Just posted this on a FB group

[Sam00190]

Wonder what sort of comments i will get back

Ok so i will be having weight loss surgery on NHS within the next few months im doing it to prevent diabetes etc and also to increase my life expectancy, im also doing it for my kids who will have a healthier n happier mum but some seem to think as it is funded through NHS that they are personally paying for it. Over the next 2 years the operation and aftercare will cost around £15.000 which as the hospital told me if i was to go on medications in the future it would cost more than that per year so its cheaper for them to do the weight loss surgery now. What i don't get is why people think they are personally paying for it as i Havant gone up to them n asked for the money from them . I work and pay Tax and National Insurance too same as everyone else that works so why should i be made to feel guilty as i don't feel guilty for wanting a better quality of life for me n my kids one bit. x

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[Yvessa]

I personally wouldn't have bothered as these sorts of people will never change their minds. And for me 3 months out I couldn't care less what they think. Let them silk and whine about the cost of my op- I'm far too busy having fun to care.

 

[Yvessa]

Also having looked at my tax bill I will pay my op off in three years.

 

[Sam00190]

Also having looked at my tax bill I will pay my op off in three years.

See if you went private i think most finance agreements are 3 years x

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[lyzzyanne]

Have you been getting hassle then?? I have had some folk at work who have seen that I am losing weight and are somehow irked that I didn't confide in them. I have told them its my decision as to who I tell and when, nosy ******* can piss off and I have told them that!!!

 

[Sam00190]

Yeah i told some as the rapid weight loss would be noticed anyway n so hopefully by the time i have had surgery they may have got over it. May go n ask one of the ones with the prob if she has a prob with me going NHS would she find someone else to fund it then as i certainly cant afford it x

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[Andy1968]

Have you been getting hassle then?? I have had some folk at work who have seen that I am losing weight and are somehow irked that I didn't confide in them. I have told them its my decision as to who I tell and when, nosy ******* can piss off and I have told them that!!!

You go girl ! x

 

[twinkle toes]

me personally, if someone said summat to me about my future weight loss n they started asking questions I'd proudly tell em 'yeah ive had the WLS' if they start with there banter id tell em shut there trap, i dont smoke, i dont drink, i dont do drugs I just eat like everybody else so if i want help in living an enjoyable life with my kids then i will get the help im entilteled to. You shouldnt have to explain ur self to anyone, u pay ya NI and Tax, like me and many others,...ppl who stick their noses up at ya and say 'tut tut tut' need to take their heads outta there backsides x

 

[coppernob1971]

Ultimately it's not the cost of the surgery that matters, it's the long term costs involved. You're less likely to be putting demands on the healthcare system when you're at a healthy weight!

I wonder if any of the people you mention have perfect lifestyles and will therefore not have any need for medical or social care and support?!

I pay a lot of direct and indirect taxes each year and I'm pretty sure someone else is getting my share of things - I don't have kids, no health issues, etc etc!! But I don't begrudge that (although i cant exactly stop paying tax, now can I?) as that is what our society is about!

 

[Evenstarr]

Good on you Sam, don't take any hassle off anyone...we live in a (supposed) democracy where we are all entitled to treatment on the NHS.
if anyone says anything negative about my WLS I'm proud to say its to help an addiction which I let get out hand, but I'm taking control of it now!
And anyone who doesn't like it can get lost, I don't need people like that in my life
Em xxxx

 

[Sam00190]

I agree, smokers n drinkers n drug users get help to stop and i dont do any of those so why should i not get a little extra help too, its all of the above also cost NHS in the long run, maybe more than the cost of operation over the years x

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[mariew]

Even people playing sport and becoming injured are entitled to be healed on the NHS, it's not only over-eating that causes us to need treatment. Do these same people also believe that people who have not treated their bodies as a temple should fund their own cancer treatment etc?
Personally I have never found the need to justify my gift from the nhs to anyone. I also don't feel like I have to justify it to myself! Nor work out when I will have repaid it! Just get on with your new life and enjoy all the new things you can do for yourself and with your kids. x

 

[Wobbletogo]

Thoses who say nasty things are just narrowminded and should be ignored.


However, not making any judgements here, don't know any of you personally so this post is not to offend, I would just like to put another viewpoint....

I have spent the past 20 years fighting my weight gain, I have been on every slimming club diet available, gym goer for most of my adult life, tried all the fad diets (atkins, cabbage soup etc), tried diet pills - all of which i paid for myself at the same time as paying my taxes.

My reward for all this...20 years of misery, depression, low self esteem, missed time with my children and now suffered prolapse and have CFS/ME...and still overweight.

However, the other result of this is that I am not in the morbidly obsese category, just obese with a BMI of 36.

My gift from the NHS for all my hardwork of trying keep my weight down....nothing, they refused funding because I don't tick their criteria boxes (ME is not yet considered a co-morbidity!), so now I have to pay again, privately for my surgery, whilst still paying my taxes.

