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 :(

@ScarlettBlaize
It is knowledge that in the worst units in Italy, a cci figure of 5 or less was used to determine care.

The problem is a BMI of 40 is called morbid obesity for a reason.

Morbid meaning your weight is such that your health is at risk, your life expectancy lower & you're much more likely to suffer from weight related health issues such as type 2 diabetes, etc.

Don't beat yourself up. The good news is, it can be changed. Now is the time to look at living a healthier lifestyle

I appreciate your post, Scarlett. But the links are not what the PP claimed. There are official warnings, some cases around the world and the 39yo.

The claim was that there are many cases in the age bracket in London. The links provided don’t support that claim.

I’m not disputing that everybody can get the virus and be seriously ill, and am
Of course worried, but the claim the poster made was very dramatic and not what your links are about.

@user1471439240 Yes, I have friends working in hospitals in London, one of whom is a nurse from Italy who has told me about her friends/colleagues back home in Naples. Every single one has told me about young people with no underlying health conditions who are fighting for life. The reason the death rate is so much worse for the elderly in italy is not because young people aren't critically ill - it's because younger people are getting the ventilators.

@ChardonnaysPetDragon I don't have the hard evidence beyond that. I do have a lot of anecdotal evidence - first hand, as in I've spoken with my friends and family who are working right now in London hospitals (and one in a hospital in South Wales). I am hearing the same thing from all of them. It's radically changed my view in the past couple of weeks.

I appreciate that.

But I really think that when someone makes such hard hitting claims they ought to be able to back that up.

Unfortunately l have been told that if there is a decision to be made on who is ventilated, they will look at every scenario and having children does not factor.

A fit 20yr old who plays football each weekend Vs an obese male with heart issues... the 20yr old will take preference.

It does make a difference as to where you carry your weight too. For example - two patients with the same height, weight etc... but one is pear shaped and the other apple....

The apple will be much more difficult to ventilate especially if they need to be placed in the prone position...

So the pear would probably "win"

OP, do your best. Eat smaller portions. Walk around the house more, gradually, every day. Introduce daily exercises at home, via YouTube.

I lost over a stone this year through eating less, no rubbish snacks, moving more and home exercise. I'm now just over the healthy BMI range and should be within by the end of this month. Also an emotional eater, particularly following baby loss in recent months. I had stern words with myself to get a grip. It IS within your control, no matter the circumstances. You can do this. But you have to actually do this every day, no excuses.

I bet you by the time this pandemic ends you'll be closer to BMI 30 or less if you focus on being healthy - and that will do you better than worrying about what would happen if you got ill now when your BMI is high. Prioritise yourself 💐

FourDecades That’s shockingly ill informed scaremongering. What is your Source? Who has ‘told you?’
There is categorically no such national guidance. At the current time there are no restrictions on access to ventilatory support except futility. That is a very carefully considered individual assessment by a multidisciplinary team.

The poor OP is a bit fat and people are trying to scare her witless. She’s probably about a 5’5” size 20. Not ideal but hardly criminal or undeserving of compassion or indeed medical assistance.

To put things in to perspective, during my time in ICU at least 50% of my patients were obese. It isn't the healthiest state for anyone to be overweight, but it isn't uncommon. Also, weight and nutrition don't always go hand in hand. Even some 'normal weight' people can be vastly malnourished.

@CherryPavlova

A BMI of 40 is not “a bit fat”. Nor is a 5’5 person size 20

So a BMI of forty is on the cusp of severe obesity. It’s only just into the category so, depending on time of month and time of day, may sometimes not even be into serious obesity category.
A height of 5’5”and 240 lbs puts you around a size 20/22 depending on muscle tone.

Why is that acceptable to be truly horrible to some poor, scared young mother?

I'm sorry you feel so scared OP. Remember we are all facing an uncertain time so you're not alone in feeling that way.

With regards to your question I have no idea, i guess it's one only a doctor can answer.

However, coronavirus might give the health scare a lot of people need in this country. Everyone has become so reliant on the NHS to treat/fix their self inflicted ills that they are in shock when faced with their own mortality. I say this with the best of intentions, if it gives people the wake up call they need to live a healthier lifestyle then that is one good outcome (trying to find the positives!).

