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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To refuse to be weighed by my GP/nurse?

69 replies

jessicalivesnextdoor · 25/09/2014 16:17

I have to go to the doctors and whenever I'm there he always wants to weigh me and take my blood pressure. Am I allowed to refuse to be weighed? Will he tell me off or give me a lecture? Or refuse to treat me?

I know how much I weigh and I don't need anyone else to tell me.

OP posts:

Aridane · 26/09/2014 11:08

Depression and / or anti-depressants can have an affect on appetite and weight - so, yes, doctor doing the right thing in weighing you

DidoTheDodo · 26/09/2014 11:13

The nurse asked to weigh me when I went for my last smear test. She said they just hadn't got a recent weight for me on my records (because I don't go to the Dr being largely very healthy). I refused and it wasn't a problem.

Fluffy40 · 26/09/2014 11:26

If you want someone to help you , why be so obstructive ?

noddingoff · 26/09/2014 11:32

I'm a vet and I like to weigh my patients even if they're just in for vaccination. I've lost count of the times that a healthy-weight animal has come in that had been fat for years and the owner announces yes isn't it great it's because have cut down the treats and exercised him a bit more. Usually fine - but if it's "too good to be true"- one that has had the fat lecture for years to no avail, and suddenly goes from fat to normal or just a little chubby, we take bloods and often discover diabetes/kidney disease/overactive thyroid etc. We wouldn't have known to take blood if we hadn't had previous baseline weights recorded and the animal would have toddled off home and only been re-presented when the disease had progressed to the point where it was noticeably thin or feeling ill. So that's why baseline weights are a good thing to have.

Takver · 26/09/2014 11:59

noddingoff, OT, but how do you weigh your patients? DDog is on metacam, and the vet asked 'how much does he weigh' - well we haven't got a clue! As it happens a very low dose patently below what he could have does the trick, but still, it'd be nice to know.

StillSquirrelling · 26/09/2014 12:43

Takver does your vet not have weighing scales at the practice? Ours has one in the passage outside all the consultation rooms. It's like a really mini version of the weigh bridges they have at livestock markets. Dogs just walk onto it. Cats have their basket weighed first and then get weighed inside their basket.

noddingoff · 26/09/2014 12:43

baby scales on the consult table for little 'uns and cats; top of the table itself can act as a scale in two of the consult rooms; two larger walk-on scales in the waiting room.

Takver · 26/09/2014 16:15

Never seen walk on scales there, but thinking about it they might have some out the back (it's really a farm vets & the small animal practice is only a minimal part of it, so there's just one very small consulting room). To be honest ddog is always so very eager to leave that getting him to stand still on scales might be a bit of a challenge, so it could be just that the vet didn't feel it was worth upsetting him further. He always gets examined on the floor as he's too old to jump on the table and too large to lift easily when he's reluctant.

littlejohnnydory · 26/09/2014 19:57

Of course you can decline to be weighed! I always have, including during my four pregnancies. They just wrote 'declined' in the box, there has never been an issue. I don't weigh myself either.

I also take antidepressants. A weight has never been asked for when prescribing them.

StillSquirrelling · 26/09/2014 23:08

Takver Lucky you! I have to have three different vets for my animals, all in different towns/villages! One for the cat, one for the sheep and one for the pony! It's a right PITA!

TurnOverTheTv · 26/09/2014 23:14

Honestly, people on here never cease to amaze me. Getting so wound up over something. It's a 5 second job, it gets written down, to only be seem by HCP, what's the big deal? Why does it bother people so much?

TheCraicDealer · 27/09/2014 00:18

My understanding of why I got weighed every other time I went to the GP was pretty much the same as noddingoff's reasons with her doggy patients. Weight changes (up or down) can be an indication of an underlying issue and can have an impact on some prescriptions. If I was getting an emergency script which depended on weight the last thing I'd want would be to fanny about waiting on an appointment to weigh me.

I don't actually know how much I weigh, I don't own a pair of scales. It was only the nurse saying, "you're bang on what you were a year ago", that leads me to believe that I've not put any weight on. Well, that and my jeans still fit. So relying on me recording my own weight wouldn't be a good idea. Weight is just one piece of a puzzle; you can refuse to give it, and it might not have any impact at all. But it could be really important later on down the line.

ExpiredUserName · 27/09/2014 00:37

OP, can't you just tell the Dr how much you weigh?

I think you should try and get you BP taken though. Perhaps if you explain your fear they will be extra nice to you

itsbetterthanabox · 27/09/2014 00:42

They constantly weigh me. I'm not sure why they need specifics so much it's obvious I'm very overweight. Never thought to refuse. Even when not prescribing anything they seem to want to know exact pounds.

GarlicSeptimus · 27/09/2014 00:59

I'm on antidepressants. I get regularly weighed, BP measured, and have a heart check every year. ADs affect your metabolism and one of mine has been associated with irregular heart activity. Since depression often affects the appetite, and antidepressants can as well, they do need to keep an eye on weight changes. Ime it's not about whether you're too fat/thin (I'm borderline obese and my doc says I'm okay), but whether your medication's helping in ways it should.

You can ask 'em not to tell you if you're bothered :) Not sure how to get round the blood pressure thing, as that can also be affected by antidepressants and, conversely, blood pressure can affect your moods.

They're looking for changes over time, not assessing you on the basis of specific measurements.

itsbetterthanabox · 27/09/2014 01:06

Garlic which ads affect blood pressure?

GarlicSeptimus · 27/09/2014 01:11

I'm on Venlafaxine & Mirtazapine. Venlafaxine's associated with heart & blood pressure irregularities, Mirtazapine increases the appetite. Plus raised blood pressure is an indicator of serotonin syndrome. You need to read & the bumf that comes with your meds, and look them up on Web MD! They're serious medicines.

itsbetterthanabox · 27/09/2014 01:17

Oh quite different then. I take sertraline and propranalol. I have read about them both but might have missed something/things change as they get more info. I just thought it might be an issue as all SSRIs are related but it's not one of those.

GarlicSeptimus · 27/09/2014 01:21

:) I'm obsessive about checking my own medications, not all of them! I really wanted to reassure jessica that it makes absolute sense for her GP to track changes and she's not being 'judged'. Propranolol reduces blood pressure, doesn't it?

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