you don't have to get on the scale

poet_kelly
on 3/24/12 1:50 am - OH
This may seem really obvious to some people, but it was a radical idea to me the first time I heard it.

You  know how whenever you go to the doctor, whether it's because you have the flu or a sprained ankle or anything, the first thing they want you to do is get on the scale?

You don't have to get on the scale.

In many, many, many cases, your weight is not relevant to whatever you're seeing a doctor about.  And if that's the case, you don't have to get on the scale.  You can just politely say, "No, thank you, I prefer not to be weighed."

You don't even have to get on the scale when you go to follow up appointments with your surgeon, if you prefer not to.  Yes, you might consider the amount of weight you've lost as relevant to the reason you're seeing your surgeon.  But if you're really seeing the surgeon to find out if your incisions are healing or if your lab results were OK, then your weight isn't really relevant.  Certainly you can get on the scale if you want to.  But you don't have to.

I've noticed that now that I've lost a lot of weight, I don't mind getting on the scale when I see my doctor.  But that doesn't necessarily mean I think it's a good thing for me to do.  Because the practice of weighing all patients, no matter what they come in for, does make many patients uncomfortable and it's not medically necessary and it might be a good thing for doctors to change.  So I might rethink my willingness to get on the scale next time I see my PCP.

View more of my photos at ObesityHelp.com          Kelly

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR.  If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor.  Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me.  If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her.    Check out my blog.

 

avidreader
on 3/24/12 1:52 am - Cary, NC
Good to know - every doctor I go to makes me get on the scale and even at my current weight I HATE being weighed!!

Highest/Surgery/Current/Goal
250/241/139.5/125
I have a new philosophy, I'm only going to dread one day at a time.  Charlie Brown
poet_kelly
on 3/24/12 1:55 am - OH
But they don't make you.  They can't make you.  They ask you to.  Or they offer you the opportunity to.  You can decline.

View more of my photos at ObesityHelp.com          Kelly

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR.  If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor.  Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me.  If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her.    Check out my blog.

 

Cleopatra_Nik
on 3/24/12 2:22 am - Baltimore, MD
I do weigh when I go to my surgeon (at four years out, labs and weight maintenance are the only real points of going). If I feel like I can't handle the number I face away from the display and ask them not to say the number aloud.
poet_kelly
on 3/24/12 2:39 am - OH
That's a really good idea, and a great way of telling them what you need and taking care of yourself.

View more of my photos at ObesityHelp.com          Kelly

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR.  If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor.  Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me.  If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her.    Check out my blog.

 

MrsLitch
on 3/24/12 2:24 am - Morris, IL
RNY on 06/04/12
While you don't have to aren't many prescription dosages based on weight? I wouldn't want to see my doctor and have him prescribe me a medication based on a guess about my weight or on the last recorded weight if my weight had significantly changed.
poet_kelly
on 3/24/12 2:35 am - OH
I think some are, yeah, but many aren't.  You are likely to be giving the same dose of an antibiotic or an antidepressant whether you weigh 150 pounds or 250 pounds.  My orthopedic specialist gives me the same amount of Vicodin and Flexeril now that I weigh 138 pounds as he did when I weighed 270 pounds. 

In fact, psychiatrists rarely weigh patients when prescribing meds for them, yet if you went to a PCP for an antidepressant, they probably would want to weigh you.  Not because your weight affects the dose of the med, but just because that's what they always do there.

Certainly if getting the proper dose of a drug depends on the doc knowing your weight, it would be wise to get on the scale.  I would hope the doc would explain that to you and, if it was dangerous to prescribe a drug without knowing your weight, I would hope the doc would refuse to give you the drug if you refused to get on the scale.

You can always ask the doc, will my weight affect my treatment for whatever condition I am seeing you for?  If it affects your treatment, then I would get on the scale.

View more of my photos at ObesityHelp.com          Kelly

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR.  If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor.  Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me.  If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her.    Check out my blog.

 

mpjones
on 3/24/12 2:34 am
Isn't it awful, but there have been many many times I put off going to my doctor SIMPLY because I didn't want to step on the scale !! It's not like everyone couldn't see I was vastly over-weight just by looking at me !!! Just idea of having anyone see just how much I weighed was terrifying to me !! Really-how dumb was that ?? Now I have to get weighed whether I like it or not to verify my weight for insurance approval and it still kills me. I' CAN'T wait for the day I can tell the office nurse I'm not getting on that stupid piece of equipment.
poet_kelly
on 3/24/12 2:38 am - OH
I think it's really common, though.  It's not just because people don't want to see how much they weigh, but also because they know there is a good chance the doctor will then comment on their weight and tell them they need to lose weight (as though it has never occurred to us when we weigh 270 pounds that perhaps it would be a good idea to lose a few pounds).  And people know that doctors will often tell them to lose weight even when their weight has nothing to do with why they are seeing the doctor.  I mean, if I want a flu shot, what difference does it make how much I weigh?  Skinny people get the flu as often as fat people, don't they?

View more of my photos at ObesityHelp.com          Kelly

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR.  If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor.  Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me.  If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her.    Check out my blog.

 

NHPOD9
on 3/24/12 2:56 am
 The first time someone mentioned to me that I could decline getting weighed at the doctor's office, I also thought it was a radical idea.  And I was filled with apprehension at saying no to the request.  But it was fine; they took my blood pressure and temp instead.  (I guess they need to have so many "vitals" taken for insurance purposes.)

However, my doctor's office has started a new policy and they will NOT see you if you decline to get weighed.  At my last PCP visit prior to surgery, I declined to get weighed and they told me that I had to if I wanted to see my PCP.  Since I needed the PCP to give the go-ahead on the surgery, I stepped on the scale.  But I find it absolutely ridiculous that they are now refusing service if patients refuse the scale.


~Jen
RNY, 8/1/2011
HW: 348          SW: 306          CW:-fighting regain
    GW: 140


He who endures, conquers. ~Persius

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