# Weight Loss Harassment



## annabellethecat (Aug 17, 2011)

My primary care doctor harasses me on and off to lose weight. Once she was outright abusive and screamed at me "You need to lose At Least 50 lb! You need to lose 20 lb FAST! I know I should find another doctor but I have lousy insurance and my town has a doctor shortage. I have been verbally and emotionally abused by doctors since I was a little kid. I need advice from people who have dealt with this issue. Is it worth it to try to stand up for myself and tell her to back off, or should I try to find a doctor who isn't a jerk?


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## CastingPearls (Aug 18, 2011)

Even if you told her to back off, that doesn't change the fact that she is abusive and unethical. You need to be able to trust your healthcare providers. 

Yes, I had bad experiences. A nurse's aid tried to give me insulin during a hospital stay. I told her I wasn't diabetic. She asked me a 'protocol' question: Are you refusing treatment? I said, Yes. Check my chart. And please get your supervisor. She brought back a nurse. Nurse said, are you refusing treatment? I said, I am not diabetic so yes, I am refusing treatment. Please check my chart. I called the hospital's patient advocate myself and I explained the issue with both the aide and the nurse present. She asked them: Did you check her chart? They said No. She asked Why? They both said Because all fat people deny being diabetic. 

I have LOW blood sugar. An insulin shot could have killed me.
They were both removed from the floor and the hospital gave me a formal apology. I said I didn't want them fired but I think they may have been. It was a very big deal to the hospital. I threw people out of my room regularly for crap like that afterward because I realized what could have happened had I been complacent or didn't want to make a scene.

You always have a choice. You may think you don't but you must be your OWN advocate because you only have one life, one body.


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## annabellethecat (Aug 18, 2011)

Thank you Casting Pearls. I know in my heart I need to stop the abuse and stop being so passive. I have taken so much crap from doctors that if I happen to run into one who is kind and treats me like a human being it shocks me. But a few of them are out there.


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## bettylulu (Aug 18, 2011)

Hell yes it's worth it to stand up for yourself! Everyone answers to someone- including doctors. Contact the administrators and/or the patient advocate at the hospital affiliated with your doctor, your insurance company (they are basically paying the doctor for her services on your behalf), if the doctor is part of a larger practice of doctors write the senior doctors in the practice, and the state medical board. A doctor shortage is no reason to have to put up with abusive behavior.


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## annabellethecat (Aug 18, 2011)

Thank you for your help Bettylulu. Those are excellent suggestions.


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## Lamia (Aug 25, 2011)

CastingPearls said:


> Even if you told her to back off, that doesn't change the fact that she is abusive and unethical. You need to be able to trust your healthcare providers.
> 
> Yes, I had bad experiences. A nurse's aid tried to give me insulin during a hospital stay. I told her I wasn't diabetic. She asked me a 'protocol' question: Are you refusing treatment? I said, Yes. Check my chart. And please get your supervisor. She brought back a nurse. Nurse said, are you refusing treatment? I said, I am not diabetic so yes, I am refusing treatment. Please check my chart. I called the hospital's patient advocate myself and I explained the issue with both the aide and the nurse present. She asked them: Did you check her chart? They said No. She asked Why? They both said Because all fat people deny being diabetic.
> 
> ...



You're right you are your own best advocate. People don't realize they can tell doctors no. This story makes me so angry that people are so biased. I am glad you stuck to your guns. I hope that they did get fired because honestly they're profession means they need to be held to a higher standard of conduct.


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## MissAshley (Aug 25, 2011)

CastingPearls said:


> Even if you told her to back off, that doesn't change the fact that she is abusive and unethical. You need to be able to trust your healthcare providers.
> 
> Yes, I had bad experiences. A nurse's aid tried to give me insulin during a hospital stay. I told her I wasn't diabetic. She asked me a 'protocol' question: Are you refusing treatment? I said, Yes. Check my chart. And please get your supervisor. She brought back a nurse. Nurse said, are you refusing treatment? I said, I am not diabetic so yes, I am refusing treatment. Please check my chart. I called the hospital's patient advocate myself and I explained the issue with both the aide and the nurse present. She asked them: Did you check her chart? They said No. She asked Why? They both said Because all fat people deny being diabetic.
> 
> ...



Wow it's scary to think such practice like this goes on. Thank goodness you refused or else things could have been so much worse. 


I think doctors do not understand the idea that fat doesn't mean unhealthy. They have been trained to encourage weight loss if your BMI is above average, thinking that if you lose weight then you will be perfect, and it's not right. 

To the OP, I'm sorry you have had such negative experiences. I would try to seek other doctors that are more in tune with you and are willing to listen to you.


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## Skye23 (Aug 29, 2011)

After I had some ninny pediatrician doctor take the cast off my broken elbow that the head of orthopedics at A.I. Dupont Institute for Children (world renowned) had put on there, and I fell the next day and rebroke it. I learned that even then, as a minor, I could and should tell doctors no. Although it wouldn't have helped at the time, she removed the cast (it was the type you could) to see how things were healing and then instead of putting it back on me told me my elbow wasn't really broken and snapped the cast in half in front of me without warning. In retrospect my mom and I wish we'd immediately driven back to the ER at AI Dupont and had them put the thing back on, we were only on week 3 of a 6 week stint with it. 

Since then I've refused exploratory surgery, knee surgery where the doctor said he couldn't even give me 75% odds of improvement but I WOULD ABSOLUTELY require knee replacement in 5 or so years, and a bunch of other stuff. I should mention its been more then 5 years and I'm still walking around so (shrug) guess he was wrong.


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## Diana_Prince245 (Aug 29, 2011)

CastingPearls said:


> Even if you told her to back off, that doesn't change the fact that she is abusive and unethical. You need to be able to trust your healthcare providers.
> 
> Yes, I had bad experiences. A nurse's aid tried to give me insulin during a hospital stay. I told her I wasn't diabetic. She asked me a 'protocol' question: Are you refusing treatment? I said, Yes. Check my chart. And please get your supervisor. She brought back a nurse. Nurse said, are you refusing treatment? I said, I am not diabetic so yes, I am refusing treatment. Please check my chart. I called the hospital's patient advocate myself and I explained the issue with both the aide and the nurse present. She asked them: Did you check her chart? They said No. She asked Why? They both said Because all fat people deny being diabetic.
> 
> ...



I can't give you rep right now, but OMG there are so many things wrong with this situation that it's not even funny. I'd kinda like to share it with my clinical group as an FYI so we aren't that nurse when we get out of school.


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## CastingPearls (Sep 7, 2011)

Diana_Prince245 said:


> I can't give you rep right now, but OMG there are so many things wrong with this situation that it's not even funny. I'd kinda like to share it with my clinical group as an FYI so we aren't that nurse when we get out of school.


Be my guest.


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