Obese people to be refused surgery

[ReallyReallyNearly]

Isn't this just another form of discrimination, www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-37265752
Argument seems to be on financial reason rather than health, do we stop nhs services for people who smoke, or those who drink too much etc. Where does one draw a line?!

Good.
If obesity is self-inflicted and not exacerbated by another medical condition then they should be refused surgeries like knee and hip replacements.
My Grandma suffers with mild arthritis, made worse by her ever-increasing weight, type 2 diabetes caused by her ever-increasing weight, and she has ruined two new knees and a new hip by sitting on her backside and not attempting to lose weight. She was told by her doctor that keeping active and mobile would aid in keeping her new joints supple and losing weight would massively reduce her joint pain as it would relieve a bit of pressure on them....did she listen? Did she hell. She can now barely walk, is bigger than she has ever been, and relies on my poor grandad to do pretty much everything for her.
I love my Grandma, but she, and people like her, are a drain on NHS resources. Why should the taxpayer fork out to help people who refuse to help themselves through simple lifestyle changes?! That goes for smokers to. I have no time for people who say "I tried to quit and I couldn't"....bollocks. You just mis-placed your spine and willpower and gave up when it got a bit hard. (And I say that as an ex-smoker!!)

Because of course people who are morbidly obese generally do so as a lifestyle choice and it never has anything to do with underlying issues. It's all their own fault, they're just greedy fuckers and if they just decide to stop eating it's as simple as that. So let's withdraw basic rights like medical treatment until they quit being silly. They LOVE being overweight and not able to maintain a healthy approach to food. It's TOTALLY just a choice they flippantly make. Can't put the cake down? No quality of life for you then, fatty!

For fucks sake. No.

Along with how ridiculous that ^ attitude is, there is also the point that it's a lot harder to lose the damn weight in the first place with dodgy knees and hips.

well then everything is self inflicted isnt it, if you take this 'logic' to its conclusion.
If I am run over, then it is self inflicted because I should have looked better.
If I have skin cancer, then I shouldnt have lain in the sun so long.
if I have a baby, then I shouldnt have had sex....
If I have diabetes, I shouldnt have eaten so much sugar.....
etc etc etc

Agenie she lost 6stone in 6 months? That is not healthy weight loss. That is part of the problem with this scenario. Consultant s put pressure on people to lose weight. They do it too quickly and increase their risk of gallstones and regaining what they lost.

This is totally unfair and very discriminative.
People can actually be very healthy with a BMI of 30 and we all know how BMI is only a guide.

Surely to refusing to treat the population goes against everything the NHS stands for. If it's a concern regarding their health during the op, then a consent form should sort that out.

Where do they draw the line.....
People in prison can't be treated because they've acted illegally?
People who are BMI 30 because of a thyroid problem?
People who are BMI 30 but who are teetotal and don't smoke?

Etc.

I'm obese.

Because of life-long under active thyroid problems, which have also caused infertility and osteo-arthritis in my hips and knees.

When I was in my 20s I had an NHS doctor laugh at me and refuse to check my thyroid as it was impossible that I had that problem. When I was in my 30s I had the thyroid test done, but told I was borderline and given no support or further testing. In other countries I would have immediately been put on medication. When I was in my 40s I almost died because my immune system had broken down and I had problems with my heart, core temperature, breathing, intestines and just about everything else.

My obesity was caused by lack of care from the NHS. But now they want to deny me help for the problems they caused. Fortunately I live in the US now and get much better health care, including the treatment for my thyroid which I needed in my 20s.

Causes of obesity are complex and many. Yes, there are people who just think 'fuck it' and eat what they want. But, like 'benefit scroungers' those people are actually pretty rare. I'd rather live in a world where people are treated with respect and given support, rather than castigated for something that is beyond their control.

If being overwieght were as simple to solve as some others think, then there would be almost no-one who is overweight. Because the problem would be solved, right?

But eggy it would take a lot of evidence to prove that their hips and knees were caused by being overweight and not another reason, like genetics or because they used to run marathons etc.

It's quite obvious that some of you don't understand the risks to the patient of operating when they are obese. Yes, it saves money but also, it's unethical to undertake a fairly big operation like a hip replacement on someone who is obese.

Also, this isn't news. It's been happening for a couple of decades. People are just more obese these days. Obesity (despite how much exercise you do) will degenerate the bone faster. You are them likely to need a revision surgery, which comes with complications, much quicker than you would if you were a healthy weight.

verbena yes it could have been. But she was told by several doctors, that the best way to ensure the new joints stayed the best they could be, and prevent her problem getting worse would be to keep as active as possible and maintain a healthy weight.....she made the decision to park her arse in an armchair when she got home and essentially never get up from it again except for trips to the toilet. Eating + lack of exercise = weight gain. Weight gain that could have been easily avoided, and then she probably wouldn't need another 2 new knees and a new hip as soon as she has done. Yes, she may well have needed the surgeries repeated in the future anyway, but she chose not to give herself the best opportunities for recovery as advised by her doctors. Therefore she has very little sympathy from me, or the rest of the family who tried to get her up and about at the time!

