Woman Loses 75 Pounds So Doctors Would Stop Blaming Her Symptoms On Weight And Finally Give Her A Diagnosis
As if going to doctors wasn’t stressful enough already, some people are struggling particularly hard to get their health complaints heard by the doctors. An anonymous 5’6″ woman had to lose weight, going from 210 lbs all the way to 135, simply to be sufficiently diagnosed and cared for.
“It took me a year to lose it all, but what finally pushed me to lose the weight was because every single thing I went to a doctor for, it got blamed on my weight,” the woman wrote in a lengthy post on Reddit where she shared how doctors assumed her weight was to blame for severe cramps, sleepiness, numbness, memory and balance problems, and other alarming symptoms.
The thread which amassed 49.2k upvotes resonated with many people online, who said insufficient diagnostic and delayed care due to health professionals assuming that weight is to blame for patients’ ill health is really a thing. Let’s see what others had to share in the illuminating thread below and be sure to share your own experiences in the comment section.
An anonymous woman shared how she lost 75 pounds after doctors blamed her weight for her alarming symptoms
Image credits: CCFoodTravel.com (not the actual photo)
Seeing a doctor is not necessarily a fun thing to do, but it’s not supposed to be fear-inducing. But for the heavier patients, interaction with the healthcare system may be truly daunting.
This is because, according to Kimberly Gudzune, an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, “physicians often hold negative attitudes, both explicit and implicit, about people with excess weight.”
Image credits: YukiBean
Also known as “weight bias,” it can be a real threat to patients who do not get sufficient care and diagnosis, and it can lead to significant treatment delays. Such delays often spiral out of control and may bring additional health consequences that otherwise could be avoided if diagnosed at the right time.
Her post sparked a heated debate and one person identified the case as “diagnostic overshadowing”
While others felt like sharing their similar experiences
Dr. Gudzune ran a study to determine whether clinicians treat their patients differently based on visible factors and the results confirmed it. “As soon as a provider walks in the door, we’re automatically making judgments about who you are as a person,” she said.
Visible traits include weight, age, and race. “Visual bias” influences the way clinicians treat particular patients, e.g. “great respect for older patients; lower positive affect and more verbal dominance with black vs. white patients,” Gudzune explained.
However, when it comes to the weight bias, the problem is particularly daunting because the conditions of excess weight and obesity affect more than two thirds of American adults. “[With] the magnitude of the effect of obesity in our country, a substantial number of people are experiencing health care disparities as a result,” she said.
Astonishingly, the studies have shown that clinicians tend to associate obesity with a range of negative attributes like poor hygiene, dishonesty, hostility etc. Dr. Gudzune called such attitudes “pervasive” and added that it’s not just the US that’s been affected by it. Physicians across the world have been spotted having similar attitudes that persist today.
If a physician is employing a weight-biased attitude towards the patient, it can be harder to make counseling effective, and it’s likely to lack emotional connection.
In addition, “with patients who are overweight and obese, physicians engage in significantly less rapport-building, especially of an emotional nature (e.g., empathy, concern, reassurance, partnership, self-disclosure),” suggested Dr. Gudzune.
Weight bias is a real problem in the health industry and there’s an urgent need to design and employ ways to mitigate it in the clinical setting.
Other people commented on ways to deal with being mistreated by doctors
While some doctors felt apologetic for the woman
Reading this is sad. I am so grateful to have found a good Dr. Yes I am obese, yes I need to lose weight (and I am trying) but he never dismisses any of my health concerns.
I had unexplained weight gain which kept going even as I kept cutting back what I was eating and kept exercising more. The cutback would stall it, but then it'd start again. Whenever I would protest that I wasn't eating anything the doctor would just give me this little head tilt and look and be like, "Really?" and then tell me to stop eating fast food (which I hadn't eaten in years). Even after 10 years of this when I was down to 700 calories + 3 hours exercise (and still gaining weight!) they still assumed I was lying. My mom figured it out - I have celiac disease. Cut out the gluten, and the weight started magically melting away even as I was able to eat a normal amount of food.
I am not slender, a size 12 at 5'8". Yes, it would better if I lost weight. The last 4 times my mental health plummeted, I sought help and was told I MUST lose weight. This is after I tell them overeating is a coping method and a sign my mental health is failing and of my eating disorder. It is the worst thing to say. The power of words. I don't need a reminder of what some consider my biggest failure. In my family, weight = worth. If I am happy with myself, believe I have value, and am not feeling ashamed the weight could come off. I avoid having my picture taken. Whenever I see a picture I am shocked. Often I don't look as big as I am told, but remember how uncomfortable I felt, how ashamed I was to be to be out of control and irresponsible. I put effort into how I look, I try to care about it. Someone who has never had a weight problem can't understand how difficult this can be. My struggles are minor, my parents toxic. But if this what I face, imagine what others deal with.
Size 12 at 5'8" doesn't sound at all bad to be honest. Though you know you. So sorry for your struggles - been there myself.
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I was told to lose weight. I did. Turns out I have Fibromyalgia, Endometriosis, I'm Anemic, and have bad vitamin D deficiency which may have, and maybe still could lead to osteomalacia The latter two problems may have been preventable if they'd have just diagnosed me properly over a year ago instead of telling me to lose weight and blaming it on the weight. However, it was the surgery's NURSE that finally suggested all the things that led to my diagnosis' from my doctor.
Same problems 😣 awful isn't it? I was also on the anti-depressant Venlafaxine. Had to come off as it wouldn't work with another medication for cluster headaches and the weight FELL OFF!
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Just two weeks ago: 28 year old college student I know went to ER with chest and arm pain. He was overweight. Drs diagnosed pinched nerves. He died the next night of a massive heart attack. The main arteries to his heart were completely blocked.
Who in the world in medicine says "pinched nerve" without doing an EKG? Even a non-STEMI MI... OK, in simpler English: If you have a normal EKG but heart attack symptoms anyway, you don't rely on the EKG, but on an echo, and take into account all factors, including oxygen saturation levels, etc. I have seen this where someone is blown off as "probably ashtma" and they had 90% blockage of two arteries to their heart. TWO. And, yes, I was involved in telling the doctor to get his sorry butt into gear and get a cardiologist OR ELSE. That's my job. I say to docs what patients can't/don't know to say, and I translate doc into Normal English, and I have no problem whatsoever getting such doctors fired. :-)
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I had the same problem due to age. Oh, you don't have good balance anymore, happens when you get old. Hearing loss, aches, etc. All blamed on age. Autoimmune.
Or maybe you aren't trying? Dreadful comment to someone who struggles. Implying it is your personal weakness, not a health issue doesn't help. Yet people feel free to judge others on things they don't understand. You didn't accept the dismissal of your symptoms by doctors and kept looking for answers. That is commendable.
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Had a combo of weight & age work against me. Had a pinched nerve in my low back & was getting leg & hip pain that felt like a pulled muscle at 1st. Dr told me it was probably due to my weight since i never really lost pregnancy weight from about 2yrs before. It got worse, to the point that i was getting leg cramps & numbness & he finally sent me for xrays but it showed nothing. Got worse again but all he wanted to do was more xrays. I asked about a nerve issue & he said i was too young at 29 for a pinched nerve. 3 more months of constant pain & I couldnt walk & could barely feel my foot. Saw a specialist (got in on a favor no less) & ended up with 2 pinched nerves & a ton of nerve damage. 10yrs later & still have almost no feeling in most of my foot & in different spots of my leg. Still get horrible pain in low back too
Too young for a pinched nerve? What a prat. I've had repeated problems with that since my early 20s. Makes it very difficult to exercise and burn off calories and keep fit too, doesn't it? Awful pain.
