I’ve been waiting since June for a lap appointment and yesterday the hospital told me that there’s no date for me yet, they can’t tell me when I’ll get a date but they are at least 10 weeks behind.
I completely broke down to my husband yesterday as the thought of going through more periods is just unbearable.
Has anyone ever gone private for this kind of surgery? It’s to check for endo and remove a 5cm cyst from my left ovary. We don’t really have the money but I’m willing to beg, borrow or steal it to stop living this nightmare.
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MrsL2018
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Hey, I didn’t go private but it would have cost me £3009 and that didn’t include if I had to stay overnight due to complications and didn’t cover the cost of if I need more specially surgeons. It could have been way more price wise.
I had endo removed and a cyst on my ovary. I was waiting around 9 months on the nhs but still haven’t got any improvements from the lap.
You can pay the money but surgery may not solve the pain problems and endo can grow back so you’d have to keep paying etc. Obviously it’s your decision but just thought I’d let you know.
I went private for a consultation at £214 at spire who then referred me to his colleague on the nhs who was also an endo specialist xxxx
Thank you, this is really helpful. I am worried that I pay to have the lap and am still no further forward. Do you think by having the consultation and being referred to his colleague on the NHS you were seen any quicker? Thanks so much for your help x
I would have been seen quicker but the private gynae I saw didn’t work on the nhs anymore. It was only a long wait as I was referred to his colleague. I would definitely recommend the consultation as I was at the appointment for like an hour and he really knew his stuff about endometriosis. Xx
Yes, I went private. We were told in June that I required a laparoscopy & dye test. The waiting time on the NHS gave us a time of approx Feb 2019. Not taking into account any cancellations due to stress on services over winter. It cost £3038. I had a reaction to the anaesthetic and had to stay over night, this was included in the price as it was due to 'complications' from surgery. We called in July and were offered an appointment in August, however we chose an appointment the beginning of October. For my husband and I it was worth every penny.
Thank you. I've been waiting since June and they can't give me any indication of timescale, they just keep saying "there's no date for you" but if you were told February then I'm guessing it'll be months before I'm seen too. I've contacted BMI to ask for a consultation x
I paid for a private consultation at Spire and I think it meant I got seen more quickly. That was my first diagnostic lap and I had treatment which didn’t do a lot as it was only lasered by a non specialist. When I needed another one, I paid to see the endo specialist at Spire and then had my excision op with him (although the wait was long, around 9 months I think). However it was worth waiting for the endo specialist as excision surgery is much more effective! The only thing is unless you have severe endo confirmed by a lap or maybe an MRI scan, it’s unlikely you will get a specialist on the NHS. You have to go through the diagnostic lap first to get to this point. It is frustrating but I would recommend eventually pushing for a specialist if they do find severe endometriosis. Good luck!
I had my first ovarian cyst removed privately with my medical insurance via work. I now have to have another one removed and also plan to go private again. If the NHS waiting list is long (sounds like it is) I would go private if you possibly can as not only will the op be over sooner but it will save months of stress. It's frustrating that this is the only way to be seen within a short time period but unfortunately that is beyond our control. Have you thought of crowdfunding for your surgery? I've never tried this myself but it could be worth a try - even if you only get part of the money you need it will be of some assistance. I don't know where you live but I'm in London and mine came to between £3 and £5k (I imagine it's cheaper in the rest of the country though). I had to stay overnight in the hospital as I went in mid-afternoon and they won't discharge you in private hospitals until you've had something to eat - the last thing you want to do when you've just had a GA! Good luck and keep us posted.
Thank you, I have booked a consultation for next Monday and will take it from there. Initial quote is for just over £3k but the consultation is £140 so worth taking this step at least! Thanks for your help x
I had a lap done privately last year. The NHS waiting time meant the op was going to fall just before I started a new job, we had the money in savings so it made sense for us and I'm glad we did it. Cost around 3.5K (I also had treatment for a cervical ectropian within that price). As some of the others have said, it may well ending up costing more if there are complications so you have to consider that.
I'm now waiting for another lap, about a 4 month wait but my husband has medical insurance with work now so hoping to get it done sooner privately.
Happy to answer more questions if you have any 😊 X
Hi, thank you. I am worried that I pay to have the lap and I need another, or it doesn't fix it. I've booked a consultation with BMI for Monday to at least find out my options. I have so many questions that I feel I didn't have the time to ask at my NHS consultation, so hopefully it'll be worth it even to have some of them answered. I waited 8 months for my gynae consultation and it's been 4 months since I signed the surgery consent but I'm still just being told "there's no date for you". Thanks so much for your reply, everyone is being so helpful on here xx
Paying privately just means there is no waiting list. It is pricey. Without putting a downer on things it is probably worth knowing like many stories on here, laps dont make everything ok. A lot of people still have pain. I got some benefit from surgery but find regular painkillers and exercise help most ny keeping my mind off it. Lots of love x
I went to spire for a consultation and then my consultant referred me for an urgent lap by himself on nhs - although he was not an endo specialist but was very concerned about my symptoms. I had gone to gp in august and had been referred to gynae for a consultation and told to await a letter. By the end of November my pain was awful so paid 218 to go to spire. I then had a scan in january and my lap at end of March. About 2 days before my lap i got a letter from my gp saying i could finally see a gynae at the end of October! I declined the appointment as i was hoping the surgery would have diagnosed and helped but it hasn't but i was very glad i started the process via private care as i still would not have even been seen once at this point let alone be on my 3rd appointment and had an ultrasound and surgery on nhs. I recommend it dor fast tracking through nhs but wouldn't fork out the 3000+ pounds for it maybe not to help etc. Xx
hey, do you or your partner work, if so do either of your workplaces include health insurance? some workplaces can add a partner / spouse for a small monthly payment. My work has it so I did mine private that way.
if your work doesn't, then ask at your local private hospital, some have a payment plan for consultants / operations, I know our Nuffield Health one does.
you can also take out private health insurance, just look up health insurance online, or check out BUPA for an idea of what to look for - that is the most expensive though. It works like pet insurance if that's a help.
I had my first appointment with my specialist sept 2017 and lap plus removal of endo Nov 2017 (I chose the date), then follow up March 2018 and second lap july 2018 (bit on bowel needing additional specialist - so had to wait for both diaries to align) and will have a final sign off nov 2018. Happy to go through costing, what to do etc xx
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