I can't imagine weighing myself at my doctor's office, because he's got one of those old-fashioned scales with the sliding weight on it. I seem to have to stand perfectly still for the thing to stop vibrating enough for them to get a true reading.
saef, last time I went to the doctor, a couple of weeks ago, the nurse asked me to weigh myself using the sliding scale thing. I was like... how? It wouldn't stay still and I had to think too hard about how to read it.
One major reason is in case any medications are to be given and the dosage depends on the weight.
Unless you are getting an IV medication doses are almost never based on weight for adults, only children. Should you happen to get one of the 2 or 3 outpatient medicines where you weight matters, surely they can just weigh you at that point, rather than weigh you in advance just in case you turn out to have a need for an unexpected IV?
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauralyn
Weight is a reflection in part on our health and it is their responsibility to track all aspects of our health.
Weight is perceived to be a good indicator of health, but it is not when used as a single measurement. My BMI was more when I was doing gymnastics but I was a smaller dress size. My blood pressure has always been too low, but as soon as I climb on the scales I get lectured about high blood pressure. I used to take sodium supplements to prevent me passing out due to low blood pressure and low sodium levels, but because I am heavy I am told to reduce my salt intake, they don't look.
Your weight is taken as too much of an overall measure of health, the presumption that if you are heavy you are unfit and don't work out. I did gymnastics classes several times a week, swimming, home workouts, loads of walking, but I ate chocolate when I got home so I wasn't skinny. Weight was a terrible measure of my health. When I had my accident I was laid up for weeks and lost a lot of muscle condition and took off 8lbs, and my doctor congratulated me on my loss even though my body fat went up.
If they are going to weigh you they must then go on to ask you more lifestyle questions before deciding that your weight means you are unhealthy, otherwise it's as useful an indication of health as your height.
Huh. Some of you guys have kinda strange doctors letting you weigh yourselves or "shielding" you from weight. At least in my experience I'm always, always weighed. I have an ear infection? Hope on the scale. I punctured my calf? Hop on the scale. I want a referral to someone else? Hop on the scale.
My dr has a sliding scale, too. And it's in the hall, where every nurse and patient passing buy can see and hear my weight as the nurse loudly announces it to me.
Special times for me.
But maybe some doctors have patients weigh themselves because they want people to get used to doing it?? But then why would the nurse not be with them... I don't know. It's odd.
Of course, now that I am basically 'normal' weight and wouldn't mind so much having my weight screamed down a hall, I don't have a dr appt for like a year.
Usually when I get weighed at the doctors, I get on the scale backwards because I don't want to know. (I like to use one scale because the number doesn't really matter - it's the relative change I care about.) I scold them when they tell me my weight - and they know they're not supposed to tell you. It's very "triggering" for many people (including me) to starve or binge. And I completely agree that they do it for their records and for medication purposes - I just thought it was odd that in my 39 years, I have never had a doctor's office tell me to weigh myself...
When I lived in Sweden last year I got really sick and had to go to the doctor. They did not weigh me or measure for my height, something I realized after the fact. I asked a Swede about it and she said it was because I didn't go to the doctor about my weight, I went to the doctor about the severe sore throat and high fever. I thought that was super interesting, how a doctors visit and what is seen as "routine" differs between countries.
My doctor takes my weight before he even asks why I'm there. It's the first thing that he does after I leave the waiting room. And the scale is also in the hall for anyone to see as they walk by. But I always thought it was routine; never really questioned it. He also takes my temperature and blood pressure every time.
Last time I was there he asked how much I weighed. And I said "I think 160?" And then he still proceeded to weigh me. He was amazed to find out that I was almost exactly right- I weighed a little bit under. He said that people always say they weigh 15 pounds less than they actually do.. I don't really get why he asks for your weight and then weighs you, though.. Seems kind of uneccesary now that I think about it. Maybe even slightly cruel...
I am one of those people who used to shy away from doctor appointments because I didn't want to face the scale. While lamenting to a friend once day, she stated (as a prior insurance claims adjuster) that most insurance companies require two "vital signs" per doctor's appointment, and that it is easiest to weigh and take blood pressure. She suggested I decline the weigh-in and that they take another vital, which they did (can't recall if it was body temperature or heartbeat).
