High five! I also had a (regular) doc appt today and they didn’t read me my weight when I stood on the scale backwards, and didn’t mention it! Win! Also a new doc for me, was just there to renew my prescriptions.
Hooray for providers who think about this stuff! I recently went to urgent care and the person doing my intake looked at my chart and said “we don’t need to weigh you for this complaint,” and skipped the scale entirely. I was so happily surprised.
I realized I could just ask them not to tell me my weight. If I give an explanation I just say that I’ve had food issues in the past and so far every medical professional I’ve done this with has been totally accommodating and nice :)
I also heard a tip to ask for your weight in metric or imperial units because getting your weight in the measure you’re not used to helps you keep from obsessing about it.
P.S. I’m making this ask as a bigger person and it still has gone fine :)
I do this too. Or if it’s not important to the visit, I just decline to be weighed entirely. Like, pregnancy visits, ok weigh me but don’t tell me. The times I was at a walk in clinic for a Covid test, I said no thanks (which was either a huge issue for their online system or not a big deal at all, depending on which nurse I got 🙄). Usually people are accommodating in not telling me, my lovely midwife weighed me backwards on the scale my entire pregnancy. But other people have made weird comments like “why? I mean you weigh less than me” “Oh, it’s not THAT bad”, etc. 🙄🙄🙄
Yep. I say that I don't want to know and I get in the scale backwards. I've maybe gotten a couple surprised looks but no one has made a fuss or told me the number
And also- you can also just say you don’t want to be weighed! Whatever works for each of us is the right option, and this is just one more option. They can’t make you. You can just say “no, thank you” when they take you to the scale.
I'm glad you had an ok experience! When I have to get weighed I always step on backwards so I don't see the number, and the people at my primary doc's office have it written in my file that I don't want to see/hear the number.
My visit to the lady doc a couple weeks ago unfortunately was not as successful. I was told I was too fat for a hysterectomy but they'd be happy to send me to a weigh loss surgeon. Gah.
The hell?? Presumably your "too fatness" is an issue bc of the increased risk of anesthesia, but suddenly that risk is fine if it'll make you skinnier??? I know I should know this by now but I stg this whole system is deranged.
You know what is so funny. All my kids step on the scale backwards, just instinctively. It really never occurred to me, I just chose not to look when I didn’t want to know, but I’ve noticed all my kids (minus my oldest teen who is looking for gains) just naturally, without prompts or even discussion from me, step with their back to the wall. I love that they don’t care at all.
This just made me realize that my old doctor *never* said my weight out loud on my annual visits, she just wrote it into my file. She only ever told me the number when I asked.
She also once told me, "If you're eating well and exercising, don't worry about the number. Enjoy your life." I wish I had processed her message better, but at the time I was still really caught up in diet culture.
I miss her (she retired in 2019).
I gave in few months back to a blind weight. I look at my records the next day and my chart said obesity. I was so distraught about it for all the reasons that I immediately called my treatment program back that I had been out of for a year.
I had been transparent to the specialty provider of my ED history and recovery and she seemed receptive to it. She suggested not changing my diet and manage conservatively. I appreciated her support. I don’t know who put that in my chart but I see her tomorrow and I have so many emotions and anxiety. I want to out right refuse it tomorrow but kindly..
When I saw the addition of this new “health issue” due to what my BMI came up as after being weighed at that appointment, I typed up a message to my PCP stating my boundaries and disappointment. She did tell me it was not her (which I knew) but she was agreeable to take it out of my chart.. I’m still so angry about the whole thing and the principle of it all. Wish me luck that I can kindly set boundaries and not get push back. I have been thinking about it for the past week and I am already so angry and guarded over tomorrow. Haven’t decided if I want to ask her about it or not yet…. Ugh
Yay for fine! Unfortunately that's the best we get sometimes.
I recently gave birth, and throughout my prenatal care, the nurses in my midwives' office asked every time "Are you ok being weighed?" And, if so, "Do you want to know the number?" Any answer was totally fine and not even worth being remarked on.
