Hi my doctor put in for funding for a gastric band about 7 weeks ago and today i recieved a letter from my doctor saying they wanted to see,to my delight ive been excepted and they have given me the funding,but my doctor said she would sort whatever out from her end and that someone will be ringing me on wednesday,just wondered if anyone could give me some advice on what happens from here please.

Sweet. Any idea of tine scale or will you find out on wed?

Hi im not sure,i will write on here as soon as i know on wednesday

Just found out that its the hospital thats ringing me tomorrow to book me an appointment.

Hi Grimsbygirl

I too was NHS. I approached my GP in Sept last year after many years of yo-yo dieting and getting to the point where I though "right this is it, im losing it this time for the last time". I got my funding letter from the PCT within 2 weeks and then I had to go into my GP office and get them to do the 'referral' which was basically sending my details to the Hospital I chose to go with (I had a choice of Birmingham Heartlands and Luton as I live in Northamptonshire), I chose Birmingham and my referral details were sent. About 3 weeks later I got my letter from Heartlands Birmingham to let me know my consultation was November 15th. The consulatation was a chance to meet my Surgeon (Mr Super who definately lived up to his name as he is lovely) and he discussed with me my weight loss experiences and then advised me he would be giving me a band as he felt this would be suitable for me. He explained a little as to how the band should work for me and went through some do's and donts.

About 2 weeks after this I received a letter advising me my pre-op assesment was January 17th and my actual operation was February 15th 2011. My pre-op assesment was basically, BP check, ECG, weigh in and bloods (nothing major), then I was walked down to thatre on the 15th and sent home the same afternoon.

I was given a pack from my NHS dietician that outlined what eating plans I should follow for the 4 weeks after my op, which was nothing but soup soup spoup and then onto mush and finally after about 3 mths onto textured more filling nutritious stuff. I had me post op appt in April which is basically a catch up with your dietician and then they look as to whether you are ready for your first fill. I was banded with nothing in my 14 ml band and so by the time I got my appt through for my 1st fill in may, I was definately ready for it.

I now have 5 ml in my band and I am hoping for another fill before Christmas, my next dietician appt is August 30th so Im hoping she is impressed with my weight loss again and puts me forward for my next fill.

Because we are NHS we dont have as many fills as say someone who has paid for their band, our fills are done under x-ray and so are a little expensive (I think), you will know yourself when you are ready for one hun so dont worry.

I can honestly say I have had nothing but a great experience with the NHS and they have been fantastically supportive.

Sorry to write an essay but I just wanted to give you as much of an idea as I could of what to expect.

Good luck hun. Keep in touch

Mandy

Hi Mandy thank you for replying you have given me some much needed info here so thank you so much for that,ive always been overweight and tried so many diets that didnt work, so i finally accepted that i was going to be a size 22 forever and didnt even think of asking for banding.But that all changed in jan 2010 i had a bad fall in my local shop and things changed for the worst my back slowly started hurting when i walked and when a stood up washing dishes and ironing i had to do sat down and walkin 2 the shop became a thing of the past.I eventually gave up on doing anything and would move as little as possible,the fall resulted in me having a twisted spine which was made worse by me for putting on 6 stones ive been treated with codiene and tramadol tablets which did absolutly nothing they canot prescribe me anything stronger than that, physio did nothing the only way i am going to get my back better is to loose weight,i feel very very lucky to have been given the funding and cant wait to start this next chapter of my life as since my fall ive had no life so there just thought id share tht with you n thanks again mandy uve been a great help xx

Hi Hun

Im pleased I could be of help, I know exactly how you are feeling and I can honestly promise you, you will start to feel great as the weight starts coming off.

I had a really bad lower back and I was the same as you when I was standing over the dink, I had to sit down. I can honestly say after losing the first 2 stone, this completely disappeared.

Good luck hun, if you need any advice in the future you know this forum will help xx

Mandy

Hi
Which hospital have you chosen to have your band done at?
I saw my GP in July and within 2wks he'd sorted my funding. I was given 3 hospitals to choose from and have chosen Castle Hill in Hull, my first appointment is Tues. Have been told that I can expect a further 3 appointments before being added to the list and once on the list the waiting is about 5-6mths. Sadly not as quick as they appear to be in Birmingham.
I'd seen another GP previously about banding as my weight was causing issues for other health problems I have and I was told no. Went to see a second GP about increasing pain killers and thats when he said he thought gastric band would be useful for me.
Good luck grimsbygirl

Hi Keira

Its a bit of a postcode lottery with the PCT I think. When I went for my first consultation, there were some people there meeting their surgeon but had not yet had the funding come through so I think I was one of the lucky ones .