I don't begrudge anybody who has been awarded funding for surgery, as you say we all deserve the chance to be in good health, and it's good surgery is available to help get that however it's funded; I just ask that people can see things from others viewpoint, there are some morbidly obese people out there who have done nothing to keep their weight down, spent years eating the wrong stuff and never exercising and then when they do get diabetes or hypertension can just walk into their GP's office and get approved NHS funding for surgery.

But then whoever said life was fair lol

 

[lyzzyanne]

no you are right life is not fair, I don't think too many of us arrive at making a WLS decision without having had our fair share of heart ache and diets over the years. In an ideal world the NHS would be able to fund everyone but the funds are not there so they have added criteria. I am one of the 'lucky' ones, I am diabetic, a condition that killed my sister at age 34 leaving behind a 3 year old daughter who I have bought up. If having WLS prolongs my life I will be grateful.
Diabetes is a KILLER and if this operation helps lots of people avoid the fate of my sister I think that NHS have been sensible and invested their money in the place it can do the most good.

 

[Wobbletogo]

Depression and low self esteem are killers too, and are often the cause (or result) of overeating which can lead to obesity. I do feel it's shortsighted of the nhs to limit their criteria to physical co-morbidities only. I don't have statisitics to prove anything but I can image a fair few obese people have committed suicide because they couldn't get help before they suffered the co-morbidities listed in their tickboxes.

I always thought the point of the "exceptional funding panel" was to consider the merits of people who didn't fit the criteria. I was amazed to come on this site and find people who did fit the criteria still not receiving funding.

 

[Yvessa]

I think your attitude is a bit unfair wobble as regardless of our BMi we all need the same help. We've all shelled out for diets tried exercising - I was still trying to go to the gym at 30 stone in an effort to lose some weight. I don't ever take for granted the fact that I have had my surgery on the nhs nor do I feel that I was entitled to it despite meeting the criteria and initially being refused. There is no such think as an undeserving patient- we all should get the opportunity to change our lives for the better regardless of what took us to the point of undertaking this journey.

 

[Wobbletogo]

Yvessa, my "attitude"? wasn't aware I had one, just a opinion which I believe is allowed in a democracy.

How you read, absorb and respond to my post comes from your perspective, and I would not diss it, although maybe you could please tell me where in my posts I called anyone an "undeserving patient". I think that is more your "attitude" than mine.

 

[yviec1972]

I don't know any morbidly obese people either here on the forum or in real life that have just stuffed their faces for 20 years and not done a thing about it. To be referred for funding you need at least 2 co morbidities which are side effects of being overweight which will drastically reduce your life expentancy. Diabetes is a horrible disease. I have a family history of diabetes going back 3 generations. My long term prognosis is going blind. Losing a leg or two if I'm really unlucky. that is if the extra pressure I am putting on my heart and kidneys doesn't mean one of these will give out in the meantime. Apart from the co morbidities your doctor has to verify that you have spent at least 2 years doing weight management. No one gets to skip into their doctor's asking for an op. Personally I was there trying to figure out why I had woken up with blurred vision. I was terrified because we didn't know if I had a bleed into the back of my eye (another side effect) which could permanently impair my vision making it impossible for me to work. I am not moaning I am diabetic and I should have been on top of it sooner but I have spent at least 8 months out of the last 22 years on a diet. I have been to the gym I have walked, rambled and done what I can all the while battling depression and periodically agoraphobia. I am now four stone less than I was when I was diagnosed but my doctor suggested a bypass. It is difficult injecting your self several times a day you have to be on top of it all the time. There are no 'to heck with it' moments and you don't get a day off because it is terminal if you don't. I believe the nhs criteria should be lower but I would do anything not to be diabetic anymore and if anyone wants to discuss with me why my op being funded on the nhs is wrong then they are welcome to live a day on my shoes. Ps to the lady who lost her sister I am really sorry. You are an inspiration and I bet your sister was really helped knowing that she had someone as special as you to be there for you precious child. I know I would have been xxx

 

[Yvessa]

Actually I think you put your attitude across perfectly when you stated that you had worked hard to keep your weight down and his had a BMI of only 36 and so were not morbidly obese and yet some morbidly obese people just skip into their doctors surgery. Hardly my interpretation - your words.

 

[Wobbletogo]

Actually I think you put your attitude across perfectly when you stated that you had worked hard to keep your weight down and his had a BMI of only 36 and so were not morbidly obese and yet some morbidly obese people just skip into their doctors surgery. Hardly my interpretation - your words.

Not an attitude, I just stated the facts, was not suggesting anyone in particular had done this just that it happens, I work in a hospital and have seen it happen, plus have had larger friends who have done it. I also don't think I said anything about it being wrong or right, as I don't think there is such when it comes to health. I am surprised people who fit criteria don't get funded, what's the point of having a criteria?? But on the converse I also think the exception funding panel should be open to considering individual circumstances and not just stick to the criteria. Maybe they could even consider offering part funding, then at least all the people having to go abroad could be putting some extra funds into the NHS pot and more people could be helped.

At the end of the day, to Sam, don't feel guilty, as tax payers no one should be made to feel guilty about getting help to be healthy, irrespective of what is making their life hard, there are even people who are helped to put weight on.