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Does your doctor comment on your weight?
Replies
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Tweaking_Time wrote: »Has your doc ever suggested you lose weight? If so, were you offended?
I asked my doc if she ever suggested people lose weight, eat better, exercise more, etc. She said that her answer would be mostly "No." When I asked her why she explained that being a doctor is a business and if she would critique each patients weight, she is sure she would lose patients, especially the easily offended ones. She also said if the patient asks her opinion about their weight, should would gladly help them with a diet/exercise plan.
Her reply does make sense. Weigh is not typically mentioned by my doctor but it was on my annual last month but only because it was the same down to the ounce as last year.3 -
I was in two car accidents in the same year and as a result of the injuries, not being able to physically do as much, and the medication I put on a lot of weight. The medication was a lot to do with it. putting on two kilos a week and barely eating anything. When I was able to reduce the medication, I couldn't lose the weight no matter how hard I tried, and it's not like I was a stranger to that. I'd previously lost 20 kilos before the accidents. Doctor pretty much didn't believe me and just said "exercise more". The next time I mentioned my weight he said I should get gastric sleeve surgery. I said there's no way I can afford that I'm a student. He told me to go on health insurance and then wait the 1 year waiting period and get the surgery. He pretty much said if I wasn't going to get the surgery there's nothing more he can say except exercise.
I mentioned this to a different doctor (no I didn't just go to another doctor, I have different doctors for my injuries and my crohn's disease) and given her the backstory and she was gobsmacked. I've worked with her to reset myself after the massive amounts of medication I was taking for the injuries and have been able to reduce them further as well as lose 12 kilos so far.
I talked to someone else who saw the same doctor I used to see and was told that he recommended sleeve surgery to her as well. Makes me wonder if he gets commission from his recommendations because according to him, there's no other option than the surgery >:(6 -
Yes and no. one doc said something when I had my allergies tested. But she quickly moved away from the subject when she found that in fact I was already going in the right direction at that stage. Plus she also noted that I had just returned from most gluttonous wonderful over the top 6-week holiday that had me gain a lot of weight. We lived and ate over the top then - never again
My mothers intestinal specialist told her at one stage; ' nothing wrong with you, you just too fat'. This was two weeks after I had told her that her weight concerned me greatly and that I thought that losing weight would solve at least 50% of her health issues. As I had lost quite a bit of weight by that stage and my heath had improved significantly she for once believed it. When she told me I convinced her to see a registered dietician and not to go with er go-to quack diet book written by a money spinning journalist or otherwise not qualified person touting some idiotic fantasy of silver bullet proof eureka moment (you can see I love those).
She followed through and has lost over 20kg. Now convinced her that she need to continue with the dietician as she needs needs that control behind her. But seeing her buy stuff that actually looks good on her now instead of 'well it fits' is great10 -
Yes, and no I was not offended, I was aware of the issue already, though, and was already working on weight loss. We had a nice chat about it. She always does comment -- she considers it part of her responsibility as a doctor.3
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My doctor said she doesn't believe in diets, that they don't work, which I agree with, but if I could lose even 20 lbs it would be much better for me. I haven't seen her since I lost 69 lbs so I think she'll be pleased with that.5
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Nope and it's irritating as well as sad. We have arrived in an era where it's better to let people kill themselves than chance losing customers because of the easily offended mouth breathers. I grew up in Texas around A holes. You didn't get offended or run crying to mommy, you learned to laugh and dish it back out. This generation disgusts me with their weakness. It's one thing to be hateful and purposefully hurtful.. That's bullying. That's wrong. But this nonsense of crying because someone kindly tells you they are worried about your health and they have ideas on how to help you lose weight? Or offended by grandad sending a funny pic to mom of her baby in a roaster because she texts every 10 minutes to check on them? Well, only the strong survive so I suppose those people will hang themselves soon enough. Whoops, that was offensive. My bad.17
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GlassAngyl wrote: »Nope and it's irritating as well as sad. We have arrived in an era where it's better to let people kill themselves than chance losing customers because of the easily offended mouth breathers.
