I Now Know Who My GP Referred Me To...Mr Ameet Patel @ Kings College London...

Snowcrystal

New Member
Hello Everyone:)

Whilst I was talking with one of the GP's earlier today I thought I would ask him who my bypass referral was made to.

He said that as my regular GP had not done a bypass referral before he helped him, as he had actually made a few referrals for bypass surgery before. He also said that they have referred me direct with the surgeon as applying for funding takes far too long.

They have referred me to Mr Ameet Patel at Kings College Hospital, London. The GP said he was one of best but I have not heard his name mentioned here...but to be honest i was not looking.

GP also said that it should not take too long to get an appointment, however he did say that this potential Barratts Oeosophagus will have to be dealt with first.

So if anyone knows of Mr Patel...please let me know!:)

~X~
 

farzu

New Member
I heard about Mr Patel, he has a website too. Google it and you will find lots of information about him. when you have read all about him you will be comfortable i'm sure. Best of luck. Which area r u from? let me know how did u managed to get a referral from GP. I am also from london and my GP is not helpfull at all.
 

mathskt

New Member
I had my gastric band fitted 5 weeks ago by Dr Patel he was lovely, really friendly and informative and everything seems to be going well so far
 

Snowcrystal

New Member
I had my gastric band fitted 5 weeks ago by Dr Patel he was lovely, really friendly and informative and everything seems to be going well so far

Thank you Mathskt...That is sooo good to know...At least I know I'm not meeting an ogre...lol.

I am hoping to discuss bypass with him..did he give you any options?

What's your loss been so far?

Thank you once again for your reply.;).

~X~
 

mathskt

New Member
Thank you Mathskt...That is sooo good to know...At least I know I'm not meeting an ogre...lol.

I am hoping to discuss bypass with him..did he give you any options?

What's your loss been so far?

Thank you once again for your reply.;).

~X~

Well I went through Healthier Weight so actually had my consultations with Dr Ashton over at their clinic, Dr Patel was just my surgeon so I had already decided on banding. Am just about at the two stone mark now give or take a pound. All has gone well so far. Eating some foods mainly mush and managed to fit into a size 16 dress in the shop which I have now bought for my fiances uni ball which felt so good!

Hope this info helps x
 

Snowcrystal

New Member
Re: Referral

I heard about Mr Patel, he has a website too. Google it and you will find lots of information about him. when you have read all about him you will be comfortable i'm sure. Best of luck. Which area r u from? let me know how did u managed to get a referral from GP. I am also from london and my GP is not helpfull at all.

Thank you Farzu

I did read up about him...he seems to know what he is doing!
Well I hope he does...lol.

Yes he does have an impressive history...I hope I get him them.

With regards to getter the GP to refer me..I went to see my GP...told him how things were and told him I wanted a bypass and needed a referral...When I asked the doc yesterday who the referral had been sent to...he told me he sent it direct to the surgeon...he said it's quicker that way.

I live in SE London and come under Lewisham PCT...even though the doctor he referred me to is in Southwark...I think there is a link though as I remember something about that.

Keep trying Farzu...Good luck.

~X~
 

Flibber

New Member
I've had two wls with Mr Patel and he is the most wonderful and genuinely caring surgeon you could wish for, with a fantastic reputation and record (not to mention one of the best looking!). In fact I think I should be on his payroll as I go round singing his praises all the time! I am quite jealous that you got him on the NHS though as I've paid about £16,000 for my two ops!

From reading other posts I think maybe you have to wait longer than you hoped for to have the actual op. but believe me, he is worth waiting for!
 

tpt

Uber geek
My sis is a midwife at Kings _ can get to her to ask at work if you like? From a nurses prospective? It is reputed to be one of the top hospitals in the UK so I am sure you will be in great hands.
 

Snowcrystal

New Member
I've had two wls with Mr Patel and he is the most wonderful and genuinely caring surgeon you could wish for, with a fantastic reputation and record (not to mention one of the best looking!). In fact I think I should be on his payroll as I go round singing his praises all the time! I am quite jealous that you got him on the NHS though as I've paid about £16,000 for my two ops!

