To be offended by GP comment?

[Macadamia1976]

I have severely injured my lower back. I'm in agony and can't move without pain.
I bent down, lifted a heavy double buggy up from the ground, twisted round whilst bending over to lift it into the boot of my car then overstretched to position it in properly. I did this really quickly and something snapped in my lower back and I suddenly felt searing agony.
After initial urgent care treatment and being diagnosed with a torn ligament, I had a follow up with GP for pain management.
Never seen him before.
He was in his late 30s, maybe 40.
He said "I fail to see how lifting a buggy into the boot has caused this."
I said "Well I was told in hospital it was a combination of bending and twisting my lower back whilst lifting a heavy object. Plus I have an old injury in the same area of my back so I think maybe it was a weak area..."
He said "No, I think this is wrong. It's not possible to be in as much pain as you say you are in from putting a buggy into your car."
At this point I was confused by why he was challenging my injury. I was in pain, and was there for a pain relief medication review.
He said "It's because you need to lose weight."
I said "Pardon?"
He smiled for a few seconds, then said "Yes, you need to lose a stone from your tummy area, if you don't mind me saying" whilst really smiling. "Then your back pain will resolve. You have done this to yourself by eating too much and the stone in weight that sits on your tummy is putting a strain on your lower back. It wasn't lifting the buggy. I'll give you more painkillers but you need to get rid of that stone of weight on your tummy".
I didn't even realise he had even noticed my tummy.
I was wearing trousers and a top.
I am 5ft 7 and weigh 11 stone.
I wear size 12 to 14 clothes.
I've had 2 emergency c-sections so I admit I do have a tummy overhang, but I hadn't thought of this as a problem, I just see it as a result of having emergency abdominal surgery 2 times to save my 2 DC's lives when they were born. I don't really think about it, I'm too busy looking after my DC and working hard in my job.
I was almost crying in pain during this appointment.
AIBU to be upset by his comments?
Or am I in so much pain that I'm feeling oversensitive.
(Edited typos)

Well, he's a complete arsehole, with the diplomat skills of a drunken Millwall fan! That's aside from him being very ignorant.

I've got a slipped disc and have put it out flushing the toilet, bending slightly to wash my hands, washing up, putting shopping in carriers and like a PP, lying still in bloody bed!

I went to the doctor a good number of years ago and he said he was going to speak frankly and not to be offended. He said, "Look, if you lose some weight, it'll help you. You're overweight and I'm sure you know that."

He then weighed me, measured my height and explained my BMI to me.

I wasn't offended in the slightest, because unlike your bastard, he wasn't a sneery, patronising tosser about it.

He's a shit doctor all round. Rude and has no idea how backs work. I had incapacitating back pain fir a month from reaching out my arm to take a small tin of tuna from a shelf in Sainsbury's while pushing the trolley. I felt a ping in my lower back. Hospital diagnosed it as soft tissue damage to 'sacre-illiac' (not sure that's the right spelling). It was crippling.
I lay on a rug on a wooden floor for a month with a blanket over me. Nothing touched the pain. GP prescribed meds but nothing made any difference. Once I could move a bit, I kept moving - took another 3 months to heal completely.

Sacroiliac. I've got one there, too, it makes me pee constantly and it feels like I've been stabbed up the bum. I really can't recommend it!

You can slip discs just sitting down. A relative got a spinal compression fracture from just bending wrongly to pick up a bottle of pop. Undiagnosed osteoparosis.

He's an absolute knob.

Put a complaint in about him.

What a tool! I tore mine bending for a can of deodorant so it is more than possible lifting an awkward buggy - he's an absolute idiot and spouting about something he clearly doesn't understand. I would definitely complain and ask for another doctor. I do hope you feel better soon x

DD is hypermobile, she dislocated her shoulder reaching up for a book in her locker. When it went back it also trapped a nerve, pinching it to the point she lost all feeling in her left arm and it took over a year and a lot of physio for the feeling to come back.
DD was at the time, 13 and had the figure of a whippet.

I'd complain too. Not on at all.

You must complain first to the practice manager and if you get no where from this complain to PALs.

I had to make such a complaint about my GP surgery fobbing my back and neck pain off. After the complaint I have been properly seen to by a female GP each time I go to the surgery and on a pain management path too.

his actions were not ok!

He's a fucking sexist incompetent gobshite.

Can you make a complaint to the practice about him?

