'Don't Weigh Me' cards aim to reduce stress at the doctor's office

Give me a fucking break.

How do you think I feel?

Good God. Being fat isn't healthy and illness doesn't care about your feelings.

Why can’t one verbally express this?

A close relative who only narrowly survived an eating disorder has a routine for how to deal with medical weigh-ins. She's at a healthy weight these days but does not want to know the number, fearing it'll trigger obsessive thoughts, so she has to explain that she'll step on the scale and not look and ask them to please not tell her the number.

Don’t weigh me, don’t check my blood pressure, don’t draw blood, sing have me pew in a cup, and don’t use your stethoscope on me. Let’s just play doctor and patient.

I can't even think of a response that adequately expresses the stupidity of of this. What the fuck next?

*Don’t have me pee in a cup

[quote]More-Love.org was founded in 2016 by Ginny Jones.

She left her job in Billing?

Jesus fucking christ. A nation of spineless, snowflake morons.

That’s ok. I’m guessing that for those who’ll go to the length of getting these cards, they’re also likely to be extremely obese. So really, I don’t need to weigh these patients in order to tell them that they’re obese and at high risk of health problems and early death.

I really hate people.

I NEED MY SAFE SPACE.

These Fat Whores have no problem eating a McDonald's BIG BREAKFAST or 3 donuts and a sugar filled Starbucks drink for breakfast, but then act shocked and terrified when they have to face the scale.

R9 hahahahaha

I bet if I enticed card-carrying patients with promise of donuts after being weighed, there’d be less resistance.

Has Chrissy Metz weighed in on this important topic yet?

This should be fine, as long as those who refuse to be weighed agree to not saddle the healthcare system with their multitude of health problems. Tammy Slaton has been on life support twice, with numerous hospitalizations costing taxpayers millions. If people like that agree they won't clog up the hospitals, then they shouldn't be forced to be weighed.

“Don’t Weigh Me” — I might break your scale.

The responses illustrate, in some instances, the problem. It is emotionally difficult to be fat. It is. We're not stupid. We know what people think and what people say. I think this is a bit excessive but it does underscore that on this issue you can hold an honest conversation but a little gentleness wouldn't come amiss.

Start flaying me, it's Christmas after all.

Don't weigh me, bro!

At the doctor's office, I always get soooo nervous because my blood type, 0-positive, is soooo common. I worry they'll think that means I'M common, too.

So when you're done with your "weigh me? no way!" cards, please print me up a "don't take my blood" card.

This is OK - most doctors offices dont have easy access to livestock scales anyway.

And as R11 says... any doctor should be instantly able to eyeball an estimate anyway

I would like a card to present that reads, “My appointment was scheduled for two hours ago. How much longer do I have to wait? Is the doctor even here?”

R19, it’s the lengths that people go in order to avoid reality. This card is enabling people to avoid facing reality and doing something to improve their own health. When they have acute side effects of diabetes or when they have M.I., is that the time to then weigh them? Why not prevent shit from happening? An exorbitant amount of our healthcare cost is from overweight/ obesity related conditions. We could have better access to healthcare and universal health insurance if we could decrease the amount of healthcare spending on obesity alone.

Just put a donut on the scale.

You're right, R24. It's so simple. Can you even hear anything other than your own view?

Over the long Covid nightmare, I have taken the opportunity to really get healthy. I lost a LOT of weight and look completely different. A couple months ago I traveled for work for the first time in a year and a half and saw many colleagues and friends whom I had not been around since January of 2020. Not one of them mentioned my weight loss. I lost 110 lbs so it's not like it wasn't noticeable, and I was down to a M shirt and 32 pants.

My ego finally got the best of me and I said to a friend- Did you NOT notice my weight loss?? She said (she works in theater) "Yes, of course I noticed, but we're instructed not to mention anyone's weight, positively or negatively, because it might upset them." I said- Bitch, I worked my ASS off (literally and figuratively) to lose this weight. I wanna be acknowledged!

