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yvonne83

yvonne83

New Member
Hi

I am so glad to have found this site!

I have finally decided that I want to get help with weight loss. I am very very overweight and my BMI is way over 50. I have an under-active thyroid but am not being treated or any other medical issues although my health in general feels as though it is deteriorating and I cant sleep at night for worrying about how heavy I am.

I plan to see my GP on Monday.

I am in the North West near Preston, can anyone give me an idea of how difficult it is likely to be to convince GP and get a referral, whether I'm likely to get funding and the time scales I am likely to be looking at?

Many thanks!
 
HI Yvonne
Just like to welcome you to the site, sorry can not help, seems every area is different.
Hopefully someone will be along soon to help you.
 
Welcome. Not in your area either, and went private as I did not tick the boxes but I am sure someone will come along soon with the answers you are looking for. But just wanted to say hello and good luck on your journey x
 
hello Yvonne ,just popped up to say hello and welcome to a great site
 
Hi yvonne, im sure your GP will give you the answer Monday but with a high BMI i would have thought it would be good news.
Please let us know how it goes.
 
Hi Yvonne good luck with the gp. Have no clue what that is like as I went private but my feeling is be really firm and show you have thought about it and surely they will refer you. It's then up to the process.

Hope things work out xx
 
Hey there, just wanted to let you know that with a bmi over 50 you should (by law). Some gps may refer you to a few places to try and lose the weight first. My bmi is the same and I didn't have to do any of that (silver lining). Time scale, I would be patient and persistent. Do not give up.

Oh and welcome to the site ?

Sent from my iPhone using WLSurgery
 
Many thanks for all the replies!

I saw my GP today, she said she would definitely help me but she doesn't know how to refer me or who to. But she will look into it today and call me.

In the meantime she has booked me in for a blood test to check my thyroid meds and started me on Orlistat. Anyone any experience with these?

Would love to know how you all decided which surgery to have? Did you ask your surgeon/consultant for their advice or did you need to decide in advance of this?

Many thanks!
 
Orlistat, oh good luck with that...basically you will have one of two reactions, either you will have no control over your bowel and have orange liquid fat all over your pants and bed clothes and have horrific wind, or you will pooh three times a day and it will stink and be bonded with the liquid fat. Buy some baby wipes seriously!! Im sorry if this is a bit graphic but basically it pulls the fat and binds with it so its not absorbed and it then passes through.
I found that i tended to eat more as i thought well at least these wil take the extra fat out and so yes i didnt gain more weight but didnt lose any as i didnt have the right frame of mind. If you are eating healthily as part of a strict diet you wont have the food for the orlistat to pull out anyway. Becareful too they can cause damage to your liver i think it is, it says in the instructions. Others might give you their experience but that was mine, luckliy i didnt have any leakage but on other weight loss forums there are loads of women giving stories on their issues. Without being rude if you have a bmi of 50 then you need more that those tablets, good luck with them but if you are wanting to lose some weight then let the ladies and gents on here get behind you, pick a healthy diet and you will do much better. Orlistat doesnt make you eat healthily at all.
Good luck
 
Kar8858 said:
Orlistat, oh good luck with that...basically you will have one of two reactions, either you will have no control over your bowel and have orange liquid fat all over your pants and bed clothes and have horrific wind, or you will pooh three times a day and it will stink and be bonded with the liquid fat. Buy some baby wipes seriously!! Im sorry if this is a bit graphic but basically it pulls the fat and binds with it so its not absorbed and it then passes through.
I found that i tended to eat more as i thought well at least these wil take the extra fat out and so yes i didnt gain more weight but didnt lose any as i didnt have the right frame of mind. If you are eating healthily as part of a strict diet you wont have the food for the orlistat to pull out anyway. Becareful too they can cause damage to your liver i think it is, it says in the instructions. Others might give you their experience but that was mine, luckliy i didnt have any leakage but on other weight loss forums there are loads of women giving stories on their issues. Without being rude if you have a bmi of 50 then you need more that those tablets, good luck with them but if you are wanting to lose some weight then let the ladies and gents on here get behind you, pick a healthy diet and you will do much better. Orlistat doesnt make you eat healthily at all.
Good luck
Click to expand...

thank you for your message - I'm a bit scared to take them if I'm honest! I had heard they were not pleasant! I think she gave them to me to keep me quiet as she couldn't find how to refer me on her computer, she said she'd look into it and call me and I haven't heard from her since! I wnated to show her I was willing to try anything as my weight is causing me great anxiety.