Odd, from talking to my doctor and talking to friends who have heard their doctor talk about weight and such, seems like it's really common around here for doctors to raise the issue (my doctor says that she thinks it's a medical obligation), so I think your generalization that doctors don't is off-base, or at least a major over-generalization.10 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »GlassAngyl wrote: »Nope and it's irritating as well as sad. We have arrived in an era where it's better to let people kill themselves than chance losing customers because of the easily offended mouth breathers.
Odd, from talking to my doctor and talking to friends who have heard their doctor talk about weight and such, seems like it's really common around here for doctors to raise the issue (my doctor says that she thinks it's a medical obligation), so I think your generalization that doctors don't is off-base, or at least a major over-generalization.
..and yet, just as uncommon where I live.3 -
My doctor does, but I started seeing her at the same time I started losing so my progress has always been part of each visit. When I had a setback last year, she commented but it was encouraging, not hectoring. She is my biggest cheerleader.
My previous doctor would mention it but sort of in passing. I went to a gyn one time who started lecturing me. I stopped him with "Excuse me, have you even looked at my medical history? If you had, you would see I have lost over 50 lb in the last few months". Never went back to him, not because of the lecturing but because he never paid attention to things he should have.3 -
cmriverside wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »GlassAngyl wrote: »Nope and it's irritating as well as sad. We have arrived in an era where it's better to let people kill themselves than chance losing customers because of the easily offended mouth breathers.
Odd, from talking to my doctor and talking to friends who have heard their doctor talk about weight and such, seems like it's really common around here for doctors to raise the issue (my doctor says that she thinks it's a medical obligation), so I think your generalization that doctors don't is off-base, or at least a major over-generalization.
..and yet, just as uncommon where I live.
Point is, we cannot generalize or assert -- as the prior poster did -- that doctors in general don't raise the issue because of "easily offended mouth breathers."
If you think your doctor is not doing his or her job, talk to the doctor or change doctors.
I think doctors SHOULD talk to patients about weight and also see no reason to think that on average in the US it does not happen or happens less than it used to.6 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »GlassAngyl wrote: »Nope and it's irritating as well as sad. We have arrived in an era where it's better to let people kill themselves than chance losing customers because of the easily offended mouth breathers.
Odd, from talking to my doctor and talking to friends who have heard their doctor talk about weight and such, seems like it's really common around here for doctors to raise the issue (my doctor says that she thinks it's a medical obligation), so I think your generalization that doctors don't is off-base, or at least a major over-generalization.
..and yet, just as uncommon where I live.
Point is, we cannot generalize or assert -- as the prior poster did -- that doctors in general don't raise the issue because of "easily offended mouth breathers."
If you think your doctor is not doing his or her job, talk to the doctor or change doctors.
I think doctors SHOULD talk to patients about weight and also see no reason to think that on average in the US it does not happen or happens less than it used to.
I don't want to have this argument, but I know you won't drop it, so...on page one post #1 I said what I had to say.
You are generalizing just as much as you claim GlassAngyl is. :shrug:
I think you just didn't like her tone. Fair enough...but as has been said a few times, doctors don't necessarily bring it up unless the patient does. Easier to give a pill. They're medical doctors, not bariatric care professionals. They treat symptoms with medicine. That's pills and potions.
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TeacupsAndToning wrote: »I would hope that as a doctor they'd be more concerned with the overall health of their patients rather than whether or not they hurt their feelings.
It's not that simple, though. If a patient avoids doctors altogether because of not wanting to be lectured about weight, that's even more harmful to that patient. There has been at least one person on this thread who described doing just that.8 -
cmriverside wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »GlassAngyl wrote: »Nope and it's irritating as well as sad. We have arrived in an era where it's better to let people kill themselves than chance losing customers because of the easily offended mouth breathers.
Odd, from talking to my doctor and talking to friends who have heard their doctor talk about weight and such, seems like it's really common around here for doctors to raise the issue (my doctor says that she thinks it's a medical obligation), so I think your generalization that doctors don't is off-base, or at least a major over-generalization.
..and yet, just as uncommon where I live.
Point is, we cannot generalize or assert -- as the prior poster did -- that doctors in general don't raise the issue because of "easily offended mouth breathers."
If you think your doctor is not doing his or her job, talk to the doctor or change doctors.
