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It reminded me of an incident that happened to me a few years ago. Very long post alert.
For reference, I have a goal to lose some weight. Number is TBD and unimportant. Other than being a preemie, I have been "chubby" since age 5 or so.
I am well aware of the health problems in my family. Despite being very thin, my mom has had high blood pressure since about age 30. She was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism but has likely had it since her 30s. My dad also has high blood pressure and high cholesterol. He had a minor heart attack about 15 years ago. My maternal grandmother was diabetic and has 2 strokes, she died at age 82. My paternal grandmother had Alzheimer's. so basically I have all the risks on both sides. I know what I need to be wary of.
My own health is mostly good. Other than hypothyroidism and occasional low iron, I have no issues. My blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar are low to normal. I eat healthy most of the time and try to stay active with a few days a week of moderate exercise depending on my energy levels. I try to drive less and walk more, take the stairs. Etc. So my doctor isn't worried about the number on the scale. She pays attention to my habits and blood tests.
Back to the incident in question. One day I was getting off the bus and a woman jumped off and landed on my toe with her boot heel. Let's just say it was super painful. I grimaced in pain as I walked home for a block.
After a night of ice and ibuprofen my toe felt awful the next morning. My doctors office was closed to I went to a nearby clinic. That week was really busy with work deadlines, and I had one due that same day. So I was worried about my toe and my deadlines. And hadn't slept well.
I go in for an x-ray and the doctor takes my vitals. That day my blood pressure was high. It was like 145/85 or something. Typically it is more like 125/70.
The doctor's reaction was the problem. He has a freak out about my high blood pressure orders tests and so on. Not once did he ask me about my habits or typical readings. Or other health issues.
Or any background info. I would have told him in retrospect that those readings were atypical. But I was too stresses about my painful toe. My last physical was actually about 2 months before this incident and I was given a clean bill of health then.
So basically after coming in for an X-ray I ended up getting a blood pressure lecture and was forced to do "urgent" blood tests. (FYI, my toe did have a small fracture and the treatment was to take it easy and take Advil)
I was due for more blood tests due to my thyroid so I asked him to tack on those tests to ones he requested. A week or two later I went back to my doctor for the blood test results. She was really puzzled about the additional tests. All results were normal. She rolled her eyes and ordered me to eat my leafy greens and take a walk.
Do any of you feel like your doctor hasn't been responsive or receptive to you because of your weight or appearance?
Honestly, I've had a similar experience and I'm not overweight.
As part of a physical, a doctor asked me if I had any joint pain.
I responded, "Well, actually my knees have been bothering me for years. Quite a bit."
His response? "Maybe you need to work out."
???
I have never been overweight and in fact, I'm tall and lean. But that has nothing to do with it because you can be tall and thin and be completely out of shape. The point is he never even ASKED me if I participated in physical activities. If he had, he would have known that I was actually VERY ACTIVE and had this problem even when I would spend hours a day playing tennis (including tournaments) and softball. Not only that but I walk EVERYWHERE because I'm in a very walkable area in the city. To add to that I was pretty young (early twenties) and I'm still too young to have the joint pain that I've been having since I was thirteen.
I was actually pretty offended that someone would assume they were inactive without any physical indication and most importantly, without even asking me.
My first endocrinologist, who had seen me for several years, got frustrated at my gradual weight gain (diabetic) and kept insisting that I was eating poorly and didn't control my glucose. Finally told me to "see the janitor" since I didn't follow his advice. Turns out I had toxic multinodular goiter, which he should have known from the blood work he ordered. The next endocrinologist diagnosed it in less than 5 min. from the lab work.
A few of my friends actually work as "patients" for local med schools so they can practice interviewing patients and asking more questions. This is a common problem where doctors can't or won't relate to patients. Tends to be a problem for immigrants, people of color and women.
I was misdiagnosed for at least 4 years when in fact, I had cancer. I have always been on the chubby side, but I began DRAMATICALLY gaining weight in college. My doctors blamed the freshman 15 but in reality, I was much more active (large campus on a huge hill) and ate much better (didn't grow up with many fresh veggies) than I ever had. At one point, I was sleeping nearly 12 hours a day and had very severe back pain. The pain was so bad that I would have trouble walking, couldn't sleep, and was beginning to lose control of my bowels and bladder - not exactly normal for a college student who didn't drink, but not enough to make my doctor look more seriously into it! All was blamed on my weight. The intermittent rashes I got were blamed on stress and poor diet, and then the steroid treatment for it would make me gain 10 pounds seemingly overnight.
A month after my 23rd birthday, I was diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkin's lymphoma. The fatigue, back pain, and rashes were all related, and I had distinct symptoms starting when I was 18. Who knows how long the disease had been growing in me since my body was doing a fairly good job of fighting it off for so long.
Now I have a primary care doctor who is really trying to help me lose the chemo weight (gained a further 60 pounds due to fatigue, steroids, and a "convenience store" diet) and getting me on the right treatment for PCOS. I think she's the first doctor I've had since I was a child who actually talked to me seriously about ways to manage my weight without judgment or assuming that I was lying.
[quote=I go in for an x-ray and the doctor takes my vitals. That day my blood pressure was high. It was like 145/85 or something. Typically it is more like 125/70. quote]
And that doc didn't know that being in pain will make your blood pressure rise?
Last edited by daliowa; 06-20-2013 at 12:24 AM..
Reason: edit
It was winter. I had bought new cream colored flannel sheets that were still shedding a lot of lint. I woke up in the morning with a digestive infection. (That's a nice way of saying it was coming out both ends.)
Within two hours, I was so dehydrated I kept passing out. Five times trying to get from my bathroom to my bedroom across the hall from each other. The third time I passed out smacking my shoulder and face against the door frame of my bedroom. I rolled around on the floor a lot.
I finally crawled into my living room and called 911, passing more along the way. It's a miracle I made it to the phone. An ambulance took me to the hospital, and I was left in a room forever. I was so thirsty. I had never been so thirsty. I started drinking water from the sink in the room. I'm a germ freak, and I was drinking water from a germy ER sink. That's how thirsty I was. I don't recall ever feeling so sick and weak.
The ER doctor comes in, takes one look at me and tells me I have lice. Granted, I looked like hell. I had long hair, halfway down my back. It was matted from passing out and rolling around on the floor. There was probably vomit in it. I had raccoon eyes from old mascara. The lint from my flannel sheets was all over me.
Seriously though! Does everyone else go into the ER looking clean and pretty when they're deathly ill??!?! I did not have lice!
what actually became of the digestive infection? what were you diagnosed with?
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