Having cracked open my private pension pot late last year, I found myself “down with life” and it was a choice of do nothing, and die or Do Something, and get on with my life.
A bit of a “no brainer” really.
February 2018
I came to a personal decision to get a Gastric Band done privately. Approx. cost £7k.
I researched Gastric Procedures for a few days on/off, read personal accounts and joined a closed fb support group, Bariatric Surgery Community – Gastric Band, Sleeve & Bypass Support, Bariatric Surgery Community – Gastric Band, Sleeve & Bypass Support
I read as much about other peoples’ stories, accounts, problems in conjunction with the actual Health Facts, and changed my mind about the band operation and was now resting on the fact that the Gastric Sleeve sounded better for me. Actual Cost £10k.
I also enquired though emails to various centres around the UK and spoke to some advisors within a few organisations.
I was also realising that many people who had opted for the going abroad option, did not seem to have any idea of what to eat at what stage of their recovery. Neither did they have contact with the medical staff who operated or cared for them. There did not seem to be any plans in place for after care. This was something I was worried about. I mean.. what if something went wrong? Where would that leave me? A burden on the NHS, I would presume. After all, I’d probably watched it all unroll on BBC television in some soap or reality programme. “Botched Sleeve“..Poor Violet!
Going abroad for the operation was not an option for me since I am my 91-year-old mother’s carer and could not leave the country or even go too far from home. So finding an option close to Glasgow was my preferred choice and from reading between the lines, having some sort of All Inclusive Package too, would feel safer to me. After all this was going to be a journey for the rest of my life, if I go ahead.
By this time I was stumbling across Surgeons’ names who were operating in and around Glasgow and came across Mr Simon Gibson, MBChB who seemed to fit the bill. He had trained in Sydney, Australia and more importantly was a Bariatric Surgeon in his day job, based in the Glasgow Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. For more information; Mr Simon Gibson
As it happened, the Nuffield in Glasgow were having an information evening, so I quickly inquired about a space and dually roped my BFF to go along with me for moral support, preceded by a nice Italian meal of course.
That evening I was lucky enough to meet some of the Nuffield Nurses, the dietitian and Simon himself. But had I truly made up my mind?
Final Debate
As it turned out I just needed more debate and deliberation. So I contacted a friend who I was able to talk to about her band experiences. She had not heard of the “sleeve”, so she did her homework and we tossed ideas, comments and opinions to and fro for another week or so.
I also kept reading about the sleeve op and watched an old BBC documentary on YouTube, to view BBC documentary on NHS descrimination and also The Big Ward on Netflix, to view Netflix (subscription required) A New Zealand series following different individuals through their Gastric Sleeve experiences.
I did change back to the band idea before re-establishing my stand on getting “sleeved”. It definitely sounded the best option for me. I made an appointment that week to meet with my surgeon Simon Gibson and made plans to proceed in April 2018.
Meeting up with Simon Gibson re-affirmed that I should go ahead, my date was to be the 16th April 2018. I was given an appointment there and then to see the Dietitian.
A Personal Journey...through Bariatric Surgery and Beyond 