Saw my medical records.

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Replies

  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,708 Member
    So I had to switch primary care physicians because my doctor was moving out of state. I picked up a copy of my medical records....the first report said:

    "29 year old morbidly obese female with complaints of chest pain......"

    Well I never!!! Morbidly obese?!?!? Granted, I am 186lbs and 5'4....but I thought I wasn't that bad....I didn't feel like I looked morbidly obese...but hey....HERE I AM!!!!

    words hurt lol....I'm having my second go around on MFP...hopefully this time around I'll stick to it, and get to my goal :) good luck everyone!

    I have trained myself to not get upset by labels. However at 5'4" and 187 pounds, or I at 165 pounds at 4'11" we both carry too much weight around, no matter what anyone calls it.
    Good Luck to you !

  • oh_happy_day
    oh_happy_day Posts: 1,137 Member
    It's a medical term and describes your BMI. It's not a personal offence. As an example, a woman pregnant with her first child who is over 35 years old is termed 'elderly primigravida'. 35 years old is hardly elderly but that's the term anyway.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,708 Member
    hi135 wrote: »
    Obese okay but morbidly obese I thought would be 220lbs+

    No, that's not true. I am 4'11" and at 165 pounds am considered morbidly obese for my height. I don't care what anyone calls it, because I know that I am fat and have to lose 50 pounds to get into my normal mid-range.

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I am your height and weight and I am very happily out of the "morbidly" tag. Still obese. Own the obese.

    The doctor was only partially right.
  • LaceyBirds
    LaceyBirds Posts: 451 Member
    edited September 2015
    Your doctor probably just hates overweight people

    Doctors should love us. We're cash cows!... so to speak.

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    I guess I should consider myself lucky. The terminology used by my GP is much more politically correct, but, instead of making me mad, it makes me laugh because it sounds so silly. On my reports, weighing 230 lbs. in 2014 and 202.5 lbs. when I saw him 5 months ago, it said: "patient is well-nourished." Ya think?!? :smiley:

    I will be interested to see what description they use at my next appointment, as I left "obese" 9 pounds ago, and should be within 15 to 18 pounds of "normal" (if things keep going the way they have been) when I next see him. :)

  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    I'm in the camp with those telling you obese yes, morbidly no. It does matter what he calls it because it is a medical term and it's being used incorrectly. I don't take offense to it, but I agree it's an ugly word. :laugh: I started out actually morbidly obese and have dropped the morbidly part, so I guess that's progress. Next goal: overweight! Look at it this way, with a BMI of 31.9 you have only two points to go to downgrade your status. :smile:
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,585 Member
    words hurt lol....I'm having my second go around on MFP...hopefully this time around I'll stick to it, and get to my goal :) good luck everyone!

    Yeah, that old saw about "sticks & stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me"? Doubtful, but the kernel of truth is that it's all about how you react to the words, or the situation that triggered them. And being overweight *can* hurt you.

    You can lose weight if you commit to it.

    I started out at 183 pounds in April 2015. I'm 5'5". That's "obese". I even briefly argued with a nurse practitioner who told me I didn't look obese. I told her to calculate my BMI; I knew it was technically obese. (I may be enough more muscular than average to make a difference, but I doubt it. I think it was just that as a very active person, my face & arms are not as doughy-looking as some of the people she was used to seeing at that same weight.)

    I just hit 139 this morning, for the first time since the 1970s (I'm 59). That's a middle-of-the-range normal BMI. For my frame, I've probably got another 10-15 pounds until GW.

    I'll get there. You can, too.
  • minties82
    minties82 Posts: 907 Member
    Ang108 wrote: »
    hi135 wrote: »
    Obese okay but morbidly obese I thought would be 220lbs+

    No, that's not true. I am 4'11" and at 165 pounds am considered morbidly obese for my height. I don't care what anyone calls it, because I know that I am fat and have to lose 50 pounds to get into my normal mid-range.

    That is incorrect. I am that height and weight and not morbidly obese, it is obese class 1. Between 77.7kg and 88.8kg is class 2, and above that is class 3.

