my doctor thinks I am a weird freak now....

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Danilynn1975
Danilynn1975 Posts: 294 Member
in Motivation and Support
A week or so back I had to see the doctor about a few things. Had blood tests done, all turned out well with those.

Anyway, the subject of my weight and last menstrual cycle came up. Ever ready and tickled pink I whip my little paper notebook out of my purse and ask what day she wanted to know my weight from and which cycle she wanted start date of. I also have notes regarding health, colds, headaches etc in that book.

My doctor asked to see the book, I handed it over. This book has been with me daily since I started MFP 2 years ago. So I have 2 years of constant data about my health, illnesses, menstrual cycles and weight.

I kind of thought this was a helpful thing for doctors to have. Data and all that.

She looked through it, asked how I lost weight, so being a good patient flip up the mobile app and hand it over, she looked at the day's food intake, then handed back my book and phone.

Got quiet and asked why. I could sort of tell this apparently is out of the normal.

I was right. My doctor informed me it was a bit out of the norm for a non-medical field person to keep things like this. I was then asked if I'd like a referral to a therapist to work out my OCD tendency with.

Lovely, I am the least OCD person around. that book is easier than trying to drive my friends insane with constant updates daily of gain 1 lose 2, gain 1, lose 3....fluctuations. Plus its a great way to keep track of how far I have come. It also helped me track and eliminate migraines down from 5 or more a month to maybe 1 every 3 months.

Now I feel like a freak. thanks for listening to me vent.
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Replies

  • cestabbey
    cestabbey Posts: 25 Member
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    That's definitely not a "freak" thing at all. As far as your menstrual cycle goes, there are a plethora of smartphone apps to choose from for tracking it (I have one) and plenty of people track their food intake, macros, etc. (ahem... MFP!) so clearly many people do it. That seems like an innappropriate way for your doctor to have responded. Perhaps you should seek one who is more supportive! Or just ignore her. :)

    Edit: Also, congrats on all your hard work and those big successes, especially the decreased migraines. That's awesome!
  • Kimbie500
    Kimbie500 Posts: 388 Member
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    Seems like you might need a new doctor. I'd think he'd be jumping for joy at your focus and success...
  • MyFoodGod
    MyFoodGod Posts: 184 Member
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    Being organized is out of the ordinary. You are extraordinary! Good for you.

    Your doctor doesn't have much of a table side manner. Hopefully he is very good at the science of medicine and you can ignore his lack of excitement about your proactive health tracking. Don't let it bother you and keep up the good work.
  • pittdan77
    pittdan77 Posts: 98 Member
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    Doctors amaze me. They tell you to log things then pull this.

    Don't stop doing what you are doing. It's working and that's all you need to know.
  • TwoPointZero
    TwoPointZero Posts: 187 Member
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    FWIW, I think all of your data tracking is pretty cool . . . :)
  • TheWorstHorse
    TheWorstHorse Posts: 185
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    Your doc might want to be a little more careful with the off-the-cuff mental disorder diagnosis, especially if she isn't trained as a therapist, which I am guessing she is not. Just sayin'
  • creativerick
    creativerick Posts: 270 Member
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    Is your doctor overweight?
  • laughingdani
    laughingdani Posts: 2,275 Member
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    I don't see how tracking is considered a "problem" unless it interferes with you performing your other
    daily necessities/duties. I could understand if you weren't making it to work, and were holed up at home shut off from the outside world because you had to keep track of everything in your notebook. But This situation doesn't sound like that at all.

    Rare, yes.

    A problem, no.

