GP's reluctance

I wouldn't be happy with SW or WW either.
I have no idea if the one you suggests works or not but SW and WW are also private companies Nacky.

This is the second time I have approached my GP about my weight and not had any other suggestions apart from SW but would have to pay for it myself and as I said travel 15 mile at weird times to do so, as I have already said I don't like how SW work. I have health concerns that means I can't really exercise, Oviva offers a one to one consultation to find out what type of diet might work for me which is a big part of me wanting to try them. Apparently I don't qualify for any other NHS weight loss programmes as my blood pressure etc are fine and I am not pre-diabetic. This really surprises me as I thought being obese would qualify you for help.

pipdog

The above links are for a different course, this one is called Oviva here is the link oviva.com/uk/en/how-it-works/ and is backed by the NHS but delivered by someone else. The GP might be paid to refer me so will not cost them anything. I am definitely in the obese category with a BMI of 37 and one glance would be enough to know I should loose weight and we have talked about it in the past but I didn't fit the very narrow criteria of the other course, this one is broader and does offer medication if needed, not that I would go down that route. I do understand that the GP hadn't heard of this as it does seem to newish but I gave her a letter that explained everything, (including the may pay £11.50 to the GP). She only glanced at this letter so I had to keep pointing out what it said. The tests she was offering had nothing to do with the referral and I was rather taken aback when she went down that route.

I hope you find something that works for you pipdog.
You mention that the GP may get a token payment from Oviva but are you aware that the NHS would have to fund Oviva for you? I can understand your doctor's reluctance to refer though surprised she did not suggest other options for weight loss. Oviva is a private firm funded by venture capital and aiming for contracts with the NHS. Slick advertising but you may find the NHS digital weight loss programme (good results and free to use) offers similar benefits without valuable NHS resources going to shareholders of a company based overseas.

I think that's a GP talking from their own experience, whilst it may not be relevant to the OP, it's disturbing that happens.

NotSpaghetti

Well done Hil!
I eat really healthily and cook everything from scratch.
I think my problem is portion size!
If you eat more than you need to eat you will always be heavier than you should be/want to be.

Keeping the weight off is excellent!
🎉

Thankyou.

My husband lost loads of weight on the 5:2 M0nica
I ate the same pretty much and lost an ounce or two!

I agree with both Hill910 and Not Spaghetti, but even more important thn cutting calories is making sure that your lower calorie diet offers an eating pattern you are happy with.

There is no point in designng a low calorie diet based on salad, if you prefer your food, hot, and cooked. You need to design your new low calorie diet around the food you enjoy. If you like chocolate then programme a small chocolate bar or chocolate biscuit into your diet and enjoy it, butonly eatone. Put the tim away as soon as you hav abstracted the bisccuit and before you eat it.Eat itin another room with a hot drink.

10 years agoI lost 2 stone on the 5:2 diet - and have not put it back on. intermittent fasting is justpart of my life now.

Well done Hil!
I eat really healthily and cook everything from scratch.
I think my problem is portion size!
If you eat more than you need to eat you will always be heavier than you should be/want to be.

Keeping the weight off is excellent!
🎉

Six yrs ago I joined SW and lost 5.7 stone as did my husband. We’ve managed to maintain our weight loss but I’m of the firm opinion that it’s all about calories in and calories out. You can only loose weight if you reduce what you consume and have to have willpower. I hated being overweight, it limited my lifestyle and I couldn’t buy clothes I liked as they simply weren’t available in my size. I’ve never done keep fit and I’m still overweight at 13.7 st and 5.7 tall but I’m happy and that’s what counts. I know what my temptations are and don’t buy them. All of our meals are cooked from scratch. It just means having to keep track of what I eat every day. Previously I smoked 40 cigarettes a day so willpower is the major contributor to wanting to achieve something for yourself. If you only lost 1 lb per week over the course of a year that would add op to 3.7 st which I’m sure you’d feel good about. All I can suggest is cutting the crap and trying to eat a bit more healthily. Here’s a before and after pic which might give you some inspiration

Thanks for the links,very useful.

And here's a link on gov.uk

www.applytosupply.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/g-cloud/services/677425061410147

This is an update regarding Oviva and the NHS in North Central London if you ate interested:
gps.northcentrallondon.icb.nhs.uk/news/update-message-to-practices-regarding-communications-from-digital-weight-management-provider-oviva

Mirren - sometimes GPs just don't know things
They can't know everything - I have pointed things out to my GP on occasion. One went away and read a paper I'd found and came back and told me why it wasn't relevant though it did look relevant at first glance.

Sometimes they say "no" (or yes?) for purely pragmatic reasons.
Sometimes they may not have reasons - they "just do it this way" because a "way" has evolved.

Asking questions (and being an engaged patient) is not bullying!

If your GP was reluctant she had a jolly good reason and you are wrong to bully her to do something that is likely , at best, to be useless and ,at worst, harmful.

I think this is rather rude and ill informed to be honest.

Mirren I did not bully my GP but asked if she would refer me, she didn't give me any reasons why she didn't want to. The company asked for blood results as well as height, weight etc. If my GP had said what you have said then I would have accepted her response.

Every NHS Deanery in the country has different rules , which are formulated by well informed committees who know and understand what their region can offer.
Not all regions have the same experience or expertise or staff to run these things.
As a GP I would be very reluctant to refer anywhere like this , despite the proclamation that it's NHS supported.
Basically, some of these organisations etc tell lies and they aren't verified or reliable.
They do much more harm than good.
Please, don't be naive and taken in by these promotions which promise the earth.
They're the modern equivalent of the " snake oil salesman "
If your GP was reluctant she had a jolly good reason and you are wrong to bully her to do something that is likely , at best, to be useless and ,at worst, harmful.
Most GPs , like myself, really want to do the best for our patients but often that's not always what you think you want or need .

