Advice about gastric bypass?!
Question: hi, im a 32 year old mum of 3, i have been at least 7 stone overweight since the birth of my youngest, hes now 4, i have been to weight watchers, with minimal effect, i lost about 2and 1/2 stone then i seem to stay at that weight and not move,i have done this at least 3 times, every time is the same, i went to my g.p and he put me on xenical, it also had minimal effect, in the end i was having violent stomach pains when taking them so i have had to stop, i eat properly and i walk a lot, so i know its not my diet, or lack of excersize, i have had all the relevant blood tests to rule out any medical reason, i am now starting to have very bad back aches, my asthma is slowly getting worse, and i have police mans heel now to top everything off.....lol i want to know if i qualify under the ~NHS for a gastric bypass or would i be wasting my time asking my g.p for a referall...i also have bi-polar disorder...i know lol.....im a wreck....
Answers: hi, im a 32 year old mum of 3, i have been at least 7 stone overweight since the birth of my youngest, hes now 4, i have been to weight watchers, with minimal effect, i lost about 2and 1/2 stone then i seem to stay at that weight and not move,i have done this at least 3 times, every time is the same, i went to my g.p and he put me on xenical, it also had minimal effect, in the end i was having violent stomach pains when taking them so i have had to stop, i eat properly and i walk a lot, so i know its not my diet, or lack of excersize, i have had all the relevant blood tests to rule out any medical reason, i am now starting to have very bad back aches, my asthma is slowly getting worse, and i have police mans heel now to top everything off.....lol i want to know if i qualify under the ~NHS for a gastric bypass or would i be wasting my time asking my g.p for a referall...i also have bi-polar disorder...i know lol.....im a wreck....
Unfortunately I have no knowledge on the requirements for NHS regarding Gastric Bypass. In the US, most insurance companies that cover it require a person to follow a doctor supervised diet for 6 months and lose 10% of their weight. (A way of showing that you have the ability to do it and thus makes it more likely that you will follow the "rules" and not eat your way out of it) They also require a psychological exam, however as long as a person's disorder (Bi-Polar in your case) is being controlled, that is not a problem. In addition a person must have a certain number of medical conditions directly related and caused by the weight.
I believe that you should contact NHS directly and find out if they do cover the surgery, and what requirements need to be met in order to have it if they do.
I know it is a life changing experience and have 100's of friends that have had the surgery and are doing great.
I had a different weight loss surgery that is no longer performed any more due to deaths and complications. It has been a nightmare for me and I wish I had chosen the bypass in the beginning.
I literally starved for 16 years due to the bad surgery, my weight bounced up and down and after 3 additional surgeries to try and repair it, I finally ended up having my entire stomach removed in November of 2004 with a small gastric bypass to help me keep the weight off.
It sounds like you have been and are doing everything correctly in order to lose weight. It could be your metabolism is screwed up and that is what is preventing weight loss. Also being that your Doctor has run all the tests and prescribed the Xenical, you have documented proof as well. Ultimately, since there is no cure for it; that is why I had to have weight loss surgery. Dieting from the age of 9 to 26 made it vitually impossible for me to lose weight no matter what I did.
Since you are exercising and able to eat properly, you are a great candidate for the surgery.
Honestly, check with NHS and find out! If you ever want to know more about Gastric Bypass, like the changes it will make to your life beyond the actual weight loss, feel free to email me. Through the years I have become almost an expert on it by necessity. Whatever I haven't experienced, I have friends that have.
Good luck and contact NHS!
Michelle
i think you would be ok with the who bi polar as long as you stick to what ever your doing about that. but i would ask about it more. make sure *your ready for it* its a change that cant be reversed. also make sure you don't want to have kids in the near future. is it really an amazing change though.my mom and aunt had it done and my mom is almost to a size 14 in pants and my aunt is now in a 10. they both look great. but if you have question at all about this you should as the doc they know more. if you want to know more info there is websites that will give more detail to. well good luck.