confused, please help

hi everyone i ve just been to see my gp about my boobs as she was trying to get me a ba on the nhs, i thought this would be highly unlikely so have gone down the private route with a 2nd consultation in a week and surgery pencilled in for 14th august, my gp has just said that i havnt been refused funding yet and they (pct i think) want pics to see and although funding is unlikely if there is a severe assymetry there is a chance, well i said that i dont have assymetry so she had a look at my boobs again and said ooo they are so small it might be worth sending pictures off. she has left the decision up to me whether to carry on pursueing the nhs or to go private.

so I dont know what to do? i have borrowed the money to go private so cant really afford it so maybe i should pursue that? but also i want to know what surgeon is operating on me and have the surgery at a time that s good for me and work and also i m so impatient now i ve decided i would like a ba i just want it done any advice u ladies have would be great

xXsammiXx

Wow thats great about the NHS...
Can you not find out which hospital you would go through,
and google the surgeons there? perhaps that would give you an idea?

Its a tough one to decide, but only you can make the right decision.

xxx

Ooh Sammi thats a tough one.It really depends on if you are prepared to wait the extra time to see if you can have NHS and then run the risk of being turned down?? Obviously not paying would be much better for you financially but are you prepared to wait hun ? xx

ahhh ladies i just dont know! really thought they would of turned me down already lol eeeek i m going to have to put my serious thinking hat on, it would help if i knew what my chances of the nhs saying yes were, it seems highly unlikely but i dont want to throw my chance away and spend thousands that i dont need to, but i also don t want to be sat here in a year or so , still with no boobs and then get rejected by nhs??? grrrrrrr frustrating xxx

Its entirely your decision Sammi

You could opt for the NHS route and see where that leads, I'd personally be happy to wait for surgery, but you circumstances may be different to mine and waiting may not be an option. In going through the NHS you will not have the privilege of choosing your own surgeon and you'll be 'given' a date which could be deferred for a later one if not convenient, but again the date would be when there's a bed ready on the NHS for you.

Or you could opt to go private. You choose your surgeon, you choose your date and a pay a whole lotta wonga! lol

You're extremely lucky to have the money (even though its hard getting it and harder paying back) as there are many women out there that would LOVE just to have that referral babe, with no means of choice if they dont, so you are really in a very privileged position babe. Its up to you whether or not now if you're prepared to take a gamble and see where the NHS route takes you. You're never under any obligation to proceed if at any time you decide the NHS route isn't right for you, but do you want thing YOUR way? or to have everything planned for you? xxx

i do really appreciate that i have a brilliant gp who is pushing this for me i know a lot of ladies don t get any help from their gps (although if she tells me my breasts are incredibly undeveloped one more time i may savagly attack her lol) its so hard to know what to do, i ve booked time off of work and have got myself all geared up for surgery in august, after reading the letter she was sent i think without a massive size differnce in my breasts they will consider it purely 'cosmetic' surgery and refuse funding, i think i will go to my 2nd consultation and see how i feel and if i m not completley happy i will send some pics of my boobs to the doctor xxx

I think you're doing the right thing in going for your second consultation to see how you feel. Either way you have two fantastic options and it just depends what you would prefer to do, have a free BA or have the control of your date/surgeon.

Remember to have both of these options you're very lucky, either path you chose will get you wonderful boobies so enjoy your BA journey! x

I think it will probably come down to personal choice for you hun, like the others said as to whether you are prepared to wait. Do you have a surgery date booked for August already - will the surgeons let you cancel or defer (if need be) without losing deposit money? It could be that you could talk to your surgeon about what other dates would be available if you choose to defer, that way you'd still have a time frame for private if the NHS don't come through. Your GP sounds great - mine is such a grumpy old woman-hating git that I've actually asked MyBreast not to contact him about my BA, I'd hate for him to bring it up next time I'm in there, I avoid going to see him as much as I can as it is!

I notice you're in Winchester hun, not too far from me (Southampton) - if you ever need a local friend then you've got one :)

i havn t paid any money to my private surgeon yet i ve just pencilled in a date for surgery or signed anything yet so could easily cancel, however looking at some of the nhs ba stories on here the nhs way seems quite scary! i m leaning towards private because i honestly cant see the nhs funding my ba and also it was tricky getting the time off of work and being self employed my clients could easily replace me with no warning or explanation so dont think i could mess them around with dates.

lolcake that is awful how u feel about ur gp, could you not change to another? this is the first gp i ve had that i ve liked and it makes so much difference ( i have some health problems so spend more time than i would like at the docs) so having a nice gp makes me actually want to go to appointments and look after myself, yes u r very close to me its nice to know that there are buddies near by xxx

Aw, Sammi I know where you're coming from with being self employed, one of the reasons I've not been on holiday in five years! I'm very lucky that I'm now employed on a flexible contract, it gives me the 'right' to say when I can and can't work, although I'm still wary with taking the time off as I don't want to annoy anyone :-D Funnily enough one of my new colleagues also goes to my surgery and hated my gp too so she changed. I've had health issues in the past, luckily I've been ok for a while as the few times I've had to see my gp I hated i. I'll definitely look at changing!

Are you looking at a local hospital for surgery?

I'm very lucky that after eleven years of wanting my boobs done, my dear mama has offered to pay out of some money she inherited so I am in the very fortunate position of being able, within reason, to pick the surgeon/company I wanted without having to worry too much about money. It is definitely a reassurance to have the control that being private offers, although I can totally understand why having the NHS pay would be a preferable option. One of my friends had a reduction on the NHS a few years ago and as far as I know had no problems. I hope whichever path you go down, that everything works out ok for you.

yeah i m kind of booked into spire at southampton if it goes ahead u could pop in lol and bless ur mum ur a lucky lady definitley change ur doc u need someone u can go to and not feel uncomfortable. i see that ur booked into guildford for ur ba is that far from southampton? xxx

Guildford is about an hour up the A31... Spire was my other choice hospital but I liked the information I got from MyBreast and Spire actually never got back to me! Also Guildford is a Nuffield which I was happy to go with as my sister works for the Nuffield group and another friend who used to work in healthcare recommended them. Also for me Guildford is a halfway point for a few of my London friends in case I need more visitors :-D Have you been happy with Spire so far?

I'll definitely pop in and say hello if you like :) xx

i know what u mean about spire not getting back to you i ve found the people on reception not very good at calling me back, i was very impressed with my surgeon and his secretary though so have booked 2nd consultation and provisional surgery date through them instead of calling the hospital, and i ll let u know when i m def booked xxx