TO BE REALLY P*SS*D OFF!!

[joash]

Three months ago, I approached my GP about having a gastric band fitted. He did say that I woule probably be turned down as I am to young (I am 44); I don't weigh enough (I weigh 27 stones) and I do not have any illness of informity to do with my weight. He said that he would be willing to 'fight my corner' and back me all the way as I have tried every single way imaginable to lose weight.

Got a call from a friend of mine yesterday (she weighs less than I do, is 27 years old and has a major heart complaint) - her GP has offered her obesity surgery they are not even supposed to consider it if the patient has heart problems.

Anyway, I went to see my GP today to ask if he had heard back from whomever he wrote to and he admitted that he hadn't even bothered to recommend me as he felt that I should persevere with the diet etc. I have been on orlistat and weightwatchers (again) since feb/mar and have not lost one pound!!
I am totally pissed off and very angry.

Does anyone know if there i anyway of going over his head or would I be better changing GP's and finding one who is likely to keep his/her word?

Joash - there is no need to be so rude. People are giving up their time here to try and help you!

including what happens if it doesn't work and you continue to gain weight?

because from what you've said here, the band won't work.

but i agree in that you need to be referred to an endocrinologist or obesity clinic/barriatric specialist to determine what the cause of your obesity is and what is the best course of action for you.

Doodle2U - I appreciate that, and I am grateful for the genuine advice and/or suggestions - but there are also a couple on here who have obviously no idea of what they are talking about, have not read the thread and seem to be convinced that I am sat here stuffing my face with food as we speak.

there's this expression doctors use..."when you hear hoofbeats, look for horses (common-place ailments), not zebras (rarer complaints)"
i think here, you need to start looking for zebras.

agree you need specialist advice from endocrinologist and /or bariatric surgeon

no-one gets to be and remain at 27 stone eating a low fat diet and excercising, something is out of kilter somewhere

good luck!

So there is something else wrong with you that having a band will not fix.

Yes scream along with me eh???

Have you read this - When it comes to thyroid, many people suffer from what is called sub-clinical hypothyroidism. Basically this means that standard blood tests show no major abnormalities and most likely your doctor has told you your thyroid levels are normal. However there are more detailed tests and approaches to evaluation that can reveal the abnormalities that are causing weight loss challenges but are not severe enough to qualify you for a diagnosis of hypothyroidism. For further information about what tests to ask for and more on sub-clinical hypothyroidism read my other blog entry by following this link www.vitabase.com/blog/energy/sub-clinical-hypothyroidism.aspx

What tests did you have to see if you had a thyroid problem, have you been to see a specialist endocrinologist who deals specifically with this sort of problem. What exercise do you do do you do strength training to make you build muscle and therefore increase your metabolism?

And forgive me for sounding rude but if you know that not eating is bad for you why do you forget to eat? Have you just given up?

If you don't eat too much then how will a band help? I agree with Carm and Expat, you need to find out what is wrong because if you truely don't eat much and excerise a lot then something seems very wrong. A band won't help as all it does is stop you eating which you say isn't a problem for you.

expatinscotland - if I continue to gain weight then I haven't really lost anything have I? I agree totally with what you are saying about the likelihood being that it won't work, but I have to try something.

I'm not sure if it was an endocrinologist or obesity clinic that ran programme that I participated in at the hospital (although it was some years ago). But I am going to follow your suggestions up, in fact a few of the suggestions on here and I do appreciate the sensible (and none patronising) advice from many posters

The only way a bank could possibly work is if you actually do eat too much. It just restricts what you can eat so why would that work? It doesn't make any sense.

Joash, it is not a risk free procedure. My pal had it. She paid for it privately. Her obesity was caused by her eating too much and she could NOT seem to stop.

Thing is, she later had some problems with her colon that required a few operations.

She had to have the band deflated.

She has put all the weight back on.

It's not a sure fire fix.

And, it's entirely possible you could have something like Cushings, which is tricky to diagnose.

And has an impact on your overall health besides weight.

It would be ideal if you can find out why this is happening to you, as whatever it is can have ramifications on your health besides just your weight, IYSWIM.

I do know that it doesn't work for 1 in 5 people that have it fitted. It is a far better option than a Gastroplasty and has far fewer risks. The existing risks specific to gastric banding are;

Wound infection. Antibiotics are given during surgery to help prevent this.
Up to 6wks after the op, it's possible to develop a blood clot in the veins in the leg. This clot can break off and cause a blockage in the lungs. In most cases this is treatable, but it can be a life-threatening condition. Compression stockings, intermittent compression pumps and blood-thinning injections are used to help prevent DVT.
There is a risk that during the operation
other organs in the abdomen may be accidentally damaged.
The band may slip out of place, break or erode through the stomach wall, requiring further surgery or removal of the band.
It is possible to fail to lose sufficient weight or even regain the weight.
If you lose weight rapidly, there is a risk of developing gallstones.

All this against the risk of putting even more weight on and dying without seeing GS grow up (he has already lost his parents, there is no way I want him to lose either of us).

But it won't work unless you're overeating, you've already said you don't eat too much. I really think you need some more tests done.

OP, Just reading your post and this struck me "
I was thin (not skinny) up to 26 years ago when I went on the pill. I gained 6 stones in 6 months and was taken off it - thats where my weight gain started. I have been on just about every 'diet' that you can name. Three times, over those years I have joined 'weightwatchers' type groups - I lost exactly 3 stones and gained between five and six back on coming off the diet."
Now im no advocate of diets, and being overweight myself I understand your anger, but deep down I know that if I eat less I loose weight. The fact that when you were once on a diet you lost 3 stone and put 5-6 on when you came off tells me that you can loose weight and that there must be something wrong with your diet for you to gain so much once stopping with weightwatchers etc.