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Oh look, another cadre of doctors who deserve to be disbarred from their job
Yes, ignoring part of patient's medical history is irresponsible.
Load More Replies... I've encountered some of these attitudes over the years. One thing I always remember was something Ann Landers (remember her) once said: 50% of the doctors graduated in the bottom half of their classes. Gone are the days where a patient should think the doctor knows all.
I think one of my colleagues landed on someone who barely passed passed med school and then rested on her wee laurels. The new family doctor was so lazy that she wouldn't examine my colleague for a rash ("Aren't you going to look at it?" "No. I know it's nothing."). Luckily, she was gone within months and replaced by someone who's been diligent in checking out medical issues.
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The same thing happened with my older brother. They were constantly blaming his balance issues on him not being athletic. Turns out, he needed brain surgery and would've died if we hadn't begged them to run a diagnosis. By the way, he's completely fine now, no longer has balance or focus issues, and is the best older brother I could ask for!
It's not just weight, my mother was dying of cancer. We knew she had a few months left, but she had wounds that won't heal as well as fatigue and he dismissed it . It took me over a month fighting him to get her medication changed so she was more comfortable. In contrast the nurses caring for her always treated her with the upmost respect and care.
When I was young I had to get glasses because I couldn't read what was written on the board in school. My eye doctor told me, a 7 year old girl, that I am lying and that I am just pretending to have bad eyesight because I wanted glasses. Please bitch, because the prescription glasses were so f*****g good-looking in the early 90s :D Never been back to that doctor ever...
I was 8 when my eye sight jumped from -1 to -4,5. The doc desided it was a good time to joke about needing a guidedog next. I'm at -10 now, still no dog.
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I went to the Drs with feeling utter exhaustion and a change in my periods, and was told I was nearly 30 and it was a natural change and maybe consider an iron supplement. Went three months later with even worse exhaustion and was told I was anaemic and to take iron supplements (which I was already taking) 6 weeks later I went back the the dr and was fobbed off but dr finally did blood test. 48 hours later I was hospitalised and told I had cancer, 48 hours later they located 6 large tumours in my bowel, kidney and liver. 48 hours later I started chemo, was told I had less that 20% chance of surviving 6 months. I endured 2 years of intensive chemo and multiple surgeries. I was then told it was incurable. Nearly 12 years later I am still here; I have regular chemo but have beaten the odds. I was dismissed as being too young for my initial symptoms to be any thing serious but that nearly killed me. Please listen to your body and make sure that you are taken seriously. It nearly cost me m
It nearly cost me my life; all because the dr didn't do that blood test!
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YOU know your body better than anyone. If you're sure there is something wrong with it (unless you're a hypochondriac!), then trust your instinct. Push and push until you're heard. Don't always trust the docs: you've known your own body all your life, so aren't you the best qualified to notice when something feels scarily different than normal?
Surprising! Women are more aware of our health. We don't need to "man up" or worry about our tough masculine image. Many of us manage a family, cook and clean, plus have a career. We can't afford to get sick, we don't have the time. Again, generalizations hurt.
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I had weight issues for most of my adult life in spite of a healthy & active lifestyle. Took getting diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes to discover I also had thyroid problems. Got my thyroid fixed, and wouldn't you know, dropped 65 lb almost magically. So in the end, all the doctors telling me to "just lose weight" were full of it.
Right???? I have PCOS and my doctor is like "yeah but lose weight" ok do you know how hard it is lmaoooo its such bs
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A few years back I kept going to the doctors because I felt really sick and my temperature kept spiking at night up to 105 Fahrenheit (40.5 Celsius) but during the day my temperature was mild. Nurse told me I needed an new thermometer. So immediately after my appointment I bought one. That night it read 105. I was mad. Finally got tested and I had acute pneumonia in my upper left lung
YEP! I'm 5'5 and used to weigh 165 lbs. Buuuuut, I also lifted weights, did cardio and had a VERY healthy diet. I had been having such bad reflux that I was waking up in the night aspirating on stomach acid---Literally choking and gasping. Went to see a gastro and that POS literally just sat there and told me I was too fat....He went ON AND ON about my weight in a very unprofessional way. I was also a former anorexic and he had a terrible bedside manor. He was just awful. I left there in tears to the point that the nurses were super concerned, but I literally couldn't even talk. Years later....Find out the reason for my problems were due to celiac.
Oh s**t I have rly bad reflux, I stopped seeing my doc when she was like "its your weight" and didn't try anything else
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Just so sad. I do think their is weight bias, but also I believe a bigger problem is being a woman and seeking medical care. I've had significant issues over the years and so hard to get proper attention for it. Years without diagnosis and you have to advocate for yourself consistently.
Same here. Yes, I'm heavily and sickening overweight - but til now none of my problems were due to my overweight: felt sleepy and exhausted all the time, but at the same time nervous and couldn't sleep. Always: "it's the weight, you sure have high blood pressure (no, it's to low) and Diabetes (no, not til now) etc.pp. After a long time, after I had a break-down and had to quit work for 8 months - they found out I have Restless Legs Syndrom and I'm highly depressive - and that me overweight is due to sexual abusion as child (a neighbor, and a riding teacher). Now I'm in treatment (but losing weight is still hard, it's like loosing m, spielt against interested men). I'm sure if a Meteorit Struck down from the sky and hit and kills me they still go "if she would have been slimer she'd have avoided the hit" :p
When it came to my husband having pains and swelling in his toes, they said it was his weight. I said it was gout. I insisted they test him...I was right. When my son was experiencing aggression with his autism, the Psychiatrist put him on Strattera and Fluoxetine. It made his symptoms worse. I begged them to put him on Risperidone. It took a court order for them to finally do it. My son is now a calm and happy adult. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Never ever let a doctor tell you that your symptoms are imagined or in relation to something without doing tests. It's your life and your body.
This is scary. I feel so opposite of it too. I’m perfectly in the middle of normal weight (not nearing fat or thin, just normal), and I got randomly diagnosed with PCOS based on very minor symptoms, which prompted my Doctor to test me. My suggestion is to get a doctor recommendation from a friend or coworker! Someone who has seen the doctor. That’s how I was diagnosed, at age 30! At the time, my vitamin D was in single digits and for the first time in my life, I was actually gaining weight in a bad way. I felt like I was on cocaine when I finally got the proper amount of vitamin D. It really slows your mind and body down if you don’t have enough.
Get doc recommendations from nurses. Whoever at least four of five nurses agree on? That's the doc you want.
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I had a similar experience. I joined a gym, went religiously 4 days a week & after 2 months had gained weight. I'll never forget the look on my trainers face at that check in "Uhm, yeah, I dunno. You should probably see a doctor." I went back to the doctor and found out I had Hashimoto's disease. You'd think the widespread fatigue, pain & hair loss would've bought me some credibility a little sooner but nope, just a year and multiple bills to keep being told I just need to lose weight. I also had plaque under both knees, toe joints that were fusing and two other auto immune diseases. Took years to be heard and losing weight only helped with some of the symptoms but by no means was a cure all.
The main lesson is not to have multiple diseases at the same time, that really confounds diagnosis.
