Morbidly Obese mother files complaint
Replies
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Yes, I'm sure it was reasonable for him to expect her to lose more than 5lbs a WEEK? Doctors aren't magical infallible creatures.
Depends. Someone who is morbidly obese and put on a doctor monitored weight loss regimen to lose weight for a surgery may very well be reasonable.
Agreed. Doctors are not infallible creatures. They are human. If you don't like what your doctor tells you, go find another one.0 -
If a doctor or hospital was not equipped to treat me the last thing I would do is complain. I would find a hospital that could give me and my baby the best care. Her weight has created a complication. Doctors take an oath to do no harm. What more can you ask for than a doctor that is honest enough to assess your situation and say 'I am not qualified. But here are people that are.'?
Her Doctor didn't do that though - he didn't have the stones to. He made up a story about hospital policy to hide behind.
I'd certainly be angry if my Doc lied to me.0 -
I think its ok to be mad the dr lied. He should have been honest about the reason. That being said I have been in the same situatiin as her and I was glad to be getting better care.0
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The doctor shouldn't have lied and said something was policy when it isn't but the doctor always has a right to make his recommendation and its up to the lady if she wants to go with what he recommended or to make a bad choice. Obviously she was making bad choices already to get to 353 but its her body.0
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I have a wonderful doctor now that is encouraging and kind. She is happy and congratulatory when there is a loss. That is what I look for. Positive doctors. You don't need someone negative when there is a long road to travel.
I'm glad you found someone you are happy with. That's important.0 -
Body shaming? Fat acceptance? These terms are indicative of everything that is wrong with our society today. There is zero rationale in accepting obesity period end of story. If you are obese you should love yourself enough to work toward resolving it. Will you succeed? I do not know. Should obese people be ostricized or discriminated against, of course not. There is a huge difference though between not discriminating or hating obesity and loving yourself obese. The middle ground should be that obesity is a disease, a deadly one. To be obese and refuse to work toward change is selfish period. You are depriving yourself and more importantly your loved ones of years of life. Losing weight is absurdly difficult. I was fortunate to have LapBand which put me on the road. I am not saying that failing to lose weight is failing, but failing to recognize obesity as a disease and making the mental and physical changes required is an absolute fail!0
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Body shaming? Fat acceptance? These terms are indicative of everything that is wrong with our society today. There is zero rationale in accepting obesity period end of story. If you are obese you should love yourself enough to work toward resolving it. Will you succeed? I do not know. Should obese people be ostricized or discriminated against, of course not. There is a huge difference though between not discriminating or hating obesity and loving yourself obese. The middle ground should be that obesity is a disease, a deadly one. To be obese and refuse to work toward change is selfish period. You are depriving yourself and more importantly your loved ones of years of life. Losing weight is absurdly difficult. I was fortunate to have LapBand which put me on the road. I am not saying that failing to lose weight is failing, but failing to recognize obesity as a disease and making the mental and physical changes required is an absolute fail!
Being fat isn't a disease.0 -
A woman of 350+ lb cannot be healthy. Someone posted above that her stats were ok if you ignore the BMI. Fact is tho when delivering a baby potentially by c section BMI does matter. Having to cut through layers and layers of extra fat. Internal organs that you cannot see that also have fat around them. Any1 350LB saying they are healthy needs to remove head from *kitten*. Fine be over weight and be happy, But do not make out its healthy.
The doc was doing what was best for baby. The mother can argue till her fat melts that she will be "fine" for normal delivery. Stats don't lie. Heavier women have more complications when giving birth. The doc was wrong to lie. I am pretty sure he was just trying to do what was best. Maybe in the wrong manner, but still, I hope the mother has a safe delivery wherever she is. But i also hope she gets laughed out of court when she tries to sue the doctor.0 -
Morbid obesity is by definition unhealthy. MO is a disease process so for those of us who are obese, we are unhealthy. Fatt acceptance should not even be a term in our lexicon because we should never accept any disease process and try to disguise it as some sort of personal choice or civil right. I do not believe obese people should be discriminated against; however, there are well documented problems caused during pregnancy by obesity. Frankly, I find anyone who gets pregnant, is obese and tries to justify her obesity to be selfish just like a smoker who gets pregnant. Having once weight 400 pounds and being "healthy" I can tell you I was fooling myself. I have lost nearly 150 pounds and despite having near stellar lab values and vital signs, running several miles per week and eating healtheir, I am still obese and therefore not completely healthy. Obesity is an epidemic in our society because we want what we want when we want it and we refuse to accept the harsh reality that our bodies are designed to ingest and burn a certain number of calories per day. If you try to justify this woman's actions you are part of the problem.