    YOU might feel morbidly obese but I sure don't, I've had a BMI of 52, this puts us at a BMI of about 33.
  • jenniferb973
    jenniferb973 Posts: 34 Member
    hey guys thanks for the input....I wasn't truly hurt by it.... it was more of an inspiration if anything...I'm just such a word fluffer when I talk to people and make things sound nice lol....so I was like oh my!!! lol... For whatever reason, I was warned for this post...not sure why. I don't think it's offensive. I wanted to see if people could relate, or share what was their own inspiration to really do something...hopefully no one was offended. I saw the humor in it...as I joke with the dr. all the time...lol <3
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,338 Member
    As others have said, you are not 'morbidly' obese, you're only just into the obese category. Your doctore mis-classified you.
  • Unknown
    edited September 2015
    This content has been removed.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    Doctors *sigh*

    They use BMI to determine weight - I certainly think the 'morbidly' was added in error. Don't let it hurt you :)
  • knelson095
    knelson095 Posts: 254 Member
    I always hated the Wii fit game saying "that's obese" in that squeaky voice when it shows your weight. I feel the offended and motivated vibe, lol.
  • bago08
    bago08 Posts: 360 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »
    bago08 wrote: »
    You would be surprised how little you need to be overweight to fall into the obese category. If youre healthy and comfortable then that is the right weight for you.

    This is actually wrong. Just because you are "comfortable" at a weight, does not make it healthy.

    My point is not everyone falls onto that BMI scale that doctors go by. Ive had doctors tell me it would be impossible for me to get to my actual weight. When they tell me a goal weight Im still overweight or obese. If she is at a weight that is healthy she doesnt necessarily need to be at the actual BMI.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    omma_to_3 wrote: »
    You are not morbidly obese, clinically. I'm with you. LOL. If you're going to use medical terms, use them correctly!

    Correct. You're not "morbidly" obese. You ARE technically, clinically obese. Good for you for starting on the path to reversing it!
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    By the way when hubby hit the obese category he was horrified. He begged me to confirm for days on end that he wasn't and didn't stop asking until I agreed he wasn't obese. He's a little more careful what he eats though.
  • jenniferb973
    jenniferb973 Posts: 34 Member
    yes, it certainly made me pay more attention to everything I'm eating.....and giving me the push. I was horrified when I saw the paper...lol....But motivated at the same time.
  • brightsideofpink
    brightsideofpink Posts: 1,018 Member
    jdleanna wrote: »
    Yup, just medical, not personal, because of your BMI and accompanying health issue. Hey, when I was pregnant at 36 my chart said "advanced maternal age." Ha! Medical terms don't sound nice but they're really nothing personal!

    This was me at 35. It bothered me quite a bit, but not nearly as much as seeing that the break point on the other end was age 12. Twelve?!! Sorry for the sidebar- just agreeing that terms are terms and I'm sure there's some sort of basis for each and every number somewhere.
  • judymata
    judymata Posts: 42 Member
    I think it would upset me if I saw that same thing. As of now I am considered obese, but I am working on that. I will not let a word define who I am. We are all beautiful and amazing in our own unique ways. Good luck on your journey!
  • cbnorris
    cbnorris Posts: 204 Member
    My gyno once told me that "obviously" I was depressed because I teared up when she asked about my recently diagnosed cancer. I was too shocked in the rude delivery, but I wish I could go back in time and ask her what made her qualified to make that statement. Not all doctors have the best beside manner, even if it was just meant for your chart.
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
    hey guys thanks for the input....I wasn't truly hurt by it.... it was more of an inspiration if anything...I'm just such a word fluffer when I talk to people and make things sound nice lol....so I was like oh my!!! lol... For whatever reason, I was warned for this post...not sure why. I don't think it's offensive. I wanted to see if people could relate, or share what was their own inspiration to really do something...hopefully no one was offended. I saw the humor in it...as I joke with the dr. all the time...lol <3

    Really? For all the stuff I've seen fly in these forums, you got a warning for that? I'm guessing it was for the relatively innocuous acronym you used in the original title??

