Sunday, August 28, 2005

Obese woman files complaint against doctor

As reported here, an obese woman filed a complaint against her doctor with state medical authorities, because he basically told her she was too fat. The state medical authorities turned the case over to the state Attorney General, who has been "investigating" this "incident" for over a year now.

Earlier this past week, while listening to the Bob Rivers Show, the doctor in question was interviewed (see here), and I was more than a little angered to find out that the AG doing the "investigation" was a Republican appointee who, according to the doctor, received her position through dubious means. To read more of the doctor's story, go here.

This doctor sounded to me to be the kind of doctor I would want to have - while pulling no punches in describing the possible consequences of a condition someone may have, still maintaining his human compassion in describing what the person can do to make positive health changes in their life - and yet, a woman who is obese and has developed diabetes and acid reflux disease because of her obesity, became offended because her doctor told her something she didn't want to hear - that she is too fat for her own good, and that if she doesn't make changes in her life, she'll die.

I'm not entirely sure that this woman is claiming to be a victim (of what - being told the truth?) or not, but it appears to me that this could be the case. After all, what is the motivation for her to file a complaint against her doctor?

I've struggled with my weight from the time I was seven years old, growing up as a fat kid, and hearing all of the names other kids call fat kids. Did that hurt me emotionally? Of course it did. No one likes to hear things like that - especially if it's the truth - and I was no exception to that. After reaching 209 pounds at the age of 17, on a 5' 7" frame, I got motivated (by wnating to have a girlfriend - what else, eh?) to lose weight, eventually losing 59 pounds. At a later stage in my life, I once again ballooned up to 209 pounds, and after a major struggle, managed to get back down to 160.

People who were concerned about my health, implored me to lose weight. Did I like what I heard? Definitely not, but I knew they were right, and so I lost the weight - again. I've been up and down over the years, getting up to 190 or so, and am now right around 170, which I've managed to maintain for the last three or four years, but not without difficulty.

My point to this post? If you have a medical condition, and go to a doctor about it, expect to hear the truth - if your doctor is ethically responsible - even if you don't like it! When you hear the truth, act on it in a positive way, instead of running to your state's medical board and whining to them that your doctor is a meanie!

The woman who filed the complaint needs to quit being such a baby, grow up, get the "cure" for the obvious "hand to mouth disease" she has, face the reality that she's fat, and needs to lose weight! It's as simple as that.

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