Open letter to all doctors everywhere
Dear Doctors everywhere,
First off, I'd like to remind you that everyone is different. I'd like to ask you not to judge a book by its cover. If you saw my test results and then came in to talk to a skinny person, the conversation would have gone much differently. You would have asked questions and let that person be a part of their health plan.
I have never been afforded such dignity.
It is my feeling that at least half of what comes out of your mouth should be questions. The other half can be advice, but the questions should come first and if the advice discounts the questions, then let me remind you to always listen to your patient's answers!
Do not assume. It makes an ass of only YOU in this situation.
Also, the BMI has been discounted as an acceptable gauge to determine healthy weight in adults by nearly the entire scientific community EXCEPT DOCTORS. Maybe you should go back to test results. I'll grant you that my weight is a problem, but my friend is barely above the anorexic looking weight she used to be and was told she is obese at her last appointment. She looks good, she's healthy, and she's super active. My brother in law runs every day, looks super healthy, and everyone assumes he is, but his BAD Cholesterol is through the roof AND his GOOD Cholesterol is extremely low. His doctor does not make him feel ashamed.
Consider that for a moment. Are you shaming your patients? Then stop it.
Now I'd like to point out that if an anorexic or bulimic person walks into your office and says he/she is depressed, you are likely to suggest therapy and sympathetic intervention. You don't just say "Eat more" or "binge less" and send them on their way, do you? No. It's well proven to be about mental health (control issues ARE mental health problems, people!)
So why are fat people not considered as possibly having a root cause? No. It's just lack of will power. That's dismissive. I think anorexic people lack will power to look in the mirror and be okay with themselves. (Whether I really believe that or not is beside the point. You see where I'm going with that argument, right?)
And when I mentioned in my appointment that I lost a bunch of weight, got depressed, and gave up, why did that not alarm you? Frankly, it should have. Frankly, I've considered suicide at least a dozen times in the last two years. Frankly, I don't know how to ask for help because when I do, people tell me losing weight is the answer.
But it wasn't the fucking answer.
Sincerely,
Patients everywhere (especially the overweight, chubby, fat, and obese ones)