    Good attitude though! It really does make me wonder about what my doctor calls me. I have asthma, so that may qualify me for the level up since asthma can sometimes be aggravated by obesity - even though I was diagnosed at the age of 2.

    Agh - you've got me curious. But like you, I'd probably just see it as motivating. I am what I am. I can only get better.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Caitwn wrote: »
    So I had to switch primary care physicians because my doctor was moving out of state. I picked up a copy of my medical records....the first report said:

    "29 year old morbidly obese female with complaints of chest pain......"

    Well I never!!! Morbidly obese?!?!? Granted, I am 186lbs and 5'4....but I thought I wasn't that bad....I didn't feel like I looked morbidly obese...but hey....HERE I AM!!!!

    words hurt lol....I'm having my second go around on MFP...hopefully this time around I'll stick to it, and get to my goal :) good luck everyone!

    As others have pointed out, 'obese' is an absolutely correct way to categorize your current weight. And while I know people like to criticize use of the BMI, it's a pretty reasonable tool for providing a starting snapshot for most folks. You aren't in one of the groups known to be outside of typical BMI categories, so...welcome to MFP!

    I don't think your doc was off-base in categorizing you as 'morbidly obese' since you also presented with chest pains.

    It's time to save your own life, girlfriend. Blessings and good luck to you! If those medical files ticked you off enough to get you here, then someday you might want to send that doctor a thank-you note ;)

    Hang in there.

    This. i've been there, too, which is why did something about my obesity.

    OP, you can do this, we are standing behind you 100%!
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Your doctor probably just hates overweight people

    Doubtful.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Well that stings. You've got this!
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    jdleanna wrote: »
    Yup, just medical, not personal, because of your BMI and accompanying health issue. Hey, when I was pregnant at 36 my chart said "advanced maternal age." Ha! Medical terms don't sound nice but they're really nothing personal!

    A co-worker of mine had "elderly multigravida" written on hers. She was 38.

    Yes, because she was pregnant and older than 35 so there are risks...
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    edited September 2015
    I agree with everyone else. I'm in the same category as you, but was obese2 when I started. Now, I'm just regular obese. My mini goal is to be merely "overweight." haha.

    I can't believe you got a warning. I don't see anything in this post that violates the MFP forum rules, unless they changed them or something.

    I have to wonder about the forums anyway. I keep getting a survey about the usefulness of the forums on here. I did fill it out, but it seemed to me that perhaps they were gaging site and service survival without the forums. Maybe that makes sense from a manpower and legal spend perspective.

    edited for typos. Not claiming to have found them all.
  • twinjamom6
    twinjamom6 Posts: 299 Member
    I can relate. When I accessed my files, I saw they noted my pregnancy was complicated because I was "morbidly obese". That bothered me!! And I wasn't really so fat I didn't think, I had just gotten pregnant back to back. Granted I hadn't lost my baby weight either and wasn't doing anything about it at the time either. But my pregnancy wasn't complicated from that, it was because I was carrying mono - mono twins. That stuck with me though and I'm doing something about it now though. .
  • Strawblackcat
    Strawblackcat Posts: 944 Member
    It's a medical term and describes your BMI. It's not a personal offence. As an example, a woman pregnant with her first child who is over 35 years old is termed 'elderly primigravida'. 35 years old is hardly elderly but that's the term anyway.
    ^ This ^

    Back when I was a teenager, I was really underweight and mom took me to the doctor to make sure I didn't have some sort of medical issue or something. I ate well, and ate until I was full, but I was just burning more calories than I was eating at the time. The doctor said that she was going to write "anorexia" on my medical file as a diagnosis. She was very careful to explain that that was not the same as anorexia nervosa. It was just a medical term meaning "without an appetite". Not a personal judgement or anything, just medical jargon. I think the same thing happened to you in this case, just on the opposite end of the spectrum.
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