Gastric band - Beware

Loopy_Girl

The NHS did help - they got her out of pain. What they didn't do was essentially do another band op operation for free - which I think is correct.

Quite why someone would pay for private surgery and then expect the NHS to pick up the pieces is beyond me.

Personally I would have thought that if the band fitting or band was faulty then it would have shown up weeks after the op rather than months.

Interesting that the OP has put on the weight already that she lost and also that the surgeon thinks that a piece of meat has dislodged the band.

Having watched the programme the other night about gastric bands on Channel 4 it it apparant that this isn't a 'quick fix' and that the patient still has to show constraint and make suitable choices in what they do eat.

I suspect that the NHS wouldn't fund a gastric band op for such a small amount of weight to lose - and as Suki says, 6 months at WW would have done it - hence why the OP went private.

I'm sorry but if you pay for pricate treatment then you research is throughly and allow for every eventuality as they are not NHS and you can't expect things to be rectified for free of charge if they go wrong - whoevers fault it is.

Penny-Pincher!!

Loopy_Girl wrote: »

The NHS did help - they got her out of pain. What they didn't do was essentially do another band op operation for free - which I think is correct.

Quite why someone would pay for private surgery and then expect the NHS to pick up the pieces is beyond me.

Personally I would have thought that if the band fitting or band was faulty then it would have shown up weeks after the op rather than months.

Interesting that the OP has put on the weight already that she lost and also that the surgeon thinks that a piece of meat has dislodged the band.

Having watched the programme the other night about gastric bands on Channel 4 it it apparant that this isn't a 'quick fix' and that the patient still has to show constraint and make suitable choices in what they do eat.

I suspect that the NHS wouldn't fund a gastric band op for such a small amount of weight to lose - and as Suki says, 6 months at WW would have done it - hence why the OP went private.

I'm sorry but if you pay for pricate treatment then you research is throughly and allow for every eventuality as they are not NHS and you can't expect things to be rectified for free of charge if they go wrong - whoevers fault it is.

Hi Loopygirl

I totally understand where you are coming from, but if her health is at risk and she cant afford private help to fix her medical problem, then surely the NHS would have to help?

4 stone is not alot of weight to loose and I agree that a band should never have been put in for such a small amount of weight. If the band was faulty it would have shown up quite quickly I would of thought.

I agree that the NHS shouldnt fund another band, but if this is causing severe problems with health, it should be taken out and the OP follow a diet.

PP
xx

suki1964

gastricbanddisaster wrote: »

I sas so unhappy with my weight that I made the decision to do something for life. This would have been there for me and I could have had it as a preventor.
I have learnt my lesson the hard way, the surgeon took my money knowing how much weight I wanted to loose. He had no qualms then.
I was concerned when he trained the dietition to do the band fills. Surely this should have been done by the surgeon as I think on my last fill she put too much in as days later I sterted to be ill. I tried to contact the hospital on the Sunday morning at 10am but the phone numbers they gave me for emmergencies was answered by someone who no longer worked at Spire. I looked on the internet but the same phnenumber was on there. I then called the hospital and a nurse gave me a mobile number.The man answered ans daid he would call me back. He did but told me that the hospital should have taken my number and passed it on to him. I was too ill to argue.
He told me to take 2 teaspoons of water every 10 mins, I tried this but could not keep it dow. He said he would call ne back later. He arranged for the dietition to meet me at the hospital at 5pm to deflate the band. Was she qualified to do this?
I went back the next day for the barium meal.
Once in the NHS hospital I was unable to be operated on for 24 hours as I was severley dehydrated.
It was a total nightmare.

Im sorry but I think the surgeon was correct - you needed weight watchers and not a quick fix. Weight watchers WORKS, it trains you to eat a better healthy diet. It IS life long but it is a commitment not a quick fix. I went from a size 16/18 to a size 10 over 10 years ago now and although I still have my moments and gorge as Im sure everyone is capable off, i never go above a size 12 anymore. Indeed I still have and wear the clothes I bought when I first got to a size 10.

And yes you learned the hard way. Gastric Bands should not ever be seen as a cosmetic procedure and should be done for medical reasons only with the support of dieticians and psychologists. Even Fern Britten has had to make huge changes to her lifestyle with a sensible eating plan and a lot of exercise, she is the first to say its not the easy fix. Anne Diamond ate her way through her band, as she says she just ate the same but throughout the day - high fat calorific foods such as butter and ice cream slip though the band so easily.

