Time scale from referral to surgery?

Do you know which type of wgt loss surgery you are going to be put forward for?  Experiences will differ from surgery to surgery as the criteria and requirements will not be the same depending on which ops people have had.  I did not go via the NHS route and self funded so i have no experience of waiting times etc as my story was very different ie 2 months from initial consultation to actual surgery.  I have a band and if you have any specific questions regarding the band then please ask and i will try to answer as truthfully and detailed as possible - good luck with your research. 

Hello... I think that as 4bandit says everyone has a different experience. This will depend on your health authority and many other things . We do of course have the NHS guidelnes that say that you should be seen within 18 weeks. But that is the beginning of your journey.

Other issues will depend on your consultant and what their expectations are, this can include seeing a dietician and having a psychological assessment. But do remember this is not a barrier, it's all to help you succeed.

My personal journey took a very long time, but much of that was me juggling whether I want to go ahead. I attended a mindful eating course ... which I was extremely sceptical about... but truly has made a MASSIVE difference. Where some people do try things like chocolate, and find that it doesn't have a negative effect, I now have the ability to look at the chocolate and really think about whether I really want it .... I always .. ALWAYS walk away.

Start helping yourself while you are waiting ... find out if there is a local meeting for people who are looking to go down the surgery road, they often have people who have gone through surgery, you will find out the positives and the negatives. Also there is a Facebook group... I left that, but I learnt a lot, the things that Drs miss out, and so much support and motivation. You can ask questions about anything ... vitamins, hair, toilet habits nothing is off limits.

Sorry, all that doesn't really answer your question, but my advice is go and find things that will help you. The Drs will see your commitment too.

Good luck .... it will all move faster than you feel right now

Kate

Thank you so much for your replies,

It is all very helpful thank you, I have been considering weight loss surgery for a long time now but never thought the doctors would agree (the fear of a doctor laughing in my face telling me I am wasting there time, money and resources) but the more I read up the more I realise I am not the only person on this journey and that In it's self is great finding out! I wish I had the money to go private but unfortunately that's not an option.

I will look for local fb groups of people in the same situation I think that's a good idea.

Again thank you for your replies it means a lot x

I agree that support groups and online support are invaluable and I would never have coped so well without both of these - there is an organisation called WLSinfo which runs local support groups and has an online forum plus face book group too - if you google it you will come across it I am sure - I though wgt loss surgery was just for celelbrities and people in the media - I had never met anyone who had this type of surgery until i went to a local support group and there they were - people just like me who were not in the media or famous - and then i went online and met another bunch of people all with stories to tell and tips, info and advice to swop cos like the person above says, the consultants tell  you about the actual op but it is the people actually living with these surgeries who know the advantages and disadvantages though what is a negative to one person can actualy be a positive to another so do take this into consideration and be wary of people dissing one surgery when they actually do not have this type of wgt loss surgery and are therefore not the best person to advise, if that makes sense - some people are very passionate about their own particular op and 'run down' the other ones - your local hosp might also run a support group - good luck with all of this and hope you dont have to jump through too many hoops before you get what you want