NSW to fund weight loss surgery

[sushee]

I think as well, that the idea that weight loss surgery, is somehow an 'magic cure-all' from years of eating badly is a bit misleading. As if you say, eat drink and do whatever you like, then if you get fat, we'll slap a lapband on you is simply not true. You have to have shown a history of trying other weight loss methods. You have to show that you have or will potentially have co-morbidities from your obesity. You have to show a commitment to changing your life. The band will always only be a tool to help you change your lifestyle. It is not a magic bullet.

It makes sense already for health funds to cover the cost of much of lapbanding surgery simply because they recognise that as a generally sound and permanent solution to obesity - it can save the fund much more money in the long term from having to pay out on obesity-related health problems. It's a financial trade off they've weighed up and have since concluded that it's worth the initial cost to prevent long term payouts. If the NSW govt have come to the same conclusion, I'm not surprised. Yes I believe education is incredibly important, and more money should be spent on it, and on making good food available and affordable, but today's obese memebrs of society need help now, and as a simple financial trade off, I can see why the state govt would think it's that initial preventative cost is a sound investment.

I do believe it should not be at the expense of money spent on education though. None of my children are obese, and in part, despite my own weight, I feel I tried to make good choices for them when they were growing up. Education starts with parents, and parents should see an investment in their own education as to how best to feed their families. But I don't see why we can't have both.

Currently, if you cannot afford private health insurance, you're in the most 'no-win' section of society, because the waiting list for wls is something like 10 years in some states (yes it can be done publicly even now). So yes, help is out there, but yes, again, because you're on a lower socio-economic rung, you don't get the kind of health care someone more affluent s getting. I don't necessarily agree with that. I think there should remain strict screening measures. I think wls should not be used willy-nilly. But I do think there is a case for it to be publicly funded.

I'd rather we funded the prevention of obesity-related problems, than fund the costs of treating those same issues later in the patients' lives.

[sushee]

And just in response to something you mentioned, FJ about patients being close to death before they should qualify. The lapband is actually a far better tool for someone who has shown an inability to lose weight themselves, but who is otherwise not yet as affected by their health issues. That is to say, if someone is near death, the lapband is probably going to be too late to help them.

My brother has severe type 2 diabetes and could be helped immensely by a lapband. His doctors believe his days are numbered but he still eats more than he should. If it were as simple as 'not having another piece of cake', I'm sure he wouldn't be in this situation. It is not something someone who has never struggled with their weight would understand.

He cannot get a lapband at the moment until his diabetes is under more control than it is now, which obliges him to eat less, which he struggles with. Yet had he had this surgery BEFORE his diabetes got so out of control, he wouldn't be facing a bleak future now. He's only 36 years old too.

This is why, despite the fact I don't have diabetes, I have had lapband surgery. Because it's a preventative measure against a disease that has affected 80% of my family on my mother's side. If I didn't have private health cover, I can just about promise you that all of you would be funding my diabetes medication for the rest of my life in the near future. I know which path I would prefer, so I took it, and I feel like I will be less of a burden to society in the long term as a result of it.

[*Efjay*]

And just in response to something you mentioned, FJ about patients being close to death before they should qualify. The lapband is actually a far better tool for someone who has shown an inability to lose weight themselves, but who is otherwise not yet as affected by their health issues. That is to say, if someone is near death, the lapband is probably going to be too late to help them.

You have actually cleared up what I was trying to say. I meant, thatit shoul dbe last resort, tried everything, surgery is the last chance KIWM?
So I do agree with what you have said.

[Macca79]

Why do people seem to think that people choose to be overweight? That is just like saying that someone who is anorexic chooses to be underweight. For many people who are obese (please note that there is a major difference between being overweight and being obese) there are many factors that prevent them from loosing weight. Things such as trauma, history of abuse, stress, poor self image are just some of the factors that contribute to the mind set that can lead to obesity. My SIL is obese and became so after a rape as a teenager. She found over eating and being fat a form of protection. It took a Lap Band and several years with a psychologist to help her feel that she could be 'safe' as a thin person. While this is an extreme case I mention it so that next time you see an obese person reaching for a piece of cake just stop and think that it could be more then just another person over indulging. If all it took was a few workouts and a salad we would not have such an epidemic on our hands.