I'm a type 1 diabetic, got diagnosed as a young adult, until then I was one of those people that never caught colds etc. I've always been skinny, dont smoke or drink, eat pretty healthily and so it was a surprise to me. Out of all the diabetics only 10% are type 1, 90% are type 2 (usually but not always brought on by an unhealthy lifestyle). I have to admit it does annoy me type 2 swallows up most of the funding and medical care in the diabetes arena, leaving little left over for type 1s for whom it is more serious and not self inflicted. I know if I could cure myself through diet and exercise I would in a heartbeat.

I guess what I'm saying is there will be a lot of people out there who have a health problem they can do nothing about that are also facing covid 19. Not just type 1 diabetics but also asthmatics, people with cystic fibrosis etc. I dont want to sound too harsh as nobody could have foreseen this but they will have to queue with people whose poor health is within their control to change.

I'm not trying to criticise people for their weight problems but basically I'm saying, if you can do something about it then do! You will be happier and healthier and us, well we will still be unhealthy sadly but we wont have to worry so much about resources being spread too thin.

Good luck with your diet, I hope it is successful and that we can all put this behind us soon

@CherryPavlova

I’ve posted nothing on this thread towards the OP. Nor do I think it’s an excuse that she is fat to be nasty.

But peddling 240lbs/size 20-22 or BMI of 40 as “a bit fat” is silly, irresponsible and why this country has a weight problem. People are in severe denial. OP herself posted that she cannot lose weight as she only has carbs at home, but this is also incorrect because portion sizes could be limited and work outs done at home(she later added she had issues with food which of course does make it 1000 x harder!).

A height of 5’5”and 240 lbs puts you around a size 20/22 depending on muscle tone.

Where did you pull that figure out from? A normal woman (ie not an athlete) with a weight of 240 ibs at 5 5 would at best make you a size 28. My mil is fairly muscular but still 200 pounds and 5ft 6 and can’t fit into most UK plus sized clothes.

@CherryPavlova - oh...no-one important...

Only the Head of Anesthetics who is over seeing all the incoming coronavirus ITU patients....

He plucked this example out of thin air.... after he had finished speaking to a fellow anesthetist who is in Italy.

I agree that there isn't currently a national guidance....but that's because we haven't even started yet with the true impact.... so everyone who gets ill now will probably be given a chance for ventilation

However...I'm talking about when a decision has to be made between choosing who gets the last remaining ventilator.

Your friend is overstepping his professional boundaries spreading that sort of scaremongering to others to paste all over the Internet then.

Your friend is giving an opinion not following the national policy.

It is grossly unprofessional and very sad to use your gossip to intimidate some poor young mother.

@CherryPavlova Why the fuck are you banging on about clothes sizes, which mean precisely fuck all, when we know what her BMI is?

She is morbidly obese.

"Class III obesity is associated with substantially elevated rates of total mortality, with most of the excess deaths due to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, and major reductions in life expectancy compared with normal weight."

journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001673

@FourDecades Yes I've heard similar from my friends in the NHS.

One of my closest family friends is currently in hospital in London waiting for an ITU bed. She has double pneumonia and needs urgent treatment (not the first time she's had pneumonia). However there are no ITU beds available so she is stuck in a bay. She's in her early 70s. There is every chance she won't make it.

Doctors and nurses are sharing the reality so that the rest of us can take action.

@CherryPavlova

Are you also overweight? You are taking this incredibly personally - most people are trying to be honest!

Some people dont know the difference between honesty and being abit of a cunt it seems

5 foot 5 - weight between about 8 stone and 10 and a half stone tends to be healthy. However people are where they are. They can certainly lose weight on carbs - eat say 1000 calories a day of them., However if it were that simple and people could stick it (many cannot) then there would be no obesity. It is very hard for lots of people to say no to food.

Gosh, @Xenia and @CherryPavlova on the same thread at last. We are truly honoured.

@scarlettblaize
😃

No. I’m not - but I think unkindness isn’t acceptable towards a scared young mother. Being fat is not a crime. Being fat puts a long term health risk but the idea you risk dying if you have an anaesthetic is silly. Do you have a body dysmorphia?

There is a lot of gossip and rumour. Mostly untrue. There was one ITU where there are no beds available, at 12 midday in south London. There were ITU beds available. People identified as needing intensive care are often required to wait until those being stepped down have been moved to wards. People are often held overly long in intensive care units - delayed discharges is one of the the performance indicators nationally. It’s not much to do with C19. It’s about ward bed availability and flow.

Stop being ‘honest’ as an excuse for nastiness and gossip that is not very nice to the OP who is already frightened