I think doctors SHOULD talk to patients about weight and also see no reason to think that on average in the US it does not happen or happens less than it used to.
I don't want to have this argument, but I know you won't drop it, so...on page one post #1 I said what I had to say.
You are generalizing just as much as you claim GlassAngyl is. :shrug:
I think you just didn't like her tone. Fair enough...but as has been said a few times, doctors don't necessarily bring it up unless the patient does. Easier to give a pill. They're medical doctors, not bariatric care professionals. They treat symptoms with medicine. That's pills and potions.
Except I'm not generalizing. I said that in my social circle and talking to my doctor that suggests to me that doctors DO talk about weight. I did not go on to say "and therefore they all do and those of you who said yours did not are wrong." I said we cannot generalize about what all doctors do (or what doctors do vs. in the past) from individual experiences. I think it's common to around here, but I also think without some kind of real, properly-done survey, none of us know. And I suspect it does differ at different medical facilities and areas and depending on who the doctor is talking to and the type of visit. I suspect many DON'T get much indvidual attention from a doctor, and that may well be why things like weight may not get discussed with them. I also know (from a friend who is a doctor) that depending on the patients some doctors may think they are uninterested in or incapable of lifestyle changes, which I think is bad but probably understandable in some cases.
Anyway, no, my complaint with GlassAngyl was not just her tone, but the generalization. The assertion that we know that doctors ARE NOT doing something that it seems to me many are doing, and that we KNOW they stopped doing something they used to do (no evidence of that has been presented), and that we know why (again, no such evidence has been presented).
I also think it's funny that she blames easily offended folks with thin skin compared to those in TX or whatever, as I live in an area I'm sure she'd consider full of snowflakes, but probably best not to bring that into it.6 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »GlassAngyl wrote: »Nope and it's irritating as well as sad. We have arrived in an era where it's better to let people kill themselves than chance losing customers because of the easily offended mouth breathers.
Odd, from talking to my doctor and talking to friends who have heard their doctor talk about weight and such, seems like it's really common around here for doctors to raise the issue (my doctor says that she thinks it's a medical obligation), so I think your generalization that doctors don't is off-base, or at least a major over-generalization.
..and yet, just as uncommon where I live.
Point is, we cannot generalize or assert -- as the prior poster did -- that doctors in general don't raise the issue because of "easily offended mouth breathers."
If you think your doctor is not doing his or her job, talk to the doctor or change doctors.
I think doctors SHOULD talk to patients about weight and also see no reason to think that on average in the US it does not happen or happens less than it used to.
I don't want to have this argument, but I know you won't drop it, so...on page one post #1 I said what I had to say.
You are generalizing just as much as you claim GlassAngyl is. :shrug:
I think you just didn't like her tone. Fair enough...but as has been said a few times, doctors don't necessarily bring it up unless the patient does. Easier to give a pill. They're medical doctors, not bariatric care professionals. They treat symptoms with medicine. That's pills and potions.
Except I'm not generalizing. I said that in my social circle and talking to my doctor that suggests to me that doctors DO talk about weight. I did not go on to say "and therefore they all do and those of you who said yours did not are wrong." I said we cannot generalize about what all doctors do (or what doctors do vs. in the past) from individual experiences. I think it's common to around here, but I also think without some kind of real, properly-done survey, none of us know. And I suspect it does differ at different medical facilities and areas and depending on who the doctor is talking to and the type of visit. I suspect many DON'T get much indvidual attention from a doctor, and that may well be why things like weight may not get discussed with them. I also know (from a friend who is a doctor) that depending on the patients some doctors may think they are uninterested in or incapable of lifestyle changes, which I think is bad but probably understandable in some cases.
Anyway, no, my complaint with GlassAngyl was not just her tone, but the generalization. The assertion that we know that doctors ARE NOT doing something that it seems to me many are doing, and that we KNOW they stopped doing something they used to do (no evidence of that has been presented), and that we know why (again, no such evidence has been presented).
I also think it's funny that she blames easily offended folks with thin skin compared to those in TX or whatever, as I live in an area I'm sure she'd consider full of snowflakes, but probably best not to bring that into it.
You've made my point.6 -
How so?
Going back to your post, your points seem to be that I was generalizing ("You are generalizing just as much as you claim GlassAngyl is.")