My dad was a physician. He and his colleagues NEVER told a patient that their weight was the problem. That started in the late 60's when "fitness" became THE issue. Not health. Unfortunately all those doctors have either retired or died. Now you are supposed to fit into a mold before you are considered sick.
I feel like society and even doctors have cacomorphobia (fear of fat people) so they’re quick to assume all our problems come from our weight. I have several health problems some are weight related some aren’t. I’m lucky to have a good doctor
I had very bad health luck in 2020 - two brain surgeries, a cancer surgery (unrelated to the brain thing) and an abdominal surgery. A doctor in the last hospital said "four surgeries in one year, maybe it's time to start losing weight and taking care of yourself". Oh, did my weight make my brain fall out? And give me skin cancer? No? Then shove it.
Sounds like they're not necessarily blaming your health problems on your weight but perhaps concerned that obesity can increase some risks of complications with other health issues? For example, general anaesthetic is riskier for patients outside "normal" weight ranges. It's still an unhelpful and unkind thing to say (especially if they don't know the patient's history, and could be talking to someone who was already losing weight).
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Sadly, for some doctors these days it is you are too fat, stop smoking, stop drinking. If a thin person who has never smoked or drunk alcohol presents they don't know what excuse to use. Sometimes it makes you wonder what they learned all those years in university.
As a thin person who's never smoked and doesn't drink - they tell us it's psychological. I have constant pain in my legs, apparently that's due to depression (that I don't have). I was told I'm just not handling period pain and I need to realise they are supposed to be painful, I'd been having periods for about 20 years by this time. Took 5 years before I was diagnosed with endometriosis.
Load More Replies... I am so so so so apologizing on behalf of the medical care people around the world. Yes, you can have problems unrelated to one's BMI/weight/etc. I earned an MD, and I'm saying it. The amazing thing is how many doctors and others in the profession are themselves *overweight*, then treat patients crappy about weight issues.
This rings so true. For over a year my complaints about loss of feeling from my waist down and later in my hands was written off as hyperbole and a direct result of being fat and having diabetes. I was told that it wasnt even possible to go bilaterally numb from the waist down. Needless to say my M.S. diagnosis was greatly delayed.
As a patient you always have the option to insist on testing. If your doctor refuses , go to another one. Always know as much as you can about your health so you can self advocate. I'm sorry all that shitty stuff happened to you
The story’s are sad and it’s horrible how some doctors just blame things on appearances
I wonder how many doctors she saw who all said the same thing. If it were just the one then she definitely should've sought a second/third/fourth etc opinion. If it were several doctors and they were all saying the same thing, they should all be reported for medical negligence, ESPECIALLY if they said her endometriosis symptoms were due to her weight and because she had such drastic life changing surgeries that may or may not have been preventable.
Unpopular Opinion: I absolutely agree you should strongly advocate for yourself, and that there's no shortage of bad doctors (or bad receptionists, bad cashiers, bad nurses...) but it saddens me to see all the doctor hate. It's misplaced. Generally speaking they do the best they can with what they have, and when something is correct 999 times out of 1000, that's what you go with. Yeah, it means you're going to miss some, but with all the constraints on EVERYTHING from visit times to insurance capitation, it's literally impossible to do a 100% workup on every patient that rolls in feeling fatigued.
When I was in high school I worked in a bakery. Sometimes we burnt the bread -- a sign of a difficult day (or night before). It worried me, what if the day I get surgery the doctor is having a "burn the bread" type of day? Everyone has bad days, absolutely everyone. The pressure on doctors is huge, their mistakes have serious consequences. I have a problem with the number of doctors who judge by weight. If it were just one or two it would be easy to ignore. The same doctor who sent me to an eating disorder specialist, lectured me about me about not trying hard enough to manage my weight. Lost absolutely all my respect. Then it is an industry wide problem. When I find doctors who see more than weight they are keepers.
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Fun fact: if you pursue life insurance as an investment opportunity for your future and your family's wellbeing, you aren't allowed to have been an ex-anything, and you'd better not have been going to therapy much less be medicated for it. Got denied twice, even with great bloodwork and physicals, because I take Wellbutrin, and used to smoke. Fun times.
But at the end of the day 3 of her diagnoseses were most likely absolutely caused or aggrevated by her unhealthy weight, obesity is a huge factor in endometriosis, obviously impacts apnia, snoring and enlarged uvula and all three of those worsen narcoleptic symptoms, so if it weren't for the Dr she'd still be at an unhealthy weight with worsened symptoms and be most likely heavily reliant on more medications or surgical interventions 🤷
as as student in the medical field (not Doctor) I must say yes, to blaim everything on weight is unprofessional. But has also very reasonable Argumentations: white fat cells / tissue can and will have a lot of correlations with almost EVERY disease humans can have. The thing is, to get overweight you First need to consume more than what you burn... meaning you do not move and do not use your muscles properly.. Movement and sport is the main thing that keeps you healthy and alive. You can look it up: fat tissue will produce very higly inflammation friendly hormones (adipokines) you will start to feel sick and get a lot of diseases. By losing weight you will not be fat anymore but the diseases have already chronified, your organs are damaged and to recover will take a while longer than your weight loss jurney lasted... and it's normally not possibly to fully recover once an organ is damaged. yes beging over (or also under-) weight makes you more prone to diseases.
@Thindy - I'm from England and something similar happened to me. I saw a gynae consultant because I hadn't had a period for over five years. It was my first appointment and he spent the first half an hour talking about ZZ Top because I was wearing a badge of theirs and showing his resident videos on YouTube because "I can't believe you've never heard of them!" Then he spent about four minutes saying that I have chronic anaemia and that's the reason. I said I already knew that and have regular iron infusions as a result, it's never affected my periods before. He said "well that's the answer", said he didn't need to see me again and discharged me. Welp, it wasn't my chronic anaemia and now I can't have kids. Not that I wanted them anyway but that's not the point.
This is a problem for me, too, on a different way. I nearly died from Addison's disease because my doctors blamed EVERYTHING on my type 1 diabetes.
This is SO true. It's less of an issue now as younger doctors are, frankly, more interested in their patients than those who are about to or recently retired. The doctors seem to ask themselves 'what is the least I can do to get rid of this patient' rather than 'what can I do to help' Mental Health Problems, Weight and Smoking are the very first thing that almost ANYTHING can be blamed on and the patient sent out with no further examination..
What does it mean, the "lapro found so much endo" that she lost both of her ovaries and part of her colon? What is lapro and endo? A laporoscope and ondoscope? They used those to look inside and she had cancer so they had to remove her ovaries and part of her intestines? Is that what this means?
Laparoscopy is a surgical procedure on the abdominal area. Endo is endometriosis where you bleed outside the womb during your period. Does that help?
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Same thing happens w/ puberty. Went to a Dr. a little after my 12th b-day for stomach pain and nausea. Response? "You're getting older, it might just be your hormones, your period might come soon." It was stomach flu. My period didn't come till Jan 2021. I turned 12 in June 2020.
Some doctors are (unfortunately) kind off useless. My mom had to bring me to 2 or 3 different ones for hearing problems, and they said: "oh, it will pass soon." It didn't. I was deaf due to water in the middle ear, all i needed was a drain tube in the ear drums. It was so bad my parents could sit with two closed doors between me and them while i was watching tv, and hear every f**king detail. I would sit with my ear into the speaker and still complain that it wasn't loud enough. I was 3, I think, and loosing my hearing at that time affected my social development later on. When mom finally got a doctor who listened to her and got me what i needed, the whole family stuck with her untill she retired. (This was in the early 90-s, and I had problems with ear and throat illness untill i finally got my tonsils removed at 20)
Step sister was over weight. She complained about her health. Lose weight was all she was told. She finally found a doctor who ordered tests and tests and more tests. No diagnosis just tests. She ran through her savings and insurance and told the doctor. He then wouldn't return her calls. Still no diagnosis.