The thing is that you cant just quit being fat like you can quit smoking.0 -
Morbid obesity is by definition unhealthy. MO is a disease process so for those of us who are obese, we are unhealthy. Fatt acceptance should not even be a term in our lexicon because we should never accept any disease process and try to disguise it as some sort of personal choice or civil right. I do not believe obese people should be discriminated against; however, there are well documented problems caused during pregnancy by obesity. Frankly, I find anyone who gets pregnant, is obese and tries to justify her obesity to be selfish just like a smoker who gets pregnant. Having once weight 400 pounds and being "healthy" I can tell you I was fooling myself. I have lost nearly 150 pounds and despite having near stellar lab values and vital signs, running several miles per week and eating healtheir, I am still obese and therefore not completely healthy. Obesity is an epidemic in our society because we want what we want when we want it and we refuse to accept the harsh reality that our bodies are designed to ingest and burn a certain number of calories per day. If you try to justify this woman's actions you are part of the problem.
OHNOEZ THE FATZ EPIDEMICZ
Yes, an epidemic is exactly what it is. This is the first generation that likely won't live as long as the last. People can't fit into seats, can't fit on planes, can't quickly climb a single flight of stairs. Society is in a huge physical mess because nobody wants to accept responsibility for their own actions anymore.
Everyone on here really making a difference realizes what a problem it is and is working to fix their own situation.
You keep making light of it but the fact is obesity is a self inflicted disease that needs to be treated. This doctor did not feel comfortable dealing with a potential disaster. I don't blame him.0 -
I think the doctor could have been honest. "We aren't equipped to safely deliver your baby here due to your weight, but _______ hospital is, and we will have your chart faxed to them in advance."
Maybe she did? I didn't see anywhere in the article any comments from the doctor...0 -
Body shaming? Fat acceptance? These terms are indicative of everything that is wrong with our society today. There is zero rationale in accepting obesity period end of story. If you are obese you should love yourself enough to work toward resolving it. Will you succeed? I do not know. Should obese people be ostricized or discriminated against, of course not. There is a huge difference though between not discriminating or hating obesity and loving yourself obese. The middle ground should be that obesity is a disease, a deadly one. To be obese and refuse to work toward change is selfish period. You are depriving yourself and more importantly your loved ones of years of life. Losing weight is absurdly difficult. I was fortunate to have LapBand which put me on the road. I am not saying that failing to lose weight is failing, but failing to recognize obesity as a disease and making the mental and physical changes required is an absolute fail!
DIngDIngDIng0 -
The doctor shouldn't have lied and said something was policy when it isn't but the doctor always has a right to make his recommendation and its up to the lady if she wants to go with what he recommended or to make a bad choice. Obviously she was making bad choices already to get to 353 but its her body.
Not everyone who is fat made "bad choices" to get there. Thanks for playing.
Let me guess, you have a thyroid disorder that makes you fat and makes it impossible to lose weight? :noway:0 -
drat.... brb....0
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I think it was wrong and unprofessional for the doctor to lie about his reason for her to deliver elsewhere. If it was not hospital policy and he told her it is hospital policy that is wrong. He should have been honest and suggested she deliver elsewhere because she and the baby would get better care. I also think people need to stop filing lawsuits every time they get their feeling hurt. Not to mention if you are 353lb there is no way you can truly believe that you weight has no influence on their health. It would have to be uncomfortable. My highest weight ever was 178 and I was very uncomfortable. And if she is filing the lawsuit out of embarrassment that doesn't make sense either. Its not like she was told publicly to go to another hospital. No one had to know why she was going there.0
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If this was her OBGYN doctor, I would think that this would have been established way before the delivery.
