What to say to doctors?
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ominousdusk
Posts: 62 Member
I have a check-up on friday. Im curious what I should say if the topic of my diet comes up. Should I just be vague and say "im watching what i eat"? or should I actually tell them im doing keto?
I would have no idea how to respond if the doctor has a negative opinion of HFLC diets. (its a new doctor for me)
Have any of you run into a doctor who had a problem with your WOE? What did you tell them? or did you just nod and smile? lol
I would have no idea how to respond if the doctor has a negative opinion of HFLC diets. (its a new doctor for me)
Have any of you run into a doctor who had a problem with your WOE? What did you tell them? or did you just nod and smile? lol
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I was vague at first by saying I'm eating fewer carbs. He responded positively to that. I also have no health issues, so who knows how it would be if I did.
Later on as he noticed I'd lost even more weight he asked what I was doing and specifically said keto. He nodded approvingly and it didn't come up again.
Even later I went in to have my ADHD meds reduced and he had more questions about what I was doing specifically with supplements though. I mentioned keto and the benefit I thought ketones had on my ADHD symptoms and he nodded approvingly again.
I felt like he just couldn't elaborate but was letting me know that he thought it was good. He wasn't concerned about cholesterol or anything. I've actually never had it checked and the diet didn't prompt him to be concerned about it. He's a little younger... I mean, 40's, so maybe he stays current on this kind of stuff. Idk
Anyway, saying you've cut carbs isn't likely going to seem extreme unless you elaborate or say high fat too. But, it's up to you. Just remember, your doctor works for you.7 -
That is a great question, @ominousdusk !
Here's an idea - might be totally useless, though....
If doctors appear attentive and engaged, you can try to feel them out by asking general questions designed to figure out what sort of mindsets they have. If possible, ask whether their experience has been like yours in perceiving a wide variety of individual responses to meds, diets, exercise regimens, environments among people you run into. Hard for them to say, no, you'd think.
At that point, you can explain exactly why you're doing LCHF - without dropping the bomb yet - and see if they listen or put on a recording in their brain and start telling you what to do. If not and they seem open-minded, you can confess.
But if, at that point, they try to talk you off the ledge, you can observe that ketogenic diets clearly work for some people, including people you've known, and the only way you'll know if it works for you is to give it a serious, adult effort. If they persist, you can ask exactly why they're opposed, then take notes on the answers and get back to them with follow-up Qs. (Or look for another doc, if your insurance co is cooperative.)
You might watch some of Stephen Phinney's fantastic what-why-how-of-keto YouTube vids if you want to be forearmed.
(Sheesh, what a rigamarole. You'd think we were there to serve them.....)
Good luck - keep us posted, eh?4 -
Most doctors don't understand what this woe is. My doctors just tell me how proud they are of me and that I look good. The last response was that I didn't need to lose anymore but that I've extended my life in years!
You can tell them or not. It's your choice what you choose to eat. Like @Sunny_Bunny_ said, they work for you.
Good luck!3 -
I had a very similar experience whilst pregnant with Gestational Diabeties (so low carb for very different reasons). In the end I just used to say "I'm focusing my meals around nice cuts of meat and veggies" They were happy and it wasn't a lie. Just my idea of a nice cut of meat included lots of fatty bits hahahahaha2
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I've been nervous about this conversation but so far I've had very positive experiences.
With my cardiologist, I cautiously brought it up (my husband, who also sees this cardio but for CAD and hypertension, was at the appt with me) in the context of the cardio mentioning vegetarianism as an option for DH. I said, "Well, I'm actually on the opposite: a low carb/high fat diet." And he actually said, "Ah yes, I've heard high fat can be good for patients with MS." He looked back and forth between DH and me and said, "Different patients, different needs." I was pleasantly surprised and relieved! He explained that based on some of his own health experiences, he really learned to see each patient as an individual rather than applying one-size-fits-all advice. He did say it would be good to do some blood work, but that was good and he's happy.