Yes my condition was caused by my obesity alone and will return if I gain weight again. Nothing to do with the other 4 applicable risk factors.

My long winded post has pretty much been explained more concisely by Doggity

eggy aha, I see.

Joints wear as part of the normal ageing process. Certain things make it worse; this includes genetic factors. Nobody is saying that being obese causes osteoarthritis but it is highly likely to exacerbate bone degeneration.

I posted this on another thread. My experience of being left in pain for nearly a year AFTER weight loss.

I lost 10 stone with slimming world (7 stone of it in 7 months) and i got gallstones. It was caused by losing weight too fast Two doctors and a surgeon told me this. I could NOT control the speed at which it came off.

I had ten months of being taken back and forth to casualty in EXCRUTIATING pain. Doctors coming out to give me morphine injections ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,prescribing me morphine pills. When i got a letter telling me i would have to wait another year for a gall bladder removal i actually considered suicide. After all the effort id made they were happy to leave me in that amount of pain.

My parents paid for a private consultation. It was with a surgeon who also worked for the NHS. He was pleased with my weight loss and appalled at how id been treated . But the cost of the gallstone op privately + possible extra aftercare were i to get an infection would cost too much,
I kept having attacks Finally an appointment came through to see an NHS consultant. It happened to be the same one i had a private consultation with. he promised i would be on an operating table in six weeks.

Five weeks later he removed my gall bladder.
This all happened in 2002/2003.
I owe him a lot If it wasnt for him i would have been waiting for another year. I could not eat SOLID food Thats how bad it was

IMO it is inhumane to leave someone in so much pain.

I cant help but remember them bending over backwards to help George Best an alchoholic who refused to help himself. I HELPED MYSELF. And at the time it felt like they were sticking two fingers up at me.

If it wasnt for that surgeon i dont think i would be alive because i couldnt have lived in that amount of excrutiating pain.

It's often not a case of lessening your calories to counter the weight gain (to pitchfork et Al.

At one stage i ate around 1000 calories a day, sometimes less, and STILL gained weight. So yes I will blame my medication thank you.

Helena similar happened to me. I developed gallstones after rapid weightloss (2 stone in a month) but bypassed the queue after my 4th trip tool casualty in a fortnight. They admitted me and took it out there and then thankfully as the queue for it as a non emergency was 18 months long!

The NHS need to stop giving out mixed messages on this issue.

a. They need to stop peddling the low fat myth when its sugar thats the problem.
b. they need to stop prescribing certain drugs that affect weight just because those drugs are cheaper.
c. more help needs to be available for carers like my cousin who has been neglecting his own health for selfless reasons. Instead of waiting until my aunt and uncle arent around anymore and THEN moaning at him about his weight when its very handy for them to have him in the position hes in at the moment.
d. there needs to be a big publicity drive against fast fix diets And slimming clubs and VLCDS who encourage and push for fast results.
It is not a healthy way of losing weight and a big risk factor for gallstones and other health problems.

I suspect there would be as much reluctance to tackle the diet industry as there is the food industry..............money.

But you cant have it both ways!!!

My cousin is caring for BOTH his elderly parents at home. His father had a stroke ELEVEN YEARS ago which left him brain damaged and now has full on dementia.

His mother can barely walk. my cousin is very overweight because he has neglected his own health to care for them . That care in the system would cost many thousands.

Perhaps he should phone someone and say he is downing tools now to concentrate on his own health as he risks not being treated if he doesnt or cant!!!

Puzzled im pleased they fast tracked you. I had to wait nearly a year. I was angry and upset.

I dont think they like overweight people. Even when we arent overweight anymore there is still a rampant hatred and disdain of us.

Slippery slope.

Of course smokers knowingly damage their own health.

So do drinkers, those who do not exercise that much, those who do drugs, those who get too stressed from work, those who use sun beds, those who eat too much saturated fat.

There's no way to start deciding who is or isn't worthy if healthcare.

And I am appalled by the obesity idea.

Not all people who are obsese sit there throwing Wipsa bites into their mouth and flicking through Netflix. A lot of people truly struggle with their weight for a vast number of reasons. Science has not begun to explain why some people "eat what they want" and others suffer.

This is blatant bashing of fat people and causing them to feel shit about themselves with these sorts of ideas that fat means you are unhealthy. I know a couple of fat people who exercise every day and eat carefully and I know plenty of skinny salad dodgers who drink a bottle of wine a night.

Terrible, discriminatory messages for our kids.

I have a friend who harps on about obesity
I think she doesn't realise how little extra can tip you into the obese category
Her mum would have been refused surgery under this rule but i think some people think an obese woman would be like size 20 upwards which is not necessarily the case.

I'd like to refuse treatment to a lot of people on this basis, mostly drunks.

And smokers pay more in tax than they cost I think?

If they are serious about tackling obesity, do they allow fat folk free weight watchers or slimming world membership? Free hypnotherapy or counselling to get to the root of the issue? Course not.

Pretty sure you can get slimming world membership on the NHS? Happy to stand corrected.