All joking aside, we can't even compliment people these days?? It's fucking crazy. Look, when I was a fat cow, I knew I was a fat cow and there was no point in pretending I wasn't or having anyone try and make me think otherwise.

For some reason I picture John Cleese in a doctor’s getup, reading this ‘get outta weigh-in card’ and responding, “Perfectly fine, Madam - no scale necessary.

You’re. Fat.”

‘I beg your pardon!’

Once you're willing to go along with "they/them" nonsense the "Don't Weigh Me!" cards are never far behind!

Perhaps they are afraid of being charged for services by the pound.

Fine, then they should bust out the calipers and measure body fat percentage. That's probably more meaningful anyway. Denial is not a solution.

This generation should be called the insufferable baby gen

"It would hut my fewwinks."

When I go to the Doctor's office, I don't want to be weighed or have blood drawn. I just want to get naked and have him feel up my balls, then stick a finger up my ass. That's the closest I get to sex during Covid.

Fine but the way my doctor knew something was wrong with me was because I was losing a drastic amount of weight very quickly. I have of course since rebounded magnificently.

From one fat bitch to these other fat bitches - snap out of it! If you are so unashamed of your weight you should jump on the scale proudly! It's not like your doctor is going to be fooled that you are skinny by just looking at you.

Any prejudices were formed when you walked in the room and confirmed when you handed them a card. They never needed a scale for that.

Don’t weigh me, bro!

R31 or simply a tape measure to do a waist measurement. Waist to height ratio is more accurate than BMI to measure health apparently

May need two people and a construction grade tape measure though, a visit to a hardware store should turn up something suitable, this one should be ideal and even comes with a lanyard so the doctor can wear it along with their stethoscope

FFS.

Do these cards come with chocolate? I'd like some for my snack purse.

jesus fucking christ, this sit has turned into a frau fest

Years ago, I complimented a colleague on her weight loss. She just sort of grimaced and brushed me off. I couldn’t understand why she wasn’t overjoyed with the compliment—until I found out she lost weight because she was undergoing chemo.

I learned my lesson. Never comment on any person’s weight. You never know what someone is going through physically or mentally. And it’s none of my business, anyway.

I believe R5's relative has the right solution. I've struggled with my weight most of my life including childhood, with some success and some failure. I also had bulimia and can be a binge eater or binge drinker, or which of course doesn't help. I know when I'm overweight and seeing the doctor's scales, who contrary to popular belief, are not that accurate, weighing you usually 5-10 lbs more than at home, it can be a huge trigger into a depression spiral. Weigh me, but don't tell me. I'll weigh myself obsessively before and after the appointment, and probably not eat for a day to have the most accurate weight, anyway.

For those making fun, fat bias in medicine is a real thing- many overweight or obese people that DO need medical help avoid the doctor because of insensitivity. The scale should not be out there in the open for all staff and patients to gawk at walking by when a patient is weighed. My doctor, nurse, care team have a right to know but nosy Suzie down the hall or at the reception desk, does not.

Perhaps the medical community is biased against fat or obese people because it is the cause of soooo many health issues. And it's something that can be controlled.

I agree that you shouldn’t comment on someone’s weight loss unless you personally know their situation and that compliments would be welcome.

But not getting weighed at the doctors office? That is fucking insane. But I further agree that the weigh-in should be done in the examination room, not out in the open in front of as many medical personnel who happen to walk by.

Fuck this is exhausting. But rethinking stuff like this is good.

Is that like silent coupons for feminine products?

[quote]If we lived in a society that didn’t hate fat and blame people for gaining weight, it would be different. But since we do, most people who gain weight feel ashamed and as if it is their fault. Our societal biases against weight turns something that could be benign – stepping onto a scale – into a highly stressful situation.

[quote]What we see is that many people have significant spikes in heart rates, blood pressure, and cortisol, sometimes for days and even weeks leading up to a doctor’s appointment. In fact, a lot of people tell me they avoid making appointments based on their fear of stepping on the scale in the doctor’s office.