My mom had negative experience once and it's been 20 years we keep pushing her to get her health checked. She literally only goes when it's terribly bad, bed ridden bad
It's very common for this to happen with race too. I went to the ED at the Hospital with pelvic pain, by the feel of it I had another ovarian cyst possibly rupturing. Intake nurse was amazing. When the Dr saw me she was initially polite too. She then said "Oh someone ticked you as Aboriginal on your intake form". When I told her I wasn't a mistake, that I am Aboriginal just fair-skinned her attitude, facial expression, and body language changed. She barely touched me during the physical exam, denied me an ultrasound, and finally just threw a sheet of painkillers at me with the words "If I give you these, will you go away?" My regular Dr booked me to see a gyno that week, and yep, ruptured cyst.
I had a doctor tell me my excessive body hair was because I obviously ate too much junk food. It wasn't, it was from PCOS which also caused the weight gain in the first place. To this day I get doctors insisting all my issues are because I'm fat. I recently went to the GP and she didn't even mention weight, just listened to my issue and ordered tests. It was like Christmas!
Welp, that is a clear cut case of malpractice if I ever saw one. Time to lawyer up, and bend some "doctors" over a metaphorical barrel. (I put doctors in quotationmarks as any doctor worth they salary would have ordered those test, just to be sure.)
Luke Kelly of The Dubliners was consistently diagnosed with chronic alcoholism as the cause of his deteriorating health for years. Once a doctor took his complaints seriously he was diagnosed with a brain tumor that was successfully removed, but had done incurable damage by then and he eventually died. But had the medical community not ignored him for years the tumor could have been removed years before it got too bad.
Had severe shoulder problems without any warning and my feet started hurting out of nowhere. Tried to blame the shoulder problems on the sport I am now doing for over 10 years (and never had an issue with my shoulder even after checks etc) because of course ice hockey is bad for the shoulders And posture. And then he proceeded to blame my feet hurting on my weight (yes i am not skinny but I am really active, cook fresh and eat normal amounts every day, takeout/fast-food is really rare). I am wearing orthopedic insoles for my knock knees for over 10 years now and you think my feet just decided to hurt now because of my weight?
Oh and the doctor I had when my knee issues first showed (kneecap kind of jumped out and in again) back when i was 12 or 13 just said i ahould loose weight. Had a new apointment every two weeks because I could.'t walk because of the pain i waa experiencing. You have to do more sports! My mom just stared at him asking where she should fit that in -at that time I was swimming for the life guard, practiced taekwondo twice a week, did athletics plus riding my bike daily and having pe classes 3 times a week. I switched doctors after 1 or 2 years and the new one tried a lot of things before sending me to a specialist at a hospital who sent me to to an mrt- knee cap too small, too high and too loose, which already caused a cartilage damage that could have been prevented with physical therapy and insoles. Sadly many doctors don't care/don't want to accept the challenge of finding a diagnosis and i think rhis has to change
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This doesn't happens as much in countries with a good health system, because it doesn't cost a thing to do blood exams.
Not weight related but for most of my adult life I've experienced digestive problems, stomach cramping and bloating. It used to really get me down as it left me feeling exhausted and mentally worn out. I went to the doctor several times over the years to try and get some kind of diagnosis so I could attempt to fix the issue. Every time I was told to keep a food diary or to cut out XYZ food. What I really wanted was for them to give me some kind of test to try and narrow it down at least so I might get a better idea but it was never offered and when I asked for it it would be dismissed. I knew these tests existed as you could pay for them privately but the costs were prohibitive for me. In the end I was told it was IBS which I have come to believe is just short hand for it could be anything. In the end I gave up and resigned myself to the fact I'd just have to live with it. Eventually I found out the cause purely by accident (it was meat, something that never once occurred to me).
Doctors do this to the elderly too. They blame everything on age. My mom had cancer and it was stage 3 when finally diagnosed.
I had a sister-in-law whose periods were getting worse and worse over the years. Saw countless doctors and everyone just told her that dome people have bad periods. No one would listen. One day she passed out and her husband couldn't wake her up. Called the ambulance. She wakes up in the hospital and the doctor there was telling her it was nothing and she was fine. She was too weak to argue. Finally a kind nurse started talking to her, and actually listened. The nurse was horrified at what she heard and managed to get a test ordered for my SIL. Turned out she has a uterine tumor that was bigger than a baby's head. She had surgery the next morning. Somehow all the previous doctos missed that. And she was a tiny woman. It's just absolutely disgusting how these doctors don't listen.
I injured my back in high school tumbling as a cheerleader. Went to the ER they told me take some aspirin you will be fine even though I crawled into the ER. Decades later, many doctors later all telling me it is just soft tissue and I am young, I finally got a doctor to listen who sent me to a chiropractor who x-rayed my back. Turns out my L4 and L5 have slipped 75%. The chiropractor told me had someone done their job previously the slippage wouldn't be so serve.
That sounds like you've been given some debatable information. The popular term slipped disc is a misnomer, as the intervertebral discs are tightly sandwiched between two vertebrae to which they are attached, and cannot actually "slip", or even get out of place to any great extent. The disc is actually grown together with the adjacent vertebrae and can be squeezed, stretched and twisted, all in small degrees. It can also be torn, ripped, prolapsed, herniated, bulge and degenerated, but it cannot "slip". Some experts consider that the term slipped disc is harmful, as it leads to an incorrect idea of what has occurred and thus of the likely outcome. However, during growth, one vertebral body can slip relative to an adjacent vertebral body, a deformity called spondylolisthesis. Some chiropractors are bad at using terminology that is misleading. I'm not denying your pain or the severity and as a sufferer of back pain due to a congenital condition as well as a car accident I have a lot of sympathy.
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OH MY GOD HE APPLAUDED HER WEIGHT LOSS WHICH MIGHT ADD 20-30 YEARS TO HER LIFE WHAT A MONSTER
the point of the story isn't that she lost weight, it's that the doctor didn't believe her.
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I eat a pound of chocolate and 20 burgers each day, my doctor says its not good. WHAT A BAD MAN!! buhu
S Tor Storm, You do not have problems with your weight, correct? A wild guess based on your insensitivity. Do you think people decide to be fat? Or drink beer or smoke to excess? Why would anyone want to be fat or an alcoholic or lifelong smoker? I don't know anyone who made this decision, maybe you do. Things you do easily, others struggle with. The original post is anecdotal evidence, as are all the stories posted here. Not a single example, but many. None of us want or enjoy our weight problems, we know the risk, and most of us live healthy lifestyles. We face doctors who refuse to see us as more than a weight. I decided to stop drinking and just stopped. Easy. Can everyone stop so easily? Should I judge them by my experience? Or acknowledge we are different and accept that this is more difficult for some. They know the risks I don't have tell them, nor do you
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While I agree that the health concerns of an obese person should never be dismissed, obesity can cause the symptoms this woman reported, along with a whole host of medical issues like heart disease, sleep apnea, hypertension, osteoarthritis, etc. The body just wasn't designed to carry excessive weight around. Nor does it matter whether the excessive weight is fat or muscle; bodybuilders are prone to the same issues. It really is worth losing the weight. (And I have to be careful about my weight because I have heritable heart disease, osteoarthritis, and spondylosis.)
