After a lovely week away to Majorca with my boyfriend, I came home ready for my consultation on the 30th June. The Hospital Group london clinic is not a far drive from my house so we leave to attend.
Its on Weymouth street, just off Harley street. It is nothing like going for an appointment in an NHS hospital (No marble in site!)
I had applied and been accepted for a loan for the surgery cost, I just needed to send the papers within 30 days back and I would receive the money within one working day.
I had my consultation with Mr El Hasani and Nurse Julie. Julie had had the gastric band ten years earlier and had lost a huge amount of weight. By the end of my thorough consultation I was completely sold! I now wanted the surgery a thousand times more than before! I grabbed a pen and signed on the dotted line. I chose the 12th of July for my surgery and paid £500 deposit.
I left the clinic feeling like my life was about to change. and the next day, I started my pre-op milk & yogurt diet.
Sunday, 30 June 2013
Thursday, 20 June 2013
From The Beginning...
I have been overweight my whole life. It started when I was was six years old. My first ever realisation I had was when I was six. My mother had taken to me to a kids clothes store but I couldn't fit into the size 6-7 clothes. Little did I know that this would be the case as I grew up too.
The thing is, I feel bad for my mum. People must have looked at her and judged her for having a fat child. But my mum always cooked healthy food for my meals, She never took me to McDonald's, She gave me healthy packed lunches, She encouraged me to join a swimming club where I swam on a Tuesday and Friday night. She took me to the under 16 gym sessions for two years.
My mum never stood in the kitchen deep fat frying chips and serving up turkey twizlers. My two other sibling were living proof that we were looked after and healthy. Neither of them had an ounce of unwanted fat on them. So when I see parents today with overweight children, I don't judge the parents.
I not sure what I weighed then, but the last weight I remember being was 15 stone and 2 pounds. I was in year 10 at school. Before or after that I can't remember.
As of today, 20/06/2013, I am 22 years old and weight 21st 6.8lbs. I don't know how I got here, but I know that I don't want to be anymore. And I'm not going to be.
Today I phoned The Hospital Group and booked a consultation with a Bariatric Surgeon.
The thing is, I feel bad for my mum. People must have looked at her and judged her for having a fat child. But my mum always cooked healthy food for my meals, She never took me to McDonald's, She gave me healthy packed lunches, She encouraged me to join a swimming club where I swam on a Tuesday and Friday night. She took me to the under 16 gym sessions for two years.
My mum never stood in the kitchen deep fat frying chips and serving up turkey twizlers. My two other sibling were living proof that we were looked after and healthy. Neither of them had an ounce of unwanted fat on them. So when I see parents today with overweight children, I don't judge the parents.
I not sure what I weighed then, but the last weight I remember being was 15 stone and 2 pounds. I was in year 10 at school. Before or after that I can't remember.
As of today, 20/06/2013, I am 22 years old and weight 21st 6.8lbs. I don't know how I got here, but I know that I don't want to be anymore. And I'm not going to be.
Today I phoned The Hospital Group and booked a consultation with a Bariatric Surgeon.
Sunday, 16 June 2013
Considering Surgery...
The reason for the name of my blog is because I have been told by my consultant and GP, my BMI and by the scales; I am carrying a whole extra person in weight!
I can't put a date of when I considered surgery because it was the day I found out the gastric band existed! I did tons of research on it and looked at before and after photos, results, risks, I even watched the live surgery on you tube. Then I saw the price. £6000.00. Although I was a health care assistant for the NHS on quite comfortable money, I was 19 and couldn't budget for money left over, let alone save that sort of money.
I took a positive and upbeat walk to my good old NHS doctors surgery. I had rehearsed what I was going to say and even had information ready to prove I was a good candidate for Weight loss surgery.
I had been to a dietitian, I have tried diet tablets that had been prescribed, I had participated in the 'get active' scheme, I had never lost more then two stone and maintained it. I had always been overweight since I was a small child, whereas my siblings where a healthy weight. So when talking to my GP about it she agreed to refer me for a consultation. I was on cloud nine and so happy, finally hope at the end of the tunnel. She gave me a leaflet with my NHS number on it and that they would contact me in four weeks.
Four weeks came and went. I called my doctors surgery and they said that had nothing to report. When I contacted the next week, they told me to attend the surgery to collect my letter of refusal from the Kingston Primary Care Trust. The letter was full of formal tones and a contradictory information page of statistics about how weight loss surgery has been proven to show permanent results of weight loss then any other diet.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! My GP at the time basically told me I needed to gain weight. I already felt huge and disgusting and my confidence zero. So putting weight on would have been even worse, and still there is no guarantee of actually getting it either.
So I moved on and tried to put it to the back of my mind. But this year in April I had had enough. I had gained about two stone since then, and decided to try again. I was prepared to argue, to write letters to the PCT, to accept rejection. But I had to try.
My BMI was 48.9 but it had to be 50. Yet again rejection.
But I knew this time wouldn't be the end of the line for me...
I can't put a date of when I considered surgery because it was the day I found out the gastric band existed! I did tons of research on it and looked at before and after photos, results, risks, I even watched the live surgery on you tube. Then I saw the price. £6000.00. Although I was a health care assistant for the NHS on quite comfortable money, I was 19 and couldn't budget for money left over, let alone save that sort of money.
I took a positive and upbeat walk to my good old NHS doctors surgery. I had rehearsed what I was going to say and even had information ready to prove I was a good candidate for Weight loss surgery.
I had been to a dietitian, I have tried diet tablets that had been prescribed, I had participated in the 'get active' scheme, I had never lost more then two stone and maintained it. I had always been overweight since I was a small child, whereas my siblings where a healthy weight. So when talking to my GP about it she agreed to refer me for a consultation. I was on cloud nine and so happy, finally hope at the end of the tunnel. She gave me a leaflet with my NHS number on it and that they would contact me in four weeks.
Four weeks came and went. I called my doctors surgery and they said that had nothing to report. When I contacted the next week, they told me to attend the surgery to collect my letter of refusal from the Kingston Primary Care Trust. The letter was full of formal tones and a contradictory information page of statistics about how weight loss surgery has been proven to show permanent results of weight loss then any other diet.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! My GP at the time basically told me I needed to gain weight. I already felt huge and disgusting and my confidence zero. So putting weight on would have been even worse, and still there is no guarantee of actually getting it either.
So I moved on and tried to put it to the back of my mind. But this year in April I had had enough. I had gained about two stone since then, and decided to try again. I was prepared to argue, to write letters to the PCT, to accept rejection. But I had to try.
My BMI was 48.9 but it had to be 50. Yet again rejection.
But I knew this time wouldn't be the end of the line for me...
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