Everything is because I’m fat.

[Fbshe]

I went to the doctors today, I keep feeling really faint and going dizzy. My doctor suggested it is because of being overweight (she had taken my weight and height while there). This has really upset me because I don’t believe this is the cause, I’m 5 foot 1 and weigh 10 stone (fluctuate to slightly under sometimes but this is what the scale showed today). I genuinely think it’s my build and can’t be helped, I’m a 30HH bra and naturally have a big bum, when I was 14 I was 7 and a half stone and still had a massive bum while the rest of me was bones.

I cannot lose weight, I ran a marathon 2 weeks ago, I weight train twice a week, I run 3 times a week and I walk the dog for 1-2hours a day, longer on weekends. I have reasonable meals and no snacks, I had 2 slices of toast for breakfast with a small amount of butter, some frittata for lunch with a couple of cherry tomatoes and a 320calorie ready meal for my tea. I’ve had 3 glasses of sugar free squash and will have another before bed.

I asked the doctor for help with weight loss if she thought this was the cause but she suggested smaller meals and increasing activity levels. I don’t know what to do.

I feel like complaining to the surgery because I’m no closer to knowing why I always feel so lightheaded and I’ve been made to feel really self conscious with no real support. Am I being sensitive or is this reasonable?

@Fbshe - if that is indicative of what you eat then you're not eating enough/enough of the right stuff. You need protein, especially if weight training. You definitely need more calories than you're having.

2pints of water isn't enough either - you need to double that (2 litres), especially if running/training.

Your Dr sounds dreadful. Is there another one can see - maybe one who specialises in women's health. You don't say how old you are but dizziness was one of my first peri symptoms in my early 40's.

Hope you get to the root of it.

" increasing activity levels. " yeah lazy bones run two marathons next week! /s

i have a friend who thought it was pots, but its vasovagel syncope, the symptoms are very similar.

its also more common for bp to have fluctuations in perimenopause, showers are particularly fun for me atm, 5 mins in even a cool shower and i go all woozy/nauseous, its annoying.

up your calories a bit, and your hydration, take a multi vit, and like i said upthread, get a second opinion.

Fobbling women off because of weight is awful behaviour and unacceptable.

I'm sure I've read that it's harder for the heart to pump blood around the body with loads of muscle. I'm not sure if that's more for extreme amounts though.

I'm big into strength training myself. Max trap bar DL is 140kg and I know there's more in the tank. Just aggravates my patellar tendon unfortunately. Just on the one side.

These were my symptoms when I was diagnosed (after years) with b12 deficiency. Doctors don’t routinely check this so you’ll need to specifically ask or pay privately (randox at home do these and other tests at reasonable price and get results in 2 days). Worth looking into. Your doctor sounds rubbish!

OP as a runner I would also like to say you’re not eating enough but also look at this article and get back to dr I know someone who nearly died due to this. https://marathonhandbook.com/runners-anemia/#:~:text=Essentially%2C%20every%20time%20your%20feet,of%20becoming%20an%20anemic%20runner.

If you are drinking sugar-free squash it is likely to be sweetened with artificial sweetener.

These are now being inked to metabolic syndrome disease (like diabetes) so it may be worth cutting the squash out.

I’ve got vestibular migraine - a balance disorder. Often comes on in warm shopping centre environments maybe OP can google it?

Dizziness comes with fluctuations in hormones during perimenopause. I noticed this at age 43, last year. They've stopped but were really disconcerting at the time.

Well said!

And yes anemia is something I always suffer with. Have you checked your ferritin levels? The GP can organise one very simply.

Dr Gupta is my cardiologist and I agree, he's fantastic and has made a lot of excellent resources available for free.

OMAFG at people giving people diet tips on this thread!

Bloody hell.

I went to my GP with the same symptoms as you. I’m 5 ft 3, 11 stone. No mention of my weight. GP called an ambulance and I was off to hospital. Bleeding ulcers I didn’t know I had. Thank you blood donors, a few units later and I felt much better.
I’d seek a second opinion if I were you.