The thing is CAN isn't enough to assume that's the diagnosis. Should make a bit more effort to check that there isn't something more serious going on. Fortunately I've not experienced a doctor doing this to me. I was fat for a short while due to health issues (hard to go from exercising daily and it took a while to adjust diet to suit) and a doctor did tell me to lose weight but I always got tests, referrals etc for the medical problems I had.
Load More Replies... Hans, thanks for the kick in the pants. A healthy lifestyle is my responsibility? I manage several chronic illnesses - that I inherited -- somewhat successfully. I expect a doctor to listen, then diagnose. Telling me the source of my problems is my weight, is not only inaccurate, it causes me to shut down and isolate. Especially after I explain I have mental health problems, including an eating disorder. Like other overweight people, you see me as lazy and irresponsible. I believe you and the doctors. Why get a 2nd opinion? This is one my greatest personal failures, yeah I know. Things you do easily are incredible struggles for some of us, yet you judge us on your experiences. I know more about weight management than most, I understand why I eat and how destructive your attitude is. My illnesses can't be seen even with x-ray vision. I am entitled because I want them to listen?
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some people, like me, cant help being fat . the real moral of the story is dont make assumptions and derive your opinion on that. espeically docters .
Load More Replies... Reading this is sad. I am so grateful to have found a good Dr. Yes I am obese, yes I need to lose weight (and I am trying) but he never dismisses any of my health concerns.
I had unexplained weight gain which kept going even as I kept cutting back what I was eating and kept exercising more. The cutback would stall it, but then it'd start again. Whenever I would protest that I wasn't eating anything the doctor would just give me this little head tilt and look and be like, "Really?" and then tell me to stop eating fast food (which I hadn't eaten in years). Even after 10 years of this when I was down to 700 calories + 3 hours exercise (and still gaining weight!) they still assumed I was lying. My mom figured it out - I have celiac disease. Cut out the gluten, and the weight started magically melting away even as I was able to eat a normal amount of food.
I am not slender, a size 12 at 5'8". Yes, it would better if I lost weight. The last 4 times my mental health plummeted, I sought help and was told I MUST lose weight. This is after I tell them overeating is a coping method and a sign my mental health is failing and of my eating disorder. It is the worst thing to say. The power of words. I don't need a reminder of what some consider my biggest failure. In my family, weight = worth. If I am happy with myself, believe I have value, and am not feeling ashamed the weight could come off. I avoid having my picture taken. Whenever I see a picture I am shocked. Often I don't look as big as I am told, but remember how uncomfortable I felt, how ashamed I was to be to be out of control and irresponsible. I put effort into how I look, I try to care about it. Someone who has never had a weight problem can't understand how difficult this can be. My struggles are minor, my parents toxic. But if this what I face, imagine what others deal with.
Size 12 at 5'8" doesn't sound at all bad to be honest. Though you know you. So sorry for your struggles - been there myself.
Load More Replies... I was told to lose weight. I did. Turns out I have Fibromyalgia, Endometriosis, I'm Anemic, and have bad vitamin D deficiency which may have, and maybe still could lead to osteomalacia The latter two problems may have been preventable if they'd have just diagnosed me properly over a year ago instead of telling me to lose weight and blaming it on the weight. However, it was the surgery's NURSE that finally suggested all the things that led to my diagnosis' from my doctor.
Same problems 😣 awful isn't it? I was also on the anti-depressant Venlafaxine. Had to come off as it wouldn't work with another medication for cluster headaches and the weight FELL OFF!
Load More Replies... Just two weeks ago: 28 year old college student I know went to ER with chest and arm pain. He was overweight. Drs diagnosed pinched nerves. He died the next night of a massive heart attack. The main arteries to his heart were completely blocked.
Who in the world in medicine says "pinched nerve" without doing an EKG? Even a non-STEMI MI... OK, in simpler English: If you have a normal EKG but heart attack symptoms anyway, you don't rely on the EKG, but on an echo, and take into account all factors, including oxygen saturation levels, etc. I have seen this where someone is blown off as "probably ashtma" and they had 90% blockage of two arteries to their heart. TWO. And, yes, I was involved in telling the doctor to get his sorry butt into gear and get a cardiologist OR ELSE. That's my job. I say to docs what patients can't/don't know to say, and I translate doc into Normal English, and I have no problem whatsoever getting such doctors fired. :-)
Load More Replies... I had the same problem due to age. Oh, you don't have good balance anymore, happens when you get old. Hearing loss, aches, etc. All blamed on age. Autoimmune.
Or maybe you aren't trying? Dreadful comment to someone who struggles. Implying it is your personal weakness, not a health issue doesn't help. Yet people feel free to judge others on things they don't understand. You didn't accept the dismissal of your symptoms by doctors and kept looking for answers. That is commendable.
Load More Replies... Had a combo of weight & age work against me. Had a pinched nerve in my low back & was getting leg & hip pain that felt like a pulled muscle at 1st. Dr told me it was probably due to my weight since i never really lost pregnancy weight from about 2yrs before. It got worse, to the point that i was getting leg cramps & numbness & he finally sent me for xrays but it showed nothing. Got worse again but all he wanted to do was more xrays. I asked about a nerve issue & he said i was too young at 29 for a pinched nerve. 3 more months of constant pain & I couldnt walk & could barely feel my foot. Saw a specialist (got in on a favor no less) & ended up with 2 pinched nerves & a ton of nerve damage. 10yrs later & still have almost no feeling in most of my foot & in different spots of my leg. Still get horrible pain in low back too
Too young for a pinched nerve? What a prat. I've had repeated problems with that since my early 20s. Makes it very difficult to exercise and burn off calories and keep fit too, doesn't it? Awful pain.
Load More Replies... Oh look, another cadre of doctors who deserve to be disbarred from their job
Yes, ignoring part of patient's medical history is irresponsible.
Load More Replies... I've encountered some of these attitudes over the years. One thing I always remember was something Ann Landers (remember her) once said: 50% of the doctors graduated in the bottom half of their classes. Gone are the days where a patient should think the doctor knows all.
I think one of my colleagues landed on someone who barely passed passed med school and then rested on her wee laurels. The new family doctor was so lazy that she wouldn't examine my colleague for a rash ("Aren't you going to look at it?" "No. I know it's nothing."). Luckily, she was gone within months and replaced by someone who's been diligent in checking out medical issues.
Load More Replies... The same thing happened with my older brother. They were constantly blaming his balance issues on him not being athletic. Turns out, he needed brain surgery and would've died if we hadn't begged them to run a diagnosis. By the way, he's completely fine now, no longer has balance or focus issues, and is the best older brother I could ask for!
It's not just weight, my mother was dying of cancer. We knew she had a few months left, but she had wounds that won't heal as well as fatigue and he dismissed it . It took me over a month fighting him to get her medication changed so she was more comfortable. In contrast the nurses caring for her always treated her with the upmost respect and care.
When I was young I had to get glasses because I couldn't read what was written on the board in school. My eye doctor told me, a 7 year old girl, that I am lying and that I am just pretending to have bad eyesight because I wanted glasses. Please bitch, because the prescription glasses were so f*****g good-looking in the early 90s :D Never been back to that doctor ever...
