Hello to all!

jinkles · June 16, 2008

Hi my name is Jenny and I live in Stoke-on-Trent. Can anyone give me any advice on having lap band surgery and perhaps approaching my GP on the subject of receiving the treatment on the nhs. I am 28, weigh 15st, 11lbs and am 5'3'' tall. I have been overweight since my early teens and 4 yrs ago I weighed in at 19st but successfully lost 3st but have been struggling to loose anymore despite joining slimming clubs, taking prescribed diet pills and joining the gym. I am now taking anti-depressants and feel like giving up the fight in becoming a healthy weight xxx:sad_smile::biggrin::crying:

Whoooooooosh · June 16, 2008

Hi Jenny

I went to my doc only last week & just told her straight, I wanted referring for gastric banding, or at the very least considering for it. Because of my weight & height my BMI is 40.5 & this puts me in the 'morbidly obese' range. I also have diabetes & had a heart attack 2 years ago, when I was 38 years old. I don't actually have high BP but I'm on medication to prevent that anyway. A lot of sites/info leaflets refer to other conditions that cause a serious health risk as 'co-morbidities'.

I found the NHS Direct website really informative, especially as I didn't find this forum until after my referral. Here's the link NHS Direct.

This quote from their site may help you work out if you think you would qualify for the operation on the NHS:-

What is gastric banding?

Gastric banding is a surgical procedure that involves fitting a band around the upper part of your stomach. It is usually only recommended as a last resort for people who are morbidly obese (those with a BMI of over 40), or those with a BMI of between 30-40 who also have a condition that poses a serious health risk, such as diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), or heart disease.

I calculated your BMI using the calculator on the NHS Direct website & it comes out with the following results:-

Your BMI is 39.15

If your BMI is between 30 and 39.9 you're obese. This means you're well over the ideal weight for your height. This could cause serious health problems and affect your life expectancy.

Both myself & a friend in Scotland have come across issues about being accepted by certain hospitals though. In her area there is absolutely no NHS funding for this type of surgery. For myself I could be referred to Sheffield or Derby, however we found that Sheffield have upped their referral criteria & you now have to have either a BMI of over 50, or over 45 with co-morbidities. Unfortunately it seems to be a bit of a 'postcode lottery' :sad:

I would just be straight with your doc Jenny. He/She will know a lot about your weight history anyway, mine also went through my weight loss attempts with me, what I'd tried in the way of slimming clubs, DIY, slimming tablets etc & exercise regimes. The referral forms required all this information too.

I'll look forward to hearing how you got on - good luck xxx

Edited June 16, 2008 by Whoooooooosh