[quote]These cards are for the people who have or had eating disorders and disordered eating, feel they are discriminated against on the basis of weight, or simply don’t agree with or are stressed out by the practice of getting weighed before every appointment.

I can understand people like R5's relative who have overcome anorexia, bulimia or excessive exercise not wanting to revert to old patterns of behavior after seeing their weight, being weighed but not seeing the number is a good option because there are anorexia/bulimia related health issues that can cause weight loss and an undisclosed relapse is an unfortunate possibility so doctors should keep track of a patient's weight. Overweight people who avoid doctor visits or have anxiety, "significant spikes in heart rates, blood pressure, and cortisol" over the thought of being weighed is a problem in itself, like R3 said, illness doesn't care about your feelings. No one should be shamed but doctors shouldn't be coddling their patients either, avoiding reality doesn't change reality, maintaining a healthy weight could save your life.

You know it's only women who want this card.

[quote] The scale should not be out there in the open for all staff and patients to gawk at walking by when a patient is weighed. My doctor, nurse, care team have a right to know but nosy Suzie down the hall or at the reception desk, does not.

What a load of narcissistic horseshit. You think anyone who works in a doctor's office gives a shit what some stranger weighs? Or better yet has absolutely nothing better to do than rubberneck while that person is on a scale for a few seconds? I've been going to doctors for 40 years and I have never caught anyone peeking at my weight on the scale. Trust me, no one gives a flying fuck about you.

It all has to do with the culture of narcissism....me, me, me.

R47 you obviously didn't read the thread about the fat queen who was too large for the Indochino suit he wanted. Fat gay men have feelings too you know

[quote] but a little gentleness wouldn't come amiss.

Uh, what?

R48 it's actually a HIPAA violation. Anyone without a right or medically necessary reason to know, should not see your PHI, and your weight is PHI.

On another note - You are really angry. Why?

R52 knows absolutely nothing about HIPAA.

HIPAA has to do with healthcare professionals disseminating your medical information improperly, not seeing it themselves, nor any random “privacy” violation people think of, such as asking vaccine status.

I’m so sick of people screaming “HIPAA!!!!” when they have NO idea what they’re talking about.

Cute, r36, but you couldn’t even be bothered to read the thread, huh?

I can understand how triggering this can be.

The last time I got on the scale at the doctor’s office he said, “Hey, that’s my phone number!”

R53 actually you're not allowed to view or access someone's PHI without a legit reason for doing do even if you are s provider. However you are correct in most people screeching about HIPAA know what it is.

I WANT to be weighed. I need to be victimized.

A doctor would want to know a patient’s weight for a variety of medically necessary reasons, including for the prescription of medicines. The correct amount of a drug for a person weighing 160 pounds could be quite different than what would be prescribed for someone who is 320 pounds.

Some small commuter planes ask each passenger their weight.

When I was going to the dr's office quite frequently and there was really no good reason to weigh me, I would verbally decline and say it wasn't necessary. Never received any push-back from medical personnel.

There are more than a few lab tests that also need a patients weight in order to accurately result them.

I also want a second card that I can wave at the haughty nurses: I HAVE STATED MY BOUNDARIES!

Kill it, [R35]!

[quote] Has Chrissy Metz weighed in on this important topic yet?

Weighed in? That’s hate speech and you know it.

The obese hog people no longer even want to know how many tons they are.

Body positivity meant not shaming people for their weight (which still happens fatties), it's their body, not yours, why'd you care?

Somehow we ended up with whatever this is.

Although I totally agree this is ridiculous, it is usually not hard to tell if someone is fat and needs to lose weight.

[quote] I've been going to doctors for 40 years and I have never caught anyone peeking at my weight on the scale.

Those truck scale numbers are hard to see from the interstate.

New podcast from WNYC Public Radio entitled 'The Weight Of Love'

Katie Ernst is 36 and lives in Minneapolis.

