Not to be weighed at GP?

[Florelei]

I’ve got a complicated history with my weight. I don’t think I have an eating disorder but I find diet talk etc triggering. I’ve recently in the last few months stopped weighing myself and counting every calorie.

I’ve had a bad ear infection recently and it hasn’t cleared in two months despite antibiotic drops. The GP sent me for a blood test to see if my blood sugar was high, as this could be a cause of an ear Infection apparently. Before I even got in the door with the nurse, she asked me to step on the scales. I was very respectful but I declined and she said that the doctor would be annoyed as he specifically requested that she weigh me.

the doctor is going to ring me probably on Monday. I’m now stressing about this and am worried he will refuse to treat me. I just feel though that being weighed will set me back. Even thinking about being weighed is making me feel like I am having a panic attack.

AIBU?

They need to weigh you to calculate how much medication you need. You can request to not see the result, they won't question why and won't press you on the result. They only want to help you

He won’t refuse to treat you! He might say he needs to know your weight next time you come in.

Just explain that you have a history of issues with dieting and you are trying to work on this by not weighing yourself. Next time you can just ask the nurse not to tell you your weight.

On what planet does your weight affect an ear infection? Ignore it and estimate your weight if the GP asks - I bet they don’t.

I'm afraid I wouldn't give a shit what the doctor thinks, he isn't God. You don't want to be weighed and thsts that. You don't have to explain.

@Blossomtoes the dosage of antibiotics is calculated on the patients weight. I had an infection just after I had a c-section, hadn't yet weighed myself post baby and the doctors scales were broken. He absolutely would not prescribe without knowing my weight so we had to traipse round the surgery to find an empty consultation room with working scaled

I've asked them not to tell me and to cover the reading part before.

The antibiotic drops that I’ve been given aren’t based on weight. They’ve taken a Swab of my ear to see what bacteria it might be. If i need to be prescribed drugs based on weight then I will
have to ask that the weight is not communicated to me and that no comments are made.

My ear is actually feeling a lot better so I think the second lot of drops have worked.

You can ask not to be told your weight if it's being told your weight that upsets you. You can refuse to have your weight done but getting in a tizz every time you are weighed so refusing to be weighed is as bad as weighing yourself every 5 minutes. You need to accept what your weight is.

Totally reasonable. Of course you don't have to be weighed.

I’ve literally never been weighed before getting antibiotics. I get the reasoning - just saying that it’s never happened.

I think your ‘not an eating disorder’ is more noticeable than you think OP. I don’t mean that nastily, and I’m glad you feel on the way to recovery, but if you don’t see the doc a lot (or you do) then it’s possible they’re a little worried about fluctuations in your weight and just want to check on you.

Just say you don't want to know. Did it all the time when I had an ED. They will be used to it. I hope things improve for you soon.

Not unreasonable. I got asked to be weighed before a smear test once - I refused.

Not unreasonable. I got asked to be weighed before a smear test once - I refused.

Of course you don’t have to be weighed if you don’t want to. I think the nurse was extremely unprofessional to say that the Dr would be ‘annoyed’, you’re not a recalcitrant 5 year old.

It won’t be related to the antibiotic drops but perhaps if the doctor things you could be diabetic or pre-diabetic it would be relevant to know your weight as that can affect management.
I can see that this time caught you off guard, but worth considering if you would be happy to weigh yourself at home and let them know, or happy for them to check your weight but not tell you the figure.

My surgery wants to weigh me before they prescribe the pill and I HATE it. I went in this week all tooled up to refuse politely (I was the very upper end of normal BMI so find it very hard to believe my weight is a contraindication to anything)... And then she never asked me! Anti climax!

Totally not unreasonable OP. Often not a lot of thought goes into these things unfortunately.

Not unreasonable to ask not to be weighed. I stepped on the scales when asked when I went for a repeat prescription review and then got a lecture on BMI and bordering on being overweight and a whole load of other stuff. I'm 9st and I started to think I was fat (I'm not).

YANBU

your weight has nothing to do with your ear infection.

I’ve never been weighed in order to have antibiotics and I’m very clearly seriously overweight, so if weight mattered they would need to weigh me as I’m clearly not in the “average” bracket where they might assume a standard dose.

You have your own agency and it's very important to remember that.I wouldn't give it a second thought although I wouldn't allow a member of staff to speak to me like that.

Is weighing you something they get paid for?

I've been given antibiotics multiple times, including via an online GP service during COVID, and I have never ever been asked my weight.

Dentists can prescribe antibiotics and they don't weigh you?

Seems very odd to me that a doctor insisted on asking for a weight before prescribing you anything!

Your weight is absolutely not necessary information to prescribe antibiotics for an ear infection. But a high BMI is a risk factor for Type 2 Diabetes. OP, with the greatest kindness, if you find the concept of being weighed triggering rather than, say, uncomfortable (which would be my response) then I think you probably do have an ED to some extent and you should explain that to the GP and see what he suggests.

@coffeecupsandfairylights entirely possible it's dependent on the type of antibiotics. I have a penicillin allergy so always have to have the weird non-standard antibiotics and I was breast feeding at the time so another restriction on which ones I could have. So possibly a more weight sensitive type. But the gp definitely couldn't prescribe without my weight, he then had to look up a chart for the right dosage for my weight

Antibiotics are not prescribed according to weight. I have been RN for over 30 years and have absolutely never seen a patient weighed to determine dose !
Has only ever been relevant with paediatrics.

I'm the same, OP, battling a history of anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and possibly now an element of orthorexia (although In denial).

I went for a smear a couple of weeks ago and she got me on the scales before I'd even sat down. It really threw me but Im not sure what they could have done differently. A bit of warning would have been nice but I suppose how are they to know?