Just this weekend, Iain was saying that he felt like a whole new person after getting treatment for his diabetes (and his mood and ability to concentrate are markedly, observably improved), and I said: "Just think how fortunate you ultimately were that you had the neuropathy. If you'd gone to a doctor with the symptoms of lethargy, anxiety, lack of concentration, and a general feeling of unwellness with no physical symptoms and a round belly, you probably would have been told to lose weight and put on antidepressants. Meanwhile, your diabetes would be killing you."Agreed. I'm a big guy myself. I don't feel particularly comfortable in doctor's offices anyway (intense dislike of needles) and having grown up with my parents being health professionals working with doctors and hospitals, I had them on my case about my weight for some time. I still do, they worry about me.
Shaker Azzy, as you may recall, was continually diagnosed as "fat" and "depressed," even though "I actually had cancer. Of the thyroid. Which had metastasized to my lymphatic system. OOPS!!"
Every thread we've ever had on illness, mental or physical, and healthcare has had fat Shakers testifying to being misdiagnosed or not heard or ignored or told their fat was the problem, even if their weight hadn't changed but their health had, by doctors who refused to see past fat. Every thread has had Shakers testify to putting off preventative care because of shaming about their weight.
How about the personal responsibility of bigoted, fat-hating healthcare providers to make sure they're treating what's actually wrong with their patients, and doing it with compassion instead of creating spaces that are so thick with contempt and hostility that fat people are discouraged from entering them?
Just sayin'.
I worry about me too. If I go to the doctor and get a checkup (which my health insurance would cover) the doctor would tell me "other than losing some weight you're fine."
I could have told the guy that.
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