Any advice very very welcome :-)

[lou2807 1]

hi
i'm 52,5ft 10....weigh 20 stone :-( suffer with under active thyroid,sleep apnoea and depression thrown in for good measure !! lol
My gp referred me to Kings Colledge Hospital,London,UK,a good few weeks ago,for possible bariatric surgery, I had a phone call from Kings this afternoon,they have a cancellation appointment tomorrow at 9am,which i am gladly/happily
attending.
Would anybody know what i should expect at the appointment?? what questions i'll be asked etc etc. I'm healthily nervous and a bit excited at the same time.Any opinions,help would be very gratefully received :-)

[WLSResources/ClothingExch 3,444]

I don't know how the initial appointment may differ from the usual format in the U.S. In any case, I think the questions you ask of the staff member(s) you'll be seeing tomorrow are more to the point. You want to gather as much information as you can so that you understand the nature of surgery, how each procedure differs from the others, and what you'll have to do going forward. You also want to know what to expect before and after. My own feeling is that I won't mind certain things if I know ahead of time that they will or may occur -- when it comes to surgery, surprises are undesirable.

My guess is that they'll take your medical history and draw blood for routine analyses, maybe some not so routine. Whatever they ask is likely to relate to National Health's criteria for coverage of bariatric surgery.

In the U.S. a psych evaluation is pretty standard as part of the approval process. It's primary purpose is to determine whether the person has realistic expectations of surgery and is capable of understanding and following doctor's orders and willingness to follow orders along the way. Common-garden depression (and I say it as it is I) is no obstacle; you sound as though you function at least well enough to meet the psych criteria as I understand them.

"...healthily nervous and a bit excited..." is good. Just write out your questions to present at your appointment and question anything you're told that isn't clear. If you miss something, it can be filled in during subsequent appointments and by asking here and doing a little research.

You'll be fine.

Edited December 2, 2015 by WLSResources/ClothingExch

[Bandista 7,466]

Hi there @@lou2807 -- I was 52 when I was banded two years ago. Had never been an overnight patient in a hospital before, am kind of an alternative medicine health food type (can get plenty fat on good food, too, lol). Writing everything down was helpful to me. In electing weight loss surgery I was choosing myself and my healthy future which was powerful in unexpected ways. Getting the appetite monster off of my back has been a beautiful thing. There are links below in my signature that really helped me understand how the band works; maybe they will help you, too. I still love food, just in small portions at appropriate intervals. Best wishes!

[lou2807 1]

Thank you both for replying.

The consultation was very lengthy and thorough,which is great.Pretty much as you said,bloods,height,weight bp etc.

I have been told i meet the criteria for a NHS funded operation,which is fantastic.Firstly i have to be referred to a nutritionist/dietician,for a 12 month plan,to prepare me for the procedure.Interestingly,the NHS are not overly fond of the gastric band procedure,saying it's been proven troublesome less effective than other procedures,and more costly overall to the NHS,and have recommended i consider a gastric sleeve or gastric bypass.The consultant said he thought the gastric sleeve would be a favourable option for me.i wondered if you had an thoughts/opinions on this??

thank you again for your replies :-)