Well I just hope now that you have recovered from your op and can move forwards. I dont see that you are going to get anywhere with a complaint and compensation from the clinic and I cant see the NHS picking up the pieces any further then they have. Looks like unless you save enough to have the band re filled or removed, you are left with it inside you

suki1964

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

Hi Loopygirl

I totally understand where you are coming from, but if her health is at risk and she cant afford private help to fix her medical problem, then surely the NHS would have to help?

4 stone is not alot of weight to loose and I agree that a band should never have been put in for such a small amount of weight. If the band was faulty it would have shown up quite quickly I would of thought.

I agree that the NHS shouldnt fund another band, but if this is causing severe problems with health, it should be taken out and the OP follow a diet.

PP
xx

Why should the NHS pay to remove the band? This lady paid to have it inserted when the NHS wouldnt touch her as it was an unnessecary op so why should the tax payer pick up the pieces now?

MrsE_2

suki1964 wrote: »

Why should the NHS pay to remove the band? This lady paid to have it inserted when the NHS wouldnt touch her as it was an unnessecary op so why should the tax payer pick up the pieces now?

They try & cure smokers of cancer & alcoholics of liver disease don't they?

This lady would ultimately have improved her health had it worked.

funguy

suki1964 wrote: »

Why should the NHS pay to remove the band? This lady paid to have it inserted when the NHS wouldnt touch her as it was an unnessecary op so why should the tax payer pick up the pieces now?

Agree completely....too many people go abroad for operations or get them done privately as the NHS will not do them...and then expect the NHS (ie the taxpayer) to rectify any problems that occur in the future! Quite rightly the NHS should not have anything to do with these things unless it is immediately life threatening. If it has long term risks or any other problems, it should be the responsibility of the patient to pay to get it rectified locally or abroad. Even if it is immediately life threatening, the bill should be sent to the patient as the NHS had probably refused to do the initial operation in the first place!....
Im afraid people cant have their cake and eat it!

Penny-Pincher!!

suki1964 wrote: »

Why should the NHS pay to remove the band? This lady paid to have it inserted when the NHS wouldnt touch her as it was an unnessecary op so why should the tax payer pick up the pieces now?

So if this lady needed to have the band removed because the original operation could result in her death or serious consequences to her health and she could not afford the operation be done privately....you would think that it would be okay for the NHS to refuse her it and her ultimately (sp) die

gastricbanddisaster

I never asked the NHS to pay for the operation at any time.
Please do not judge people and think that they expect the NHS to do cosmetic surgery for FREE -I certainly never asked them to, nor would I expect them to.
Nor would I go abroad to have surgery done.
I went to a SPIRE (BUPA) hospital which is less than 2 miles away from my home and only after a lot of research did I decide to go ahead.
£7000.00 IS A LOT OF MONEY so it was well thought through.
The band had moved and was strangling my stomach - not what I paid for.
I was so severley dehydrated they could not operate until the next day.
I am also a tax payer, I am never ill, never have I claimed any type of benefit or disability allowance!
I was only taken into the local hospital as I was so ill and did not have £4000.00 spare in my purse as it was something that I had not budgeted for.
I was not a drain on the NHS as it was the second time that I had ever stayed in hospital, the first was for the band to be fitted.
I do not visit the doctor unnescessarily or for trivial things.
I do not expect to have my cake and eat it!!!!!!!!!!

suki1964

MrsE wrote: »

They try & cure smokers of cancer & alcoholics of liver disease don't they?

This lady would ultimately have improved her health had it worked.

Actually in this case the lady only wanted to lose from a size 18 - hardly what the NHS call morbidly obese - the criteria you have to be for the NHS to even offer the op

Dont even get me started on the smokers - seeing as smokers PAY MORE into the NHS then a non smoker yet get 3rd rate treatment (refused many types of treatment beacuse they smoke) and have you seen what paltry amount they put towards alcohol treatment centres? In fact they are actually cutting alcohol beds and day rehab centres, so no - they arent actively treating liver disease in alcoholics ( as an alcoholic and now ex smoker I do have first hand experience of the NHS treatment in these two areas)

suki1964

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

So if this lady needed to have the band removed because the original operation could result in her death or serious consequences to her health and she could not afford the operation be done privately....you would think that it would be okay for the NHS to refuse her it and her ultimately (sp) die

Im sure that if the OP becomes acute then yes the NHS will pick up the pieces. But of now she isnt, all shes looking for right now is some sort of recompense from the private hospital she went to, and shes posting here as a warning to others to think long and hard about going ahead with the op ( I think)