Romola

I've no advice to add to you Pipdog, but I hope you'll be able to manage your weigh-loss regime.

I thought this thread might be about GPs being reluctant to refer a patient to a consultant as quickly as they could.

Last August, I went to the GP with severe stomach pains and constipation. She prescribed laxatives for a week, which worked to some extent but the pain was no better. She then put me on the 2-week pathway to be seen by a consultant. After about 9 days I was offered a telephone consultation on day 14. But by day 12, having been unable to eat for days, and with the pain ever worse, I asked my DD to take me to A&E. I had a CT scan and other tests. Next morning I had an emergency operation for suspected bowel cancer, which involved taking out half by colon including a tumour.

I have made a good recovery, but I can't help wondering why the GP didn't send me for a CT scan straight away. Might the process have been less painful and traumatic if she had done so?

I am so sorry you went through this and hope you are well now.

Thanks for your responses. My surgery doesn't do free WW or SW, not even sure there is a WW class in my area. The SW one is 15 mile away and at funny times for me. To be honest I don't buy into that sort of weight loss as other people I know that have gone down that route have put weight back on as soon as they stopped going, it didn't change their way of eating. That GP has been a bit reluctant about things before so seems par for the course with her. The reason I didn't want physio is because I have had 2 different experiences with that team with both making things worse rather than better so I would rather steer clear of them if possible.

I’ve been with WW for 25 years, gold member since 2008. I know GPs can recommend WW. And I think you get free membership, or used to, if it is via that route. The diets are mainly eating healthy food and can vary depending on each person and their needs. They have changed over the 25 years. There are ones for all kinds of health and emotional variations and you get a lot of support from the group leader and other members, some of it online.

Romola

I've no advice to add to you Pipdog, but I hope you'll be able to manage your weigh-loss regime.

I thought this thread might be about GPs being reluctant to refer a patient to a consultant as quickly as they could.

Last August, I went to the GP with severe stomach pains and constipation. She prescribed laxatives for a week, which worked to some extent but the pain was no better. She then put me on the 2-week pathway to be seen by a consultant. After about 9 days I was offered a telephone consultation on day 14. But by day 12, having been unable to eat for days, and with the pain ever worse, I asked my DD to take me to A&E. I had a CT scan and other tests. Next morning I had an emergency operation for suspected bowel cancer, which involved taking out half by colon including a tumour.

I have made a good recovery, but I can't help wondering why the GP didn't send me for a CT scan straight away. Might the process have been less painful and traumatic if she had done so?

i do hope you are recovering well and your prognosis is good.

We have a similar experience of doctors not being willing to refer people to consultants, not with your catastrophic illness, but DH developed a pinch nerve that meant he was in such pain he could not work, could not drive, could not do anything. For six weeks we kept going to the doctor who just recommended paracetamol.

When we asked for a referral we were told there was at least a six week wait and it could be some months. So we went private. Within a week we had seen a specialist, He wrote to the GP immediately recommending different high strength painkillers, which, to be fair, she immediately prescribed. DH had an MRI which showed that the problem was caused by collapsed neck vertibrae, and a few days later he had three steroid injections in his neck given with xray guidance to where the injections should be. That was 10 years ago and he is still fine, but i still do not understand why the GP was so unwilling to send him to a specialist.

nanna8

She was probably trying to stop you going somewhere unregulated and potentially harmful. I would listen to her , she might be right.

Surely, that is unlikely, as the NHS approve of the scheme OP had found.

I should think it likely either that the GP did not know much about it when she first spoke to the patient, or due to her work-load did not want to have to write a referral, which would entail reading up on the scheme.

But we can guess for ever, can't we? We have no chance of knowing as OP didn't ask her doctor why she had been hestitant.

Oops. . Posted too soon...
So far, nearly 2 stone down! Pleased I went.

I was referred by my GP to 12 weeks free at Slimming World. I know that not all counties have this arrangement. I was reluctant at first, but hey, it was free.... so went. I've done the 12 weeks and just signed up for 12 more. So far, near

I've no advice to add to you Pipdog, but I hope you'll be able to manage your weigh-loss regime.

I thought this thread might be about GPs being reluctant to refer a patient to a consultant as quickly as they could.

Last August, I went to the GP with severe stomach pains and constipation. She prescribed laxatives for a week, which worked to some extent but the pain was no better. She then put me on the 2-week pathway to be seen by a consultant. After about 9 days I was offered a telephone consultation on day 14. But by day 12, having been unable to eat for days, and with the pain ever worse, I asked my DD to take me to A&E. I had a CT scan and other tests. Next morning I had an emergency operation for suspected bowel cancer, which involved taking out half by colon including a tumour.

I have made a good recovery, but I can't help wondering why the GP didn't send me for a CT scan straight away. Might the process have been less painful and traumatic if she had done so?

You could have just asked her what it was that made her want to investigate those things 🙄

Allsorts I agree- since I joined the Apples and Pears thread two weeks ago I have lost 5lbs!

Only finding the right lifestyle changes for yourself will help. Expecting other people to do it for you is not going to help in the long term.

Someone close to me has just been taking off weight loss medication because they didn't lose any weight! They just saw it as a chance to eat more!

Now they're being offered injections which they don't want so they've lost weight so they can go back on the weight loss tablets.

It's a crazy world for sure.