Then I saw a new PCP and when I explained it to her and told her all the benefits I'd seen (weight loss, reduction in joint pain, and acid reflux/digestive issues, etc.) she said it was great it seemed to be working for me. She, too, checked my blood work to be sure, compared it with my last labs and said, "It seems to be working for you; keep it up!"
Then she moved like a month later and I'm going to have to start over with another new PCP. I might start with how @Jo2926 explained it when I see someone new.
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Oh yes, I also told my MS specialist about it and they were cool with it, too. But then, the Wahls Diet has become somewhat popular for MS patients and that is LCHF (she has a few different versions depending on how strict you want to be; her strictest is ketogenic and paleo). So I think they are used to it, even though they don't necessarily push or encourage any one WOE.2
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If you are worried about a bad reaction (I was), then don't refer to it as a "low carb" diet, or a "high fat" or a keto diet. Just say that you cut out the excess sugar and bread from your diet. It's true without possibly triggering a response that you are on a fad-diet.
If it's pushed further, don't lie. If you can't be honest with your physician, you need to find a new one that you can be comfortable with.4 -
@macchiatto thank you for sharing info pinpointing MS and also the Wahls Diet. I just looked it up and listened to her video Minding You Mitochondria. I'm confident I will find her research interesting and of value.
I think it is important for a doc to know what you eat. Food is medicine. At least that is how I look at it.5 -
I told my doctor about a week ago. He said "cool, that would explain why you've lost so much weight". Then stopped talking about it. I asked if he could add regular cholesterol checks with my blood work, he said that makes sense and added the order.
He seems to be pretty cool about it.5 -
I dread seeing new drs too. I've just said I'm eating a low carb diet and when pressed for detail, I've explained that I eat non-starchy veg with quality meats and fat. However, I did have one diabetic nurse ask me recently about my sodium intake. It felt like a trick question lol, I wasn't sure if she understood the need for sodium with my woe or if she wanted to see if my sodium was low, so I was rather evasive and said that I consumed enough sodium to keep my electrolytes and fluid levels at a healthy balance and she didn't push it any further.
Fortunately, I can show plenty of really strong health markers since eating this way, including a 25% decrease in weight, lower hba1c and lower cholesterol, so good luck to them if they want to argue with me about it. I'm seeing a new doc tomorrow for my latest test results, hopefully the downward trend continues.6 -
PaleoInScotland wrote: »I dread seeing new drs too. I've just said I'm eating a low carb diet and when pressed for detail, I've explained that I eat non-starchy veg with quality meats and fat. However, I did have one diabetic nurse ask me recently about my sodium intake. It felt like a trick question lol, I wasn't sure if she understood the need for sodium with my woe or if she wanted to see if my sodium was low, so I was rather evasive and said that I consumed enough sodium to keep my electrolytes and fluid levels at a healthy balance and she didn't push it any further.
Fortunately, I can show plenty of really strong health markers since eating this way, including a 25% decrease in weight, lower hba1c and lower cholesterol, so good luck to them if they want to argue with me about it. I'm seeing a new doc tomorrow for my latest test results, hopefully the downward trend continues.
Good luck with your labs! Fortunately for you, you're your own best nurse...seems to be working, eh?0 -
My doctor is very encouraging of the lc lifestyle. You might be surprised what he/she says.
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I had a checkup last month. Since going low carb last November, I have lost 50 pounds, dropped my A1C from 10.6 to 5.3, and am now completely off my diabetes meds and the blood pressure meds I have been on for 20+ years. My cholesterol and triglyceride numbers are the best they have ever been in my life (I'm 39 now). I am also a pancreas cancer survivor, so multiple doctors watch my stuff pretty close. When my primary doctor pulled me off the last of my meds last month he asked how I did it, and I told him low carb and higher fat. His response was "good for you, it seems to be the way for you to go). My oncologist on the other hand is not as enthusiastic about low carb and asked how long I plan on eating this way...she didn't seem to thrilled when I said as long as I can.
