My BMI is 40 are they less likely to ventilate me?

[FuckADuckie]

If I did get it because I'm on the list of secondary issues?

I just read this somewhere and am terrified now :(

Cherry Pavlova

news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-they-call-it-the-apocalypse-inside-italys-hardest-hit-hospital-11960597

99% of people on this thread have absolutely no idea how medical decisions are made. I wouldn't take much of this seriously, at all.

How will they know what your BMI is? Surely if you are ill enough to need to be ventilated they won't weigh you. They won't look at you and guess your BMI either because there's very little difference between a BMI of 39 and a BMI of 40.

Take this as highlighting the danger you are in from ALL illness at this BMI and please do something about it before it's too late! CV is the present danger but you face risk every day. Small changes can have great effect-use this time at home for good!

My BMI is 40 are they less likely to ventilate me?

Yes.

OP there’s not much you can do now.
Try to eat healthy - to lose some pounds and to keep your immune system ‘fighting fit’.

I hope this nightmare will be over soon & you stay safe.

What if your BMI is over 40 and you have no children? Asking as a friend is in that position, she is 42. Unable to work due to disability and her weight has crept up. She’s a wonderful person, loving wife, friend, sister and daughter. Should she be left to die due to her weight which is just a bmi of 40 exactly, what if it was 39.5 would she be ventilated then?

Greenhairannie

is irrelevant whether anyone has kids or not.

They’re not saying they’ll leave anyone over 40 BMI to die for the sake of it. They’re saying if there are two patients with the exact same clinical presentation and one ventilator, only difference being one is morbidly obese and the other isn’t, they’ll choose to try and treat the one who isn’t. As they have to pick one and the morbidly obese persons weight makes it clinically less likely they’ll survive or benefit from the intervention. Hope that helps!

Greenhairannie it depends who else needs the ventilator at the same time. The person who is assessed to benefit the most is the person who will be ventilated.
There are only finite resources and that is the most effective method of using them.

You can do something about your bmi

With the best will in the world it's not always that simple. I've got a high BMI due to a severely underactive thyroid.

I can lose weight, but I have to eat so little in order to do so that it's not sustainable for long enough to make a significant impact. I lost almost a stone last summer and ended up hypoglycaemic in the process. As soon as I started eating normally my weight rocketed again.

I'm certainly going to be trying to eat more healthily, to boost my immune system as much as anything, but hold out very little hope that it'll impact my weight.

@CrystalAlligator & @feelingverylazytoday

Thanks for that, she is trying really hard and has lost 2lbs in the past week even though exercise is very hard for her.

That’s great! well done to her :)

Should she be left to die due to her weight which is just a bmi of 40 exactly, what if it was 39.5 would she be ventilated then?

It's got absolutely NOTHING to do with how wonderful and loving someone is, it's got NOTHING to do with how many children you have, the plain truth is, if there is one ventilator and two people need it, a clinical decision will be made, favouring the person with the best chance of survival.

So yes, if one person had a BMI of 39.5 and the other was 24, the one with the lower BMI would be favoured.

a clinical decision will be made, favouring the person with the best chance of survival

THIS. I'm baffled why people keep turning this into an emotional decision- its not. Its a clinical decision based on the chances of survival and who is likely to benefit most from treatment- why are people not getting this? It doesnt matter how loving or great or wonderful someone is- this is based on medical chance of survival. It doesnt mean doctors are cruel or evil or dont care. It means they have to make a horrendous decision and the fairest way of doing that is on who the treatment is likely to be successful for. It cannot be based on anything else. Stop making this about emotions and personality- its got nothing to do with that.

It’s strange because people get it when it’s applied in other situations. Most people accept if there are two patients requiring a liver transplant, one sixty year old chronically relapsing alcohol dependent chap and a twenty year old sober guy, that it’ll go to the sober guy. Because he has a better chance of it working out and surviving.

I think it’s really starting to sink in to peoples minds that this isn’t about others, it’s about them. And that fear is making people lose all rationality. Kinda a ‘surely it could never happen to ME!?’ thing. That a doctor might have to allow you to die.

I think the harsh reality is yes however, if you don't go out or have any contact with anyone, you won't catch it! Apologies if you're key worker and have no choice but to go out, but the rest of us have no excuse and need to listen to the advice and stay well away from anyone else.

@BlueBobbleHat I said it because its true.

I think the harsh reality is yes however, if you don't go out or have any contact with anyone, you won't catch it!

I’m not an expert. But I read a lot about this, DH is a doctor and shares relevant up to date medical journal articles etc. And it seems very unlikely that almost all of us won’t catch it. The net will close and we’ll almost all be infected at some stage because of how long this is going to go on for. It’s less a case of if and more a case of when. What you have to hope for us that when you do catch it, social distancing has worked effectively enough that the cases are spread out enough for hospitals to cope so that when you’re admitted there’s a bed and a ventilator for you. That’s why we’re all doing this. It’s not so we won’t catch it, it’s so that we can ensure the best chance of survival when we do.

Please people be kind.
Some people are scared.
OP you night not get sick, you might get a mild case, if you are admitted to hospital the staff will treat you the best they can.
Worrying about this wont help.
Start now , join a weight loss company online. One of the big companies.
Eat three meals and health snacks only. No processed food. Fruit , veg , protein and good carbs eg jacket potatoes, rice or pasta.
Exercise, walk , in house with tins etc.
But most of all be as positive as you can.
Sending 💐

LottieBees19

pasta

Sorry made me chuckle :)

The poor dr's have the horrendous responsibility of applying criteria for who gets an ICU bed based on how likely the patient is to survive. You are less likely to survive than others. There are people in their 20s, 30s and 40s with no underlining health conditions fighting for their lives in ICU wards in London. There simply aren't enough beds or ventilators. Really important you stay at home and no one enters or leaves until it's all over. Good luck.

FFS, sorry OP, some awful replies on this thread, from armchair morons. Relax and get enough sleep, eat healthily and keep social distancing as your main priority.

This absolutely terrifies me also.

I would love to be able to stay at home and self isolate but I have to go to work to help look after key worker children. The thought of the possibility of catching it, while doing my job so others can do theirs, but then not be helped in return is disheartening.

Well done to those who have been able to lose weight. I'm in awe of your willpower. Keep it up!