The good, the bad and the saggy boobs

So yesterday I went off to the hospital for my first appointment to see about getting a breast reduction. In the letters they sent to organise and confirm the appointment, they had wonderful leaflets telling me how I'd see everyone I needed to, get all the relevant tests done and get adate for my operation all in the one afternoon. Be prepared to spend half a day with us, it said.

I rushed out of work, grabbed lunch to eat on the run (slightly difficult when you pick a salad and they forget to give you a fork) and headed into the delights of the tube. They were surprisingly on time in the hospital and I couldn't wait to find out when I'd get the op done.

I was called in to an examination room, poked and prodded by the nurse, asked a few questions and then told the bad news. There is no funding for reductions at the hospital. They have to get my doctor to refer my case to the PCT to see if they'll fund it. If they do, then I go back for another appointment and the whole thing starts again. Worse still, it can take up to 18 months for the PCT to hear my case and make a decision, and after that it's on to the operation waiting list, with probably another six months to wait. Up to two years seems interminable. On the plus side, 18 months is a probably worst case scenario for the funding decision, and apparently the time on waiting lists is going down. Not much consolation when you were led to believe you would get an op date that day.