NHS only offering surgery

[Makingsomechanges]

My referral to weight loss clinic has been rejected today on the basis that they aren’t prescribing the injections due to demand - but they would refer me for surgical intervention if desired.

im very grateful to be referred on the NHS obviously but it seems a little extreme - to go to surgery not injectables - has anyone else had this issue recently?

and should I just skip to the surgery in that case? I’ve got around 5-6 stone to lose

Is there any way you could pay for the injections yourself? I’d rather do that, and have, than wait for bariatric surgery on the NHS. Surgery is always risky and it’s not reversible, it seems like such a drastic step.

Oh, also, it’s very typical on the NHS. It’s a business decision based on capacity and funding - the rollout of Mounjaro is not due until the summer and will start with people with very high BMI and weight related health conditions. The full rollout is going to take 12 years.

I would move heaven and earth to pay for them if next stop is surgery

however it might be worth checking with PALs if there is any kind of right to choose ie if a neighbouring weight management programme does offer injections

I did all the things required for surgery and was rejected at the end as although my BMI is 42 I don’t have co morbidities such as diabetes
it was a complete waste of time
I’m now buying the weight loss injections

Thanks so much everyone - unfortunately no way to fund ourselves as very low income family with caring responsibilities and therapies we fund etc. I did fund a month last year to see if it would even help by selling lots of stuff - and i lost 17lb - but then had to stop obv and now kicking myself as i can see how life
Changing it could have been!

I don’t have diabetes - the only possible health related issues would be poor mobility due to back issues ( obv worsened by weight) and slightly elevated BP :/

I actually saved more money on food bills than I spent on MJ per month. Worth considering …

You could ask your GP for a referral to Oviva? They accept Right To Choose referrals from anywhere in England. They don't currently offer mounjaro, but I think they do offer wegovy to eligible patients.
https://oviva.com/uk/en/refer/

Ah the lady at GP who called me mentioned this but I misheard her and thought she said AVIVA and assumed it was insurance related 🙈 I’ll def look into that thank you