I'm not sure if that is common with all insurance companies or just the experience in my area. But when I am feeling particularly sensitive about my weight, I no longer hesitate to decline the weigh-in, knowing the reason for it is insurance related.
Last edited by Zeitgeist; 12-09-2010 at 09:12 PM.
Reason: grammar
Unless you are getting an IV medication doses are almost never based on weight for adults, only children. Should you happen to get one of the 2 or 3 outpatient medicines where you weight matters, surely they can just weigh you at that point, rather than weigh you in advance just in case you turn out to have a need for an unexpected IV?
I am not saying for all meds I just gave an example of why it is needed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RoseRodent
. Weight is perceived to be a good indicator of health, but it is not when used as a single measurement. My BMI was more when I was doing gymnastics but I was a smaller dress size. My blood pressure has always been too low, but as soon as I climb on the scales I get lectured about high blood pressure. I used to take sodium supplements to prevent me passing out due to low blood pressure and low sodium levels, but because I am heavy I am told to reduce my salt intake, they don't look.
Your weight is taken as too much of an overall measure of health, the presumption that if you are heavy you are unfit and don't work out. I did gymnastics classes several times a week, swimming, home workouts, loads of walking, but I ate chocolate when I got home so I wasn't skinny. Weight was a terrible measure of my health. When I had my accident I was laid up for weeks and lost a lot of muscle condition and took off 8lbs, and my doctor congratulated me on my loss even though my body fat went up.
If they are going to weigh you they must then go on to ask you more lifestyle questions before deciding that your weight means you are unhealthy, otherwise it's as useful an indication of health as your height.
My MD takes my weight, blood pressure, pulse, and temp with every.single.vist. It's never bothered me, I know that they use that information to chart changes over time. Admittedly, part of the BP and pulse is that I have a history of low vitals.
Being weighed every time has never bothered me- even at my high weight. I figure most people can tell that I'm overweight by looking at me, so what does it matter if they have official confirmation? It's also important to be able to track changes. If' you've gained a significant amoutn of weight, or lost weight, it can affect your health in good and bad ways. Some sysmptoms that you are experiencing may be a result of rapid weight loss. Significant weight gain can be the cause of other symptoms. I can also be a missing link to interpreting the state of your health.
For example, I have a history of chronic low blood pressure. 80/60 was my high normal, and I have been lower than that quite frequently. However, my body functions just fine with that low of a BP, other than occasional headaches. On one of my last visits- my blood pressure was completely normal. At first, the physician was ecstatic, until she read my chart. My "normal" blood pressure was a result of having gained over 90 pounds in the three years between my physicals. The conclusion is that, while technically in the healthy range, my blood pressure is considered high, based on my personal history. Proof of such- losing the first 30 pounds already dropped my blood pressure back into the low category. So, yes, my blood pressure is "healthy" when I'm obese, but without a weight history to support it, you wouldn't know that it's not really healthy for ME.
I'm unsure why your doctors are all so obsessed with weighing people! Unless it's a specific height and weight check-up (you get one each time you sign with a new doctor but never again) or something to do with blood pressure, diabetes, etc. you just don't get weighed at the doctor.
For one, it's because of prescription medication. Dosage depends on weight, and if you weigh a certain amount, the dosage on a prescription is going to matter. Another reason is that there are a lot of people who don't pay attention to their weight, and if your doctor is recording it for you, and they discover you've gained 15 or 20 or x amount of lbs since your last visit, there might be some underlying medical problem that caused that weight.
I remember when I was still in high school, and I went to the doctor because I had a cold. They weighed me, and then berated me for being fat. The doctor lectured me for a LONG time about my weight. It was humiliating. I just sat there glaring at her the whole time. I was only around 170 then ... man, what I'd do to be that size again.
Last edited by 3FCer344892; 12-13-2010 at 11:31 PM.
Maybe even slightly cruel...