For me to be generalizing, I would have to be asserting "my doctor talked to me about weight, so we can assume that doctors usually do." and I am not saying that. If you think I am, you are misunderstanding.
What I am saying is that it appears to me that some do, some don't, there may be patterns as to where they do and don't (so far not related to snowflakes and not), and no evidence has been presented to suggest that they have in general stopped talking to patients about weight vs. the past, let alone for any particular reason (such as that we are all snowflakes now).
You went on to say:doctors don't necessarily bring it up unless the patient does.
Mine did, even though I had NO weight-related conditions and actually had extremely good test results (which she admitted to being surprised about when they came in). She did again at later appointments when I was not obese anymore.
My dad had cholesterol issues (he was not overweight) and the doctor talked to him about lifestyle (he was already exercising) and changing his diet (which he tried and which worked for him). He was not immediately medicated. A friend of mine had a similar experience, except her doctor handled it more clumsily and did not explain the dietary changes well enough to her.
None of this is intended to generalize -- to say this happened to me and people I know so it is how it always works. It is intended to point out that some doctors (I personally think many or most, but admit I cannot say that without more information) DO bring it up without the patient doing so.
I believed my doctor would bring it up so much that I -- irresponsibly, and this is on no one but me -- blew off going to the doctor for 4 years or so because I did not wish to be lectured on being fat. (For this reason the idea that people don't KNOW fat is a health issue strikes me as incredibly strange. But I totally think doctors ought to bring it up anyway.)Easier to give a pill. They're medical doctors, not bariatric care professionals. They treat symptoms with medicine. That's pills and potions.
This seems to me to be a generalization. I agree that it does happen, I am sure, but I would not agree that it invariably happens or usually happens. And personally if I had a doctor who seemed to have no interest beyond handing out a prescription, I would change doctors and tell them why.8 -
Tweaking_Time wrote: »She said that her answer would be mostly "No." When I asked her why she explained that being a doctor is a business and if she would critique each patients weight, she is sure she would lose patients, especially the easily offended ones.
bizarre! i'm a dental hygienist and rely on pts returning too as i get paid per patient.....imagine though if your dental hygienist didn't tell you had gum disease or bad breath in case you might be offended?! quite rightly i could be sued for not letting you know...so why would a Dr not discuss being overweight!
i've had 2 types of Dr over the years, ones who would tell me i was overweight-even wen i was slim and then the GP who said he wasn't going to tell me off because he was a heavy smoker and we all die anyway! lol
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lemurcat12 wrote: »GlassAngyl wrote: »Nope and it's irritating as well as sad. We have arrived in an era where it's better to let people kill themselves than chance losing customers because of the easily offended mouth breathers.
Odd, from talking to my doctor and talking to friends who have heard their doctor talk about weight and such, seems like it's really common around here for doctors to raise the issue (my doctor says that she thinks it's a medical obligation), so I think your generalization that doctors don't is off-base, or at least a major over-generalization.
I think it is more about my tone. I'm cynical. But to ease your troubled mind, allow me to clarify what it was that I was responding to..
Question: (Does your doctor comment on your weight?)
Answer: (No and it's irritating..)
Responder: (I asked my doc if she ever suggested that people lose weight, eat better, exercise more, etc. She said that her answer would be mostly, "No." When I asked why.... ) etc etc etc
My response: (We have arrived on an era when it's better to let others kill themselves..)
Que the videos of people getting beat up or robbed while others video tape.
We have arrived in an era..
Que the videos of people walking past the homeless man ignoring him until one person out of thousands steps up to do the right thing..
We have arrived in an era..
Que the wealth we have in abundance, throwing away left overs, letting properties sit unlived in for tax purposes rather than help out a homeless single mother. The vet suffering from ptsd that has been abandoned and neglected..
Am I generalizing? Well, when the general idea is me first and not my problem? Yeah, I suppose in that regard, I am. And we are all guilty of it.