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
ninerbuff, this is what surprises me most of all about the whole thing. Why did this come up so far into her pregnancy? I'm pregnant now (due a couple of weeks after this lady), and I pre-registered with the hospital months ago. That was discussed at my first visit, even though I already had my son at the same hospital with the same OB. She still had to go over it with me to make sure we were both on the same page. I don't think she'd have been too thrilled if I walked into her office on Monday and mentioned how I'd planned on delivering at home or at another hospital where she doesn't have privileges.0 -
Body shaming? Fat acceptance? These terms are indicative of everything that is wrong with our society today. There is zero rationale in accepting obesity period end of story. If you are obese you should love yourself enough to work toward resolving it. Will you succeed? I do not know. Should obese people be ostricized or discriminated against, of course not. There is a huge difference though between not discriminating or hating obesity and loving yourself obese. The middle ground should be that obesity is a disease, a deadly one. To be obese and refuse to work toward change is selfish period. You are depriving yourself and more importantly your loved ones of years of life. Losing weight is absurdly difficult. I was fortunate to have LapBand which put me on the road. I am not saying that failing to lose weight is failing, but failing to recognize obesity as a disease and making the mental and physical changes required is an absolute fail!
Being fat isn't a disease.
Not sure what you base this on, but the CDC defines obesity as a chronic disease.0 -
Body shaming? Fat acceptance? These terms are indicative of everything that is wrong with our society today. There is zero rationale in accepting obesity period end of story. If you are obese you should love yourself enough to work toward resolving it. Will you succeed? I do not know. Should obese people be ostricized or discriminated against, of course not. There is a huge difference though between not discriminating or hating obesity and loving yourself obese. The middle ground should be that obesity is a disease, a deadly one. To be obese and refuse to work toward change is selfish period. You are depriving yourself and more importantly your loved ones of years of life. Losing weight is absurdly difficult. I was fortunate to have LapBand which put me on the road. I am not saying that failing to lose weight is failing, but failing to recognize obesity as a disease and making the mental and physical changes required is an absolute fail!
Being fat isn't a disease.
But in your last remark you sad not all people get fat by making bad choices... So which is it? A choice or a disease?0 -
At my highest weight, 357, I was healthy. Granted, I was too heavy, but my numbers were just fine. My blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol, blood sugar, thyroid, triglycerides, etc were all within normal levels. No diabetes. No high blood pressure. None of the issues many obese people have. Doctors were usually pretty shocked.
My point is, you can't assume she isn't healthy just because of her weight. If she's speaking in terms of bloodwork alone, she may be right. On paper, I was perfectly healthy (if you ignored my BMI). Still am. I've lost 54 pounds, and I'm sure my numbers are about the same or better. Am I a healthy weight? Heck no. Am I healthy, generally? Yes.
I don't think it's right that he lied to her. He should have explained her options. He took the chicken way out of it, and that's wrong.
I have to call BS on this. I have never had problems with my BP, I have never had problems with my cholesterol, diabetes or anything like that either. But just because those vital stats are ok does not mean you are healthy. At 260 pounds, all my stats were good too, but it made me sick to my stomach to walk for 20 minutes. It took me losing 50lbs to realize how unhealthy I actually was and how much potential I was lacking physically. Denial is a horrible thing.
I have to call BS on you, dear. I currently weigh close to 300lbs. I am also pregnant. My blood pressure was taken yesterday and was 101/70. All of my stats are awesome. I can RUN up and down stairs no problem. I can EASILY walk more than 20 minutes. With no pain. And I do. All of the time. In the summer I walk around the small lake near our house 1-2 times per week and that is a 4 mile walk and I do it in a little over an hour. I have a close friend who just had a baby last year and she in in the healthy weight range. She had super high blood pressure and had to be put on bed rest for a month and induced three weeks early. Health is relative. It depends much more on genetics, how much you move your body, and what you put into it... than what you weigh. I am not saying that I am "healthy" because I know that carrying around the extra weight puts a strain on my body. Which is why I am here and working on it. But dont sit in your smug little corner and pick at those around you. I dont know why you even posted this? Does it make you feel superior? It shouldn't.
I'm not picking on anyone, anyone who knows me would testify to that. Neither did I say that people at a healthy weight do not have medical problems. :huh: I do not agree with bodyshaming I just posted an article that is relevant to many people here and something I thought many people would be interested in. Then stated my opinion on the issue.
You just stated yourself that carrying the extra weight puts a strain on your body....What do you think it does to a fetus that a body is supporting? it is the same reason I am here too. According to my BP, cholesterol and other factors, I have no problems but I am by no means healthy. I just admit and accept it and try to do something to change it.
