Comments on: You Don’t Say

By: volcanista

volcanista — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 22:55:25 +0000

JPlum, i am actually completely with Regina here. It’s true that fatter people are treated so much worse than thinner ones, but actually, the pattern of doctors not believing patients can identify their own symptoms seems widespread to the point of being almost universal. It drives me so fucking crazy (yes, by the age of 29 I actually know exactly what strep and sinus infections feel like, because I HAVE LIVED IN THIS BODY FOR 29 YEARS). There is a SERIOUS problem in how doctors are trained, if so many of them write off any familiarity with your own body as EVIL “self-diagnosis.” Good lord, I hate that term, too (or the condescension with which it’s said, at least). It’s one thing if they just want to confirm, and with a new doctor I especially expect that, but it’s just insulting when a doctor expresses really annoyance and doubt over my ability to know what I’m talking about if I say, “My throat hurts and it hurts the way it always hurts when I have strep, and it doesn’t hurt this way with anything else, so I might have strep.” Or better yet, “I have a yeast infection. I know it’s a yeast infection because I have had recurring ones, and also vaginosis so I can tell them apart, and I can’t use the OTC treatments. Can you please write me a prescription for oral antifungals?” Or oo oo “My leg hurts.” etc. etc. etc.

Summary: Any doctor that does this is not a good doctor, in my book, and that’s true no matter what size you are. My new PCP has proven herself to be pretty bad in this way, and as soon as I can find another doctor in the area that accepts my insurance, I am anxious to switch. I’ve just found that it takes serious shopping to find a doctor that is okay if I ask questions, can describe my own symptoms, and want to be treated like a fucking adult.

Regina, I have UC, too! Heh, maybe this is a common problem among people with chronic illnesses. We know our shit. ;-)

By: Kake

Kake — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 21:48:38 +0000

“relatively small”, sorry; not “realtively small”.

By: Kake

Kake — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 21:44:03 +0000

Just a note here about qualitative studies like this one. They’re not just “collections of anecdotes”, and they usually do have realtively small sample sizes. I haven’t read the study or even the abstract, but from the press release it sounds to me as though it was basically a content analysis of interview texts, where the aim is generally to “achieve saturation” (interview people until they stop telling you anything new). You would never do such a study with 800 participants, as one commenter suggested, because the only way not to achieve saturation within the first couple of dozen interviewees is to have a study question which is too vague to be useful.

You do of course have to be careful about generalising the results of this kind of study, but that doesn’t mean it’s a “stupid” study, nor does it mean that it wasn’t conducted systematically, nor does it mean that its findings aren’t important.

By: Taylor

Taylor — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:37:51 +0000

I’m presently at about 175 on a fairly fine-boned 5’8″ frame, and I am grateful that I live in a fat city because neither my primary care physician or my psychiatrist has hassled me about it. Probably because I’m not diabetic, etc. Obviously I’m at the light end of large, but I still weigh more than I feel comfortable with.

*I* brought up my recent 20 lb. weight gain (because I’d been relatively stable between 145-155 for several years with no attempt to diet) with the shrink and was surprised to find that Depakote/Zyprexa overeating/metabolic messups could kick in even if you’d been on them long-term. He said some of his patients had successfully used Glucophage to counteract those drugs’ weight-related side effects–anybody tried it?

By: Regina T

Regina T — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:27:43 +0000

I think you’re right JPlum and Piffle. I am probably being a bit gun shy given my experiences over the years. She IS a good doctor for the most part and one I have cultivated a good relationship with. Im sure you can understand the frustration if you had similar experiences.
Thanks for your feeback! :)

By: Piffle

Piffle — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:51:48 +0000

Regina, I’ll second JPlum; it sounds like general surprise that could be directed at anyone to me. Plus, now that you’ve “proven” you’re in touch to her, she’ll take you more seriously next time.

A big boo for the doctors who didn’t diagnose your appendix properly!! A burst appendix is deadly!

By: JPlum

JPlum — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:24:12 +0000

I just think you should give your doctor another chance, Regina. I suspect that your experiences with bad doctors is leaking into your interactions with what seems like a good doctor. There doesn’t seem to be any indication that her surprise had anything to do with your weight, so don’t lose a good doctor by projecting your other bad experiences onto her.

By: shinobi42

shinobi42 — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:09:13 +0000

I’m having a health issue right now and I need to go to the doctor, but I’m 90% sure that whoever I go see will tell me I need to lose weight and that will fix the problem. I’m just so…. UGH.

By: Sweet Machine

Sweet Machine — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:36:54 +0000

Marshmallow: read this before you joke about "retard pills."

By: Regina T

Regina T — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:24:25 +0000

JPlum and Nomie…..
I understand what you are saying about not knowing if you are anemic or not. The first time I ever had it was when I was 23 and had ulcerative colitis in which I lost a lot of blood. I never knew I had anemia at that time and I WAS hospitialized during that episode and received 3 pints of blood because of it.
Since I have had it in the past, my point was, I am very conscious of the symptoms that lead to being anemic and was put off by the doctor questioning whether or not I could be aware of it. Wouldnt someone who’s had it 3 times in the past 6 years be aware of the symptoms?
I guess I just hate having my symptoms questioned. I expect a doctor to BELIEVE me when I tell them what Im feeling and have many times been dismissed because what Im feeling MUST be related to my size and not an “actual” problem. Treatment then gets delayed and I am miserable until I develop significant worsening that could have been prevented. I hate taking pills, having tests run, blood drawn or being hospitalized, but if any of those things can keep the quality of my life at the level I strive for, then so be it.
Two months ago I had to have my appendix out. Because I didn’t have ALL the classic symptoms, I was sent home and told I probably pulled a muscle. 3 days later I am having emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix. It’s BS to dismiss a patient’s symptoms because they are large. Especially when smaller sized people get better and faster treatrment.