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Old 04-16-2012, 12:26 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
349 posts, read 616,349 times
Reputation: 281

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Yes I do.
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Old 04-16-2012, 03:13 PM
 
43,011 posts, read 108,061,041 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by size View Post
Thanks Paint It Pink, so drs sound like what I'm looking for, but they are internal medicine and not family. do you use them as your PCP?
Internal medicine and "family" are virtually the same thing, except internal medicine doctors treat only adults. And yes, you can use them as PCPs. I wouldn't go to a "family" doctor for anything more than a sinus infection. I prefer internal medicine doctors because they often have specialties in addition to general medicine. In other words, they often have more knowledge than the average family doctor.
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Old 04-16-2012, 03:58 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
7,541 posts, read 10,261,826 times
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Dr. Frank Sessoms in East Liberty is a real large man, and has been around for more than 30 years. I can't say anything good or bad about his skills, however, but I'm sure he'd have empathy for those of similar size.

Dr. Robert W. Bernstein in the Lillian Kaufmann Bldg is a big guy too. And he's a good doctor, real sharp, he's treated me and is non-judgemental (I'm not overweight, however).
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Old 04-16-2012, 06:30 PM
 
43,011 posts, read 108,061,041 times
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Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam View Post
Dr. Frank Sessoms in East Liberty is a real large man, and has been around for more than 30 years. I can't say anything good or bad about his skills, however, but I'm sure he'd have empathy for those of similar size.

Dr. Robert W. Bernstein in the Lillian Kaufmann Bldg is a big guy too. And he's a good doctor, real sharp, he's treated me and is non-judgemental (I'm not overweight, however).
It's interesting how the size of the doctor influences the doctor's opinion. My doctor is a little large. When I was with hubby at an appointment, I expressed concern about hubby gaining weight during his recovery. After all, heart attacks run in hubby's family. Thankfully hubby hasn't had a heart attack yet but overweight siblings younger than him have had heart attacks. Hubby isn't overweight yet, but he is start to get that "weight in the middle" that his unhealthy family members have. The doctor just brushed it off, like his gaining weight couldn't result in a potential health problem. Fortunately, hubby knows better on his own but it's sort of unsettling that a doctor would brush off something so serious.
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Old 04-16-2012, 07:42 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,912 posts, read 24,660,570 times
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Hm, interesting. I would like to think an overweight doctor would have some sympathy for the condition but still be realistic about the risks and so forth. It's probably not useful to generalize in this regard. I don't think we could look at one or two instances and conclude that an overweight internist is going to disregard weight as a factor in potential health issues. I doubt that is the case on the whole.

Plus, you went to the appointment with your husband? Is that the only way you could make him go?

I need to go to the damn doctor myself. Even moreso now because I just switched plans and naming a PCP is required in this one. Won't be of as much use if I have a problem and I've never actually seen the PCP I've named. Luckily I don't have things I'm always running off to the doctor for. But I should get checkups anyway.
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Old 04-16-2012, 08:10 PM
 
43,011 posts, read 108,061,041 times
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Originally Posted by greg42 View Post
Plus, you went to the appointment with your husband? Is that the only way you could make him go?
I wish it was simply my being overcontrolling over something silly. Without going into detail, hubby's surgery took a year for full recovery. He couldn't even feed or bath himself for a few months. I was his caregiver in the fullest sense of the word. It was a difficult year. Thankfully, he's better now. We only have the weight gain that resulted from the inactivity to contend with now.

Quote:
Originally Posted by greg42 View Post
I need to go to the damn doctor myself. Even moreso now because I just switched plans and naming a PCP is required in this one. Won't be of as much use if I have a problem and I've never actually seen the PCP I've named. Luckily I don't have things I'm always running off to the doctor for. But I should get checkups anyway.
Annual physicals are important after a certain age. I'd say 40 is a good age to start having them.
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Old 04-16-2012, 09:04 PM
 
Location: Penn Hills
1,326 posts, read 2,008,525 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greg42 View Post
Hm, interesting. I would like to think an overweight doctor would have some sympathy for the condition but still be realistic about the risks and so forth. It's probably not useful to generalize in this regard. I don't think we could look at one or two instances and conclude that an overweight internist is going to disregard weight as a factor in potential health issues. I doubt that is the case on the whole.
In my experience, (most) overweight people typically don't expect doctors to not say anything about them being overweight, or to disregard issues directly caused by being overweight that losing weight can fix. What happens with some doctors is that they'll attribute anything and everything to being overweight and outright ignore symptoms. Symptoms that turn out to be cancer or other things get ignored by PCPs because patients are told "oh just go lose some weight, it's just because you're fat." There are also plenty of studies showing that many doctors treat overweight and obese people with straight up disdain, and it impacts the care they receive, regardless of why they're at the doctor's office.
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Old 04-16-2012, 09:23 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,912 posts, read 24,660,570 times
Reputation: 5164
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
I wish it was simply my being overcontrolling over something silly. Without going into detail, hubby's surgery took a year for full recovery. He couldn't even feed or bath himself for a few months. I was his caregiver in the fullest sense of the word. It was a difficult year. Thankfully, he's better now. We only have the weight gain that resulted from the inactivity to contend with now.
Glad he's doing well, sorry to be so quick with the joke.

It's quite common, though, for men not to want to go. I hear about it from a colleague at work for example. Plus, me.
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Old 04-17-2012, 04:35 AM
 
43,011 posts, read 108,061,041 times
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Originally Posted by greg42 View Post
It's quite common, though, for men not to want to go. I hear about it from a colleague at work for example. Plus, me.
I know! It's a weird guy thing! I've had to enlist the help of friends and family to help motivate him about extremely concerning things.
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Old 04-17-2012, 05:56 AM
 
Location: Sq Hill
14 posts, read 33,090 times
Reputation: 21
Overweight physicians are indeed less likely to discuss weight management with their patients.
http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/va...y2011402a.html

And while there are definitely more productive and empathetic approaches than scolding, the topic of a patient's weight needs to be discussed openly. I wouldn't consider an obese patient 'healthy'; you are at increased risk for hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, premature death, etc, etc. whether or not you are showing signs of illness.

And, yes, I'm a doctor who routinely has these discussions with patients, especially in relation to their current complaints and illnesses, which are frequently weight related.
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