I decided I would start them next week as I already had my shopping in and would prefer to start them with low fat food to avoid the unpleasantness but then read they wont work that way - hopefully I'll have heard back from her by then and I wont need to take them.

I have tried to get help twice in the past from my gp (at lower bmi) and been told there was nothing they could do for me except refer me to a dietician who would tell me to write a food diary and control my portions. This put me off going back until recently when my anxiety has stopped me sleeping and I realise I am becoming more and more unhealthy.

Hopefully i will hear back soon, thanks for your reply x
 
If you are going to buy in healthy food thats low fat that will be your best bet, start a diary on here with what you do each day, we will all encourage you along! Orlistat with a low fat diet wont do a great deal, trust me i tried, it will still pull some fat out of what you have eaten but you might as well just stick to the food diet.
I would recontact the Drs tomorrow if you dont hear anything as being told they dont know how to refer you isnt really the answer to the problem...good luck
 
Hi, my bmi was over 50 I was referred end of November and had my surgery just over a week ago. The NICE guidelines say that over 50 is straight to surgery as long as they asses you to be suitable for the surgery.
In regards to oralist give it a go, it didn't agree with me and I stopped taking it. Just remember to inform the surgeon during your consultation that you have tried them ( it ticks another box) providing your appointments go well you should qualify for surgery!
Good luck on your journey

Sent from my iPhone using WLSurgery
 
Kar8858 said:
Orlistat, oh good luck with that...basically you will have one of two reactions, either you will have no control over your bowel and have orange liquid fat all over your pants and bed clothes and have horrific wind, or you will pooh three times a day and it will stink and be bonded with the liquid fat. Buy some baby wipes seriously!! Im sorry if this is a bit graphic but basically it pulls the fat and binds with it so its not absorbed and it then passes through.
Click to expand...

My experience was completely different. I took them and they made me constipated. I could not go for days.. (First week i took them i only went to the toilet for big thing twice!!!! Once in three days basicly.. I was bloated and in lots of pain. Especially top part of my abdomen on the right side..

Only lost 0.5kg that week.


My doctor advised to try and increase the dose gradually.. Starting with once a day and going up to three in a few weeks time..

Tried that too. But even one a day made me constipated. I refused to take orlistat and then laxatives on top of that! Thats just stupid! Especially as i had better weight loss results in previous weeks with similar eating plan. But i really ate very little fat anyway.

Even though if you have lots of fat in your diet. Might be worth a try.. Might be effective for you. :) just be aware of the side effects.
 
thank you Llora! I'm going to speak to gp again on Friday about the process going ahead and I'll decide then if I'll take them or not.... I can always stop them if they dont agree with me. Thanks for making me aware of the possible side effects!
 
Hi Yvonne and welcome. As someone else with an underactive thyroid, I Just wanted to say that you should NOT be taking Orlistat when on any form of thyroxine medication.
 
I was on orlistat for 6 months, lost 3 stone, although yes it does have the side effect of orange liquid fat as part of your daily poo routine, but if you limit the amount of fat you eat you shouldnt have this problem at all. I cannot comment about the constipation for Llora had as i didnt have that at all. I was on 3 tablets a day, and yes although i lost the weight, i did put it all back on again.

Good luck though Yvonne, if you decide to use it, just know that it only works as every other darn diet - with calorie counting. Hope it works for you! :)

PS, I didnt know about the thyroid medication - so check with the dr first. :)
 
Last edited:
Jamast said:
Hi Yvonne and welcome. As someone else with an underactive thyroid, I Just wanted to say that you should NOT be taking Orlistat when on any form of thyroxine medication.
Click to expand...

Really? I must be honest I haven't looked at them since I got them as I'm not in the right frame of mind to start them yet (and I go on holiday tomorrow) I intended reading up about them before starting... do you know why?

thanks
 
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