hi tamisu,im booked for belgium for the 9th december,and i approached my gp about banding on the nhs as i have 10 stone to loose, yes 10 stone, he refered me to the weight management unit,which you have to attend first and you will never gues what they told me , " i wasnt big enough " !!!!!!!!!!, so i booked with dr chris, then told my doctor who was only sorry i couldnt have it done here,having always worked,paid taxes,etc( rant over !)so im off to brussels on the 8th yippee:tt2:,and i can harly wait,apprehensive,a ittle scared,but im going to have two birthdays, my original one and the 9th december,:lol:so no i didnt have a doctors referal,but if you dont mind me asking how much do you have to loose,maybe your lighter and is your bmi over 45, if not perhaps thats why you need referal,good luck anyway,