hi all!

i am an american spouse married to a military member and i am new to the uk. i am wanting to get the vsg done here, and could use any and ALL information. i am thinking that i will go somewhere in london (since that seems to be the closest place to us) to get the surgery done, but i honestly, have no idea where to start! any and all help would be appreciated! :thumbup: lisa

Hey Leelee,

I went to my doctor first, he then refered me via the NHS and I was refused cos I was too healthy and didn't weigh enough, yea righto, I then sourced the surgery privately and had to pay. I don't regret it at all!

Go to your doc first and see what they say... I live in Wales and it is a little different here... good luck and let me know what they say! =]

Hi leelee I assume you have the medical insurance via the military ? It will work a bit different for you. I doubt the NHS will do it if you aren't a permanent resident - unless your spouse is British. Never the less if you are entitled to NHS treatment it certainly wont hurt for you to go see an NHS doc.

You should still see your doc and see what they recommend you do. If they wont approve you there are several private companies here in the UK to do it.

I've lived here for 5 years going on 6 now (I'm a fellow American) and I love it here.

Hey Peffermintchili...

didn't realise that you were in the UK... up north!! Glad you like it... =]

Hi all, Thanks!

one thing i should have clarified. i am an italian citizen and get free health care through them, since we are part of the EU will that transfer over under the NHS system? i don't know if that's a stupid question, but the military (as of right now) does not cover the vsg. it's sort of frustrating because they do cover the gastric band. ugh. i'm hoping that once we get settled i will be able to find out more information. it's all sort of frustrating because i don't really know where to start, and i'm feeling sort of private about this all, you know?

if you happen to know any of the answers, that would be cool.

so far we are LOVING england! i just started driving, so that's taking some getting used to, but everything is soo pretty here and everyone is quite friendly so far! i'm looking forward to the next 3 or 4 years here :thumbup:

where did you guys get sleeved and who was your doctor?

Hi Leelee

I'm British, but living in NW France. I got my sleeve done here in Normandy, and I have to say the whole experience has been fantastic. The clinic is top class and the surgeon extremely competent.

It cost me around 8000 euros in all (though I got a good percentage of that back from the state), private room in the clinic too.

The one drawback was there was very little in the way of dietary advice post-op, but now I know I should have gone to the dietician! So all now sorted.

I used to work with the US military when I was in UK (at one time, I rejoiced in the title of UK/US Liaison Officer!) and got to go on some great training courses in US too! Glad you are enjoying your expat experience.

The other benefit for now, is that you have more choice of clothes shopping pre-op than I did here in France where anything over a certain size is black, brown and in cheap polyester (think it is a sort of Gallic punishment for being anything other than stick thin :thumbup:!!).

Hi Lisa! The first step is to go to your GP, see what they say and go from there. My GP referred me to a bariatric surgeon and although my BMI was below 40 and didn't have any major comorbidities, I did start having joint pain and Insuline reistance that would have gone on to full blown diabetes I'm sure. I then decided to go private because the waiting lista was massive, I would have to wait a bit more than a year to have the surgery. I went to a consultant of the Spire hospital, you can look them up they are all over England, and from seeing the consultant to the date of the operation I waited 6 weeks! Just ask if you want anymore details, I'll try and attach a Link of the hospitals.

www.spirehealthcare.com/

Hope this helps good luck!

awesome; i'm checking out the link now. for those of you who paid yourselves, did you have a payment plan, or did you have to pay the full amount up front?

when i google places that do it in the UK, this is the ad that keeps coming up. has anyone gone through them or heard anything? Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (Gastric Sleeve) Bariatric Surgery

I paid as I went along (pre appointments with endocrinologist, xrays, psychiatrist etc) then got the bill for hospital in one lump, to include operation, anaesthetist, xrays, room, meals (meals?? After a sleeve? ho ho!).

It is lovely actually, to see some other people from UK posting on here!

well, i did some research and there are several spire hospitals that are a little over an hour away. with the coversion, i think it will cost about $12,000. a little bit steep, so it's time for me to definately start saving and making some money!