I was 8 when my eye sight jumped from -1 to -4,5. The doc desided it was a good time to joke about needing a guidedog next. I'm at -10 now, still no dog.
Load More Replies... I went to the Drs with feeling utter exhaustion and a change in my periods, and was told I was nearly 30 and it was a natural change and maybe consider an iron supplement. Went three months later with even worse exhaustion and was told I was anaemic and to take iron supplements (which I was already taking) 6 weeks later I went back the the dr and was fobbed off but dr finally did blood test. 48 hours later I was hospitalised and told I had cancer, 48 hours later they located 6 large tumours in my bowel, kidney and liver. 48 hours later I started chemo, was told I had less that 20% chance of surviving 6 months. I endured 2 years of intensive chemo and multiple surgeries. I was then told it was incurable. Nearly 12 years later I am still here; I have regular chemo but have beaten the odds. I was dismissed as being too young for my initial symptoms to be any thing serious but that nearly killed me. Please listen to your body and make sure that you are taken seriously. It nearly cost me m
It nearly cost me my life; all because the dr didn't do that blood test!
Load More Replies... YOU know your body better than anyone. If you're sure there is something wrong with it (unless you're a hypochondriac!), then trust your instinct. Push and push until you're heard. Don't always trust the docs: you've known your own body all your life, so aren't you the best qualified to notice when something feels scarily different than normal?
Surprising! Women are more aware of our health. We don't need to "man up" or worry about our tough masculine image. Many of us manage a family, cook and clean, plus have a career. We can't afford to get sick, we don't have the time. Again, generalizations hurt.
Load More Replies... I had weight issues for most of my adult life in spite of a healthy & active lifestyle. Took getting diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes to discover I also had thyroid problems. Got my thyroid fixed, and wouldn't you know, dropped 65 lb almost magically. So in the end, all the doctors telling me to "just lose weight" were full of it.
Right???? I have PCOS and my doctor is like "yeah but lose weight" ok do you know how hard it is lmaoooo its such bs
Load More Replies... A few years back I kept going to the doctors because I felt really sick and my temperature kept spiking at night up to 105 Fahrenheit (40.5 Celsius) but during the day my temperature was mild. Nurse told me I needed an new thermometer. So immediately after my appointment I bought one. That night it read 105. I was mad. Finally got tested and I had acute pneumonia in my upper left lung
YEP! I'm 5'5 and used to weigh 165 lbs. Buuuuut, I also lifted weights, did cardio and had a VERY healthy diet. I had been having such bad reflux that I was waking up in the night aspirating on stomach acid---Literally choking and gasping. Went to see a gastro and that POS literally just sat there and told me I was too fat....He went ON AND ON about my weight in a very unprofessional way. I was also a former anorexic and he had a terrible bedside manor. He was just awful. I left there in tears to the point that the nurses were super concerned, but I literally couldn't even talk. Years later....Find out the reason for my problems were due to celiac.
Oh s**t I have rly bad reflux, I stopped seeing my doc when she was like "its your weight" and didn't try anything else
Load More Replies... Just so sad. I do think their is weight bias, but also I believe a bigger problem is being a woman and seeking medical care. I've had significant issues over the years and so hard to get proper attention for it. Years without diagnosis and you have to advocate for yourself consistently.
Same here. Yes, I'm heavily and sickening overweight - but til now none of my problems were due to my overweight: felt sleepy and exhausted all the time, but at the same time nervous and couldn't sleep. Always: "it's the weight, you sure have high blood pressure (no, it's to low) and Diabetes (no, not til now) etc.pp. After a long time, after I had a break-down and had to quit work for 8 months - they found out I have Restless Legs Syndrom and I'm highly depressive - and that me overweight is due to sexual abusion as child (a neighbor, and a riding teacher). Now I'm in treatment (but losing weight is still hard, it's like loosing m, spielt against interested men). I'm sure if a Meteorit Struck down from the sky and hit and kills me they still go "if she would have been slimer she'd have avoided the hit" :p
When it came to my husband having pains and swelling in his toes, they said it was his weight. I said it was gout. I insisted they test him...I was right. When my son was experiencing aggression with his autism, the Psychiatrist put him on Strattera and Fluoxetine. It made his symptoms worse. I begged them to put him on Risperidone. It took a court order for them to finally do it. My son is now a calm and happy adult. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Never ever let a doctor tell you that your symptoms are imagined or in relation to something without doing tests. It's your life and your body.
This is scary. I feel so opposite of it too. I’m perfectly in the middle of normal weight (not nearing fat or thin, just normal), and I got randomly diagnosed with PCOS based on very minor symptoms, which prompted my Doctor to test me. My suggestion is to get a doctor recommendation from a friend or coworker! Someone who has seen the doctor. That’s how I was diagnosed, at age 30! At the time, my vitamin D was in single digits and for the first time in my life, I was actually gaining weight in a bad way. I felt like I was on cocaine when I finally got the proper amount of vitamin D. It really slows your mind and body down if you don’t have enough.
Get doc recommendations from nurses. Whoever at least four of five nurses agree on? That's the doc you want.
Load More Replies... I had a similar experience. I joined a gym, went religiously 4 days a week & after 2 months had gained weight. I'll never forget the look on my trainers face at that check in "Uhm, yeah, I dunno. You should probably see a doctor." I went back to the doctor and found out I had Hashimoto's disease. You'd think the widespread fatigue, pain & hair loss would've bought me some credibility a little sooner but nope, just a year and multiple bills to keep being told I just need to lose weight. I also had plaque under both knees, toe joints that were fusing and two other auto immune diseases. Took years to be heard and losing weight only helped with some of the symptoms but by no means was a cure all.
The main lesson is not to have multiple diseases at the same time, that really confounds diagnosis.
My dad was a physician. He and his colleagues NEVER told a patient that their weight was the problem. That started in the late 60's when "fitness" became THE issue. Not health. Unfortunately all those doctors have either retired or died. Now you are supposed to fit into a mold before you are considered sick.
I feel like society and even doctors have cacomorphobia (fear of fat people) so they’re quick to assume all our problems come from our weight. I have several health problems some are weight related some aren’t. I’m lucky to have a good doctor
I had very bad health luck in 2020 - two brain surgeries, a cancer surgery (unrelated to the brain thing) and an abdominal surgery. A doctor in the last hospital said "four surgeries in one year, maybe it's time to start losing weight and taking care of yourself". Oh, did my weight make my brain fall out? And give me skin cancer? No? Then shove it.
Sounds like they're not necessarily blaming your health problems on your weight but perhaps concerned that obesity can increase some risks of complications with other health issues? For example, general anaesthetic is riskier for patients outside "normal" weight ranges. It's still an unhelpful and unkind thing to say (especially if they don't know the patient's history, and could be talking to someone who was already losing weight).
Load More Replies... Sadly, for some doctors these days it is you are too fat, stop smoking, stop drinking. If a thin person who has never smoked or drunk alcohol presents they don't know what excuse to use. Sometimes it makes you wonder what they learned all those years in university.
As a thin person who's never smoked and doesn't drink - they tell us it's psychological. I have constant pain in my legs, apparently that's due to depression (that I don't have). I was told I'm just not handling period pain and I need to realise they are supposed to be painful, I'd been having periods for about 20 years by this time. Took 5 years before I was diagnosed with endometriosis.