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Constantly and rather ineffectively--as I gained, while taking steroids he prescribed, he kept suggesting Jenny Craig or low carb diets, which weren't going to work for me. I found MFP through friends and so far this is working.5
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No. Even when I was overweight my doctor didn't comment on it. I assume because I was healthy. She commented when I lost weight by asking if it was on purpose.0
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During my last visit to my doctor she mentioned my weight and that it is something I need to work on. This is something I was already aware of, and something I wanted to work on...hearing it from a medical professional only solidified that in me. Hopefully when I see her in a few months she will be happy with my progress.
Honestly, I will never understand people getting upset at their doctor for talking to them about their weight...they are medical professionals...it's literally their job to be in your business when it comes to your health. If you are overweight and unhealthy, like I have been the last few years, then they need to mention it to help prolong your life.
You don't cry and get upset when a mechanic tells you your car needs work...or a plumber tells you something is wrong with your pipes. It is their job...just like it's a doctor's job to tell you if your weight is effecting your health. The people who get upset are just not ready to face that, and until they are nothing anyone says will change that. I was never under the impression my weight wasn't a problem...I was and still am overweight...and I'm working on getting healthier...but I never thought, "eh, my lifestyle and size are totally healthy...this is going to be great for my future...pie is basically fruit salad, ice cream is kinda a protein shake, and small elves will come and do my dishes when I sleep. What a blissful existence I live."4 -
Rather than saying "you need to lose weight", I usually get the "you should really do cardio 5-6x a week" talk.
One time I got that after I had lost 10 lbs since my previous visit. No comment on that though. I wanted my darn headpat!!7 -
Typically no, they don't mention it but I'm also right on the borderline of healthy weight versus overweight so I guess I'm not at a high enough risk for them to worry too much and my health markers are good. It was mentioned once when I went to a doc in the box and they suggested I lose weight to lower my blood pressure. The only time I was offended was when I was 19 and I weighed 105 pounds at 5' 1" and my GYN told me I was overweight. I thought that was out of line, and it really messed with me as an insecure 19 year old.1
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My oncologist did, and I'll admit, it annoyed me. I knew what my weight was and was aware that I was mildly overweight. But it wasn't enough to be a significant concern. Or if it was there was no mention of that.
I wish doctors ASKED more.0 -
I'm in the US. My doctor suggests I need to lose weight when I need to lose weight. I have a good doctor. I don't think you can generalize how all doctors act. I think it's a personal decision on whether someone is comfortable talking about weight. It's a touchy topic for some people. If you don't have a good doctor, find one.4
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Yes my doctors have suggested it but I am class 3 obese so frankly it'd be irresponsible of them not to and I'm glad they did. However nobody ever brought up weight loss surgery as an option until I asked about it.0
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The only doctor I saw on a regular basis for an extended period of time was my endocrinologist. She didn't mention my weight at all until I started losing. When I got my medical history from her before moving away I saw that in one of the visits from the previous year she had noted "weight is creeping up" but had not said anything to me upfront. I still wonder why.0
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My endocrinologist and I talk about this all the time and in his younger days he used to. He stopped later because as he puts "no one listens anyway" and just finds a website to complain about how rude I was to comment on their weight.5
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My doctor usually does but I don't get offended he knows me. I tend to take weightloss too extreme and he warns me not too lose too much weigh. That there's a happy medium.0
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When I was 16 or 17 I was in the 190lbs range. I went to the doctor with my mother to ask about the best way to lose weight and he said I would never be skinny I should realize that and then he gave me a diet which I'm pretty sure was either the military or grapefruit diet. In my late 20's my OBGYN told me I would need to lose some weight or I would have to change birth control. Another doctor in my late 20's tried to get me to do Ideal protean and at this time I was using MFP the next appointment I printed out a months worth of my food diary to ask him what I was doing wrong and why I was not losing weight counting calories. He had totally forgotten that we had even talked about it.
New doctor is awesome cares about my stuff and sent me to see a nutritionist also diagnosed me with Celiac after so many years and I am doing good now.7 -
I find it irritating that we live in a world where everyone gets offended so easily by every little thing. Having said that, some doctors need to work on their delivery and make sure they are being helpful not just critical. My doctor talked to me about 'lifestyle changes' when I developed high blood pressure and I am glad he did. A person is a whole human being so even if I am there about something that isn't weight related but the doctor points out that he/she can offer help with nutrition and exercise that can improve my overall health why would I be offended?2
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