Katie Ernst: I identify as fat. That's been on a long time coming, you know, I, I haven't proudly claimed that my whole life. I had this view on other fat people that they were disgusting. I'm a little ashamed to admit that. Because "disgust," that's a word. And of course the classic projection. If I saw other fat bodies as disgusting, I saw myself as disgusting.

AS: Looking back, how do you think the way you've thought about your body affected your romantic life?

KE: Mm. In every way. I grew up in the '90s during the "obesity epidemic" and all those narratives coming my way. I can remember, I don't know what show it was, it was some daytime talk show and they had couples on the show that were fat women with good looking skinny men. They were speculating basically, and taking questions from the audience about why would a good-looking, fit man be with a fat woman? The answer really was either because the woman was a beard, the man was gay, or it was a fetish of some kind, because there's just no possible way that a man would love a fat woman. I think I really internalized that and I could remember this.

This all goes back to schools giving awards to every child just for participating. Those losers grew up and now want to be validated and accepted for being fat.

The weird graphic on the right side of that card reminds me of the profile of Alfred Hitchcock. Evokes fat. Bad design.

This sounds like something Chasten would come up with.

When I go to the eye doctor I hand them a card asking them not to look into my eyes because it is triggering for me.

I go to a younger internist who doesn’t usually weigh me. I asked her why and she says it’s not usually medically necessary and that blood tests, BP, etc and talking to her patients give her better indications, and she thinks weight biases some doctors away from accurate diagnoses. She weighs people if it’s necessary for dosing medicine or some other reason. Honestly she’s a great doc, so this seems plausible.

"That’s ok. I’m guessing that for those who’ll go to the length of getting these cards, they’re also likely to be extremely obese."

No. Obesity has nothing to do with your ability to say "No" when asked to step on the scale.

These cards are for the neurotic weenies who can't just say "No" to a person who's politely asking them to do something unnecesary.

I work in urgent care and I’ve had patients saying they don’t want to be weighed when I’m triaging them. I say “I need it for your medical record and for medication dosages, please step in the scale now.” If they’re coming to me for treatment, they are going to get weighed. If they refuse, I refuse treatment. The patient does not call the shots.

R76, the only medically necessary reason that a person needs to be weighed is because some medications require weight-based dosing, or because fluctuations in weight are a way to judge ongoing problems in some conditions like heart or kidney failure. And the majority of your patients aren't going to need a weight-based dose of anything, and are coming to see you for something where careful weighing isn't medically necessary.

The reality is that patients have the legal right to refuse any service, and you have no valid reason to be such a dick.

I am a doctor and I don't dare mention weight and its impact on health. I only will discuss weight if the patient begins the discussion. I don't want to be attacked for being a fat phone.

When I trained years ago, one of the older attending would pinch the fat patients and tell them to stop overeating.

R5 My sister struggled with anorexia (actual anorexia, not like how every fat chick who skips a meal claims that they're "anorexic" now) and she told me that because it's in her medical history since she's always asked if she wants to know her weight.

Places like Kaiser should just be clear, weigh in or take your business elsewhere. We're not posting your weighing-in on our youtube channel.

There is no way to defend this nonsense. Please stopp trying.

My vet and I were discussing a related topic the other day. I’m not in favor of lots of treats for pets, and I know a few people who laugh off the fact that their pets are overweight. The vet said that when she was in school, they cautioned vet students about bringing up a pet’s weight with owners who are themselves “large.” She said that she has never ignored a health risk for the animals in her care regardless of heft of the owners.

Your sister is lucky to encounter folks who pay attention, R79. My relative has found that the medical assistants who weigh her before bringing her into an exam room are often oblivious to (or insensitive about) her documented history, which is why she now brings it up herself.

I was telling my wife about this thread and she said in med school and residency she sometimes encountered hospital patients who refused to be weighed. She said what they didn't know is many of the beds on the floors have in-bed scales, so they were weighed regardless and the reading was less accurate than if they had cooperated.

Think how stressed the scale feels.

The American Left is out of control. Total babies.

Trans women are women.