From reading other posts I think maybe you have to wait longer than you hoped for to have the actual op. but believe me, he is worth waiting for!

Hi Flibber

Thank you so much for posting this...It is so good to know that there is someone else who has had him.

He did seem to be a really empathic man with regards to us seeking WLS....(that was my biggest worry that I would end up with a right prig).

I had my group meeting with him last month and he was honest about the waiting list being 6 - 8 weeks from then to our one-2-one and then 18 weeks until the actual surgery. I have my 1st one-2-one in August...only disapointment was that this will be with one of his team, and very possibly not with him.

I hope it's him that will be doing the surgery though...

Can I ask why you had 2 lots of surgeries with him please?

Thank you once again...Look froward to hearing from you soon.

(((hugs)))
 

Snowcrystal

New Member
My sis is a midwife at Kings _ can get to her to ask at work if you like? From a nurses prospective? It is reputed to be one of the top hospitals in the UK so I am sure you will be in great hands.

Hi there TPT

Thank you for the offer...any advise from a nurses prospective would be great.

My Father died there 13 years ago after another hospital let him down badly...(He was misdiagnosed at the other hospital)...The staff at Kings did so much to try and save his life but sadly it was too late...Even one of the doctors spoke up for him at the inquest...(very unusual).

I also had the manager of the Patient Liaison Department (now called PALS) as my mentor for the best part of a week.

So I have nothing but praise for them.

Thank you once again TPT...any feedback would be great.

(((hugs)))
 

Flibber

New Member
"Can I ask why you had 2 lots of surgeries with him please?"

Well, in a way it was almost three! At the beginning I was down for a bypass, went into hospital and under the anaesthetic. Then Mr P did what he apparently does routinely before starting an op and that is to give patients an endoscopy, which is when it was discovered that I had a number of previously unsuspected gastric ulcers!! Apparently I should have been in agony but wasn't. Anyway, they don't do the bypass if you are prone to ulcers, so the operation was called off there and then. I woke up to find nothing had been done - OMG, after all that build-up I was devastated. But with hindsight it may well have saved my life as undiagnosed ulcers can eventually eat through the stomach wall and lead to massive and often fatal loss of blood! Let me stress that this situation was VERY unusual and the first time ever it had happened to Mr Patel!

After getting over the disappointment and considering my options, I chose to go with the sleeve, which then was more seen as the first part of the DS, but which I see is now gaining popularity as a "stand-alone" op. I was wary of the full DS because it is the granddaddy of all wls and requires strict adherence to a post-op nutritional programme. Also, as I "only" wanted to lose about 100lbs I thought I didn't need both parts.

Mr Patel operated to create my sleeve in May 2007 and I lost 50lbs in the following 6 months. But then I was under a lot of stress with a difficult housemove so started eating the wrong (snacky) kind of food, followed by Christmas when I indulged my sugar monster, and that was that - couldn't get back on the wagon and ended up putting 45lbs back on in the following 18 months. Eventually, after consulting Mr P, I decided to go ahead and have the second part of the DS, which I did in May this year. Things are going well, and he is pleased with my weightloss so far - I'm not, but then we never are are we - want it all gone yesterday!

"He did seem to be a really empathic man with regards to us seeking WLS....(that was my biggest worry that I would end up with a right prig)."

I have seen another surgeon on TV in a progamme about teenage obesity, and I wouldn't want to go to him. He had no empathy whatsoever and I thought came across as rather judgemental and patronising, as he sat in the canteen eating his tin of tuna (low carb). You just got the feeling he had no comprehension of people who eat more than they need - food to him was just fuel and anyone who "comfort ate" was just weak willed (though mind you he's making a good living out of them!!). I also went to see a guy in Southampton who will remain nameless, but who also came across with many of the same attitudes and wanted me to switch ops but pay more.

I do know from other forums that there are many, many good and understanding wls surgeons out there, so we mustn't judge them all by these two, but you are lucky to have got one of the best. Yes you may see one of his team at the 1-2-1, but I'm 99% certain you will get the man himself for the surgery - why not ask at the 1-2-1 if it puts your mind at rest? If you'd like to read what someone else's opinion is of him read Weightloss Surgery

Good luck and happy landings!
 