The body reverts resources to the infant first. Fat is stored resource. It is far more likely that an underweight woman will cause damage to a fetus than a morbidly obese woman with an abundance of resources available.0 -
The doctor shouldn't have lied and said something was policy when it isn't but the doctor always has a right to make his recommendation and its up to the lady if she wants to go with what he recommended or to make a bad choice. Obviously she was making bad choices already to get to 353 but its her body.
Not everyone who is fat made "bad choices" to get there. Thanks for playing.
Let me guess, you have a thyroid disorder that makes you fat and makes it impossible to lose weight? :noway:
Nope, but plenty of people do.0 -
Body shaming? Fat acceptance? These terms are indicative of everything that is wrong with our society today. There is zero rationale in accepting obesity period end of story. If you are obese you should love yourself enough to work toward resolving it. Will you succeed? I do not know. Should obese people be ostricized or discriminated against, of course not. There is a huge difference though between not discriminating or hating obesity and loving yourself obese. The middle ground should be that obesity is a disease, a deadly one. To be obese and refuse to work toward change is selfish period. You are depriving yourself and more importantly your loved ones of years of life. Losing weight is absurdly difficult. I was fortunate to have LapBand which put me on the road. I am not saying that failing to lose weight is failing, but failing to recognize obesity as a disease and making the mental and physical changes required is an absolute fail!
Being fat isn't a disease.
But in your last remark you sad not all people get fat by making bad choices... So which is it? A choice or a disease?
A body type.0 -
This!A woman of 350+ lb cannot be healthy. Someone posted above that her stats were ok if you ignore the BMI. Fact is tho when delivering a baby potentially by c section BMI does matter. Having to cut through layers and layers of extra fat. Internal organs that you cannot see that also have fat around them. Any1 350LB saying they are healthy needs to remove head from *kitten*. Fine be over weight and be happy, But do not make out its healthy.
The doc was doing what was best for baby. The mother can argue till her fat melts that she will be "fine" for normal delivery. Stats don't lie. Heavier women have more complications when giving birth. The doc was wrong to lie. I am pretty sure he was just trying to do what was best. Maybe in the wrong manner, but still, I hope the mother has a safe delivery wherever she is. But i also hope she gets laughed out of court when she tries to sue the doctor.0 -
If this was her OBGYN doctor, I would think that this would have been established way before the delivery.
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
ninerbuff, this is what surprises me most of all about the whole thing. Why did this come up so far into her pregnancy? I'm pregnant now (due a couple of weeks after this lady), and I pre-registered with the hospital months ago. That was discussed at my first visit, even though I already had my son at the same hospital with the same OB. She still had to go over it with me to make sure we were both on the same page. I don't think she'd have been too thrilled if I walked into her office on Monday and mentioned how I'd planned on delivering at home or at another hospital where she doesn't have privileges.
From the info in her comments, she had a different doctor last time she delivered. Not sure if this was from a recent discussion with her doctor or if she is just feeling picked on.0 -
Morbid obesity is by definition unhealthy. MO is a disease process so for those of us who are obese, we are unhealthy. Fatt acceptance should not even be a term in our lexicon because we should never accept any disease process and try to disguise it as some sort of personal choice or civil right. I do not believe obese people should be discriminated against; however, there are well documented problems caused during pregnancy by obesity. Frankly, I find anyone who gets pregnant, is obese and tries to justify her obesity to be selfish just like a smoker who gets pregnant. Having once weight 400 pounds and being "healthy" I can tell you I was fooling myself. I have lost nearly 150 pounds and despite having near stellar lab values and vital signs, running several miles per week and eating healtheir, I am still obese and therefore not completely healthy. Obesity is an epidemic in our society because we want what we want when we want it and we refuse to accept the harsh reality that our bodies are designed to ingest and burn a certain number of calories per day. If you try to justify this woman's actions you are part of the problem.
The thing is that you cant just quit being fat like you can quit smoking.
You are correct that for a small percentage of obese people who possess a metabolism disorder, they cannot just stop being fat. However, the overwhelming majority of obese people, me included, became fat from making bad choices.0 -
Weight discrimination absolutely exists in the medical community. It's quite common. Based on the story, I can't say that's what happened, though I'm inclined to belive soi as the doctor wasn't forthright in his/her explnation of why she should be treated elsewhere.
I'd never want to be treated by a doctor who didn't want ot treat me, but when it's the only hospital around, thats when it becomes difficult.