I did have a bit of a slip up for a while due to stress and life and it actually upset me that I was consuming more carbs than I really wanted to, sometimes mindlessly, but I'm back on track now.13 -
Thank You
Lack of understanding LCHF eating and its effects is my best guess. From what I understand, cancer feeds on sugar, so not the response I expected from her. The diabetic nutritionist didn't like me telling her she was wrong ("you HAVE to eat carbs to be healthy"), and my unwillingness to follow her "proper diabetic diet guidelines" either (roughly 175g carbs a day). I actually called her out on that...So you want me to take meds to lower my sugar, and then eat more sugar so I have to take more meds to lower it again...and repeat? That didn't make any sense to me. Oh well, Ill just keep doing whats best for me and feel good about it until they can prove me wrong.8 -
Thank You
Lack of understanding LCHF eating and its effects is my best guess. From what I understand, cancer feeds on sugar, so not the response I expected from her. The diabetic nutritionist didn't like me telling her she was wrong ("you HAVE to eat carbs to be healthy"), and my unwillingness to follow her "proper diabetic diet guidelines" either (roughly 175g carbs a day). I actually called her out on that...So you want me to take meds to lower my sugar, and then eat more sugar so I have to take more meds to lower it again...and repeat? That didn't make any sense to me. Oh well, Ill just keep doing whats best for me and feel good about it until they can prove me wrong.
Arrrgh.
Congratulations for being your own best doctor and nutritionist.
It's an unfortunate artifact of our health care system that disease education is carried on, for handsome remuneration, by people with absolutely no clue. Not nearly enough patients are equipped with even the most basic counterarguments to induce their brainwashed health educators to reexamine their underlying assumptions. And I suspect what there are in the way of continuing ed requirements don't start to challenge the basic premises they memorized in school....3 -
Thank You
Lack of understanding LCHF eating and its effects is my best guess. From what I understand, cancer feeds on sugar, so not the response I expected from her. The diabetic nutritionist didn't like me telling her she was wrong ("you HAVE to eat carbs to be healthy"), and my unwillingness to follow her "proper diabetic diet guidelines" either (roughly 175g carbs a day). I actually called her out on that...So you want me to take meds to lower my sugar, and then eat more sugar so I have to take more meds to lower it again...and repeat? That didn't make any sense to me. Oh well, Ill just keep doing whats best for me and feel good about it until they can prove me wrong.
THIS!! Pharmaceutical company rollercoaster that only requires more medication!!
Good for you!!! Congratulations on being a cancer survivor too!!2 -
I saw my gynecologist pretty soon after I started this way of eating. She was extremely encouraging about it. Said that basically the way of eating is how it should be and was proud of me for making the change even though my weight hadn't changed much yet. I have a physical coming up with my regular doctor this month and I admit to being a little more wary, however, when I'm down over 30 pounds from last year, they'll have to admit I'm doing something right. Wish I had started it earlier so I could have had even more progress, but any progress is progress. But to answer your question rather than blathering on about myself, if you don't have a doctor you can trust, that's not a good doctor-patient relationship. You need to be honest, because it can affect your care now and your future care as well as the blood tests they opt to run now and in the future. You want a doctor that wants to work with you to get you healthy, not one that's a robot just telling you what people who have never met you tell them to tell you regardless of overwhelming evidence of a positive outcome.3
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A doctor we can be honest with and that will work with us to achieve our optimal health would be ideal. Unfortunately that rare bird is not easy to find.
So, until I find him/her I make do with half truths, as long as they prescribe the lab tests I want. So I say I avoid processed food, anything made from flour and sugar. They congratulate me on my results, schedule a new appointment to review the lab tests and we're all happy. Rinse and repeat.
As for all the nonsense they say, I smile sweetly and thank them for their help. When I get to a normal weight I want them to approve a surgery to get rid of excess skin if needed so I don't want to be listed as difficult.
::flowerforyou::3 -
My surgeon recommended LC last year and my oncologist is on board. He of course asked if my weight loss was on purpose LOL. He is a very active guy and gave me some biking tips too when I mentioned some planned bike trips.4