Snowcrystal

New Member
Hi Flibber

Thank you for your reply....very interesting.

I am having an endoscopy next week for gastric problems I already have (Gastritis etc and maybe Barrats Oesophagus)...You have put my mind to rest in that it might not be the end of my hope for WLS if they were to find something.

I am so impatient I was moaning about the length of time I am waiting to see Mr Patel or one of his team, but my husband was right about this being a positive thing, as during this wait period I am having all the tests now...So hopefully all the information and diagnosis will be forwarded on to him prior to our meeting...This has to be better than him ordering tests and waiting for the results...Or worse, like yourself having surgery cancelled because of findings.

He does seemed to have looked after you very well.

Sorry for the 99.9 questions but why are you not happy about your weight loss?
I wonder why the sleeve failed for you..

I checked out the link you gave me...thank you but I couldn't find much about his patients opinions...just one I think.

Do keep in touch...I will let you know what happens here.

(((hugs)))
 

Flibber

New Member
I'm not pleased with my weight loss because on other forums there are people who lose far more with the DS e.g. one man who told me he'd lost 12 stone in 6 months! There are lots of reasons for why I might be slower
1. Having had my tummy sleeve done 2 years ago it is fine now and I know what I can and can't eat (not much!) but in the early days I was sick a lot and couldn't eat many things. Most people have both parts done at the same time and so are not able to eat much as well as having the malabsorption.
2. I am 62 and I think its harder to lose weight as you get older.
3. I take a lot of prescribed medication which is known for making people gain weight.
Mr Patel also said that sometimes people unintentionaly lie about their weight loss because they get muddled up between lbs and kilos.

My sleeve failed because I sabotaged it! This is just my experience but although I did lose 50lbs in the first 6 months it was very hard work and required very strict calorie counting - I used to think "Well, I paid all that money just to be on a diet!" The only benefits of having the sleeve were that I didn't (and still don't) often feel hungry, and got full very quickly on a small amount of food. "Feeling hungry" is neither here or there for many obese people including me - I ate for many other reasons! And not being able to eat much - well, I started "grazing" instead of only having 3 meals a day, so obviously could eat much more over 24hrs! Mr P is very anti grazing! Finally, I sabotaged it by eating sugary foods to which I am addicted. This was a "transferred addiction" from when I gave up smoking 3 yrs ago, and it was that which originally led me to having wls - I couldn't control it and was getting bigger and bigger! Prior to stopping smoking I hardly ever wanted or ate sweet food - could have lived happily without it - but give up the ciggies and wham! I have seriously thought of starting to smoke again!

Finally - I'm glad you're having the endoscopy at this stage and not like I did, but if they find out you have severe gastritis or even ulcers you should get your head around the fact that you may not be able to have the bypass (RNY). I gather the band has been discounted for whatever reason, so you may have to go with the sleeve (lots of people do REALLY well with it!!) - I don't think the NHS will pay for a DS, and in any case it might not be suitable for you.
 

Snowcrystal

New Member
Hi Again Flibber

I don't think the band would work for me, and now that you have described your experience with the sleeve I don't think that it would be any good for me either. Please anyone feel free to correct me but I see the band and the sleeve as having the same pitfalls...Or at least similar.

You see, I like sweet foods and could happily eat all different types, all day long, be it chocolate, toffee, fudge, ice cream, you name it and I love it......I love fresh cream and butter and tend to use a lot of butter in cooking...(Counter-productive I know, but I am fussy about oil and will only use sunflower and olive oil......but I digress...lol)

You say Mr Patel is very anti-grazing; Like you, I can graze all day long too. I think I'm hungry all the time but I crave 'taste' and have to have something savoury followed by something sweet, then I crave savoury after sweet...A right vicious cycle.

Mr Patel gave us all a pack explaining all the surgeries that are available and includes the band, the bypass, the sleeve and the duodenal switch...and of course a reversal if necessary...He did say that the DS is a big operation and they don't like doing it though.