[quote] All joking aside, we can't even compliment people these days?? It's fucking crazy. Look, when I was a fat cow, I knew I was a fat cow and there was no point in pretending I wasn't or having anyone try and make me think otherwise.

You can thank progressives for that shit. Everything is sexual assault now.

Here Kitty, Kitty...

I don’t get it. On one hand everyone is upset about Covid and advocating that we do everything we can to prevent it. We’ve learned that obesity is one of the main comorbidities. But we are also being told to not just accept but celebrate fat people. What’s going on?

r88 how weird that society would give mixed messages about a topic! That never happens!

R27, it’s not so simple. I witnessed once a radical transformation like yours at work. I was based in the regional office, and would travel to the branches on a regular basis. In one of them, I worked with the CFO, a very fat man, for a couple of weeks. I didn’t come back to that branch for a good 12 months. When I did, I was shocked to see how the guy had slimmed down. My first reaction was to congratulate him on his weight loss, but then I thought what if he has cancer, or any other severe illness that would have caused this? I didn’t say anything.

It can be irritating when you're fat to have people constantly comment on how you've lost weight. All it does is tell you "they know you were fat, they're watching and judging you, and they will notice if you gain any weight in the future, so watch out." Many fat people who have lost a lot of weight want to pretend like it never happened, and people mentioning how much "healthier" they look is annoying as hell.

How long before Dr Now gets canceled?

There was a nurse at a doctor's office that I went to years ago who was kind of a nightmare. When you got weighed, she would loudly announce what the scale read. I mean, it was actually kind of funny. They finally had to boot her out of there because she was past it. It wasn't until she was gone that I mentioned it to my doctor that. maybe that wasn't very cool of her to announce people's weight to the world, HIPAA and all.

I used to work at a clinic that would do a lot of annual physicals. There was one complete nut job who not only would not allow you to tell you her weight, but you couldn't even mention her age. I could see her age in her chart, but I was not allowed reference it in any way.

Crazy.

Everyone deserves hotness-affirming care, and it's no one's business what's under your clothes. NO ONE'S.

lololol

Obese people stress me out. They should stay home and off social media.

R88:

1) Fat people aren't more likely to spread COVID than others, so you have no cause to fear or shun them. They're just more likely to die from it if they catch it.

2) Everyone else has realized that being mean to fat people won't make them any thinner, get with the program.

This is dumb, but I sort of see what led up to it.

There are some doctors who will just say "lose weight" to anything and everything. A lot of doctors aren't very good about understanding overweight patients.

On the other hand, if someone is severely overweight they need to hear what the impacts could be. They definitely need to be able to handle that, not hide from it.

If a scale is in a high traffic area with other patients buzzing around that's not kosher. Things that go into your private chart should remain private. I still recall a Kaiser office that had the scale directly behind the large reception desk. This scale was clearly visible to everyone in the waiting room. That wasn't cool, particularly when someone's weight was loudly announced to the entire waiting room.

[quote]McDonald's BIG BREAKFAST

Mmmmmm....

CNN reports fat.

One of the biggest reasons people avoid going to the doctor is being weighed. It results in people dying unnecessarily. This is not an uncommon thing.

If people don't want to be weighed, they shouldn't be. The doctor can see exactly what's going on just by looking at them. You think there's any medical difference between a 5'5" woman who weighs 185 vs 201? She's overweight, the dr can see just by looking at her, and if he wants to bring it up, fine, if not, fine too. blood work/urinalysis will reveal if there are health problems that need to be addressed.

Overweight people know they're overweight, they usually know it's not doing their health any good, and they also know their doctor isn't going to be able to help them lose weight.

Seriously, the only medical treatment that has been shown to get weight off and keep it off for a good number of patients is bariatric surgery, and surgery isn't appropriate for most overweight patients.

[quote] Fat people aren't more likely to spread COVID than others, so you have no cause to fear or shun them

Yes absolutely. They're like the lumbering zombies - you can easily run away from them.

