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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to think that you should still be taken seriously by your GP if you're obese?

106 replies

parabella · 09/12/2015 13:47

Just came back from the GP where we discussed some symptoms that are worrying me. First thing he says is 'well we won't do anything 'til you lose weight'.
Now I am losing weight but it's a slow process (lot's of weight to lose). Shouldn't I still get treated even if I'm not thinner yet?
I was quite persistent and he ended up telling me about potential cancer symptoms which I have and which he's agreed should be looked into further. But I have noticed his default attitude is to just say lose weight and expect me to leave. Does anyone else feel like this at the doctors?

OP posts:
YouGottaKeepEmSeparated · 10/12/2015 23:24

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SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 11/12/2015 00:44

"- don't use food as a substitute for other things

  • don't use food to make yourself feel better (it won't)
  • only eat from genuine hunger
  • take responsibility for what you eat, and be consciously mindful of it"

Probably the wisest and most helpful thing I have ever read on a thread about diet/weight loss.

I grew up with food as treats - and I am still struggling to break away from this. My therapist got me to make a list of other things that could be treats - new book, flowers, nail polish, hot bath, watching a film on TV etc. I do still have food as treats sometimes (more than I should), but I think it is OK if it is healthy food, and part of a balanced diet - ie. I love fresh pineapple, and sometimes I will buy a put of it, already cut up - the treat is partly the fruit and partly not having to cut it up myself.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 11/12/2015 00:46

Posted too soon - I wanted to add that, one thing I am getting better at is eating more slowly, and stopping eating when I have had enough. That's pretty much what's at th centre of Paul McKenna's weight loss theory, iirc.

BabyGanoush · 11/12/2015 07:07

The reasons thst lots of GPs go on and in about obesity is that they will have pop up screens saying: InFORM PATIENT OF WEIGHT LOSS OPTIONS etc, thrown at them when they click on your data. They then have to justify on your file what they have done to make you lose weight. GPs are not allowed to ignore it.

It's the government bullying the NHS bullying the GPs to bully you

GlitterNails · 12/12/2015 01:02

My health went downhill at 15. I was healthy before then, a normal weight. As my mobility decreased, and pain increased, my weight crept up. When I finally started seeing consultants about these strange body pains, plus a huge list of other symptoms, they very much focused in on my weight. I explained over and over the pain began before the weight increase, but still every consultants letter began with a line about me being overweight, and that seemed to be my diagnosis for years.

They didn't look into anything else, apart from a test for Arthritis. So there I was, a previously healthy teenage who had been doing ten mile hikes just months previously, now needing to use a walking stick, then a wheelchair, wracked with pain, unable to get through a whole day of college, often bed bound for days on end. And they would shrug their shoulders, and mutter about weight and posture.

Finally 8.5 years later I was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a genetic connective tissue disorder. Nothing to do with weight.

Jorah - as with your experience, I've heard repeatedly of people with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome/hypermobiity getting worse as they lose weight. Also weight increase seems so easy and common with the condition for a variety of reasons. My consultant did say our stomachs are Hypermobile too, and we will often feel hungrier me often, and take longer to feel full - which is certainly true for me.

JaceLancs · 12/12/2015 02:21

I have a longstanding health condition and have regular check ups at hospital - I went a while ago and saw a new registrar who said my condition could be caused by being overweight and I needed to diet (I was a size 18 at the time)
I asked him to check my records and explain how when I had been a size 6-8 I had had the same condition - and there was no suggestion of it being weight related (the consultant at the time had said there was no cure and not much that could be done other than look at ways to manage my condition)
I'm currently a size 14-16 and despite some weight loss it hadn't gone away - there's a surprise!!!!

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