Of course Im just going on one line in one post so huge appologies if Ive taken it out of context, I really do understand how frustrating being overweight can be.

Joash, I assume you've seen every consultant available about your weight? Your eating and exercise just don't add up, there's got to be something else going on that someone can assist you with. I would return to the GP weekly until he refers you to someone who can help. Take your food and exercise diary with you and show him that you can't be your weight!! Good Luck.

Message withdrawn

I don't understand, all it does is reduce food intake, thus reduce calories. If you've already been on a very low calorie diet and it did nothing, how will going on another very low calorie diet through major surgery be any different?

But Joash, you are still putting on weight despite being on a calorie-restricted diet/not overeating and exercising a lot.

And ANYONE else you see about having this procedure is going to bring that up.

Because it is important. There is something WRONG healthwise when someone's body continues to put on weight at such a dramatic level despite such measures and this should have been a chief concern when you saw your GP, not whether or not to have the band, that is something for a surgeon to decide.

And please understand, that even when you are referred and seen, the consultant(s) may not agree that you need to procedure or that it is the right one for you.

You MUST be willing to accept this unless you're going to go private.

'SO please don't patronise me with "...have you exercised, ate smaller portions,..." rubbish underpinned by assumptons that all fat people sit stuffing their faces with enormous mounds of greasy fried food and cream buns all day long. '

Again, please, and I don't mean this the wrong way, but when you go see a consultant, TRY very hard to see their point of view and lose any attitude you have and it may go a long way towards they're helping you the best they can.

Not all thin people are smug and I do think you could benefit from some counselling about your weight issues, tbh, because you have had many threads in the past concerning your extreme dissatisfaction with some aspects of your weight.

I'm just over 20stone and I can honestly say(thanks to seeing dietician) that my diet is not my prob.I try to exercise reg(as if heing and housework aren't enough) and am still having trouble losing weight.My prob started with the pill injection and then I went on the pill which just made things worse.
Not eating somedays and eating properly others causes the body to do this starvation thing where any calories you do eat become fat apparently(my doc and dietician both said same thing)and can be worse than sometimes eating to much as causes the weight loss from other things to be gained plus a little more.
I agree that there must be something else but am still trying.
Not all thin people are smug but a lot are still judgemental or at the least(or most)act as though people like myself should be disbelieved or felt sorry for.
I hate my weight but have realised that as long as I do my best and am in general good health then tough to what others think.I'm not diabetic,don't have high cholesterol or most other things that are associated with fat.In fact when tested I am in pretty good health and fitness.My only prob stems from pill inject. and that I fixed when doc couldn't.
I understand completely understand why joash feels this way

iMum - yes, what I wrote about losing weight and then putting more back on, was right. My point is that in my early 20's I did manage to lose weight with various diets, but as soon as they finished I put even more weight on regardless of the amount I ate. It's all these diets that have f*cked up my body.

alittleone2 - what I actually said was that I had tried everything going and had every test - there is no physical or emotional reason why I am steadily growing even bigger and yet eat considerably less, and exercising more than I have ever done.

expatinscotland - I do know that all this is going to be brought up and that the consultant may not even agree to my having the gastric band - however, my issue is with the GP who blatantly lied and has kept up the pretense of backing me to have the op for the past three months.

I understand what you are saying when you state that there must be something, some underlying cause for my weight gain - However, I have been tested for every possible reason that I continue to either gain weight, or remain the same regardless of how much exercise or how much I reduce my calorie intake. My current GP has spent almost three years putting me through all the same tests that my prevous GP sent me for (and more besides). There is nothing wrong with me, physically, emotionally or mentally.

I am not taking anything the wrong way and I don't have an attitude - I fully understand all the pro's and con's. I fully understand that even if 'the powers that be' agreed to me having this, that it is unlikely to work for me - but I am willing to try anything.

Nor do I need counselling as I do not have 'weight issues'. Neither have I had many threads concerning your extreme dissatisfaction with my weight - what I have done, is participated in a number of threads where people are slagging off everyone who is overweight, by stating my story as an example of at least one fat person who does not sit stuffing her face all day - that is one of the things that I do have an issue with.

And, I totally agree with you, all thin people are not smug, but it is thin people who sit in judgement of fat people on a daily basis, it is thin people who will not employ fat people regardless of how experienced or quailfied they are for the role, it is thin people who shout verbal abuse at fat people in the street, it is thin people who perpetuate the same old tirade of 'eat less and do more'. And it is thin people who have from the outset changed this thread from being about me being bloody annoyed at a GP who has blatantly lied to me - to a thread about my weight - that's the thing that I have taken issue with today.

joash - why will a gastric band work? no criticism implied. surely it just mimics a diet ( you eat less by virtue of feeling fuller longer on less food) in effect wont the underlying problem still be there therefore the weight?

magicfarawaytree - read the thread!!!!

I am going now as I am obviously absolutely and totally wasting my time.

Faraway tree - everyone has aid the band won't work and joash is probably pissed off that everyone keeps repeating that and not believing her totally that a decent diet and exercise problem or being checked out for a hormone problem is not the answer to her problem.

She is a medical mystery and is going to do it regardless of the serious complications that can ensue and really wanted us not to question the reason for her obesity but to agree that the doctor is a wanker!

And then she makes sweeping judgements that thin people all hate fat people and shout at them in the street - bit like the assumption that fat people are fat because they eat too much!

'I am going now as I am obviously absolutely and totally wasting my time. '

'I don't have an attitude '

I really hope you don't go in to see your doctor like this.

You start a thread in AIBU and when people suggest that perhaps your GP is correct, you flounce off in the huff.

That's an attitude.