[quote] I am a doctor

Oh. Hi, Doc. Maybe you can help me. My arm, it hurts when I go like this. Thanks.

During the Covid lockdown, I gained 25 pounds. I was in such denial about it, until I stepped on the scale. I was shocked, and I immediately watched my food consumption. You can’t argue with the numbers. I’ve been losing the weight slowly. That’s why people should be weighed. They need to be shocked into reality and to deal with the results.

R97 Don’t be ridiculous. No one “fears” or “shuns” fat people. You huffily suggest that discouraging obesity for serious, documented health reasons - rather than celebrating it - is “being mean to fat people.” Come on. Why so defensive? I don’t need to “get with a program” but maybe you do.

I don't mind being weighed, it's the blood pressure cuff that makes me nervous because that thing gets tight and it hurts!!!😧

R108 I had one of those things the other day when they were sedating me at the dentist. I hate those things but I put up with them because I'll be fucked if I'm going without sedation!

I wonder if they have mirrors?

Somebody's going to die from this one way or another

It kind of reminds me of this case.

[quote] He was rightly classified as a man. But that classification threw us off from considering his actual medical needs.

The last sentence is a hoot:

A Spanish-language version of the card is also available:

[quote] I'll be fucked if I'm going without sedation!

Are your tops that bad looking?

There IS some level of bias against fat people at a doctor's office. Just as there is bias against black people. There are medical students that have been told now, in this year in this decade - not decades ago - that black people don't feel pain as much as white people.

This kind of thing is what can happen with that kind of bias.

My mom was about 40-50 pounds overweight for most of my childhood and had severe cramps and bleeding along with a host of other symptoms....she was told her issues were all in her head or about weight and to just lose the weight. It took a suicide attempt for anyone, including my father, to take her seriously enough to see a specialist who, lo and behold, found out she had massive fibroid tumors. Once removed it was as if she was a different person. But she suffered for 8ish years before it happened.

R107, repeat after me:

"Other people's weight is out of my control. I can't stop fat people being fat, fat people don't care what I think, I can't change anyone but myself, my attempts to change other people will accomplish nothing except to convince them that I am an asshole. From now on I shall mind my own business."

Repeat until it sinks in.

R115 Just resolve to lose the weight in the new year. You’ll feel infinitely better, physically and emotionally. You’ll prolong and maybe even save your own life.

I used to work with a lady who was morbidly obese. She was one of those women who was super hateful towards people who worked at staying in shape or attempted at eating well, our female co-workers especially. Whenever any of the ladies in our department would get pregnant she would rejoice-- that they were going to put on weight. And she would always talk about them behind their back, that she hoped they "got fat" after they had kids. She had some sort of gastric surgery a couple of years ago and lost a shitton of weight. All she does now is post selfies and Bible quotes. I'm not sure if shes praying that karma doesn't come calling for her and she can keep the weight off or if she's just throwing the quotes up there as a general smokescreen.

She would have been the type to have been offended by hearing her weight at a doctor's appointment and come back to work to take it out on the rest of us. I say let those who want to ignore it, please. Dealing with their rage after their doctor visits isn't something the rest of us should have to deal with when physicans already know they are overweight.

Again. This site is not lipstick alley.

The fat haters here use the “burden on our healthcare system” excuse to justify their bias. Let me present to you just a few other life choices that burden our healthcare system:

1. PrEP - “Just choose not to have sex and you won’t need to use it! Abstinence and self control are key!”

2. Zoloft and other depression/anxiety drugs: “Just exercise and your depression will melt away! Just choose to be happy! Just write in your journal and you’ll feel better!”

3. Runners/obsessive gym rats - As a former runner, I can promise you I spent more time and money on surgery/doctors visits/physical therapy sessions than I did when I was 20 lbs overweight. I have a more moderate, balanced exercise regimen now, but the aches and pains from those running injuries still linger.

4. High school sports: during my many hours of running-induced physical therapy, l saw scores of high school athletes rehabbing knee and other injuries. A 17-year-old should not be hobbling around like an old man because Coach Dickwad wants to win the Division 4 Midsection Regional Gobbledygook Tournament while dangling the carrot of a potential (but not guaranteed) college scholarship in your face.