Load More Replies... I am so so so so apologizing on behalf of the medical care people around the world. Yes, you can have problems unrelated to one's BMI/weight/etc. I earned an MD, and I'm saying it. The amazing thing is how many doctors and others in the profession are themselves *overweight*, then treat patients crappy about weight issues.
This rings so true. For over a year my complaints about loss of feeling from my waist down and later in my hands was written off as hyperbole and a direct result of being fat and having diabetes. I was told that it wasnt even possible to go bilaterally numb from the waist down. Needless to say my M.S. diagnosis was greatly delayed.
As a patient you always have the option to insist on testing. If your doctor refuses , go to another one. Always know as much as you can about your health so you can self advocate. I'm sorry all that shitty stuff happened to you
The story’s are sad and it’s horrible how some doctors just blame things on appearances
I wonder how many doctors she saw who all said the same thing. If it were just the one then she definitely should've sought a second/third/fourth etc opinion. If it were several doctors and they were all saying the same thing, they should all be reported for medical negligence, ESPECIALLY if they said her endometriosis symptoms were due to her weight and because she had such drastic life changing surgeries that may or may not have been preventable.
Unpopular Opinion: I absolutely agree you should strongly advocate for yourself, and that there's no shortage of bad doctors (or bad receptionists, bad cashiers, bad nurses...) but it saddens me to see all the doctor hate. It's misplaced. Generally speaking they do the best they can with what they have, and when something is correct 999 times out of 1000, that's what you go with. Yeah, it means you're going to miss some, but with all the constraints on EVERYTHING from visit times to insurance capitation, it's literally impossible to do a 100% workup on every patient that rolls in feeling fatigued.
When I was in high school I worked in a bakery. Sometimes we burnt the bread -- a sign of a difficult day (or night before). It worried me, what if the day I get surgery the doctor is having a "burn the bread" type of day? Everyone has bad days, absolutely everyone. The pressure on doctors is huge, their mistakes have serious consequences. I have a problem with the number of doctors who judge by weight. If it were just one or two it would be easy to ignore. The same doctor who sent me to an eating disorder specialist, lectured me about me about not trying hard enough to manage my weight. Lost absolutely all my respect. Then it is an industry wide problem. When I find doctors who see more than weight they are keepers.
Load More Replies... Fun fact: if you pursue life insurance as an investment opportunity for your future and your family's wellbeing, you aren't allowed to have been an ex-anything, and you'd better not have been going to therapy much less be medicated for it. Got denied twice, even with great bloodwork and physicals, because I take Wellbutrin, and used to smoke. Fun times.
But at the end of the day 3 of her diagnoseses were most likely absolutely caused or aggrevated by her unhealthy weight, obesity is a huge factor in endometriosis, obviously impacts apnia, snoring and enlarged uvula and all three of those worsen narcoleptic symptoms, so if it weren't for the Dr she'd still be at an unhealthy weight with worsened symptoms and be most likely heavily reliant on more medications or surgical interventions 🤷
as as student in the medical field (not Doctor) I must say yes, to blaim everything on weight is unprofessional. But has also very reasonable Argumentations: white fat cells / tissue can and will have a lot of correlations with almost EVERY disease humans can have. The thing is, to get overweight you First need to consume more than what you burn... meaning you do not move and do not use your muscles properly.. Movement and sport is the main thing that keeps you healthy and alive. You can look it up: fat tissue will produce very higly inflammation friendly hormones (adipokines) you will start to feel sick and get a lot of diseases. By losing weight you will not be fat anymore but the diseases have already chronified, your organs are damaged and to recover will take a while longer than your weight loss jurney lasted... and it's normally not possibly to fully recover once an organ is damaged. yes beging over (or also under-) weight makes you more prone to diseases.
@Thindy - I'm from England and something similar happened to me. I saw a gynae consultant because I hadn't had a period for over five years. It was my first appointment and he spent the first half an hour talking about ZZ Top because I was wearing a badge of theirs and showing his resident videos on YouTube because "I can't believe you've never heard of them!" Then he spent about four minutes saying that I have chronic anaemia and that's the reason. I said I already knew that and have regular iron infusions as a result, it's never affected my periods before. He said "well that's the answer", said he didn't need to see me again and discharged me. Welp, it wasn't my chronic anaemia and now I can't have kids. Not that I wanted them anyway but that's not the point.
This is a problem for me, too, on a different way. I nearly died from Addison's disease because my doctors blamed EVERYTHING on my type 1 diabetes.
This is SO true. It's less of an issue now as younger doctors are, frankly, more interested in their patients than those who are about to or recently retired. The doctors seem to ask themselves 'what is the least I can do to get rid of this patient' rather than 'what can I do to help' Mental Health Problems, Weight and Smoking are the very first thing that almost ANYTHING can be blamed on and the patient sent out with no further examination..
What does it mean, the "lapro found so much endo" that she lost both of her ovaries and part of her colon? What is lapro and endo? A laporoscope and ondoscope? They used those to look inside and she had cancer so they had to remove her ovaries and part of her intestines? Is that what this means?
Laparoscopy is a surgical procedure on the abdominal area. Endo is endometriosis where you bleed outside the womb during your period. Does that help?
Load More Replies... Same thing happens w/ puberty. Went to a Dr. a little after my 12th b-day for stomach pain and nausea. Response? "You're getting older, it might just be your hormones, your period might come soon." It was stomach flu. My period didn't come till Jan 2021. I turned 12 in June 2020.
Some doctors are (unfortunately) kind off useless. My mom had to bring me to 2 or 3 different ones for hearing problems, and they said: "oh, it will pass soon." It didn't. I was deaf due to water in the middle ear, all i needed was a drain tube in the ear drums. It was so bad my parents could sit with two closed doors between me and them while i was watching tv, and hear every f**king detail. I would sit with my ear into the speaker and still complain that it wasn't loud enough. I was 3, I think, and loosing my hearing at that time affected my social development later on. When mom finally got a doctor who listened to her and got me what i needed, the whole family stuck with her untill she retired. (This was in the early 90-s, and I had problems with ear and throat illness untill i finally got my tonsils removed at 20)
Step sister was over weight. She complained about her health. Lose weight was all she was told. She finally found a doctor who ordered tests and tests and more tests. No diagnosis just tests. She ran through her savings and insurance and told the doctor. He then wouldn't return her calls. Still no diagnosis.
My mom had negative experience once and it's been 20 years we keep pushing her to get her health checked. She literally only goes when it's terribly bad, bed ridden bad
It's very common for this to happen with race too. I went to the ED at the Hospital with pelvic pain, by the feel of it I had another ovarian cyst possibly rupturing. Intake nurse was amazing. When the Dr saw me she was initially polite too. She then said "Oh someone ticked you as Aboriginal on your intake form". When I told her I wasn't a mistake, that I am Aboriginal just fair-skinned her attitude, facial expression, and body language changed. She barely touched me during the physical exam, denied me an ultrasound, and finally just threw a sheet of painkillers at me with the words "If I give you these, will you go away?" My regular Dr booked me to see a gyno that week, and yep, ruptured cyst.
I had a doctor tell me my excessive body hair was because I obviously ate too much junk food. It wasn't, it was from PCOS which also caused the weight gain in the first place. To this day I get doctors insisting all my issues are because I'm fat. I recently went to the GP and she didn't even mention weight, just listened to my issue and ordered tests. It was like Christmas!