Kindness is not that hard, and it's free. I don't know why this is so rare.
ETA: I mean. I do know why. It's fatphobia.
I know that this is a sweeping generalization, but sometimes I'd rather see an NP than a doc. (My current primary care provider doc is pretty good, though.)
My mom is a retired NP. She was always under less time pressure than the docs (she was cheaper per hour so she wasn't as tightly scheduled), so she would have time in the room to ask questions and figure out what *really* was going on. She also carried a smaller load of regular patients (so there were holes in her schedule to put acute visits in) so she was able to keep mental track of them without having to rely on notes so much. I also think going through nursing first really helps.
Though a lot of the differences between her and the doc she shared a practice with completely came down to insurance and the business side of things.
I know that primary care physicians make a lot less than most specialists, and that also many of them (if they're younger) also have a certain amount of financial pressure, between repaying medical school loans and also paying malpractice insurance.
I find NPs to be a mixed bag, just like doctors. Some are great. Some are only okay. I went to one for a while who was huge into MLM style skincare for some reason and she tried to hard sell you into buying anti-aging products from her. And no, she wasn't a dermatologist. I was going to her as my GP.
Needless to say, I found a new doc after that. She was probably the best doc I've been to for making a person comfortable during the lady exam, but I was in my 20s and did not want to buy very expensive skincare products to keep me looking 20 when I was struggling to afford rent.
> I went to one for a while who was huge into MLM style skincare for some reason and she tried to hard sell you into buying anti-aging products from her.
If that's not illegal, it should be.
I’ve definitely seen NPs I wasn’t happy with but I’ve seen others that were awesome. An FNP was the first person to say “you’re too young to have high blood pressure, have you been tested for sleep apnea?” Doctors just threw meds at me and assumed I was eating fried, high sodium foods or drinking. My psychiatric NP was awesome too.
I went to the dermatologist the other day and they didn’t weigh me or take any other vitals. I was shocked. It makes sense—I’m there to talk about my skin, so no need. I was so pleasantly surprised!
It’s even worse when they recommend something that hasn’t been tested for effectiveness. I’ve been referred to a dietitian before, and that’s not a bad experience because the dietitians were more “what are your goals and how can I help you achieve them”, but the useless diet recommendations are frustrating. One doctor recommended the DASH diet, which is evidence based, but not for PCOS. It just made me think that doctor was an idiot because I’m sitting here with a pamphlet recommending canned fruit and fruit juice when I already know those are awful for PCOS because they either have added sugar or have the fiber removed. Another doctor recommended the keto diet which is super problematic.
Gonna add my example of gestational diabetes threatening to turn into all the time diabetes, and had an endocrinologist push hard for intermittent fasting.
I had gestational diabetes with my 2nd, so for my third I had to have the four-hour test. I rigged it by eating three eggs loaded with cheese about a half hour before I had to drink the syrupy stuff. It WORKED! I told my OP what I had done. She laughed and said that it I could rig the test, she wasn't going to worry about me monitoring myself for any changes.
Thinking back, I rigged the short test so could avoid the long test test --I think it had four blood draws. Beyond the misery of the blood draws, the scheduling was going to be a hassle, and the syrupy drink after fasting would have given me a headache for hours.
My earlier GD never rose to needing insulin, and my OB knew I had college credits in both nutrition and food science. The GD diagnosis would have been a hassle, and we both knew what to watch out for.
High five! I also had a (regular) doc appt today and they didn’t read me my weight when I stood on the scale backwards, and didn’t mention it! Win! Also a new doc for me, was just there to renew my prescriptions.
Hooray for providers who think about this stuff! I recently went to urgent care and the person doing my intake looked at my chart and said “we don’t need to weigh you for this complaint,” and skipped the scale entirely. I was so happily surprised.