    I would ask for a second opinion.
  • 19TaraLynn84
    19TaraLynn84 Posts: 739 Member
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    Doctors want you to be able to tell them the date of your first period, but freak out when someone keeps detailed records. Makes perfect sense!
  • Amazingday
    Amazingday Posts: 682 Member
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    OMG DON'T GET ME STARTED ON DOCTORS!!!! Keep your journal and congrats on your FABULOUS work!!!
  • misti777
    misti777 Posts: 217 Member
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    like rigdzin said, I wouldn't go to a therapist just because he/she said you were OCD. People with OCD become obsessive about a veriety of things not just one person. My sister will swear she is OCD, but I met someone with OCD and she had to constantly check things. Numbers she had written down, the gear shift in her car being in the right place, if she had all of her stuff with her, if the door was locked. She had to double check everything. And she has bathroom rituals as well. That's all she's told me about her bathroom rituals, though, is that she has them. My sister shows no sign of being obsessive and compulsive about anything. I think OCD is much more extensive than what you explained that you do. I wouldn't worry too much about what your doctor said. I don't think you display any sign of being obsessed with something and not being able to control yourself about it. I think it is a good idea to do what you do. I have been thinking about doing it myself, but I don't want to put that much effort on keeping track of everything that goes on in my body. Just observing and tracking food and exercise is enough for me. Haha, but anyway, I think you are fine, and that you most likely do not have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. There is a website called psychcentral(i might be spelling it wrong) and you can look at the symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder there. If you think you have symptoms it would be a safe bet seeing a therapist. In my friends case, something really frightening happened to her and she developed a need to always have control so she constantly checks things.
  • DownsizingAaron
    DownsizingAaron Posts: 127 Member
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    I'm a data junkie and am proud of it. The more I track, the more accountable I am to myself. There's a saying that you can manage what you can't measure. Good for you!
  • broox80
    broox80 Posts: 1,195 Member
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    1. You are not a freak!!
    2. You are very organized
    3.



















    If it bothered you that #3 was not filled in, better see the therapist ;)
  • baptiste565
    baptiste565 Posts: 590 Member
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    We r freaks. Counting cals is not normal. People think we r crazy.
  • btrippin
    btrippin Posts: 17 Member
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    I would guess that you are better educated in matters of nutrition, especially as it pertains to weight loss, than your doctor.
  • Iconx11
    Iconx11 Posts: 33
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    LOL
    I have OCD and trust me that's not OCD
  • Papillon22
    Papillon22 Posts: 1,160 Member
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    Wow, your Dr.'s response seems inappropriate and irresponsible.
    OP, keep up the good work!
  • char_barr
    char_barr Posts: 125 Member
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    you forgot to mention what all the doodles were on the sides of the pages were! maybe that's why DR suggested a referral! Just kidding :)
    Good job!
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
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    my doctor is full of great advice like that :-)
  • tjthegreatone
    tjthegreatone Posts: 324
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    I must rally the troops and come to the defense of my colleague! (I am a doctor :p)

    I can see her point. It is a double-edged sword. Yes, we want this information, but we know and expect most 'normal' people NOT to have this information. We tut and roll our eyes when they don't have it, but that is 'normal'. Most people can't be bothered/don't have time/have other concerns (Now I'm no specialist in mental disorders I'll admit, but from my understanding of psychiatry, what is normal can be an art to determine. However there is a range or spectrum of behaviours in society and if you are enough of a statistical outlier it could indicate a problem).

    The few times I have come across patients who have detailed notes on everything (and some people have crazy detailed notes on EVERYTHING), I think 'strange'. It is helpful, but perversely you find yourself wondering if there's something else going on. But seeing as I'm a surgeon and I'm only really interested in the implications for their surgical problem, if it doesn't interfere with anything, I just shrug and move on. A GP/family doctor might feel obliged to have a holistic approach and suggest that it might be a red flag for something more serious.

    Like you all here I've been logging here daily for over a year. Intuitively I feel that it is not 'normal'. I don't think that my relationship with food is 'normal', and sad to say, that goes for many others on here, given the stuff I read on the forums. For example, someone obsessing that a weigh in is going to clash with birthday celebrations. Or someone obsessing because she ate burritos with chips one night. Or refusing to eat things that cannot be logged 'accurately' (whatever that may mean). A year ago, I would have been fully sympathetic. But I look around my friends, family and colleagues (many of whom are effortlessly slim) and they do not eat like this. Therefore, I think that it's not 'normal' (PS I don't live in the US).

    PS with the periods most women I meet cannot answer this question (even I can't and I have regular periods ;p) This is why I'm obliged to do a pregnancy test on every woman with abdominal pain.

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