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Original poster

Bigger ladies, do you try to avoid going to the GP?

59 replies

sprinkleyumnut · 03/09/2021 21:28

I'm a bigger lady, and losing weight slowly but surely. I don't go to the doctor unless I need to, because in the past I had a male doctor very bluntly tell me I wouldn't make 50 which greatly upset me. Ever since I don't like going because my weight is brought up. I'm not huge, I'm not morbidly obese, but I am obese. For example if I lost 50lb I would be quite a bit smaller. So I'm not huge but I am self conscious and doing something about it. So my question is bigger ladies do you feel the same about going to the GP?

OP posts:

Magenta82 · 04/09/2021 16:05

@Plonkton

Back to the point earlier, a doctor isn't going to lie to you to spare your feelings. He or she is qualified to give you medical advice.. I'm not sure why anyone would refuse to go to the toilet... Not being at all funny here, but if you don't want to hear you're obese then why not try and do something about it?

Sure, why not try?! I mean none of us have thought of that before!

I have been on diets since I was 8 years old and started putting on weight because of puberty. What happens with diets is the more you go on the more weight you end up gaining because they mess with your body and mind.

I developed eating disorders and psychological problems because of the pressure and stigma and the constant blame.

In the end I paid for surgery. I was lucky, not everyone can do that. I say lucky because I'm now a "normal" size but I have trouble eating, am on handfuls of pills a day and my blood sugar is constantly low. I'm pregnant and am having trouble gaining weight and my baby is currently on the 9th centile for size, I'm reallyconcerned.

I always knew I was obese, I'm not stupid, I tried everything I could, I lost weight, but couldn't keep it off.

What I needed was some proper psychological help and someone to take my health issues seriously. Going in with an earache and being told I needed to lose weight was not in anyway helpful and just made me feel like shit.

WobbleHead · 04/09/2021 16:10

Plonkton do you literally know anything about what it’s like to struggle with obesity? Are you one of those people who think we just sit around stuffing our faces with junk food? How ignorant.

MargaretThursday · 04/09/2021 16:19

I don't go to the doctor unless I need to

Do you think most people go to the doctors when they don't need to then?

I can't think of anyone who wouldn't say the above-and certainly I think of the people I know they're far more inclined to not see the doctor than go when they need to.
I remember my friend saying that she had such a bad headache she was wondering if it was meningitis at the school gate. I asked her if she wanted me to take the children so she could go to A&E. "No," she said. "One of the dc has an appointment at 6, and if I've still a headache and the doctor has time I might just ask him." Wouldn't back down when I pushed.
It was meningitis. Doctor gave her two minutes to arrange childcare and transport before he called an ambulance and phoned his wife to look after the children.

That's far more my experience of people.

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Plonkton · 04/09/2021 18:36

To be honest, my weight has fluctuated in my adult hood, smallest I was a size 8, largest an 18.. I'm 2 stone over what I want to be now after having a child.. To be honest, as a former bigger person who is still a bigger than I want to be, there is really one major reason why people are obese.. It's like you see those programmes where people don't understand why they are the weight they are because they believe they just graze on salad all day, yet film them and take a food diary, its a very different story..
There's a reason why most people are obese and let themselves get that way, there just seems to be a lot of excuses. Doctors don't fat shame, it's their job. I understand that they sometimes can be tactless and perhaps weight is the first thing they mention even if that's not the reason why you've made an appointment. But, let's look at the evidence.
Weight loss can improve.
Your health
Your fertility
Your overall general mental wellbeing
Your life expectancy
Diabetes if you have it
And the list goes on..
So why as a medical professional would a doctor not advise you to help yourself?
Everything else just sounds like an excuse to me.

Bookridden · 04/09/2021 19:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WobbleHead · 04/09/2021 20:23

Plonkton are you saying I’m too stupid to understand why I am obese and why not being obese is a good thing?

Twatalert · 04/09/2021 21:17

@Plonkton

To be honest, my weight has fluctuated in my adult hood, smallest I was a size 8, largest an 18.. I'm 2 stone over what I want to be now after having a child.. To be honest, as a former bigger person who is still a bigger than I want to be, there is really one major reason why people are obese.. It's like you see those programmes where people don't understand why they are the weight they are because they believe they just graze on salad all day, yet film them and take a food diary, its a very different story.. There's a reason why most people are obese and let themselves get that way, there just seems to be a lot of excuses. Doctors don't fat shame, it's their job. I understand that they sometimes can be tactless and perhaps weight is the first thing they mention even if that's not the reason why you've made an appointment. But, let's look at the evidence. Weight loss can improve. Your health Your fertility Your overall general mental wellbeing Your life expectancy Diabetes if you have it And the list goes on.. So why as a medical professional would a doctor not advise you to help yourself? Everything else just sounds like an excuse to me.

How patronising. Do you think you are telling us news here ?

You, people needing weight loss surgery or those who are morbidly obese have most likely underlying psychological issues. What you preach here helps nobody. There is no joint up thinking in our medical system between mental illness and its consequences on weight amongst others. For some it's weight, for others drug, yet others have autoimmune diseases. The problem in our society still is that people still think you can cure your own eating disorder if you only want to. But that goes for overeating only, not for anorexic people.

Twatalert · 04/09/2021 21:19

@WobbleHead

Plonkton are you saying I’m too stupid to understand why I am obese and why not being obese is a good thing?

Yes, pretty much.

Dinkydonk55 · 04/09/2021 21:19

Similar to a previous poster I have not wanted to go about a painful knee/varicose veins as I know it’s exacerbated by weight and feel ashamed by that

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