5. Fertility treatments: couples in their late 20s are now spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on these treatments because they aren’t getting pregnant “fast enough.” My company insurance covers 100% of this, but nickel and dimes me when I need to go to a doctor out of network. (I’d much rather pay for birth control and abortions than indulging couples who don’t feel “complete” without a baby, but to each his own).

6. Alcoholism—“Just stop drinking and your liver will be fine!”

My point is, there a lot of “burdens” on our healthcare system that one could argue are a matter of “choice” and could be eliminated. Don’t just single out overweight people because it justifies your own fear of fat.

[quote]The scale should not be out there in the open for all staff and patients to gawk at walking by when a patient is weighed.

That's why they are in rooms behind a closed doors... does your doctor's office also double as a grocery store?

At every drs office I go to, the assistants behind the glass at reception are all, always overweight.

I'm 250 pounds but I identify as 150. Respect me!

Can someone please print up a pack of these and send them to Roxane Gay?

R119 Prep actually prevents costs in the health system due to HIV. And a course of Prep costs a tiny fraction of the costs a 4-500 pounder imposes on the system through all the various ailments that come at that size

Ditto Zoloft, and exercise does not relieve all instances of depression, its a useful tool and beneficial in other ways, but for some people medication is the only answer. And again, Zoloft and other antidepressants cost a tiny fraction of obesity treatments

Runners and high school sports, yes, pushed to extremes these can impose unnecessary costs on the health system, but in moderation they actually make people healthier

Fertility treatments - generally these do not come from public funding, they certainly dont here and we have a fairly comprehensive public health system down under

Alcoholism - now here you absolutely have a point. Anyone can stop drinking if they recognise its a problem in the first place and get help as needed. Plenty of help is available

I have no more respect for alcoholics who refuse to stop drinking than I have for the grotesquely morbidly obese

"Fertility treatments - generally these do not come from public funding"

Remind me that again when it's time to do my taxes. Your crotch fruit is like winning the lottery each January.

The card reads: "I might break the scale--would you really want that?"

R120 But they are in far too many doctor's offices. It's a fact and it is an insult to every patient that the medical office sees. There are physicians on this site, If you are guilty of this offense you need to remedy the situation for 2022. Make this your New Year's pledge to respect your patient's privacy.

RE: The scale should not be out there in the open for all staff and patients to gawk at walking by when a patient is weighed. That's why they are in rooms behind a closed doors... does your doctor's office also double as a grocery store?

That's fucking ABSURD. Shielding someone from the truth about their weight does more harm than good. If someone can vacuum their way through enough bad food to make them fat, they should know how much damage they're doing to themselves.

Catering to a person’s delusions rather than reality and medical necessity is irresponsible. It’s like that trans man who was offended when asked about the potential that they could be pregnant.

An older gay guy told me that straight men loved to be complimented. So I saw a co-worker for the first time in a while and he had lost a LOT of weight. I gushed (?) all over him and boy, was he ever pleased! I was like his best friend from there on out.

If I have cancer please don't tell me cards.

I've never been to a doctor's office that didn't have the scale right out in the middle of the hallway/walkway area. I've been to a couple that even had the whole triage area where they take your BP and temperature out there, too.

[quote]My point is, there a lot of “burdens” on our healthcare system that one could argue are a matter of “choice” and could be eliminated. Don’t just single out overweight people because it justifies your own fear of fat.

Datalounge is full of people who are miserable and who come here to make themselves feel better by trashing others, even though it very obviously doesn't actually make them feel better. Fat is one of the shortlist of topics that's always dragged out every time DLers are crabby, and it's Christmas Day, so they're extra crabby. Instead of addressing what they're really upset about, they're on here screaming about how fat people are costing them tax dollars etc. etc., and it's not because it's actually a pressing issue they're interested in, it's because the OP is one of those posters who serves up one of the same 15 or so topics to bitch about, day in and day out, so they just took the opportunity the lazy OP gave them.

