PATIENT INFORMATION
INTRODUCTION
Healthcare 2000 require all new patients to read the following information on the weight loss treatment available at the clinic before registering as a patient. Please take time to read the information and if you do not understand any part of it please speak to a member of staff.
WEIGHT LOSS WITH APPETITE SUPPRESSANTS
The aim of the treatment is to help you lose weight by keeping to a diet based on normal healthy foods. We do not want you to embark on a diet regime that cannot be sustained in the long term. Losing weight is difficult and appetite suppressants will help you do this by reducing your hunger, helping you to stop eating between meals and to consume fewer calories at mealtimes.
The treatment has no specific time limit because everyone responds differently owing to variable factors such as age, weight, job, sex, metabolic rate, exercise levels, medical history, smoking and personality. This is why the weekly, personal, consultation is so important.
We are aware that there may be times when you will become dis-heartened for normal reasons such as:
you have not lost weight or have put weight on, you have been unable to keep to a diet or your rate of weight loss has slowed down.
Should you encounter any of these or other difficulties please come along or telephone the clinic. WE REALLY DO UNDERSTAND. Also, please remember that if you miss an appointment and were unable to let us know beforehand there is no charge for that cancelled appointment. You only pay when you have visited the clinic.
Your treatment will follow the following routine although this could alter for specific patient requirements.
During the initial consultation a doctor will complete a medical record card. This involves a series of questions about your lifestyle and medical information. The doctor will record your weight, height, body mass index and blood pressure. The doctor will set a target weight for you based on your past history, motivation and expectations.
MEDICATIONS
The clinic uses two special licensed weight management medications (Phentermine and Diethylpropion) that are not recommended by NICE or the Royal College of Physicians. They are however licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and therefore can be prescribed by our doctors.
Phentermine and Diethylpropion are appetite suppressants.
ON VERY FEW OCCASIONS THE MEDICATION PRESCRIBED ON YOUR FIRST VISIT MAY PROVE TO BE UNSUITABLE. IF THIS HAPPENS TELEPHONE THE CLINIC SO THAT A FREE CONSULTATION CAN BE ARRANGED AND DIFFERENT MEDICATION PRESCRIBED IF NECESSARY.
TREATMENT LENGTH
Treatment with Phentermine and Diethylpropion is an initial course of 12 weeks. Further courses can be prescribed after a minimum break of two weeks at the discretion of the doctor.
COST
If the doctor prescribes Phentermine or Diethylpropion the cost is £22 per week. This cost includes the doctors consultation and a weekly supply of a basic multi-vitamin.
We encourage you to attend weekly as this will give you the best chance of success but if for any reason the doctor prescribes more than one week the cost of the consultation is the weekly cost multiplied by the number of weeks medication prescribed. For example, if the doctor prescribes 3 weeks of Phentermine the cost would be £22 x 3, a total of £66. It is important that you only register if you can afford a full course of treatment.
DIET
Please always remember the golden rule:
If the amount of energy (calories) in your diet is greater than the energy you expend, the excess will be stored in your body as fat, whatever type of food it came from.
Of course, leafy vegetables and some fruits contain so few calories that it would be virtually impossible to eat enough of them to become fat, but you will lose weight on a diet of chocolate, cream cakes and alcohol provided that the total calories consumed are less than your calorie expenditure. In other words, all calories are equal. Calorie and energy are the same and calories are the units with which energy in food is measured. If you see an advertisement for a drink or food proclaiming “high in energy” just think how sales would fall if the equally truthful statement “high in calories” were proclaimed instead. The scientific definition of the calorie is that it is the amount of energy required to increase the temperature of 1gram of water by 1 degree centigrade. The calorie that we normally talk about and refer to in the clinic is really a kilocalorie. If you look for the amount of calories on the label of a particular food they will show as kcals.
You will be given the book “So you want to lose weight…for good” published by the British Heart Foundation which we feel explains the basic principles in a clear and concise manner. Additional information such as, a food diary sheet, vegetarian diet sheet, Asian diet sheet, etc. will be given by the doctor on specific needs.
SUPPORT
The clinic is open from 9.30am to 4.30pm everyday except Saturday 9.30am to 1.30pm and Sunday when it is closed. If you have a query and a doctor is not available our staff will be able to get back to you with an answer within a maximum of 24 hours but normally within 2 hours. After achieving your target weight the clinic is there for support. You are encouraged to visit the clinic to get weighed, check your Body Mass Index or blood pressure at no cost.