Some people are stuck on the waiting lists for months it seems and it must be really hard. But I was told by the NHS that once you have your funding they dont take it away, so dont worry you will get there.

Good luck ladies x

Mandy

Hi i recieved my phone call today and i will recieve a letter from castle hill hospital within 3 to 4 weeks with my 1st appointment details,i wasnt given a choice of hospitals but Hull isnt far from grimsby so thats a good thing.Keira74 will you keep me updated on how it all goes for you,and mandy i cant wait for the day to come were i can just do normal things without bieng in pain and just be fit and healthy.Oh yes is it true that the dietitian and psychologist and whoever else you see there, there the 1s who decide if you can go ahead with the surgery im starting to panick that for what ever reason they might refuse me which would be awful and thanks you guys your such a big help

Hi I had my appointment with the surgeons yesterday im in Somerset, I had been told by my consultant it would be 18 weeks from her referral letter in June but the surgeons have told me 3 - 4 months from yesterday so just before Xmas.

My first appointment with a consultant was August 2010 so just over a year I should have had the op this June but she didnt refer me because I lost my weight to quick so had to see her again in June to prove I could keep it off which I have.

So hopefully a good new year for me and everybody else on here and good luck with your journey.

Gloria

Hi glo1954 thats great news for you i hope it all goes well.what do u mean about loosing the weight to quickly do you have to loose weight even before you have the band put in hun.

Hi Grimsby girl

When you get to meet your surgeon you may also at the same time have a chat with the dietician and they will advise you of which pre-op diets you should follow. The pre-op diet is mega important as it will help to shrink your liver in time for the op. Your liver has to be moved about when the surgeon inserts your band and so it has to be easy to move, as you lose weight on the pre-op diet the fat build up around your liver will reduce and so it makes it easier for the surgeon and also less dangerous.

Also, the pre-op diet helps to make your fat 'squidgy' which is also easier for the surgeon to work with. The other important factor in losing a little weight pre-op is that it shows the bariatric team (the surgeon the dietician etc) that you can follow a strict eating plan and shows a commitment to the weight loss surgery.

the pre-op diet I chose was 4 weeks of 2 slim fast per day and then a very small low carbs meal in the evening. Some people follow the milk and yoghurt diet which is nothing but milk and yoghurt (yuk!) and others just follow a low cal (max 1000 cals a day) low carb eating plan.

Dont be out off by this as they dont expect you to lose a ton of weight, they just want to see you have made an effort and also that your liver will be shrunk.

I had my consultation with the surgeon in the novemeber and then at my pre op in January I had actually gained a couple of pounds (Christmas got in the way lol), so I was kindly and gently reminded that I MUST lose some weight before the surgery otherwise my surgeon (Mr Super) would refuse to perform the op. Needless to say that was a kick up the ass that I needed, so I stuck to my pre-op diet rigidly.

Dont worry about this part of the process hun, you will be absolutely fine and dont worry about losing too much before th op as it would have to be a significant amount (almost all of the excess weight) for them to change their minds about the funding.

Good luck xx

hi im in grimsby, same dress size as you and have been denied for the second time i am sooo gutted. i am going to appeal it. i first was denied a year ago as i hadn't done ww through the obesity nurse/surgery so i did it, they said i had to prove i could loose weight so i did but as soon as i stopped eating weight watched food and ready meals the weight came back and then some so a year later i went back to drs and this time was refused as i had already proven i could loose weight.... my back keeps hurting my ankles ache all the time and i feel so big that movement is heavy and slower than it should be .. i am so upset and annoyed. your post has given me hope though that ppl in gy can get funding. keep us updated x

aww thats so bad i do feel for you, if they had refused me i was going to appeal against it as i dont have a life of any sort at the minute due to my back bieng the way it is,afteri had the fall i had been to my doctors 5 different times and also 3 trips to the physio,each time they said the same thing that i need to loose weight but none of them mentioned the band to me it was me that brought it up to my doctor he said he would apply for the funding and let me no i rang up 4 a appointment to get my painkillers 5 weeks later and the doctor i normaly see had left the surgery i was gutted as i thought he prob didnt put my app in but then 2 weeks after this i got a letter saying they wanted to see me.I met the new doctor and she said we have good news you app has been succesful she said she was very surprised i had got it and since she has been there which i think was 2 weeks she had put in about 10 apps and all got refused,so i do feel very very lucky, i do wonder why my app was so different to any 1 elses,i do no they do gastric banding if your health is suffering because of the weight so im wondering if they have done it because of my back aswel as me bieng very overweight.Ill keep you updated on what goes on and if you do appeal i hope you do get it hun x