I guarantee you that not a one will be thinking about the terrible horrible burden of their tax dollars going to fat fat water rats by Monday morning. They won't think about it again until they get mad for 3 seconds at some fat lady in front of them ordering a coffee with whipped cream (that they themselves only allow themselves once a year "as a special treat") or until someone like OP posts about it again.

R133 types fat.

[R19] Totally right

I loathe being weighed at the doctor. I gained weight during Covid. When my gym closed, I started running and blew out my back and a knee. When the gym reopened I could only do light exercise. I’d rather not be lectured please.

I am quite a worrier, always convincing myself that either my family members or I have cancer of some sort. I've Googled almost every kind of cancer you can think and rapid weight loss without trying is a symptom of almost each and every one. So if I had a symptom like that, I'd definitely want the doctor to know about it. Of course there are many other causes as well, but my mind always jumps straight to cancer (it is a phobia of mine, my loved ones or me getting it). So if the doctor needs to know my weight to figure out something is wrong, so be it. I won't stand in their way.

As always, it’s one extreme or the other. On one hand, it’s absurd to say that weight doesn’t matter. The morbidly obese are excluded from many clinical trials at the development phase, so they’re already at a disadvantage. And although lean body mass is the main factor, what’s frequently ignored is that fat people have a lot more muscle mass than the average person for whom the drugs were initially developed. As such, dosing can be thrown off.

There are also differences in blood volume, cardiac output, more inflammation, and a number of other deviations from the norm which any doctor worth his/her salt needs to be considering at all times.

On the other hand, there’s no need to be a dick about it. Fat people know they’re fat. A lot of them avoid regular visits because they’ve been insulted, talked down to, and treated like they have an intellectual disability by old doctors who are mentally stuck in 1982 and believe shock value is what’s needed to light a fire under that fat ass.

[quote] RE: The scale should not be out there in the open for all staff and patients to gawk at walking by when a patient is weighed.

Sure, go kill all the fun of being at a doctor's office.

R127 thats a fair point. Weighing needs to be done, but only in private. The scales should NOT be in a public area.

From what I can recall from my last time I was at the doctor, the scales were in the doctors individual office, as they should be

It’s not so much being weighed, it’s that some people avoid the doctor because they don’t want to be weighed so health issues are not addressed.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

"One at a time please . . ."

I also put on weight during Covid. I knew I did but not how much. At my first physical post lockdown, it hit me like a truck. I’ve lost approx half of my Covid gain and still working on it!

[quote] That's why they are in rooms behind a closed doors... does your doctor's office also double as a grocery store?

Get out of the produce scale! You’ll break it!

R137, of course everyone is free to agree to be weighed, but the point I keep trying to make is that weighing patient's isn't usually medically necessary.

It's necessary for certain heart and kidney conditions, advisable during pregnancy and in treating thyroid conditions, useful after bariatric surgery and yes, in cancer treatment, but... for the average run of the mill patient coming in for a physical it's not medically necessary. If a person is fat they know they're fat, and they know their doctor doesn't have a magic cure for obesity, and if self-consciousness over the scale is a "barrier to care" then the doctors need to politely allow people to decline weighing.

The most shocking thing I'm reading on here is that people are getting weighed in a public area. I've never been to a doctor's surgery where that's happened, I wouldn't have even realised it. The doctor's (here in Australia anyway) always have a scale in their room. Do people still really get weighed in public? Sounds so weird.

R130, they really do. I casually told a friend of a friend once that I was starting bodybuilding because I wanted a better body and then asked him: "what's your routine?" He was so flattered (he didn't have one, he was just a tradie), he went from being someone I just said hi to at parties to someone who spent most of his time with me at those parties, trying to teach me to DJ, looking after me when I was pinging, wanting to take me fishing at one point. It was kinda adorable, actually.

Cancel scales....simple.

Don't weigh me!

You made that mistake before...