You’re not unreasonable at all, the way he spoke to you was inappropriate and rude and you should complain. However there probably is a grain of truth in it. From experience I’d say if you really increase your core strength Around your stomach it really helps to prevent those sorts of injuries. And never lift and twist!

Yes, complain.
What a knob.
I injured my lower back putting shopping in the back of the car - I had to lift the bag over a kind of lip - it was agony. I was about 26 at the time, 5'2" and weighed about 8 stone.

Dick head GP. You also don't sound remotely overweight (not that that really makes a difference - he should never have made the comment). Complain!

RosesAndHellebores · Today 10:44
**
@MrsSkylerWhite I l'm not in the least astonished. An F2 in A&E once told me she assumed I was retired as I was over 60. And then proceeded to co duct a frailty review as though I lacked capacity.
**
Something is going deeply wrong with Dr training.”

Yea, it clearly is.

That's terrible! I think most mothers can relate to back issues caused by pregnancy/birth/looking after babies and toddlers/buggies etc.

I have had a back problem recently and the musco skeletal specialist I saw at my GP's gave me pain medication and exercises and didn't mention my weight (I didn't need him to as I'm already aware of my weight) even though I'm overweight unlike you!

Actually reading the responses I am surprised we don't have more injuries from the twisting and lifting in the car seats pre the 360' options. I know I did my back no favours lifting, twisting and bending putting wriggling toddlers.

You could be me! I am the same as you with regards weight and height and my legs are really thin so I carry all my weight around my waist/tummy and on my back. I have back issues and was told I need to lose weight. I have also had 2 c-sections. Looks like all GP’s recommend losing weight for any back issues!

Maybe it’s because losing weight will help.

What a prick.

If you was skinny he would say it’s because you smoke, don’t take on what he said.

And complain.

This is essentially true. And I have taken it on board and I am trying my best to lose weight even though I am within healthy BMI. Definitely extra weight on the tummy does put a strain on your back.

While I don’t agree with the way she put the message across, you are overweight and need to lose weight to come within a healthy BMI. Also a lot of health issues are due to obesity such a diabetes, high BP, heart problems etc. Obesity is one of the biggest health issues we are currently facing. Also if you are of certain ethnicity such as asian the prevalence of these issues are even more when you are overweight. So as unpleasant as it is to hear you need to lose weight when you seem pleased with your weight, you really do need to lose weight.

Yep, complain to the surgery, to pals and to cqc.

Awful communication and a real undermining of previous health professionals (and you!).

He’s an idiot and I would put in a complaint

a) The OP isn’t claiming not to be overweight - she’s saying her GP is putting all of her health issues down to her weight

b) size 14 isn’t obese. So it’s unlikely that all of her health issues are to do with her weight.

So maybe save the patronising lecture.

a) She doesn’t mention what her health issues are. If it is type 2 diabetes or back pain for example it could just be from being overweight. You don’t need to be obese for it!

b) Size 14 at her height is overweight and that is bad enough.

Hardly being patronising, some people seem to live in denial rather than trying to better themselves. Body positivity etc. is all well and good, but being overweight will kill us all if we don’t lose weight! I am within healthy BMI but well aware I need to lose more weight due to my ethnicity to reverse some of my health issues.

She is not overweight, her BMI is in the healthy range, she has the reports on her torn ligaments and damage from the hospital. It was an injury, not weight related.

Stop excusing pisspoor failure in healthcare and making everything about being a teeny tiny.

@PoliticallyIncorrectHitchling your GP and the NHS in general needs to educate themselves and keep up regarding BMI .

BMI can be a rough indicator of health and size but really shouldn’t be taken as the be all and end. It is one measurement but definitely not a catch all. I consider my body fat, waist size and other measurements too. As a naturally muscular woman I’ve found my body can change a lot without seeing that change on the scale immediately. But I’m fitting into jeans that were previously too small, my waist can be inches smaller, I can feel lighter etc but if I went to a GP focused purely on BMI they’d just say well you’ve made no progress with your weight loss 🙄

AFAIK BMI was developed using a sample of white European Males . I don’t know how much it’s been updated since then but it’s now generally accepted by dieticians, nutritionists and other experts that it’s of limited use.

There’s so much info on this now, here’s a few articles I found with a quick google search but there plenty more across a wide range of publications :

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265215

https://metro.co.uk/2018/03/30/bmi-discriminates-against-black-people-and-everyone-else-too-7421228/amp/

https://www.businessinsider.com/bmi-is-bogus-best-way-to-tell-if-youre-a-healthy-weight-2016-9?amp