He endorsed the internet for research and encouraged us to research all that we could on the internet regarding WLS so that we would have a clearer idea of what we want......(Not that we can go against his advice).

So all hangs in the balance.....I would be very disappointed if I can't have WLS and although I think I have already prepared myself for the negative, I don't really know how I will feel.....Back to the diet board again I suppose...lol.....We'll see.

BTW, I know what you mean by age slowing weight loss.....I'm 52....and it don't come off quite as fast as it used to.

Congratulations on your current weight loss...at 2.5 stones in 2 months it looks good to me...well done.

(((hugs)))
 

Flibber

New Member
Please, please, please don't assume that you can't have wls because of anything I've said! Maybe the result of your endoscopy will still enable you to have the bypass, or maybe I was wrong and you can get the DS on the NHS (maybe I think that just because I've never heard of anyone getting it, but there again, not many surgeons do it). With your (our) sweet tooth the bypass theoretically sounds best because of the "dumping" thing, but in fact I found out that the vast majority of bypass people don't dump at all! I agree about the band and the sleeve - that's how I saw it, a band but without all the faffing about with fills etc. But even if you have only a small place for food to go, you can still get a lot of calories in with the wrong stuff!

If you can't have the bypass (and for many reasons now I'm glad I didn't), the DS might suit you, though I can't remember how high your BMI is and that might have a bearing. Must be quite a bit for you to get NHS funding? At least after the DS you can use cream and butter to your heart's content as we only absorb about 80% of the fat we eat. Protein is vitally important - we need at least 80g-100g a day, as we malabsorb about 60% of that I think. The bad news is that we do still absorb the majority of any carbs we eat (sigh), so basically you end up eating rather like Atkins.

No, Mr Patel wouldn't usually suggest a DS - he calls the bypass, or RNY, the "gold standard", so if you decide you want to opt for that you'll have to do your homework thoroughly and be prepared to convince him why it's the right thing for you. Of course, your tummy problems will help as well. I still have gastritis, though no ulcers, now.

These are two good sites to look at
Duodenal Switch and
Duodenal Switch Information Zone

Maybe it's just as well you've got more time than you anticipated!
 

Snowcrystal

New Member
Please, please, please don't assume that you can't have wls because of anything I've said! Maybe the result of your endoscopy will still enable you to have the bypass, or maybe I was wrong and you can get the DS on the NHS (maybe I think that just because I've never heard of anyone getting it, but there again, not many surgeons do it). With your (our) sweet tooth the bypass theoretically sounds best because of the "dumping" thing, but in fact I found out that the vast majority of bypass people don't dump at all! I agree about the band and the sleeve - that's how I saw it, a band but without all the faffing about with fills etc. But even if you have only a small place for food to go, you can still get a lot of calories in with the wrong stuff!

If you can't have the bypass (and for many reasons now I'm glad I didn't), the DS might suit you, though I can't remember how high your BMI is and that might have a bearing. Must be quite a bit for you to get NHS funding? At least after the DS you can use cream and butter to your heart's content as we only absorb about 80% of the fat we eat. Protein is vitally important - we need at least 80g-100g a day, as we malabsorb about 60% of that I think. The bad news is that we do still absorb the majority of any carbs we eat (sigh), so basically you end up eating rather like Atkins.

No, Mr Patel wouldn't usually suggest a DS - he calls the bypass, or RNY, the "gold standard", so if you decide you want to opt for that you'll have to do your homework thoroughly and be prepared to convince him why it's the right thing for you. Of course, your tummy problems will help as well. I still have gastritis, though no ulcers, now.

These are two good sites to look at
Duodenal Switch and
Duodenal Switch Information Zone

Maybe it's just as well you've got more time than you anticipated!

Please don't think that you are to blame for any negative thoughts I have regarding this...

I'd already been thinking about the possibility of getting turned down based on the upper gastro problems I have...Some of the threads that I started will reflect my concern about that already. I do however like to hear about everyone else's experience, it's because we all share our experiences that we can make informed choices and prepare ourselves for the worst and of course the best.

Thank you for sharing your experience with me/us.

(((hugs)))
 
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