To be irked at being referred to as a 'larger lady' by my Docs Surgery?

[BadTasteFlump]

Or am I being touchy?

I take the mini-pill for medical reasons. I am 5ft 9, weigh 11 stone and wear size 12 clothes. My BMI is in the middle of the healthy range, and I don't worry at all about my weight.

But today I had a letter from my doctor stating that following a recent prescription for my pill, they think I may need to up my pill from one a day to two, because 'we find our larger ladies may not be fully protected with the standard dosage'.

So what quantifies a 'larger lady'? Me obviously! I am going to call the docs this afternoon when it opens again, but in the mean time needed to rant/vent.

And breathe....

Ooo I'm tall

(and if you are 5ft 4 1/2 the top of your healthy BMI range is 10stone 7)

for you. But some people are incredibly and inexplicably rude about us taller girls and don't even realise.

Im 5'10" and a size 8 - 10 yet still have been referred to as big. Cue face and quick correction of "I meant tall! Not big!".

As a general point 5'9"/10" is not that unusually tall for women in the UK anymore, certainly not freakishly tall as some would suggest glares over the top of my computer screen at 5'1" girl in my office who called me a giant on my first day. Working in London I see loads of girls around my height and taller.

I'd suggest a range of alternative adjectives such as "statuesque", "Amazonian" or "in-the-necessary-height-range-for-a-supermodel-but-of-a-healthy-weight"

Panda I do like your 'alternative adjectives

Has your 5'1 colleague never left her own inbred village before if she has never seen a 5'10 woman?

(not suggesting that all people who are 5'1 are inbred, only those who have never seen someone over 5'10)

I also take cerazette once a day and am well over 11 stone. It has stopped my periods for several years so not much chance of pregnancy!

If I was a GP being referred to as 'a lady doctor' I'd hit the roof.

I would be 'a doctor'.

Unless the male GPs are referred to as 'a gentleman doctor'?

The alternative expression is probably "at your weight" would that have been better than "larger lady" ?

It is poorly worded, but what else could they use to say people above average weight (if that's because they're obese or if it's because they're tall) need larger doses.

"Our larger ladies" is a ridiculous term. "Larger lady" is a bit like "coloured brethren," isn't it? "Our" makes it even worse! Really, the letter could have just said "Women who are more than 11 stone may not be protected by the standard dosage."

Recently I was referred to a consultant, and was copied on his letter back to my GP. He referred to me as "this pleasant lady". Don't know whether to feel offended at being patronised or pleased at being liked. I wonder if everyone gets a description (e.g. "this horrible sullen teenager" or "this pompous little man" etc)

I can see what they mean. But as 'larger ladies' is often used as a euphemism for fatty I can see why you'd be upset.

Ninja - I know!! I will refrain from going into a full-on rant about the pitfalls of working in a small office where half the people are well under average height, I'm the only tall girl, and the four girls who are between 4'10" and 5'2" seem to think it's perfectly acceptable to routinely make comments about my height and the fact they clearly consider me to be the tallest person in the world, despite being met with this face each time they do. It's baffling. And really annoying. And even if I was 7 feet tall I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT IN MY PLACE OF WORK! AND DON'T THEY JUST LOOK AROUND THEM AND WORK OUT I AM NOT SOME GENETIC ANOMOLY/FREAK OF NATURE?!?!!? ARRRRRGGGH!

As you may gather, I am mildly aggrieved by this matter

I would cry.

"The alternative expression is probably "at your weight" would that have been better than "larger lady" ?"

Yes, I think so.

Although I think hackmum puts it best.

I think the 'lady doctor' thing was because some women prefer to see a female doctor if possible (though personally I'm not bothered either way), so gender was not necessarily irrelevant. This was in the context of me phoning to ask for an appointment.

No its' not exactly the way I would have phrased it, but I do think people usually say 'lady' rather than woman or female in a (possibly misguided) attempt to be polite, rather than to belittle or patronise anyone.

Regardless of how they phrase the letter and it was badly phrased; surely it's wrong to base the dosage on a weight that is only half a stone over the healthy BMI for average height women?

Even if taking a larger dose would be bad for lighter women, then all we need are different strengths or something.

hackmum - Dh caught a glimpse at some notes the school held on DS1 where I was referred to as a 'very supportive mum'. Which got me all tied up in knots.... is supportive good? or did it mean fusspot, overprotective?

If you're 5' 9" and a size 12 there are objectively going to be more cubic ounces of you than if you were 5' 0" and a size 8. So the doctor is simply recommending that you up the dosage to make sure it has the required effect. I wouldn't read anything else into it.

chipmunksex we do indeed all need different doses of medicines! And it is related to weight (although not solely related to weight, other things matter too) However there's such a wide band of what works that a compromise simple middle dose for everyone is quite normal. However the very heavy will often be prescribed larger doses, and the small often smaller doses.

5'9" is not the average female height, it's 4 or 5 inches taller than the average, and with the average weight being around 69kg, the OP is almost certainly well above it.

Large implies fat, why didn't they say tall if they meant that or specify 'for people weighing over...'.

I hate, HATE 'lady' too.

Agree with hackmum, but I'd try and not get too cross as you are slim. I would just state that you found the phrasing tactless and ask/advise them to state their message in factual terms as hackmum outlines.

I am 5' 10" and weigh 14 and a half stone, so I am a proper lardy (although DD only 3 months so a tiny excuse); I know when I weighed 11 stone that I was a trim thing and looked great, so don't take what they said to heart!

hackmum, I always keep my referral notes when I move, as I have a neurological condition and I am very nosy about what they say. They refer to me differently every time with no reference to my actual condition. My favourite was "This delightful young female physicist..." ?!?

Hackmum - I think they do like to include a little descriptive preamble in their letters.

In my referral letter to an out of area hospital I wanted to give birth to the Dr referred to me as "this 29 year old prima gravida". I guess at least that bit was relevant!

OP, the buggers had me on two pills a day when I was around 10 and a half stone. I suppose just in case I put on weight...I wouldn't have been happy with that letter either!

"This delightful young female physicist..."

Brilliant

groove I had virtually the same