I wish her well.0 -
Morbid obesity is by definition unhealthy. MO is a disease process so for those of us who are obese, we are unhealthy. Fatt acceptance should not even be a term in our lexicon because we should never accept any disease process and try to disguise it as some sort of personal choice or civil right. I do not believe obese people should be discriminated against; however, there are well documented problems caused during pregnancy by obesity. Frankly, I find anyone who gets pregnant, is obese and tries to justify her obesity to be selfish just like a smoker who gets pregnant. Having once weight 400 pounds and being "healthy" I can tell you I was fooling myself. I have lost nearly 150 pounds and despite having near stellar lab values and vital signs, running several miles per week and eating healtheir, I am still obese and therefore not completely healthy. Obesity is an epidemic in our society because we want what we want when we want it and we refuse to accept the harsh reality that our bodies are designed to ingest and burn a certain number of calories per day. If you try to justify this woman's actions you are part of the problem.
The thing is that you cant just quit being fat like you can quit smoking.
You are correct that for a small percentage of obese people who possess a metabolism disorder, they cannot just stop being fat. However, the overwhelming majority of obese people, me included, became fat from making bad choices.
How is eating at a calorie surplus a "bad' choice? Is it somehow immoral to eat at a calorie surplus?0 -
There are a lot of people on here quick to defend to overweight mother. Shes making a bad choice already fighting to go to a hospital that stated to her they were not equipped for her. I find it hard to believe she got fat by accident or some other medical reason. I do not dispute there will be reasons out there that people get over weight and stay over weight but I believe its all about choices. I chose to sit on my *kitten* and eat crap. Nothing medical, no excuses i was just lazy and greedy. That was my choice to live that way (all be it a bad 1) Same way as its all other posters choice to be on here to try and change bad habit's all be it to lose weight or gain.0
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Yes, the whole point of this is fat acceptance. As the article states, she went to the media so other overweight women wouldn't have to be treated the same as her.
This isn't an issue of fat acceptance, in my mind. The lady is high risk because of her weight and the doctor doesn't want to take on that liability.
I agree, but from what the patient is stating, she is being judged because her weight.
Which is acceptable in this instance...because no doctor wants her heart to stop while she's giving birth.
The same could potentially be said that someone who smokes is judged and therefore recommended or sent to a different doctor/lab/hospital/office whatever.
If you have unhealthy habits, the last person you shouldn't be surprised to point them out is a doctor. I don't see it much as being judged but more so of a doctor pointing out the obvious. If she's been seeing this doctor for a while, he would know her past history and take that into consideration before making any comment, yes?
I gotta be honest...I don't quite see where this thread is going except I still feel the woman in the article overreacted and is more focused on trying to get people to accept her being fat versus the best care of her and her baby...which is sad. Is that where we're going with this? lol0 -
I had a baby at 38 and was morbidly obese...my DOCTOR said I was healthy.... no blood work problems... no health problems... argue with that!!
Morbidly obese is not healthy. Your blood work could be fine. Your BP could be fine. You can be disease free. Your weight was not in a healthy range. Your doctor should never have said, "You're healthy" if you were morbidly obese.
Again... I understand and he understood that my I was not at my optimal weight... which is why I have lost over 100 lbs since my son...
Regarding what he should or should not have told me... the fact is he did... and he has the medical license to back it up.
The crazy thing is...you don't need to be a straight A student to be a doctor. They make poor judgements often enough. No one with a medical degree should classify a morbidly obese person healthy ESPECIALLY pregnant. I don't care what the blood work is (or is claimed to be.) Extra weight can be harmful to an unborn child. I'm sure any mother can see that. Call it what it is and push the pride aside.
As far as the article is concerned... Like everyone else said the doctor should have been completely honest with her. In her mind she probably believed she was healthy and didn't realize the risk. Does that mean lawsuit? Absolutely not.0 -
The doctor shouldn't have lied and said something was policy when it isn't but the doctor always has a right to make his recommendation and its up to the lady if she wants to go with what he recommended or to make a bad choice. Obviously she was making bad choices already to get to 353 but its her body.
Not everyone who is fat made "bad choices" to get there. Thanks for playing.
Let me guess, you have a thyroid disorder that makes you fat and makes it impossible to lose weight? :noway:
Nope, but plenty of people do.
Roughly 16% averaged across the US population.0
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