To think I still deserve medical attention despite being overweight

[Frequency]

Every time I have a medical issue and seek help for it I get told to lose weight, which is fair enough, I understand that, but that is all the support I get.

For example, I went to the GP recently about crippling pain in my left knee. I can't walk far, I can't sleep, and it often escalates into shooting pains up and down my leg or stabbing pains in the side of my knee which make it really hard to concentrate on anything but the pain.

I was prescribed 3 months of Orlistat. Nothing for the pain in my knee, just three months of weight loss drugs and told to come back after I had lost 5% of my body weight to discuss my knee.

I've been on it for a week now. I still cannot walk or sleep and last night another condition I have had previously flared up which I think is related to the Orlistat/weight loss/diet.

It's something I have had previously, only ever when trying to lose weight. It's like a really sharp, unbearable pain across the top of my stomach. The pain is so bad it causes vomiting and shortness of breath. I would honestly rather spend the rest of my life in labour than to experience that pain again and now it's back. I've only had it once up to now but I know the pattern, it will become more and more frequent until I'm having daily attacks that last hours. If I seek help during an attack, then I know a Dr will take one look at my weight, tell me it is because of all the fatty food I eat, and send me away in tears to buy myself some Gaviscon and lose weight.

It never happens when I eat fatty food it happens when I try to lose weight but they never believe me.

So now I am stuck, I can either be fat and never walk without pain again or I can continue losing weight and have hours of childbirth-like pain every day.

AIBU to think it shouldn't be like this?

@sbplanet thank you. Assuming I don't end up curled in a ball on the grass tonight again I will listen to those while I do some college work after dinner.

The dr has done this to see if your weight is causing the issue. If you loose weight and still have the pain they’ll then look at other avenues.

Apologies, wrong thread

@AgileMentor the Dr is being lazy then.

And it is Drs like this that stop many fat people going to the Dr at all. They end up think what is the point.

Sorry I don’t have any advice OP, but as someone who has also experienced chronic pain I hear you, and I hope you find a solution. It’s tough to keep fighting when you feel so rough but it is worth it. No one deserves to be in that kind of pain, regardless of their size ❤️

And? You don't know what they're there for!

You could have seen me - my health conditions have nothing to do with my weight, and if I lost weight I would still have them

The last time I was at the doctors was for tonsillitis and you're hard pushed to blame that on my weight

This is all well and good, but ultimately if someone is overweight, the impact on any weight bearing joint will be significant if that joint already has some damage.

And this is how fat people literally die because their symptoms are automatically attributed to their weight.

The stomach pain you describe sounds more like an ulcer. There are some types where the pain is much worse on an empty stomach and is relieved by eating.

Keep taking the omeprazole. Lay off the Brufen. Keep a food diary and if you can see a moat term relating to what foods you eat and how high fry you are, go back to the GP.

A good GP is bound to mention weight if you come in with joint pain, but will be less likely to do so if you come in with something unrelated like an ulcer or a rash, etc. You just need to make it clear you are consulting about the stomach pain and not your knee. One problem per consultation

But the pain wasn’t being caused by the weight loss, the damage had already been done through the arthritis. It most likely would have been even worse that it would have been had you not managed to lose such a large amount of weight - which is a fantastic achievement!

-can see a pattern

-how hungry you are

🤦🏻

Even if the knee pain is caused by the weight, leaving it untreated is not going to help her lose weight. She needs to be able to move in order to exercise.

there very well may be a specific issue that can be treated. The doctor could also recommend measures to help mitigate the pain like anti inflammatory medication, ice, and support. The goal should be to have op moving, not to have her languishing.

Ive been to plenty of doctors who ignored my health because of my weight. I’ve also been to doctors who treated me as a real patient, whose condition might be influenced by my weight, but is not defined by it.

We know that. So advise them to lose weight, then find out why the knee hurts. Physio may make a real difference. It may be an injury that needs surgery. Simply to dismiss it and say lose weight is terrible medicine and a lazy Dr.

I grew up in another culture and was, frankly, pandered to the point of being almost unable to walk by my GP surgery who NEVER mentioned weight. I was bluntly told by a local 'healer' to halve my weight on a trip to see my dad. I got down to the middle of the healthy weight range and it has cured 90% of my pain issues. I cannot emphasise the change in me. I think they are doing the right thing, but in the wrong way.

You need to stop the ibuprofen!

@Frequency Is it the 'dieting' that is causing the extreme pain? Are you sure it's not the Orlistat? But even so you need to change the way you eat, not the way you diet. It's going to be a long process anyway so I don't know how much quicker things will change with drugs against without.
I'd suggest you also listen to Michael Mosley (and others) talking about gut microbiome, and fermented foods.
ps I don't want you to think I'm some sort of health freak. But we do eat a relatively balanced diet, with lots of fresh food. But I probably drink too much white wine and don't excercise! But I've got a good BMI, lol. Oh and we've an icecream maker! Fab! :D

https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/the-health-hub/conditions/digestive-health/guide-to-microbiome/

My friend had a hip problem she also wasn't slim they told her to lose weight she tried exercise more she couldn't because of her hip so the weight piled on she had other medical problems they wouldn't treat because she was fat and getting fatter she got fatter eating like a bird because she couldn't MOVE eventually after many years they operated on her hip it was destroyed and because she had been left to "diet" her other hip socket was pretty bad too plus her knees still she tried to eat less move more no-one could try harder than her the upshot is she died

Try a low fodmap diet and stop ibuprofen, it wreaks havoc with stomachs.

Fruit is not a good idea if you have an ulcer.

You have as much right as everyone to get the care and treatment you require. You shouldn't be feeling that you are being dismissed. Please excuse me if I sound judgemental but being considerably overweight will put undue pressure on your joints and cause pain and degeneration. The severe abdominal pain that you describe has surely been investigated? Ultrasound/xray etc ??? Gall stones can cause excruciating pain and are more common in people who are overweight ( that said, I know several people with gallstones who are not overweight). Weight loss isn't easy and society can be very judgemental but as someone who works in healthcare, the effects of obesity on the body present significant risks. Are you getting any support with weight loss?

Hi @PearlKoala, your post stood out to me. I don't mean to be alarmist at all but I think you should get a second opinion. It is almost certainly nothing but large bumps behind the knee should not be immediately assumed to be a cyst. I saw you mentioned that you self-diagnosed and I can understand why as doctors are so costly, but please consider a second opinion (if you can) for peace of mind.

@Frequency i havent read through every single post but just maybe something to try. My story is different but I have tried many times to eat healthy and within a few days my crohn’s flares and I can’t get off the toilet. As soon as I stop dieting all was well but I was miserable. This year I tried again on a whim and have lost over 3 stone. The only thing I’ve done differently was to cut out any raw fruit or veg. I only ate cooked veg through my meals. Over the months I’ve introduced one thing at a time for a few weeks and now have had apple, banana, onion, lettuce too. I do not eat these foods daily as I’m fearful too much will kick it off again. Might be worth cutting out raw fruits and veg and see if it helps.

Remembering that OP's asked the GP not to tell her what she weighs, this may be pretty obvious to them already; after all how can anything be addressed if the issue's not acknowledged in the first place?

In fairness they're not magicians and can only advise, and sometimes that's going to involve a "no" if in all the circumstances they consider something inappropriate for their patient

Sounds like your gallbladder
it’s tough being fat OP

Same happened to me when I lost weight quickly. I thought gallstones too.