Welp, that is a clear cut case of malpractice if I ever saw one. Time to lawyer up, and bend some "doctors" over a metaphorical barrel. (I put doctors in quotationmarks as any doctor worth they salary would have ordered those test, just to be sure.)
Luke Kelly of The Dubliners was consistently diagnosed with chronic alcoholism as the cause of his deteriorating health for years. Once a doctor took his complaints seriously he was diagnosed with a brain tumor that was successfully removed, but had done incurable damage by then and he eventually died. But had the medical community not ignored him for years the tumor could have been removed years before it got too bad.
Had severe shoulder problems without any warning and my feet started hurting out of nowhere. Tried to blame the shoulder problems on the sport I am now doing for over 10 years (and never had an issue with my shoulder even after checks etc) because of course ice hockey is bad for the shoulders And posture. And then he proceeded to blame my feet hurting on my weight (yes i am not skinny but I am really active, cook fresh and eat normal amounts every day, takeout/fast-food is really rare). I am wearing orthopedic insoles for my knock knees for over 10 years now and you think my feet just decided to hurt now because of my weight?
Oh and the doctor I had when my knee issues first showed (kneecap kind of jumped out and in again) back when i was 12 or 13 just said i ahould loose weight. Had a new apointment every two weeks because I could.'t walk because of the pain i waa experiencing. You have to do more sports! My mom just stared at him asking where she should fit that in -at that time I was swimming for the life guard, practiced taekwondo twice a week, did athletics plus riding my bike daily and having pe classes 3 times a week. I switched doctors after 1 or 2 years and the new one tried a lot of things before sending me to a specialist at a hospital who sent me to to an mrt- knee cap too small, too high and too loose, which already caused a cartilage damage that could have been prevented with physical therapy and insoles. Sadly many doctors don't care/don't want to accept the challenge of finding a diagnosis and i think rhis has to change
Load More Replies... This doesn't happens as much in countries with a good health system, because it doesn't cost a thing to do blood exams.
Not weight related but for most of my adult life I've experienced digestive problems, stomach cramping and bloating. It used to really get me down as it left me feeling exhausted and mentally worn out. I went to the doctor several times over the years to try and get some kind of diagnosis so I could attempt to fix the issue. Every time I was told to keep a food diary or to cut out XYZ food. What I really wanted was for them to give me some kind of test to try and narrow it down at least so I might get a better idea but it was never offered and when I asked for it it would be dismissed. I knew these tests existed as you could pay for them privately but the costs were prohibitive for me. In the end I was told it was IBS which I have come to believe is just short hand for it could be anything. In the end I gave up and resigned myself to the fact I'd just have to live with it. Eventually I found out the cause purely by accident (it was meat, something that never once occurred to me).
Doctors do this to the elderly too. They blame everything on age. My mom had cancer and it was stage 3 when finally diagnosed.
I had a sister-in-law whose periods were getting worse and worse over the years. Saw countless doctors and everyone just told her that dome people have bad periods. No one would listen. One day she passed out and her husband couldn't wake her up. Called the ambulance. She wakes up in the hospital and the doctor there was telling her it was nothing and she was fine. She was too weak to argue. Finally a kind nurse started talking to her, and actually listened. The nurse was horrified at what she heard and managed to get a test ordered for my SIL. Turned out she has a uterine tumor that was bigger than a baby's head. She had surgery the next morning. Somehow all the previous doctos missed that. And she was a tiny woman. It's just absolutely disgusting how these doctors don't listen.
I injured my back in high school tumbling as a cheerleader. Went to the ER they told me take some aspirin you will be fine even though I crawled into the ER. Decades later, many doctors later all telling me it is just soft tissue and I am young, I finally got a doctor to listen who sent me to a chiropractor who x-rayed my back. Turns out my L4 and L5 have slipped 75%. The chiropractor told me had someone done their job previously the slippage wouldn't be so serve.
That sounds like you've been given some debatable information. The popular term slipped disc is a misnomer, as the intervertebral discs are tightly sandwiched between two vertebrae to which they are attached, and cannot actually "slip", or even get out of place to any great extent. The disc is actually grown together with the adjacent vertebrae and can be squeezed, stretched and twisted, all in small degrees. It can also be torn, ripped, prolapsed, herniated, bulge and degenerated, but it cannot "slip". Some experts consider that the term slipped disc is harmful, as it leads to an incorrect idea of what has occurred and thus of the likely outcome. However, during growth, one vertebral body can slip relative to an adjacent vertebral body, a deformity called spondylolisthesis. Some chiropractors are bad at using terminology that is misleading. I'm not denying your pain or the severity and as a sufferer of back pain due to a congenital condition as well as a car accident I have a lot of sympathy.
Load More Replies... OH MY GOD HE APPLAUDED HER WEIGHT LOSS WHICH MIGHT ADD 20-30 YEARS TO HER LIFE WHAT A MONSTER
the point of the story isn't that she lost weight, it's that the doctor didn't believe her.
Load More Replies... I eat a pound of chocolate and 20 burgers each day, my doctor says its not good. WHAT A BAD MAN!! buhu
S Tor Storm, You do not have problems with your weight, correct? A wild guess based on your insensitivity. Do you think people decide to be fat? Or drink beer or smoke to excess? Why would anyone want to be fat or an alcoholic or lifelong smoker? I don't know anyone who made this decision, maybe you do. Things you do easily, others struggle with. The original post is anecdotal evidence, as are all the stories posted here. Not a single example, but many. None of us want or enjoy our weight problems, we know the risk, and most of us live healthy lifestyles. We face doctors who refuse to see us as more than a weight. I decided to stop drinking and just stopped. Easy. Can everyone stop so easily? Should I judge them by my experience? Or acknowledge we are different and accept that this is more difficult for some. They know the risks I don't have tell them, nor do you
Load More Replies... While I agree that the health concerns of an obese person should never be dismissed, obesity can cause the symptoms this woman reported, along with a whole host of medical issues like heart disease, sleep apnea, hypertension, osteoarthritis, etc. The body just wasn't designed to carry excessive weight around. Nor does it matter whether the excessive weight is fat or muscle; bodybuilders are prone to the same issues. It really is worth losing the weight. (And I have to be careful about my weight because I have heritable heart disease, osteoarthritis, and spondylosis.)
The thing is CAN isn't enough to assume that's the diagnosis. Should make a bit more effort to check that there isn't something more serious going on. Fortunately I've not experienced a doctor doing this to me. I was fat for a short while due to health issues (hard to go from exercising daily and it took a while to adjust diet to suit) and a doctor did tell me to lose weight but I always got tests, referrals etc for the medical problems I had.
Load More Replies... Hans, thanks for the kick in the pants. A healthy lifestyle is my responsibility? I manage several chronic illnesses - that I inherited -- somewhat successfully. I expect a doctor to listen, then diagnose. Telling me the source of my problems is my weight, is not only inaccurate, it causes me to shut down and isolate. Especially after I explain I have mental health problems, including an eating disorder. Like other overweight people, you see me as lazy and irresponsible. I believe you and the doctors. Why get a 2nd opinion? This is one my greatest personal failures, yeah I know. Things you do easily are incredible struggles for some of us, yet you judge us on your experiences. I know more about weight management than most, I understand why I eat and how destructive your attitude is. My illnesses can't be seen even with x-ray vision. I am entitled because I want them to listen?
Load More Replies... some people, like me, cant help being fat . the real moral of the story is dont make assumptions and derive your opinion on that. espeically docters .
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