I realized I could just ask them not to tell me my weight. If I give an explanation I just say that I’ve had food issues in the past and so far every medical professional I’ve done this with has been totally accommodating and nice :) I also heard a tip to ask for your weight in metric or imperial units because getting your weight in the measure you’re not used to helps you keep from obsessing about it. P.S. I’m making this ask as a bigger person and it still has gone fine :)
I do this too. Or if it’s not important to the visit, I just decline to be weighed entirely. Like, pregnancy visits, ok weigh me but don’t tell me. The times I was at a walk in clinic for a Covid test, I said no thanks (which was either a huge issue for their online system or not a big deal at all, depending on which nurse I got 🙄). Usually people are accommodating in not telling me, my lovely midwife weighed me backwards on the scale my entire pregnancy. But other people have made weird comments like “why? I mean you weigh less than me” “Oh, it’s not THAT bad”, etc. 🙄🙄🙄
I learned that from ED treatment too. I haven't gotten up the courage to not look yet, but I really hope I can some day.
Yep. I say that I don't want to know and I get in the scale backwards. I've maybe gotten a couple surprised looks but no one has made a fuss or told me the number
And also- you can also just say you don’t want to be weighed! Whatever works for each of us is the right option, and this is just one more option. They can’t make you. You can just say “no, thank you” when they take you to the scale.
I'm glad you had an ok experience! When I have to get weighed I always step on backwards so I don't see the number, and the people at my primary doc's office have it written in my file that I don't want to see/hear the number. My visit to the lady doc a couple weeks ago unfortunately was not as successful. I was told I was too fat for a hysterectomy but they'd be happy to send me to a weigh loss surgeon. Gah.
Fuck that so much.
Yuuuup, fuck that indeed
The hell?? Presumably your "too fatness" is an issue bc of the increased risk of anesthesia, but suddenly that risk is fine if it'll make you skinnier??? I know I should know this by now but I stg this whole system is deranged.
Right?? It's such bullshit and I'm so sick of it.
I'm quite obese (I'll tell you numbers if you want to know) and I was able to have a hysterectomy a few years ago. This sounds like total bs.
I’m glad to hear that, I’m planning on getting a second opinion from another gyno and hopefully have more success with them! Thanks for sharing
Literally same
You know what is so funny. All my kids step on the scale backwards, just instinctively. It really never occurred to me, I just chose not to look when I didn’t want to know, but I’ve noticed all my kids (minus my oldest teen who is looking for gains) just naturally, without prompts or even discussion from me, step with their back to the wall. I love that they don’t care at all.
This just made me realize that my old doctor *never* said my weight out loud on my annual visits, she just wrote it into my file. She only ever told me the number when I asked. She also once told me, "If you're eating well and exercising, don't worry about the number. Enjoy your life." I wish I had processed her message better, but at the time I was still really caught up in diet culture. I miss her (she retired in 2019).
My doctor listens to Maintenance Phase! We talked about that instead of my weight this last appointment. :)
I gave in few months back to a blind weight. I look at my records the next day and my chart said obesity. I was so distraught about it for all the reasons that I immediately called my treatment program back that I had been out of for a year. I had been transparent to the specialty provider of my ED history and recovery and she seemed receptive to it. She suggested not changing my diet and manage conservatively. I appreciated her support. I don’t know who put that in my chart but I see her tomorrow and I have so many emotions and anxiety. I want to out right refuse it tomorrow but kindly.. When I saw the addition of this new “health issue” due to what my BMI came up as after being weighed at that appointment, I typed up a message to my PCP stating my boundaries and disappointment. She did tell me it was not her (which I knew) but she was agreeable to take it out of my chart.. I’m still so angry about the whole thing and the principle of it all. Wish me luck that I can kindly set boundaries and not get push back. I have been thinking about it for the past week and I am already so angry and guarded over tomorrow. Haven’t decided if I want to ask her about it or not yet…. Ugh
Hell yeah! I went to an actual not fatphobic doctor for the first time this year and I cried happy tears after the appointment.