This! Dd1 is “under weight” at 16. She always has been from 12 weeks when she dropped weight then stayed on the same trajectory. 5’7” and a size 4-6. She eats well but that’s her build. Paediatrician advised that as there’s no sudden weight loss it’s just her shape. I imagine it’s the same the other way, some people are naturally bigger and outside the bmi without being unhealthy.

Similarly, I’m anaemic and the dr won’t consider any other reason other than heavy periods despite me saying I don’t have heavy periods (don’t meet any of the criteria on the nhs website link he text to me) and have had low ferritin on and off for 3 years. I’m sure men don’t get fobbed off as much but maybe I’m wrong.

I’d ask for a full iron & thyroid panel, vitamin D, and nutritional bloods - sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium then take your results to a functional doctor or nutritionist to interpret as a normal GP will tell you everything is fine when it’s not.

Your symptoms could be the result of low iron, low vit D, thyroid, vitamin B12 deficiency or electrolytes imbalance - low sodium, potassium or low magnesium.

Get all that in balance and you will probably see some improvement.

But she made a wholly irrelevant comment. She needs to read the room. Not everything is about her slightly chubby tummy.

Should every person of a certain height and weight not get healthcare because they are heavier than other people with the same height and lower weight? Is that what you're saying?

Postal drop is nothing to do with weight. It's to do with low BP which is sometimes connected to thyroid function and glucose.

Yes, make a complaint.
Go back for a second opinion and demand to have a BP taken sitting and then another standing.

One idea when a health professional comes out with trollop is to confirm what part of her findings state that weight gain causes feeling dizzy. Ask her what bit of her assessment and what evidence makes the connection.

The reason why is that they are not supposed to pluck ideas from thin air. They have an assessment process that rules out things first.

2 pints of water doesn't sound ike anywhere near enough, especially if you're exercising heavily. For years I had postural hypotension which presented with the same symptoms you have, ironically eating more and gaining weight (plus drinking more) solved it for me!

PS there's definitely an overreliance on weight loss fixing everything amongst some in tje medical profession, I'd definitely make a (gentle) complaint that you don't feel any other factors were considered or investigations done.

I am the same height as you , and was told the same thing with the same symptoms. Our weight is supposed to be 8 stone, so 10 stone is classed as been over weight. I always used to be 9 stone until I hit 40, and I am 12 stone trying to cut down again. I tend to reach 10 stone then get bored eating the same stuff. I used to think you had to be 30 stone to be considered obesity .

Also I have to say I think the poster thinking she is fat at 8 stone does have an image perception issue not a weight one.

I was looking back at a photo today from a time when I thought I was "horribly fat" at 8.5-9 stone and I wasn't at all, I was slim and lovely looking with the slightest wobble to my post baby belly. I am gutted at how "off" my self perception was

I have ballooned thanks to steroids sadly but the one good thing is that it has shaken away my old "recovering anorexic" views of my 8.5-9 stone post baby body and when I get back there (work in progress) I know I won't see it in such a negative light.

More importantly -whatever size we are we deserve decent medical care.

Hmmm. Most likely to be low BP or possibly low iron ( do you have horrible heavy periods?
having your BP taken at the surgery when you are cross and agitated may not be giving a true reading. Go to a chemist, sit down for a bit then take it. Do it a few times and take the slips of paper in
Ask for an appointment with another Dr, that’s quite a common request to most receptionists “ I’ll see anyone but Dr X. We don’t get on”
Ask for blood tests.

For me these were symptoms of low iron and have returned noe my iron is fine coming into menopause. Do push on this. If you are overweight then there still is a mechanism resulting in the light headed feeling, checking your BP and heart rate and bloods through a day of normal activity rather than just sat at the doctors seems a fairly basic starting point, especiallyas youve a history of low bp. Feels like really lazy work from the dr

From a personal point of view stamp your feet. I felt ILL for a couple of years loads different problems each one taken as individual compliant, ended up in A&E with chest pain turns out gallstones due to kidney disease due to systemic autoimmune disease blood pressure through the roof, still ongoing. Please speak to your clinical manager at your GP’s tell or even put in writing about your concerns.