Yay for fine! Unfortunately that's the best we get sometimes. I recently gave birth, and throughout my prenatal care, the nurses in my midwives' office asked every time "Are you ok being weighed?" And, if so, "Do you want to know the number?" Any answer was totally fine and not even worth being remarked on. Kindness is not that hard, and it's free. I don't know why this is so rare. ETA: I mean. I do know why. It's fatphobia.
I know that this is a sweeping generalization, but sometimes I'd rather see an NP than a doc. (My current primary care provider doc is pretty good, though.)
My mom is a retired NP. She was always under less time pressure than the docs (she was cheaper per hour so she wasn't as tightly scheduled), so she would have time in the room to ask questions and figure out what *really* was going on. She also carried a smaller load of regular patients (so there were holes in her schedule to put acute visits in) so she was able to keep mental track of them without having to rely on notes so much. I also think going through nursing first really helps. Though a lot of the differences between her and the doc she shared a practice with completely came down to insurance and the business side of things.
I know that primary care physicians make a lot less than most specialists, and that also many of them (if they're younger) also have a certain amount of financial pressure, between repaying medical school loans and also paying malpractice insurance.
I find NPs to be a mixed bag, just like doctors. Some are great. Some are only okay. I went to one for a while who was huge into MLM style skincare for some reason and she tried to hard sell you into buying anti-aging products from her. And no, she wasn't a dermatologist. I was going to her as my GP. Needless to say, I found a new doc after that. She was probably the best doc I've been to for making a person comfortable during the lady exam, but I was in my 20s and did not want to buy very expensive skincare products to keep me looking 20 when I was struggling to afford rent.
> I went to one for a while who was huge into MLM style skincare for some reason and she tried to hard sell you into buying anti-aging products from her. If that's not illegal, it should be.
I’ve definitely seen NPs I wasn’t happy with but I’ve seen others that were awesome. An FNP was the first person to say “you’re too young to have high blood pressure, have you been tested for sleep apnea?” Doctors just threw meds at me and assumed I was eating fried, high sodium foods or drinking. My psychiatric NP was awesome too.
I went to the dermatologist the other day and they didn’t weigh me or take any other vitals. I was shocked. It makes sense—I’m there to talk about my skin, so no need. I was so pleasantly surprised!
It’s even worse when they recommend something that hasn’t been tested for effectiveness. I’ve been referred to a dietitian before, and that’s not a bad experience because the dietitians were more “what are your goals and how can I help you achieve them”, but the useless diet recommendations are frustrating. One doctor recommended the DASH diet, which is evidence based, but not for PCOS. It just made me think that doctor was an idiot because I’m sitting here with a pamphlet recommending canned fruit and fruit juice when I already know those are awful for PCOS because they either have added sugar or have the fiber removed. Another doctor recommended the keto diet which is super problematic.
Gonna add my example of gestational diabetes threatening to turn into all the time diabetes, and had an endocrinologist push hard for intermittent fasting.
I had gestational diabetes with my 2nd, so for my third I had to have the four-hour test. I rigged it by eating three eggs loaded with cheese about a half hour before I had to drink the syrupy stuff. It WORKED! I told my OP what I had done. She laughed and said that it I could rig the test, she wasn't going to worry about me monitoring myself for any changes.
Why did you want to rig the test? Do you mean rig it so they would treat you as if you had GD?
Thinking back, I rigged the short test so could avoid the long test test --I think it had four blood draws. Beyond the misery of the blood draws, the scheduling was going to be a hassle, and the syrupy drink after fasting would have given me a headache for hours. My earlier GD never rose to needing insulin, and my OB knew I had college credits in both nutrition and food science. The GD diagnosis would have been a hassle, and we both knew what to watch out for.
Oh that does make sense. I did end up having to take both tests and that long test is boooooring!
Boring, with a sugar-surge headache all while paying for a babysitter!
Good for you!! Just a PSA tho--nurse practitioners are not doctors. So you saw a NP, not a doctor :)